The warlord’s palace

Mariana’s POV

The first thing I noticed when the carriage finally crossed into Frostcrest was that nothing about the place looked the way I had imagined. I had spent the entire journey preparing myself to arrive at some dark, terrifying fortress where people walked around with fear written across their faces because their warlord could appear at any moment.

Instead, the moment the massive gates opened, I found myself staring at a kingdom that was breathtaking. The palace rose beyond the gardens like something from another world, its tall stone walls decorated with intricate carvings and enormous windows that reflected the afternoon sunlight.

Everything looked grander than the Graham mansion, from the wide pathways lined with perfectly trimmed trees to the fountains scattered throughout the grounds. Even the air felt different here, cleaner and somehow calmer, and for a moment I forgot that I had not come here willingly.

The carriage stopped at the entrance, and before I could even reach for the handle, several servants approached.

Two guards opened the carriage door while a group of maids gathered nearby, their faces bright with smiles. One of them immediately offered her hand to help me down, while another hurried toward the carriage to collect my belongings. “Welcome to Frostcrest, My Lady,” the woman said warmly. “We are honored to have you here.” I stepped onto the stone pathway, looking around in confusion as another maid took my traveling bag from me.

Nobody looked at me with disgust. Nobody whispered behind their hands. Nobody looked as though they were waiting for me to make a mistake.

It was strange.

I wasn’t used to kindness being given so freely.

I followed the servants inside, and the moment I entered the palace, my eyes widened.

The interior was even more beautiful than the exterior, with polished marble floors, high ceilings decorated with elaborate designs, and enormous chandeliers hanging above us.

Paintings covered sections of the walls, and everything appeared to have been chosen with extraordinary care.

I couldn’t help but stare at the details as I walked, wondering how one person could possibly live in a place this enormous.

The Frostcrest representative led me into a large receiving hall where several members of the council were waiting. They bowed respectfully when I entered, and the gesture made me uncomfortable because I wasn’t accustomed to being treated with such respect. “Welcome to Frostcrest, My Lady,” one of the older council members said. “We hope your journey was comfortable. Everything has been prepared for your arrival.”

“Thank you,” I murmured.

I found myself glancing around the room, half expecting someone to suddenly announce that Lord Zayan was waiting for me. My heart began beating faster at the thought. This was it. I was finally in the place where the man I had been sold to lived. The warlord everyone feared. The man people had described as merciless and dangerous. I didn’t know whether I wanted to meet him or never see him at all.

But no one mentioned him.

Instead, the council members introduced me to the maid who would be assigned to me during my stay. She was young, cheerful, and had a warm smile that immediately made her seem approachable. “My name is Clara,” she said with a small curtsy. “I’ll be taking care of you while you’re here.”

“Thank you, Clara.”

She smiled wider. “Oh, you really are beautiful.”

I blinked, caught off guard.

Clara laughed softly. “Forgive me. I’ve been waiting all morning to see you. Everyone was so excited when we heard that our Master finally had a bride. It’s been years since we’ve had someone new to welcome into the family.”

A small laugh escaped me. “You’re very talkative.”

“I’ve been told that before.”

I couldn’t help smiling.

There was something strangely comforting about her. She spoke so easily that within minutes, I found myself relaxing around her despite everything that had happened.

As we walked through the palace, Clara pointed out different rooms and corridors, explaining what each area was used for. She spoke quickly, jumping from one subject to another, and I listened while secretly memorizing everything she said.

If I was going to escape, I needed to know where I was.

And if I wanted to leave before Zayan returned, I needed to know as much as possible.

“So,” Clara continued cheerfully, “I’m sure the Master will be very happy to see you.”

I glanced at her.

“The Master?”

“Lord Zayan.”

My stomach tightened.

I tried to hide my reaction. “Where is he?”

Clara looked surprised. “You haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?”

“He’s away at war.”

I stopped walking.

Clara turned back toward me. “My Lady?”

“He isn’t here?”

“No.” She shook her head. “He left with his warriors several days ago. We weren’t expecting him back this soon, although…” She smiled knowingly. “Now that his mate has arrived, perhaps the bond will pull him home faster than expected.”

My heart skipped.

Mate.

The word still felt strange.

I looked away. “How long until he returns?”

“Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the day after. It depends on how quickly the army returns.”

I nodded slowly.

Tomorrow.

Perhaps the goddess had finally decided to give me one small advantage.

If Zayan wasn’t here yet, I still had time.

Time to escape.

Time to disappear before the terrifying warlord everyone had warned me about could lay eyes on me.

I glanced at Clara.

She was still talking.

“So if you’re worried about meeting him, don’t be. He’s not as frightening as the stories make him sound.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t think he’s frightening?”

