You belong to me.

Kaelen had always carried himself like the world belonged to him. 

The way he strode into the training grounds, head high and smirk lazy, it was easy to forget he was only nineteen. As the Alpha’s only son and heir, every glance, every bow, every whispered word reminded him of his importance.

And he loved it.

His parents “Alpha Eldric and  Luna Anora”, had never denied him anything. 

A new sword? Delivered the same day. The finest clothes? Tailored before the fabric cooled from the loom. Even when his arrogance scraped against the patience of the pack elders, the Alpha would only laugh and say, “He’s young. Let the boy enjoy himself.”

But of all the treasures Kaelen believed were his by right, none fascinated him more than Liora.

She had been his playmate when they were children, the quiet shadow who smiled shyly while he boasted of the things he would one day own. Now, grown into a young woman, she was breathtaking and far more beautiful than her ragged clothes suggested. And that beauty made Kaelen greedy.

To him, she wasn’t just a girl. She was a prize. Something to be claimed, possessed, displayed.

Ravena’s feelings for him amused him, but Kaelen had no interest in Beta's true daughter. Why should he? She is not as beautiful as Liora.

 

 Liora had eyes that shone like captured starlight, a softness that made him hunger in ways he barely bothered to hide.

        Kaelen leaned against the courtyard wall, watching as Liora hurriedly passed by with a basket of laundry, her head bowed to avoid her sister’s glare. He smiled, slow and wolfish.

He would have her.

And she would never know the difference between love and the game he intended to play.

“Liora,” his voice cut through the courtyard like silk, smooth and commanding all at once.

She froze, clutching the basket tighter against her hip. Her heart stuttered. Kaelen rarely spoke her name in front of others, not when Ravena’s sharp eyes were always prowling nearby. Slowly, she turned.

Kaelen was leaning lazily against the wooden post, his arms folded across his chest, eyes gleaming with mischief. To anyone else, he looked like the perfect Alpha heir,, tall, strong, and breathtakingly handsome. To Liora, he looked like the boy she had known all her life, though lately… there was something new in the way he looked at her. Something that made her skin heat and her stomach knot.

“You’ve been hiding from me,” Kaelen said with a half-smile, stepping closer.

“I haven’t been hiding Kaelen,” she murmured, shifting the basket nervously. “I’ve just been… busy.”

“Busy?” He reached out and plucked a stray thread from her sleeve, his fingers brushing her arm longer than necessary. “You’re always busy. Running errands, Washing clothes. Don’t they realize a girl like you shouldn’t waste her hands on soap and rags?”

Liora lowered her gaze, cheeks burning. Compliments from him always left her unsteady, as if she were walking on water with no ground beneath.

“You deserve better,” he said softly, so close now that she could smell the faint spice of his cologne. “And one day, I’ll give it to you.”

Her lips parted, caught between hope and disbelief. He couldn’t mean that. Could he?

From a distance, Ravena’s voice shrieked her name, pulling Liora back into the harsh daylight of reality. She turned to go, but Kaelen caught her wrist. His grip was gentle, yet firm enough that she knew he wouldn’t let go until he chose to.

Kaelen’s hand lingered on mine, his thumb brushing gently across my knuckles. My breath cut, and when I looked up, his eyes were already on me. warm, burning, unshakable.

“You belong to me, Liora. Always,” he murmured.

My heart thudded painfully against my ribs. “Kaelen…” My voice came out soft, uncertain, but the way he said my name made it feel like a secret between us. “Why me? You could have anyone.”

He smiled, tilting his head as though amused by the thought. “Anyone? I don’t want anyone. I want you. No one else has your smile, or the way you look at the stars as if they’re listening. No one else makes me feel like I’ve found something rare.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I lowered my gaze, embarrassed by the intensity of his words. “I’m nothing special,” I whispered.

His fingers tilted my chin back up, forcing me to meet his eyes. “Don’t ever say that. You’re everything to me, Liora. You just don’t see yourself the way I do.”

The sincerity in his tone melted every doubt I carried. I found myself smiling, timid at first, then brighter as his thumb traced my cheek.

“Do you really mean that?” I asked, my voice trembling.

His smile deepened, slow and possessive. “I’ve never meant anything more. You’ve always been mine, even before you knew it.”

I laughed softly, thinking he was teasing, though his expression never shifted. “And what if the Moon Goddess has other plans?” I teased back.

“She wouldn’t dare,” he said, his tone sharp but gone in a blink, replaced with a boyish grin. “The Moon made you for me, Liora. I know it.”

She hurriedly left him, running to answer Ravena’s call in order to avoid trouble for herself.

She went about her duties without even noticing the weight of the chores as her mind was clouded by the event that just played out between Kaelen and herself, Ravena caught her smiling  to herself and wondered why.

Liora’s POV

Kaelen’s hand brushed mine, and the world stilled. The evening air, the whispers of the forest, even the ache of another long day in my mother’s house, all of it faded until there was only him.

When he looked at me, it was as though I was no longer invisible. As though the girl in ragged dresses was more than her scars and her chores. His gaze found me and held me, and in it, I saw the Liora I had always wanted to be, cherished, chosen, and loved.

“You belong to me, Liora. Always,” he said, and my heart fluttered wildly, the words weaving into my soul like a promise written by the Moon herself.

I smiled before I realized it, warmth flooding my chest. He had always been there, somehow. My childhood playmate, my secret companion, The boy who teased me when I cried, who carried me when my legs gave out, who slipped me apples when I went hungry. And now, he was the man who looked at me as though I was his entire world.

For the first time in so long, I dared to imagine a future beyond endless servitude, beyond Ravena’s scorn and Mother’s cruelty.

My cheeks burned, my lips curved, and my heart swore itself to him without hesitation. All I saw was love,and for that one moment, it was enough.

Liora went to her calendar which she had hung at the wall of her small room and ticked the date of that day with all smiles and a fulfilled heart, counting down as one of the important days in her life. 

She couldn't wait to see her wolf as well as the admiration that would be plastered on Kaelen's eyes when he sees her too.

Kaelen’s POV

She was trying to slip past  me again. Always running, always ducking her head like she thought she was invisible. But she wasn’t, not to me. Liora could never be invisible. She shone, even when she wore rags and smelled of soap water.

I leaned against the post and called her name, savoring the way she stiffened. That nervous little pause of hers made something dark curl in my chest. Fear, innocence, obedience… she gave me all of it without even trying, only me deserves to make her feel that way.

“Busy,” she said. Always with that excuse. Busy fetching, busy cleaning, busy bowing her head to anyone who dared command her. Didn’t she realize she was too beautiful for all that? Too precious to be wasted scrubbing stains?

But that was fine, I would remind her. I would remind her every chance I got.

I plucked a thread from her sleeve just to feel her flinch, just to watch that blush rise.  She was lovely when she blushed. It made me want to cage her, keep her where only I could see that color on her cheeks.

“You deserve better,” I told her. And it wasn’t a lie. She did deserve better. She deserved me.

When she turned to leave, I caught her wrist. Her pulse fluttered against my fingers, fast, fragile. Mine. All mine.

“You belong to me, Liora. Always.”

Her lips parted, her lashes quivered, and that look,hopeful, uncertain, naive ,burned through me like fire. She believed me. She actually believed me.

Poor little Liora. So sweet. So trusting.

She thought I was her salvation. I would keep her as mine until I find my mate and even at that I won't still let her go!.