Bound

Chapter Three

THAELYNNE’S POV

One of the regular serving girls falls sick. Kaelith scans the kitchen, then her eyes land on me. "You. Do you know how to serve a formal meal without spilling?"

"Yes."

"Good. The Alpha takes breakfast in his study this morning. You'll bring it to him. Don’t speak unless spoken to. Don’t make eye contact. Understood?"

My heart pounds so hard I’m sure she’s hearing it. "Yes, ma'am."

She loads a tray with food and coffee and shoves it at me. "Third floor, west wing, last door on the left. Don't get lost."

The door to the study is closed. I balance the tray on one hip and knock softly.

"Enter."

I push the door open and step inside. Alpha Ragnar sits behind a massive desk covered in papers, his attention on whatever document he’s reading.

I:m prepared. I have a knife tucked into the waistband of my dress. I just have to get it to his throat and slit it open.

He barely glances at me as I set out his meal.

My hand moves to the knife. Now. This is the moment. He is distracted, alone and vulnerable.

A life for a life.

I pull the blade free and take a step toward him.

He moves faster than I can blink. One second he’s sitting with his attention on his papers. The next, he has me pinned against the wall with his hand around my wrist, the knife clattering uselessly to the floor.

"Really?" He sounds more disappointed than angry. "I expected you to be smarter than this."

I struggle, but it's like fighting stone. His grip doesn't budge. "Let me go." I groan against his hold.

"So you can try again? I think not." He picks up the knife. "Where did you get this?"

"I stole it from the kitchens."

"Of course you did." He shakes his head. He releases my wrist and steps back, taking the knife with him. "Sit down, "

There's an edge on my voice and I fold my hands. Anger isn't letting me think properly. This is the feared Alpha of the Were kingdom, I'm not even supposed to look at him. "I’d rather stand."

"That wasn't a request."

I huff and sit, my heart hammering in my chest. I expect him to call the guards now and toss me into the dungeons for attempted murder. Instead, he settles back into his own chair and sets the knife on the table between us, well out of my reach.

"Let me tell you how this is going to work," he says calmly. "You’re going to stop trying to kill me. In return, I won't have you whipped or starved or sold to someone who’ll do much worse than I ever would. Do we have an understanding?"

"No." I'm not scared of him. There's nothing he'd do to me that's much worse than watching all my loved ones die right in front of me.

His eyebrow rises. "No?"

"I will never stop. Not until you’re dead or I am. That’s my understanding, Alpha."

For a long moment, he just looks at me. Then he laughs. "You have spirit. I’ll give you that."

"I have nothing left to lose. That makes me dangerous. That should make you scared of me."

"It makes you reckless." He pushes his plate toward me. "Eat. You look half-starved."

"I’m not hungry."

"Eat anyway. Dead slaves are useless to me."

I stare at the food, my stomach cramping with hunger despite my words. The door opens. A woman walks in elegantly. She’s beautiful in a regal way. Her eyes pins on me and I stop eating, uncomfortable.

"What's this?" Her voice drips with venom as her eyes flits between the both of us.

"A private dinner, Elysia. Nothing that concerns you."

So this is the Elysia. I’ve heard the servants whispering about her, the Alpha's chosen mate.

"Nothing that concerns me?" I feel the heat of her jealousy from where I’m sitting. "You bring a slave to dine with you and expect me to ignore it?"

"I expect you to remember your place."

The temperature in the room drops. "Of course, Alpha. How foolish of me to forget."

She storms away, slamming the door behind her. Alpha Ragnar sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"You should go," he says tiredly. "And Thaelynne? Next time you try to kill me, at least make it interesting."

I flee before he changes his mind about punishing me. My hands shake as I hurry back to the servant quarters. That was my chance, my perfect opportunity, and I wasted it.

But as I lie in bed that night, I realize something. He could’ve had me executed or beaten. Instead, he talked to me, fed me, and let me go.

Maybe his arrogance is an even bigger weakness than I thought.

The full moon comes three weeks after my arrival at Blackridge. The entire pack gathers in the great hall for the wedding ceremony. I stand with the other kitchen staff, barely interested in what is going on.

Alpha Ragnar stands on the raised dais at the front of the hall with a smiling Elysia standing beside him.

Today, their bond would be sealed before the moon goddess and the entire pack. I should feel nothing. This doesn't matter to me at all.

So why does my chest feel tight?

As the pack elder begins the ceremony, something strange happens within me. The choking smell of lavender, pine, and cedar overwhelms me. My heart thrums excitedly as my wolf chants.

My mate, he’s here.

I look around, walking away from the line of servants, searching for my mate, a trickle of excitement rushing through me.

“Psst,” Zaera whispers to me, scared. “Thaelynne, if you leave here, Kaelith would seriously punish you.”

I ignore her, following the scent that’s so strong, it makes my eyes swim with tears.

In the background, the elder continues, calling on the moon goddess to bless this union, to seal this bond, to recognize these mates.

And then something happens.

A pull. A tug deep in my chest. I gasp and press my hand to my chest, confused and suddenly terrified. What is this?

The pull takes me through the crowd, and they part for me as I make my way toward...

Toward Alpha Ragnar.

No. No, this can’t be happening.

I try to fight it, but it's nearly impossible.

Now I’m on the dais. Elysia yells at me to get down, but her enraged voice dims in the background. All my focus is on Ragnar, and he’s looking at me with incredulity.

Everyone is staring. The hall has gone absolutely silent.

"Mate." The word comes from my mouth without conscious thought. "You are my mate."

Alpha Ragnar stares at me, and I know he feels it too. The bond snapping into place. The moon goddess’s cruel joke.

My enemy. My tormentor. The man who destroyed everything I loved.

Is my mate.

Elysia's scream of rage echoes through the hall, but I barely hear it.

"No," I whisper, but it’s far too late.