Chapter 3: The Alpha Who Stole Me

Anne's POV

By the time we reached Blackthorn territory, I had stopped crying.

Not because my pain had lessened.

I simply had nothing left to give it.

My eyes burned, my throat felt raw, and every movement reminded me of the struggle I had put up since leaving the cathedral. The white wedding dress that had taken my mother weeks to choose was torn at the hem and stained with dirt. Someone had thrown a black coat over my shoulders, but I refused to wear it properly.

I wanted to feel the cold.

I wanted something to hurt that wasn't my heart.

The vehicle slowed as we approached an enormous iron gate. Two stone wolves stood on either side of the entrance, their eyes carved into permanent snarls. Beyond them, a high wall stretched into the mist, protecting the territory of the most feared pack in the kingdom.

Blackthorn.

My new prison.

The gate opened, and the vehicle passed through.

I watched the guards stationed along the road. Some carried rifles; others wore swords at their waists. Black banners bearing the silver wolf symbol hung from the buildings. Everything looked expensive, powerful, and intimidating.

People lowered their heads when our vehicle passed.

They were afraid of the man sitting opposite me.

I turned toward him.

Caelan had barely spoken during the journey. He had answered a few questions from his warriors, checked his phone twice, and otherwise ignored me.

It was as if he hadn't murdered three people I loved.

As if my life hadn't been destroyed.

I hated him so much that looking at him made my hands tremble.

"Why am I here?" I asked.

He didn't look up from his phone.

"You know why."

"No, I don't. You killed Adrian. You ordered my family's deaths. Now you've dragged me into your territory. What exactly do you want from me?"

He slipped his phone into his pocket.

"Answers."

I stared at him.

"Answers to what?"

"That isn't a conversation we're having here."

"Of course not." I laughed without humor. "You prefer killing people to answering questions."

His eyes lifted to mine.

"Be careful, Anne."

"Or what? You'll kill me too?"

His jaw tightened.

For a moment, I thought he might answer. Instead, he opened the vehicle door and stepped outside.

"Get out."

I remained where I was.

"No."

He looked back at me.

"Don't make this difficult."

I almost smiled.

"You murdered my family. I think we've passed difficult."

His expression hardened.

Two warriors appeared beside the vehicle, but Caelan dismissed them with a gesture.

Then he leaned into the car.

"Get out yourself, or I'll carry you."

I looked him directly in the eyes.

"Touch me, and I'll make you regret it."

Something flickered across his face.

"That sounds like a promise."

"It is."

I climbed out before he could touch me.

The moment my feet hit the ground, I noticed the people gathered near the entrance to the mansion.

They were watching me.

Whispers followed as I walked beside Caelan.

"Is that the Silvermoon girl?"

"That's the Alpha's prisoner?"

"Why did he bring her here?"

"Look at her dress. Is that blood?"

I kept my eyes forward.

I would not give them the satisfaction of watching me fall apart.

Caelan led me through the enormous entrance into a marble hall. A chandelier hung above us, illuminating a staircase that curved toward the upper floors. Portraits of former Alpha Kings lined the walls.

At the foot of the stairs stood several members of the Blackthorn council.

An older man with silver hair stepped forward.

"Your Majesty."

His eyes moved to me, and his mouth tightened.

"Is this really necessary?"

Caelan removed his coat and handed it to a servant.

"What's necessary is keeping her alive."

The older man frowned.

"She is the daughter of our enemy."

"She is under my protection."

"With respect, Your Majesty, bringing her here after what happened at Silvermoon will create problems."

Caelan's expression turned dangerous.

"Then solve them."

The councilman fell silent.

I looked between them.

Protection?

Was that what he called dragging me away from my murdered family?

I stepped forward.

"I don't need your protection."

Several people turned toward me.

Caelan looked at me as though I had interrupted something important.

I didn't care.

"Send me back."

"No," he said.

"Then let me leave."

"No."

My fingers curled.

"Stop answering me as though I'm a dog you've trained."

The hall went silent.

One of the council members actually gasped.

Caelan stared at me.

For a moment, I wondered whether I had finally pushed him too far.

Then he approached until only a few inches separated us.

"You have mistaken my restraint for weakness."

"And you've mistaken my silence for obedience."

His eyes narrowed.

I lifted my chin.

"I will never obey you."

Before he could respond, the silver-haired councilman stepped forward again.

"Your Majesty, we must discuss the matter of the Luna."

I stiffened.

The Luna?

Caelan turned toward the council.

"There's nothing to discuss."

"With all due respect, there is everything to discuss. The woman is from Silvermoon. Her family has been accused of treason, and our warriors have barely returned from the operation. The pack will demand an explanation."

"They'll receive one when I decide to give it."

"And what of the Luna position?"

Caelan's gaze swept across the room.

"The Silvermoon Princess is now my Luna."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then the hall erupted.

"Your Majesty, you cannot be serious!"

"She belongs to an enemy bloodline!"

