CHAPTER THREE - Why me?

ARIA'S POV

The walk to his chambers felt like walking toward my own execution. Every step scraped against the cold floor and the thin dress did nothing against the freezing air that cut through the halls. Caelan's hand was locked around my wrist and he pulled me forward every time my legs threatened to collapse. I couldn't run. Fighting was pointless. All I could do was follow and try to keep my heart from exploding out of my chest.

The halls stretched on forever. Wolves stopped to stare wherever we went. Some bowed their heads to Caelan without looking at him. Others stared at me with pure hatred in their eyes. A few looked at me with something worse…pity.

I kept my head down.

But I could still hear them whispering.

"He's taking her to his chambers."

"A human. In the Alpha's bed."

"She won't last the night."

My throat got tighter. I wanted to scream at them that I didn't want this. That I hadn't asked for any of it. But what would that do? They didn't care. To them I was already dead.

We climbed a staircase that led up to the highest tower. The air got colder with every step and the silence pressed down on me until I thought I'd suffocate. By the time we reached the top my legs were shaking and I couldn't catch my breath.

Caelan stopped in front of a massive iron door carved with the Ironfang wolf. He shoved it open with one hand and dragged me inside.

The door slammed shut.

I stood there frozen. The room was huge. Bigger than any place I'd ever been allowed to exist in. A fireplace took up most of one wall with flames crackling and spitting. Furs covered the floor thick and dark and the smell of leather and smoke filled the air. But it was the bed that made my stomach drop. A massive thing made of black wood and darker furs. Big enough to swallow me whole.

Caelan let go of my wrist and walked to the fire. He stood there with his back to me. His shoulders were tense and his hands curled into fists. For a second I thought maybe he'd changed his mind. Maybe he'd send me away.

Then he spoke.

"Strip."

The word cut through me like a knife. I flinched and wrapped my arms around myself.

"No," I whispered.

He turned around. His golden eyes locked onto mine. There was no anger there. No rage. Just a cold patient certainty that made my skin crawl.

"I didn't ask," he said quietly. "I gave you an order."

My pulse hammered in my ears. I wanted to run. To claw at the door until my nails broke. But there was nowhere to go. No one was coming to save me.

"I won't," I said, my voice shaky. "You can't make me."

His mouth curved but it wasn't a smile. "Can't I?"

He walked toward me slowly. Each step deliberate. A wolf closing in on prey that had nowhere left to run. I backed up until my spine hit the cold stone wall. He stopped right in front of me. Close enough that I could feel the heat coming off his body.

"You think you have a choice," he said. "You think you can fight me. That's adorable."

His hand reached out toward the edge of my dress. I slapped it away before I could think.

"Don't touch me."

He stared at me for a moment. Then his hand shot out and wrapped around my throat. Not hard enough to choke me but firm enough that I couldn't move. I began to claw at him but it was useless.

"Listen carefully little human," he said. His voice was soft but there was steel underneath it. "You are mine now. Your body. Your breath. Your blood. All of it belongs to me. You can fight. You can scream. You can hate me with everything you have. But in the end you will submit. Because that's what breeders do."

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.

"Why?" The word came out choked. "Why me? I'm nothing. I'm just—"

"Nothing?" He cut me off. His eyes narrowed. "You think I spent a hundred marks on nothing?"

His grip on my throat tightened slightly. Just enough to make my pulse flutter under his fingers.

"You don't see it yet," he said. His gaze moved over my face like he was searching for something. "But I do. There's something about you. Something that makes my wolf restless."

My breath caught. His wolf. The beast inside him. The thing that made him more than human. The thing that wanted me.

"I don't understand," I whispered.

"You don't need to," he said. He let go of my throat and I gasped. My hand flew to my neck where his fingers had been and rubbed the skin. "All you need to do is obey."

He stepped back. It should have felt like relief but it didn't. It felt like a test.

"Now," he said. His voice was calm again. Almost casual. "Strip. Or I'll do it for you."

I stared at him. My mind raced through every option I had. I could fight. I could scream. But what would it change? He was stronger. Faster. More powerful than I could ever be. And if I pushed him too far he might break something in me that couldn't be fixed.

So I did the only thing I could.

I reached for the ties at the back of my dress. My fingers trembled so badly I could barely undo them. The fabric slipped off my shoulders and fell to the floor. I stood there naked and shaking with my arms wrapped around myself trying to hide.

Caelan's eyes moved over me slowly. I felt his gaze like a physical touch burning into my skin. But there was no lust in his expression. No hunger. Just appraisal. Like I was a piece of property he was inspecting.

"Good," he said. "Now get on the bed."

My legs almost gave out. "Please." I hated how desperate I sounded. "Please I—"

"Bed," he said again. There was no room for argument in his tone.

I moved on shaking legs. Every step felt like I was betraying myself. The furs were soft under my feet but they might as well have been glass. I climbed onto the bed and curled up as small as I could make myself.

Caelan followed but he didn't rush. He just stood there watching me with those unreadable golden eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" My voice cracked. "Why me?"

He didn't answer right away. Then his mouth curved into something dark and humorless.

"Because you're the first thing in a long time that's made me feel anything," he said quietly. "And I need to know if that makes you dangerous or just mine."

He moved toward the bed. My whole body tensed. Every muscle locked up waiting for whatever came next. He sat down on the edge and the mattress dipped under his weight.

"Look at me," he said.

I couldn't. I kept my eyes squeezed shut.

"I said look at me."

His hand touched my chin. Not rough but firm. He tilted my face up and I had no choice but to open my eyes. His face was so close I could see the scar on his throat. The gold flecks in his eyes. The way his jaw clenched like he was fighting something inside himself.

"You're terrified," he said. It wasn't a question.

I didn't answer. What was the point?

"Good," he said. "Fear will keep you alive longer than defiance."

His thumb brushed across my lower lip and I flinched. He didn't pull away. He just kept staring at me like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

"But defiance," he murmured. "Defiance makes it interesting."

His hand moved to the back of my neck. His fingers tangled in my hair and he pulled just hard enough to make my scalp sting. I gasped and his eyes darkened.

"Tell me little human," he said. His voice dropped lower. "Do you know what happens to breeders who fight their Alphas?"

I couldn't speak. My throat had closed up completely.

"They break," he whispered. "Slowly. Piece by piece. Until there's nothing left but obedience."

His grip tightened in my hair and he leaned in until his mouth was right next to my ear.

"But you," he said. "You, I'm going to enjoy breaking.”

Fear clawed at me, screaming to push him away. A frozen part of me couldn’t move, trapped under his gaze.

A knock came.

“Alpha Caelen. Your presence is needed at the pack borders,” a guard announced.

He stiffened, eyes snapping to the door. “I'll be back,” he murmured, voice low and dangerous. His gaze returned back to me, lingering. “And when I return…I'll claim you.”