“Oh, he can be.” She laughed. “He can be extremely frightening when he’s angry. And he can be a little hot-tempered sometimes, but—”

I smiled faintly.

Clara didn’t know it, but she had just given me the information I needed.

The Master was away.

And nobody seemed to be watching me closely, perhaps escaping wouldn’t be as difficult as I had imagined.

By evening, I had learned more about the palace than I expected.

Clara took me through the gardens and showed me several of the private courtyards. She explained which doors led outside and which corridors were mostly used by the servants. I asked questions casually, making sure not to sound suspicious, and she answered almost everything without hesitation.

At dinner, I sat alone at a long table beneath a chandelier large enough to light an entire room. There was more food than I could possibly eat, and the servants moved around quietly, making sure I had everything I needed.

I found myself staring at them.

They were well dressed. Well fed. None of them looked frightened.

It didn’t make sense.

How could the household of a man described as a merciless warlord look so peaceful?

I pushed the thought aside.

Whatever the answer was, it didn’t change my plan.

I was leaving.

That night, I began preparing.

I packed only a few things, carefully choosing items that wouldn’t make it obvious that anything was missing. If anyone noticed my belongings were gone, I wanted to be long gone by then. I waited until the palace grew quieter, then changed into a simple dress that would allow me to move quickly.

Clara had shown me enough of the palace for me to have an idea of which route I would take.

All I needed was the right moment.

I was almost at the end of the corridor when something caught my attention.

A faint light.

The door to one of the larger chambers was slightly open, and moonlight spilled across the floor through the opening.

I slowed.

I knew this was the Master’s private chamber.

I wanted to retreat. Every instinct in me told me to turn around, quietly continue with the escape plan I had already made. But the moment I stepped toward the door, something tightened painfully in my chest. It wasn’t fear. It felt like a strange restraint, as though an invisible thread had wrapped itself around my heart and was pulling me toward the person on the other side.

Then the pain came. It wasn’t mine, yet I could feel it—deep, sharp, and unfamiliar, spreading through my chest in a way that made me stop breathing for a moment.

I remembered something I had once been told about mates. Wolves could sometimes feel each other’s pain through the bond, but only when the connection between them was strong enough. Only mates could pick up the pain of the other. My brows furrowed in confusion.

Zayan wasn’t supposed to be here. Clara had told me he was away at war. So why could I feel the pain of someone in this room as though it were my own? I should have walked away, but the invisible pull only grew stronger, dragging me toward the slightly open door. Against every plan I had made, my hand reached for it.

I should have kept walking but I didn’t, I heard something.

A low, strained groan.

I froze.

My heart began beating faster.

I took a cautious step toward the door and another sound came from within, followed by a quiet breath that sounded almost pained.

I pushed the door open slightly and stopped.

A man stood near the window with his back facing me.

I couldn’t see his face but I could see everything else.

He was tall.

Much taller than I had expected.

Broad shoulders stretched beneath bare skin, muscles moving subtly as he pressed one hand against the edge of the window. Moonlight spilled across his back, highlighting the lines of his body and the faint sheen of sweat across his skin.

I stared for a second longer than I should have.

Then reality returned.

Leave.

I turned around, i had barely taken one step when his voice filled the room.

“You’re really bad at spying.”

I froze.

The deep voice sent a strange shiver through me.

“Perhaps you should work on being quieter.”

I didn’t move.

Maybe he wasn’t talking to me, maybe there was someone else in the room.

I slowly turned my head.

He still hadn’t faced me.

“I can hear your heartbeat from here,” he continued calmly. “You know that, don’t you?”

My heart immediately began beating faster.

I swallowed.

He can’t be talking to me, maybe if I ignored him and waked away he wouldn’t notice, i thought to myself.

I quietly reached for my bag.

Then his next words stopped me completely.

“Is my bride leaving so soon?”

My fingers loosened.

The bag slipped from my hand and landed softly on the floor.

He knew.

He knew I was here.

I turned toward him, my pulse hammering in my ears.

“I wasn’t—”

I stopped.

What exactly was I going to say?

That I was simply taking a walk and I had accidentally wandered into his private chamber in the middle of the night with a packed bag?

Even I wouldn’t believe that.

The man slowly straightened.

He still didn’t turn around.

But the moment he did, something changed. The air in the room suddenly became heavy.

A powerful Alpha aura swept through the chamber, so intense that my body instinctively reacted before my mind could process it. My wolf went completely still.

I had felt Nicholas’s Alpha presence before.

This was nothing like it.

This was something far greater.

Something terrifying.

My breath caught in my throat as the man before me slowly rose to his full height, the moonlight outlining his broad frame.

And for the first time since I had entered Frostcrest, I wondered if I had made a terrible mistake.