Chapter 3

ANYA’S POV

The celebration was over.

And it was time to go home. To Alpha Rolan’s home. It wouldn’t be a home for me, I thought. Just a place where I would now be forced to be made his.

The car ride back to Frost-ridge, the famous capital of his vast kingdom was silent other than our combined breaths and the sound of my thoughts rampaging in my head.

What would my life be like in a Bloodfrost pack? Would I finally get to have peace? Is this just the calm before the storm? Would Alpha Rolan want to put his mark on me?

If he tried to mark me then he would die for it. Even if I don’t believe a single word that Elda said about me. I couldn’t help but have doubts about me actually being cursed.

I can’t put his life at risk, I thought. Besides, I’m not sure I’m even ready to be someone’s mate yet. But I can’t risk getting killed the second I mention it.

So I’ll keep quiet and wait to see how this plays out.

The car soon came to a halt and it was only then that I realized we’d reached our destination.

I moved to open the door when Alpha Rolan grabbed my hand. Charges of electricity shot up my arm from the point of contact and goosebumps littered my skin.

He sucked in a breath and I watched his pupils dilate in real time. The air thickened with tension and a knot began to form in my lower belly.

“Let go of the door,” he spoke in a deeper voice and I let go in an instant, not daring to see what happens if I don’t.

He tucked In another breath and ran his eyes over my body before he opened the door on his side and stepped into the night.

A yelp left my mouth when I felt the door get pulled open from my side and Alpha’s Rolan’s face came into view.

“Step out,” he said in a low voice and I reached out his hand before he took it back and dropped it to his side. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement but I knew it was for the best.

The less times we touched each other, the better.

I stepped out the door and my mouth gaped open at sight before me… a large castle that looked like it was made completely of ice.

“Welcome to Blood-ridge pack house.”

Packhouse? This isn’t a pack house, I thought. It’s a literal castle. This wasn’t even the kind of place I would have dreamed of staying in if I was ever given the chance to dream.

And now I get to live in it, all thanks to the wrong circumstances.

Red, blue and gold colors adorned the walls on the outside of the castle, making it an unmistakable property of the dreaded Bloodfrost pack.

“Is it to your liking?” He asked with a neutral expression in his voice and a wild look in his eyes.

I don’t even know why he’s asking me that when he knows there’s no one stupid enough to say no.

“There’s nothing I can think of that could be better than this,” I spoke with every drop of genuine honesty I could muster and his eyes softened before he motioned for us to walk to the stairs leading to the doors that would seal my fate.

He pushed the doors open and the view outside paled in comparison to the one inside. From the floor. To the walls. To the chandeliers. Even the portraits of every past Alpha screamed sophisticated and authentic and everything I would have expected from a castle.

But I didn’t get to stand around and admire the place for long. Because Alpha Rolan immediately started walking up the flight of stairs, going as quick as taking them two at a time.

I rushed after him, struggling to keep up with his speed but thank the goddess that he stopped at the first door on the hallway at the right.

He stood in front of it, waiting for me to catch my breath before he dropped his hand to the knob and pushed it open.

A gasp left my lips at the sight of the room and for the third time this evening, I’ve been shook to my bones because of the wonderful sight of the place.

The room was nothing short of gorgeous. The floor was done in white marble which was then covered with a rug I believed to be handwoven.

The walls were painted with white and gold, two dominant colors that worked perfectly in the symbiosis of this room’s interior. And don’t get me started on how spacious it was. The Alpha had good taste at least.

I didn’t even realize we’d stepped in till my feet brushed against the wood of the bed frame. My fingers ran over the fabric of the bedcovers and its texture almost brought out a sigh from my lips.

“You will have to settle for this décor for now. Your arrival was short notice so we didn’t have any time to prepare for you, but rest assured that by tomorrow you would have everything you need or want.”

My ears perked at his words before my eyes widened when the meaning of the words sank in.

“What are you saying?”

“I will not repeat myself.”

“Are you saying the room is mine?” I asked cautiously, hoping that my assumptions wouldn’t land with my head on a stake.

“Yes. Why else would I bring you here? Also you didn’t bring any clothes with you so we’ll make arrangements for those.”

My heart melted in my chest and I touched the bed covers again and tears welled in my eyes.

“Thank you.” I spoke low and probably not enough for him to hear me. “And when do I start working?”

If it wasn’t for the sudden stop of his fingers over the door knob when he moved for the door, I would have thought he didn’t hear me.

His stance went rigid before he slowly turned to me with a wicked smile on his face. And immediately, my heart skipped a beat, knowing I wouldn’t like his answer at all.

“You have it all wrong, dear. You’re now my prisoner, and this is now your prison.”