Chapter 8:The Alpha’s Sniff

(Penny’s POV)

The cage wasn’t big enough to stand in.

I had to hunch, knees tucked to my chest, back pressed against the cold iron bars. The floor was packed dirt, damp in places, gritty everywhere else. A single lantern hung outside the bars, throwing long, jittery shadows across the long hall. Every time someone walked past, the flame danced, and my heart jumped like it was trying to escape my ribs.

They’d taken my backpack.

That hurt more than the ropes cutting into my wrists.

No med kit. No water bottle. No phone (dead anyway). No emergency blanket. Just me, in torn leggings and a hoodie that still smelled faintly of Genesis’s blood.

I kept replaying the moment Kael licked my neck. The wet slide of his tongue. The way his eyes had flared, bright, hungry, triumphant.

“Eww,” I muttered again, scrubbing at the spot with my sleeve even though it was long dry. “Gross. So gross.”

A guard outside the bars snorted. “You’ll get used to it, girl. Wolves like to taste what they claim.”

I glared at him through the bars. “I’m not getting claimed by anyone.”

He just laughed and walked away.

Hours passed. Or maybe minutes. Time felt slippery here—no clock, no sun I could see, just the crackle of the hearth at the far end of the hall and the occasional murmur of voices. My stomach growled. My throat was sandpaper. I tried not to think about how long it had been since the stew in the village.

Footsteps, heavy, deliberate, approached.

Kael.

He stopped in front of the cage, arms crossed, red hair catching the lantern light like fresh blood. Behind him, two guards flanked a wooden table that hadn’t been there earlier. Platters of food: roasted meat, dark bread, a pitcher of something that smelled like ale. A feast.

For them.

Not for me.

He crouched so his face was level with mine through the bars.

“Comfortable?” he asked, voice low and mocking.

“Peachy,” I said. “Five stars. Would recommend the dirt floor to all my friends.”

His lips twitched. “You’ve got spirit. Good. The king likes spirit. Makes the breaking sweeter.”

My stomach turned over.

He reached through the bars, slow, deliberate, and caught a strand of my hair between his fingers. I jerked back as far as the cage allowed.

“Don’t touch me.”

He didn’t let go. Just twirled the strand once, then released it.

“You still smell of him,” he murmured. “Silverfang. Prince Genesis. His blood on your skin. His scent in your clothes.”

I swallowed. “I helped a wounded man. That’s all.”

“You helped an alpha heir. That makes you valuable.” He leaned closer, nostrils flaring as he inhaled deeply. “And something else. Something… rare.”

I pressed myself harder against the back bars.

He straightened suddenly. Eyes gleaming.

“You’re a Luna.”

The word dropped like a stone into still water.

I laughed, short, shaky. “I’m a nurse. From Weyburn. I’m not whatever fantasy creature you think I am.”

Kael’s smile was slow. Predatory.

“Lunas don’t smell like ordinary humans. They carry power. Fertility. Balance. The kind that can save a dying clan.” He tilted his head. “Our clan is dying. No true mates. No pups strong enough to carry the line. But you…”

He reached again, this time his whole hand. Cupped the side of my face through the bars. Thumb brushed my cheekbone.

I froze.

“You could change everything.”

I slapped his hand away. Hard. The sound cracked through the hall.

“Don’t.”

The guards tensed. Kael just laughed—low, delighted.

“Feisty. Perfect.”

He stood, turned to the table, and poured himself a tankard of ale. Took a long drink. Wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Clean her,” he told the nearest guard. “Dress her properly. She’s to be presentable when we deliver her to the king tomorrow night.”

The guard nodded.

Kael looked back at me one last time.

“Eat when they bring you food. Sleep if you can. Tomorrow you meet royalty.” His eyes glittered. “And if you’re very lucky… he’ll claim you on the spot.”

He walked away.

The guards opened the cage just enough to shove in a tray: bread, a strip of dried meat, a cup of water. Then they locked it again.

I stared at the food.

My hands shook so badly I almost dropped the cup.

I drank the water first, slow, careful. Then tore the bread into small pieces. Chewed mechanically.

Luna.

The word kept echoing in my head.

In my book, the Luna was the rare female who could bond with an alpha, stabilize his pack, produce heirs strong enough to survive the feral curse that plagued their kind. She was the key to ending the wars. The last hope.

I’d written her as powerful. Beautiful. Destined.

I felt none of those things.

I felt small. Scared. Trapped in a cage that smelled like old blood and wolf musk.

And tomorrow they were going to hand me over like a prize sow at auction.

To the king.

The one alpha even Kael bowed to.

I curled tighter into the corner, knees to chest, forehead pressed to them.

Tears came then, quiet, hot, unstoppable.

I didn’t sob. Didn’t wail.

Just let them fall.

Because screaming wouldn’t change anything.

And somewhere, miles away, maybe, Genesis was waking up in that cave.

Wondering where I’d gone.

Wondering why the human who’d patched him up had vanished.

I closed my eyes.

“Please,” I whispered to whatever god or glitch or cruel author had dropped me here. “Let me wake up.”

But when I opened my eyes again, the cage was still there.

The lantern still flickered.

And outside, the wolves were starting to howl, triumphant, hungry, calling the night down.

Tomorrow I’d be paraded.

Tomorrow I’d be given away.

Tomorrow the story I’d written would try to swallow me whole.

And I had no idea how to stop it.