"What will the other Alphas think?"

"She has no loyalty to Blackthorn!"

I stared at Caelan, certain I had misunderstood him.

His Luna?

He couldn't be serious.

I stepped forward.

"No."

The nearest council members turned toward me.

I didn't care.

"I will not be your Luna."

Caelan's face remained unreadable.

"That isn't your decision."

I laughed in disbelief.

"You're insane."

A warrior shifted behind him.

Caelan didn't even glance in his direction.

"Watch your mouth."

"Or what? You'll kill me in front of your council?"

His silence made my stomach twist.

I took a breath and forced myself to continue.

"You have no right to make me your wife. I don't love you. I don't respect you. I don't even want to breathe the same air as you."

A muscle moved in his jaw.

"Your feelings are not the issue."

"Then what is? Your pride? Your reputation? Or do you simply enjoy taking things that don't belong to you?"

His eyes hardened.

"Enough."

"No!" I shouted. "You don't get to silence me. You killed Adrian before I could even say goodbye. You took my parents from me. And now you want to parade me around your mansion like some prize you've won?"

My voice cracked, but I refused to stop.

"I'm not your prize, Caelan. I'm not your property. And I will never willingly stand beside you."

He stepped closer.

"You don't get to refuse me."

The words settled between us like a sentence.

I looked at him and understood something terrible.

He wasn't asking.

He had already decided what my life would become.

A prisoner.

A Luna.

A woman expected to live beside the man she hated.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Then you'll have to drag me to every ceremony. You'll have to force me to wear your crown. And you'll have to spend every day wondering when I'll put a knife through your heart."

Caelan studied me for a long moment.

"Take her to the east wing," he ordered. "She is not to leave the mansion without my permission."

"I can walk by myself."

"Then walk."

I brushed past him, refusing to let anyone see how badly my hands were shaking.

A servant led me up the staircase and down a long corridor. We passed several closed doors before stopping at a bedroom with tall windows and a balcony overlooking the gardens.

The room was beautiful.

A large bed stood against the far wall. Pale curtains framed the windows, and a sitting area occupied one corner. Someone had already placed fresh clothes in the wardrobe.

It looked like a room prepared for a guest.

Not a prisoner.

"Your belongings will be brought here," the servant said quietly.

I turned toward her.

"My belongings?"

She hesitated.

"Whatever survived the attack."

The words struck me harder than I expected.

Whatever survived.

My mother had chosen my wedding dress. My father had given me the necklace I wore beneath it. Adrian had bought the ring I had been supposed to wear.

Now I didn't even know whether any of those things still existed.

"Leave," I whispered.

The servant looked uncomfortable.

"Miss—"

"Please."

She bowed her head and left.

I stood alone in the beautiful room, listening to the sound of the door closing.

Then I crossed to the balcony and gripped the railing.

The gardens stretched below, bordered by tall stone walls. Guards patrolled the grounds. Beyond the walls lay a forest, dark and thick beneath the evening sky.

Freedom was somewhere out there.

I only had to reach it.

I was studying the distance to the nearest tree when pain suddenly twisted through my chest.

I gasped and stumbled away from the railing.

What was that?

The pain came again, sharper this time, followed by an unfamiliar warmth spreading beneath my skin.

I pressed a hand against my heart.

"No."

Not again.

I had felt this in the cathedral, just before my wolf spoke that horrible word.

I clenched my teeth.

"Stay quiet."

A low growl rose inside my head.

My wolf.

She had been silent through the massacre, the journey, and the confrontation with Caelan. Now she stirred with an urgency that frightened me.

I shook my head.

"Don't you dare."

The pressure intensified.

My heartbeat became so loud that I could barely hear my own breathing.

Then I felt it.

A pull.

Not physical, but something deep inside me, as though an invisible thread had tightened around my heart.

I turned toward the bedroom door.

Someone was standing on the other side.

I hadn't heard him approach.

The door opened.

Caelan stepped inside.

The moment I saw him, my wolf surged violently beneath my skin.

My knees weakened.

I caught the edge of a table, fighting to remain upright.

Caelan stopped.

His expression changed.

"Anne?"

"Get out."

He didn't move.

I tried to straighten, but the strange sensation grew stronger. My body recognized him in a way my mind refused to accept.

No.

I would not let this happen.

I would not be tied to the man who had murdered my family.

My wolf rose inside me, no longer silent, no longer willing to be ignored.

And then, in a voice that was unmistakably hers, she spoke inside my head.

Mate.

I stopped breathing.

Caelan stared at me as if he had heard the word too.

My fingers tightened around the edge of the table.

"No," I whispered.

My wolf repeated it, stronger this time.

Mate.

I looked at Caelan, the man I had sworn to kill.

The man who had taken everything from me.

The man my wolf had just identified as the one person I could never escape so easily.

And for the first time since the massacre, I was afraid of something other than him.

What if my own wolf was going to betray me, too?