5|| The Seduction Trials

“It’s what your father said when he came to me. He was pathetic and desperate, begging that I take you in as my concubine.” Lazarus’s voice was velvet and venom, filling my lungs like poison. A cruel smile sat over his lips as he tilted his head. “No… not standing, as you are now. He knelt here, groveling, swearing you’d be the perfect little plaything for me to ruin and fuck until I’d had my fill.”

Lazarus Veyric Thorn, the cursed king of Veyndral.

The cold in the throne room clung to my skin, but it wasn’t the reason I was shivering. No, it was the fact that I’d realized that no rumor or tale would have ever prepared me for the man sitting on that throne.

They called him the barbarian Alpha King, the killer who slit his mother’s throat as a boy. And the scar she left while trying to escape him was why he wore the mask. And they swore that anyone who had ever seen his real face never lived to tell the tale.

He was the bastard son who once served as his father’s hunting dog, until the day he ripped the old king’s head from his shoulders and claimed the throne. Not stopping there, he slaughtered all his siblings in cold blood to secure his crown. He was ruthless, and no one he ever marked for death had ever survived.

Even as he sat there lazily, one long leg stretched out, he gave off the kind of dominance that made the air too thick to breathe. His silk clothes clung to broad shoulders and thick, bulging muscle, every movement making the fabric look tight. There was nothing soft about him, he was power carved into flesh, a predator wolf that was utterly terrifying.

He didn’t just look like a king. He looked like a god.

And that god was eyeing me like a prey.

“And I see your father wasn’t a liar,” he murmured, rising from his throne. He moved with a presence so heavy and terrifying, that I immediately took a step back,

He circled me once… then twice… his narrowed gaze swept over every inch of me, like he was thinking of all the ways he could eat me alive. He was so close, the air between us was thick enough to choke on.

Without warning, his hand shot out, warm and strong, gripping my jaw and tilting my face up toward him. The heat of his palm felt so different from the icy terror prickling my skin. I couldn’t help but let out a quiet whimper, as his intoxicating scent slid into my lungs.

“What nice eyes you have,” he said, lips curling in something between amusement and threat. “I wonder how they’ll look… filled with tears.”

He released me, the sudden absence of his touch making the air feel 10 times colder, and he returned to his throne before waving his hand. “Advisor Saffron,” he sighed, “what do you know about my new toy?”

“Your Majesty,” a tall man with long hair and thin-rimmed glasses rose from the advisors’ seats, carrying a small book in his hands and clearing his throat. “Her name is Dahlia Knight, daughter of the Moonfang pack. Her father has offered her hand as your concubine and her life’s duty is to serve you. She is a white wolf.”

The moment those words left his mouth, a sharp, icy chill shot down my spine. My stomach turned so violently I nearly doubled over.

What?!

I wasn’t a white wolf. What the hell were they talking about?

I was wolfless. An omega.

“And what are the chances of her surviving the Seduction Trials?”

The words sliced through the air, and at once the room seemed to shift. The mention of the Seduction Trials stirred something ugly and gleeful in the court. Lips were curling, eyes were glinting, whispers were rippling around me between the advisors. They were smiling at me.

Advisor Saffron adjusted his glasses, a small, mocking smile tugging at his mouth. “Well… on a scale of one to ten, with one being the least and ten being the most…” He paused, letting the suspense coil tighter. “Her chances are a three.”

My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in the soles of my feet.

Seduction Trials?

What in the goddess’s name was a Seduction Trial?

Why were my odds so low? And why had my father told the king I was a white wolf.

I didn’t have the strength to handle what a healthy wolf could endure, because ever since I was a child it had been obvious that I didn’t have a wolf at all.

This was the moment I should have spoken up.

I should have corrected them, told them they were wrong. But then it hit me. The king would never accept a wolfless omega. Coralie knew that. My father knew that too. That’s why they lied.

A white wolf was the perfect breeding machine, the prized mate capable of producing strong, healthy heirs. That was the only reason my father dared to lie to the king. No one would reject a white wolf

If I opened my mouth now and admitted the truth, it wouldn’t just be humiliation. It would be treason. I could be thrown into prison for “deceiving” the king.

I could really die.

Lazarus nodded once, then lazily lifted a hand toward Head Maid Smite.

“Let’s have some fun, shall we? Prepare her for the Seduction Trials under tomorrow’s full moon. Let’s see if you’re truly worthy to be my sex slave… or not.”

Before I could even think, hands were on me, leading me away from the throne room. I wasn’t allowed to look back, not even for one last glimpse of the king. My head was spinning so violently I thought I might faint.

Seduction Trials. What were the Seduction Trials?

Head Maid Smite and two other maids escorted me out of the palace and across the castle grounds to a smaller palace tucked away at the far edge.

“These are your quarters,” she said, ushering me inside. The place was plain compared to the glittering palace I’d just left, though still big enough to make me feel small. She pushed open a heavy door, revealing a spacious bedroom where another maid stood waiting, bowing slightly.

“That is Poppy,” Smite said, like she was being forced. “She’s your maid.”

She turned to leave, but I immediately started panicking and I reached for hers

“I—I’m sorry, I… the Seduction Trial… I don’t—”

Smite’s lips thinned into a disapproving frown. She yanked her hand free with a sharp flick.

“It is not my job to explain that to you, miss. Not when you’re unlikely to survive it in the first place. Best not to trouble your pretty little head.”

She scoffed, spun on her heel, and left the room. The maids with her slammed the door shut, the sound echoing in my bones.

My knees buckled, and I crumpled to the floor.

“Your Highness!” Poppy gasped, hurrying to my side. Her small hands slid under my arm, trying to pull me up. “Please, don’t— you’ll hurt yourself—”

But my legs wouldn’t work. My voice was barely a whisper.

“I… I can’t…”

Why was this happening to me? Couldn’t I have a single break? At every turn, it was as if the goddess was setting down trials I was never meant to survive.

I had told myself I could handle it. That I didn’t need my father. That I could stand on my own. But now? What could I possibly do?

The fight bled out of me, as I wept out loud, broken sobs that shook through my bones. I let myself grieve, truly grieve, for the first time in what felt like years.

I grieved the hope of my father’s forgiveness.

I grieved the sister who would never love me again.

I grieved the best friend who had betrayed me.

And, worst of all, I grieved the mate I had once believed was my destiny.

I grieved it all.

My hands slammed against my chest again and again, as if I could beat the ache out of me, as if pain could drown pain. The world around me blurred, everything going distant until all I saw was darkness.