A CAGE CALLED DESTINY

OLIVIA’S POV

I woke up choking on fear.

My eyes flew open as my body jerked upright, my heart slamming violently against my ribs as if it wanted to tear free from my chest. Cold air brushed against my skin, sharp and unfamiliar, stealing the breath from my lungs. For a moment, I couldn’t tell where I was or how I had gotten there.

Then the scent hit me.

It was strong—overwhelming in a way that made my senses reel. Pine. Power. Darkness. Something commanding and dangerous, something that sent a ripple of unease through my wolf. Lucy stirred inside me, restless and alert.

This wasn’t my room.

The ceiling above me was far too high, carved from dark stone instead of cracked wood. Thick beams stretched across it, ancient and imposing. The walls were lined with heavy curtains framing tall windows I had never seen before, moonlight spilling freely across polished marble floors and expensive furnishings. Everything about the room screamed wealth, authority, and power—the kind I had only ever seen from a distance.

Panic clawed its way up my throat.

I scrambled backward on the massive bed, my hands trembling as I pressed myself against the headboard. The mattress beneath me was soft—far too soft, far too luxurious to belong to the small, neglected room I had grown up in. Even the sheets felt expensive, smooth against my skin.

Did I die and go to heaven?

The thought barely had time to settle before fear twisted it into something darker.

Or was I kidnapped?

Images of the forest flooded my mind—shadows, laughter, hands reaching for me. My breath hitched sharply.

No… rogues couldn’t have a mansion like this.

Right?

“Lucy?” I called inside my head, my voice barely more than a whisper.

She answered immediately, her presence wrapping around me like a shield—steady, calm, but tense.

Calm down, she said gently. You’re alive.

Alive.

The word should have comforted me. Instead, it only made my chest tighten painfully.

I looked down at myself—and froze.

The clothes I was wearing weren’t mine.

My breath stuttered as I took in the simple but elegant nightgown draped over my body. The fabric was light, cool against my skin, hugging curves I had spent most of my life trying to hide. Clean. New. Expensive.

Someone had changed my clothes.

My heart began to pound harder.

Alpha Kingsley.

The name echoed through my mind like a curse.

Fragments of memory came rushing back—golden ropes binding my wrists, cruel whispers and laughter, the sting of rejection burning deeper than any wound. His face loomed in my thoughts: cold eyes, sharp features, blood splattered against the forest floor. Fear had swallowed me whole that night.

Alpha Kingsley.

My chest ached as dread curled tightly around my heart.

Where are we? I asked Lucy, already afraid of the answer.

She hesitated.

His pack, she finally said. His territory.

The words landed like a blow.

“No…” I whispered aloud, my voice cracking as tears burned behind my eyes.

Why was I here?

Why wasn’t I dead?

Before panic could completely consume me, the door opened.

I flinched violently.

He stepped inside as though he owned the air itself.

Alpha Kingsley.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Powerfully built, every inch of him radiating danger and control. Loose, dark clothes clung to his massive frame, doing nothing to hide the muscle beneath. His presence filled the room effortlessly, pressing down on me until my instincts screamed both fear and something else—something I refused to acknowledge.

His expression was unreadable. Cold. Controlled. Distant.

My body reacted before my mind could catch up.

I shrank back against the bed.

His jaw tightened.

“So you’re awake,” he said calmly.

I swallowed hard, my throat painfully dry. “Why am I here?”

Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.

“You collapsed in the forest,” he replied evenly. “I brought you back.”

“Back where?” My voice trembled despite my effort to sound brave.

“My pack.”

My fingers curled into the sheets. “You had no right.”

Something flickered briefly in his eyes—gone before I could fully place it.

“You tried to flee,” he said coldly. “You would have died.”

That shut me up.

I looked away, shame and fear warring violently inside me.

“I didn’t ask you to save me,” I muttered.

“No,” he agreed. “You didn’t.”

He moved closer, stopping just a few steps away from the bed. I could feel him then—his power pressing down on me, heavy and suffocating, making my wolf whimper.

“You disobeyed me,” he said.

My head snapped up. “I was scared.”

His gaze sharpened dangerously.

“You left the ceremony alone. At night. Unprotected.”

“I didn’t belong there,” I whispered. “Everyone made that very clear.”

For a brief second, something unreadable crossed his face.

“You belong to me now,” he said quietly.

The words sent a shiver racing down my spine.

“I don’t want to,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

The silence that followed was deadly.

For a heartbeat, I thought he might explode.

Instead, he turned away.

“This changes nothing,” he said stiffly. “You’re here until I decide otherwise. And you don’t have a choice.”

My heart sank painfully.

“So I’m a prisoner,” I whispered.

He turned back then—really looked at me.

“No,” he said. “You’re my Luna in name. You’re free to move around the mansion, but you are never to step outside the pack.”

The title felt wrong. Heavy. Like a crown forged from chains.

“I won’t hurt you,” he added after a pause. “No one here will.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “They’ll hate me. They always do.”

“That,” he replied coolly, “is not my concern.”

Fear twisted in my stomach.

When he turned to leave, panic surged again.

“Wait,” I said softly. “Did you… change my clothes from last night?”

He stopped.

“Would you have preferred the rogues to do it?” he scoffed.

“You don’t love me,” I whispered. “Why bring me here?”

His shoulders stiffened.

“Because whether I like it or not,” he said without turning around, “fate has decided you’re mine.”

The door closed behind him.

I sat there trembling, tears finally spilling over.

I wasn’t home.

I wasn’t free.

And I wasn’t loved.

All I had ever wanted was an ordinary life—one quiet mate who loved me back, one or two pups running around a small, warm home.

Lucy curled around my heart protectively.

You’re stronger than you think, she whispered. And this place… it will learn that. We will survive.

I hugged myself tightly as moonlight spilled across the room.

Taken by fate.

Trapped by power.

And bound to the cursed Alpha King who never wanted me—

Yet refused to let me go.

How long will I survive before I'm consumed.