Captured

Kieran’s POV

“Would your father not care even if we sent your corpse to him?”

The words lingered between us, thick and sharp, like smoke that refused to clear.

Most prisoners cried at that point. Some begged. Some screamed my name like it would save them. Others fainted outright. I had seen it all. Fear always found a way to the surface.

But Tamara Vladis only looked at me.

Not with defiance.

Not with terror.

With something far worse.

Acceptance.

Her lips parted slowly, and when she spoke, her voice was calm enough to unsettle me.

“Then you’d be wasting a perfectly good body.”

My wolf reared back inside me, snarling, confused. She’s broken.

No—broken things still clung to life.

This one had already let go.

I tightened my grip on her chin, forcing her to look at me fully. Her eyes were dull around the edges, like the light inside them had been scraped away piece by piece over time. There were shadows under them too—deep, permanent shadows that had nothing to do with exhaustion.

“You expect me to believe that?” I asked coldly. “That your father wouldn’t move mountains for you?”

A faint smile touched her mouth. Bitter. Humorless.

“My father,” she said quietly, “would move mountains for my sister.”

The words landed heavier than a blow.

I released her so abruptly she staggered backward, catching herself against the edge of the bed. The chain at her wrist rattled loudly, metal scraping against stone. The sound grated on my nerves more than it should have.

“You’re lying,” I snapped. “Trying to provoke sympathy.”

She shrugged as much as the chain allowed.

“You asked. I answered.”

I turned away, pacing the length of the cell, trying to shake the strange tightness in my chest. This was a tactic. It had to be. Vladis blood was cunning. Deceptive. Her father had ruined my pack with whispers and curses and half-truths wrapped in smiles.

She was his daughter.

She had learned from the best.

“Eat,” I ordered, gesturing sharply to the tray of food that sat untouched near the wall. “If you collapse in my custody, it complicates things.”

“I won’t eat,” she replied.

I spun back toward her. “You don’t get to choose.”

“I know,” she said. “That’s why I’m not choosing. I’m just… not doing anything.”

My jaw clenched. There was no challenge in her tone. No drama. Just emptiness.

“You think refusing food gives you control?” I demanded.

She shook her head slowly. “No. It just reminds me I still have a body. That I can still feel something.”

Something inside me twisted unpleasantly.

“You will eat,” I said, lowering my voice. “Or I’ll have someone force it down your throat.”

Her gaze didn’t waver. “You already have me in chains. Do what you want.”

That did it.

I stormed out of the cell before my restraint snapped completely.

The corridor felt too narrow, the air too thick. My wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin, agitation rolling off him in waves.

She’s not pretending, he growled. She smells like grief.

“Shut up,” I muttered under my breath.

Grief didn’t erase bloodlines. It didn’t undo curses.

When I reached the throne room, Alex was already waiting, tablet in hand.

“Alpha?” he said cautiously. “The message to Crestwood—”

“Send it,” I cut in. “Tell them we have Tamara Vladis. Alive. For now.”

Alex hesitated. “And if they refuse to come?”

“They won’t.”

I said it with certainty I didn’t feel.

Because when I closed my eyes, all I could see were hers. Empty. Expectant. Like she already knew how this would end.

That night, sleep refused to come.

I lay on my bed staring up at the dark ceiling, every nerve on edge. My wolf refused to settle, pacing, snarling, turning in tight circles inside my mind.

She’s our mate.

“I know,” I growled.

Then why is she in chains?

“Because her bloodline destroyed us.”

She didn’t.

I rolled onto my side, fists clenching in the sheets. “Her father did.”

And you’ll punish her for it?

“She’s leverage.”

She’s ours.

The bond pulsed painfully at the center of my chest, a low ache that wouldn’t fade no matter how hard I pushed it down. I had felt the spark when our eyes met. The undeniable pull. The way my wolf had surged forward, ready to claim her without question.

It made me sick.

I didn’t want her.

Didn’t need her.

Didn’t trust her.

And yet…

Before dawn, a guard knocked at my door.

“Alpha. Crestwood has replied.”

I was on my feet instantly. “Bring it.”

The message was brief. Insultingly so.

They would send a representative. Not the Beta. Not his mate. Not the Alpha.

Just a wolf.

No urgency. No threats. No bargaining.

I crushed the tablet in my hand, plastic cracking under the force of my grip.

They didn’t care.

My chest tightened in a way I didn’t recognize.

I dismissed the guard and stood there for a long moment, staring at the broken screen, anger boiling hot and fast in my veins.

They had abandoned her.

And somehow… that bothered me more than it should have.

I found myself outside the upper cell again without remembering making the decision to go there.

She was sitting on the floor, knees drawn to her chest, head resting back against the wall. Her eyes lifted when I entered, and something flickered there—recognition, not hope.

“You came back,” she said.

“I told you they’d come,” I replied, though my voice lacked conviction. “Your pack sent word.”

She studied my face carefully. “And?”

“They’re sending a representative.”

Her lips pressed together. She nodded once.

“That’s about right.”

No relief. No gratitude.

Just confirmation.

“You don’t seem surprised,” I said.

“Why would I be?” she asked softly. “They already chose who matters.”

I looked away, jaw tightening.

“They’re still your family,” I said.

She laughed under her breath. “Family doesn’t sell you for peace of mind.”

That struck too close to something raw inside me.

“You could still eat,” I said abruptly, gesturing to the tray again. “You don’t have to starve.”

She shook her head. “Not hungry.”

“You will weaken.”

“I already am.”

Silence stretched between us.

“You want to know the truth?” she asked suddenly.

I didn’t answer.

She went on anyway.

“If you kill me, they’ll sleep just fine. If you send my body back, they’ll cry publicly and move on privately. My sister will be pregnant. My father will still have his title. Life will go on.”

Her voice didn’t waver. That was the worst part.

“So do whatever you planned to do,” she finished. “Just don’t pretend I matter.”

Something snapped.

“Enough,” I growled. “You don’t get to dictate this.”

“Why?” she asked quietly. “Because I’m your prisoner? Or because I’m your mate?”

The word hit like a blade.

I stepped back as if she’d struck me.

“Don’t say that,” I warned.

Her gaze sharpened for the first time. “Why? Because it scares you?”

My wolf surged violently, roaring at the truth of it.

I turned on my heel and left before I did something irreversible.

By midday, the representative arrived.

And by nightfall, I made a decision that would haunt me.

I ordered her release.

Not to safety.

Not to mercy.

To the rogue lands.

As the guards led her away, something inside me screamed.

And for the first time since I became Alpha, I ignored my instincts.

I didn’t know yet that this choice would cost me everything.