Chapter 3

ZANA’S POV

I woke to pain.

I felt cold metal against my skin. There was blood crusted in my hair. My wrists were bound with chains. My body ached with every breath.

I was in a cage. A moving one. It kept rattling over uneven earth. I blinked against the morning sun. There were soldiers outside, laughing.

“She’s awake,” one said, nudging his friend.

I didn’t speak. I stared. I memorized their faces, their uniforms, the smugness in their eyes. I would not forget. Ever.

“Pretty little thing,” one of them said. “it’s a shame we’ll have to kill her.”

“Nah,” the other replied, “Alpha said she’s to be sold. She’s too beautiful to waste. You know the nobles love exotic pets.”

They were talking like I wasn’t there. Like I wasn’t a person. I said nothing. I didn’t cry. Didn’t beg.

I sat in silence and vowed to rip them all apart someday.

When we reached the Alpha’s castle, the sun had already begun to set again. Massive black gates stood in front of us. I was dragged out of the cage like an animal. My limbs were barely working.

They stripped me.

Freezing water was sprayed over me from a hose. I gasped. My body convulsed and my teeth chattered from the cold. My wounds stung. 

“Scrub her down,” one said. “we can’t present her like this.”

“Not that it’ll matter. She’ll be in chains either way.”

I didn’t respond. I kept my eyes on them. Let them see I was not broken.

Filthy rags were tossed at me. I slipped them on. The fabric clung to my wet, bruised skin. Then they shoved me down a stone corridor, past doors and cells.

Finally, they threw me into a dark, damp room. Other slaves sat in corners or on the floor. None spoke. They barely looked up. The door slammed shut behind me.

I stood in the silence, dripping, aching, furious.

I was alone. But I wasn’t broken.

Not yet. Not ever.

-

The stone floor was cold under my bare feet. My ribs still ached from the beating. My wrists were raw, rubbed raw by the iron cuffs that had only just been removed before tossing me into that wretched room.

I should’ve been sleeping like the others. But I couldn’t.

My body wouldn’t rest. My mind wouldn’t settle. I wasn’t sure if it was the silence that kept me awake or the ghosts screaming in my head.

Their faces.

Their blood.

The forest on fire.

“Dad” I whispered.

I cried every time I saw the image of him falling to his knees.

I needed air. I needed space. I needed… out.

The moment I noticed the door to the slave quarters slightly open, I didn’t hesitate. I slipped through like a shadow, silent. I made sure that my feet barely making a sound. The halls of the  castle were dark but I could use m y wolf eyes to see through.

It was too quiet. It felt like something was waiting.

I walked forward. My senses were alert. I didn’t know where I was going. I just needed anywhere but that room.

Then I saw him.

A man turned the corner ahead. He was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing thick velvet robes that brushed the floor behind him. His silver hair shimmered under the moon light coming in from the windows. I had no idea who he was but he reeked of power.

I froze

His eyes locked on me instantly. He looked like a man who thought he could buy the world and bend it to his pleasure.

“Well, well,” he purred, “what do we have here?”

I stepped back. At the sight of him, my instincts started screaming. I could see the desire in his eyes. He moved closer to me and I took steps back.

“Did you sneak out just to greet me?” he asked, smiling as he raised a hand. “How flattering.”

“Don’t touch me,” I warned,.

He touched me anyway. His fingers touched my cheek as if I belonged to him. As if that wasn’t enough, he pulled me in by my waist and grabbed my ass.

I snapped.

Before I could even think, I lunged and bit his neck…hard.

His scream was instant. The sound was high and sharp and full of outrage.

Blood filled my mouth. He shoved me off with a strength that surprised me, and his hand cracked across my cheek. My head snapped sideways. My vision blurred for a moment.

“You filthy little animal!” he roared.

The guards came running.

I didn’t resist. I didn’t run. I stood my ground, breathing heavily. My lips curled back as I snarled. I still had blood dripping from my mouth.

They swarmed me like dogs, knocking me to the ground, yanking my arms behind me. I could hear the chains rattling as they locked my wrists again. But I kept my head high.

Let them see it.

Let them know I wasn’t broken.

They dragged me through the castle, down endless halls, until the doors stood ahead. The doors were tall. They were carved with snarling wolves and sun symbols. They shoved me inside.

This must be the throne room.

It was grand. Intimidating. But I was past feeling fear.

At least, that’s what I told myself—until I saw him.

He sat on the throne like he’d been born into it. His long arms rested on the arm rest of the throne. His armor sparkled under the moonlight.. His hair was dark, cut short, and his eyes were a burning gold that seemed to see everything. One leg rested lazily over the other, but there was nothing lazy about him.

Power radiated off him in waves. He didn’t even have to try. His aura was thick and suffocating. His presence made the guards straighten, and the other nobles hush. Even the air bent around him.

I knew immediately.

Alpha Lucius.

I’d heard of him—everyone had. He was ruthless. Feared. He’d risen to power young, spilled blood like it was water, and carved his empire into the bones of anyone who dared defy him.

Now, I stood before him. Dragged like a beast. Shackled. Wild.

I snarled. I kept my eyes locked on him as the guards forced me to my knees.

“She bit Lord Marric,” one of the guards said. “Nearly tore a chunk from his neck.”

Lucius didn’t flinch. He simply studied me with cold eyes.

“So this is the rogue girl we caught in the raid,” he said, more to himself than to anyone else.

“I’m not a girl,” I spat. “And I’m not yours.”

The people in the room whispered. They must be council members. I could feel the authority radiating from them as well. One of the guards hit me hard in the back, but I didn’t flinch.

Lucius tilted his head, like I was some feral thing he was deciding whether to kill or cage.

“Wild little beast,” he murmured, rising from his throne with slowsteps. “You look better suited for the execution block than anything else.”

My jaw tightened. I wasn’t scared of death. They had already killed my family. What more did I have to live for? He stepped closer.

“So proud,” he said. “So broken. And yet still snarling.”

Then his voice sharpened like a blade.

“Kill her. Now.” He ordered.

I froze. Everything went still.

The guards moved. But someone else stepped forward.

“Alpha,” a calm voice said. A tall man with a scar down his left cheek and silver-blue eyes stepped forward.  He must be the Beta. I could tell from his aura. He whispered something into Lucius’s ear.

Lucius’s eyes narrowed. “You’re certain?”

“Completely,” the man replied.

Lucius smiled slowly. I could see the cruelty in his eeys.

“Very well.”

I blinked. “What… what are you talking about?”

The man turned to me, assessing me like one might a wild animal before deciding how best to break it.

“A different punishment,” he said. “We’ll send you to the academy.”

“What academy?” I asked.

The Beta smiled. “Prescot Academy. The finest institute for our kind. It’s filled with shifters. Magic-wielders. Beasts in need of taming.”

Even though I was a rogue, I knew Prescot Acedemy.  Who didn’t? it was the most popular academy in the continent. It was prestigious and meant for the elite alone. Why they hell did they want to send me there>

I blinked. “What does that have to do with—”

Lucius cut me off,. “If my sons can break her, it will be a fine show of our strength. Let her be their little… challenge.”

My heart dropped. “Break me?”

“Enough,” Lucius barked. “Take her out of my sight.”

The guards grabbed me and pulled me out.

I fought the guards as they dragged me away. “You’re making a mistake! I’m not yours to train, to break! You’ll regret this!”

“Silence her,” Lucius ordered.

A gag was shoved between my teeth.

Again, I was nothing but a beast.

We were outside within minutes. They chained me tighter this time, as if afraid I’d grow wings and fly away. A thick cloak was thrown over my shoulders, but it didn’t stop the cold from sinking into my bones.

The guards pushed me into the back of a black iron carriage, the same kind they used to transport criminals.

I turned to one of them, feeling the blood drying on my lip. “Where are you taking me?”

“Prescot Academy,” he said with a grin. “A place where pretty little monsters like you get broken in.”

I went still.

Prescot.

The academy wasn’t just prestigious—it was elite. The best of the best. Royals. Alphas. Heirs. Creatures with names carved into legends attended there.

I wasn’t supposed to see that place, let alone walk its halls.

“What am I doing there?” I whispered. “Why would they send me there?”

The guard just smirked and slammed the door shut.

 We rode for hours. I stared out the barred window.

The trees passed in shadows, and eventually, I caught sight of the smoke. It was still rising in the distance. It was still thick. Still black.

That was my home. Or what was left of it.

I didn’t cry. I couldn’t.

There was nothing left of me to soften. Only rage.

Let them think they’d broken me.

Let them try.

Let their precious sons come.

I would burn their academy to the ground before I bowed.