002: The tower

Elara's POV

I followed Kael through the palace corridors. Every wolf we passed stopped and stared, some with fear in their eyes and others with anger. A few even growled low in their throats, but none of them came close. They all moved out of the way as if Kael carried death with him.

My legs felt weak and I wanted to run back to the kitchen, back to Sara, back to the life I knew even if it was terrible. At least I understood that life, but this made no sense at all.

"Keep up," Kael said without looking back.

I walked faster even though my hands shook. We left the main palace and crossed a courtyard where the wind cut through my thin uniform. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself, but it didn't help much. The cold went deeper than my skin.

A tower appeared ahead, standing alone at the edge of the palace grounds. It looked dark and isolated from everything else, with no lights in the windows and no guards at the door. The stone was old and weathered, and it looked very lonely.

Kael pushed open the heavy door and walked inside without a word. I hesitated at first, staring into the darkness. I knew that once I walked through that door, there was no going back to my old life.

I took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The room was nothing like I expected. The walls were bare stone and weapons hung everywhere. Swords, daggers, axes, all looking polished and sharp. There was a table with maps spread across it, one chair, and a cold fireplace. No decorations, no personal items, nothing that suggested anyone actually lived here. It looked like a place where someone survived but didn't live.

Kael moved to light a lamp in the corner and the flame threw shadows across his face. That's when I saw his scars clearly for the first time. A thick one ran from his temple down to his jaw, another cut across his cheek, and more disappeared under his collar. They were brutal marks that must have hurt terribly when he got them.

I stared without meaning to, trying to imagine how many battles he fought and how many times someone tried to kill him. He didn't look like a monster up close despite what everyone said. He looked like a man who survived things that should have killed him.

"Stop staring."

I jumped at his voice and dropped my eyes to the floor immediately. My heart pounded and I felt sick.

Kael didn't say anything else. The silence stretched out between us, heavy and uncomfortable. I didn't know what to say or do, so I just stood there and tried to make myself small like I always did.

"What's your name?" he asked suddenly.

I looked up in surprise. "Elara."

"I'm Kael."

I nodded, not trusting my voice. Everyone knew his name, even though they were afraid to say it out loud. But somehow hearing him say it made him feel more real.

He turned and walked toward a narrow hallway I hadn't noticed before. "Your room is this way."

I followed him down the hallway where doors lined both sides. He stopped at one near the end and pushed it open.

"You'll stay here," he said without looking at me. "It's separate from my quarters."

I stepped inside and saw a small room with a narrow bed, a wooden chest, and a window that looked out over the dark grounds. It was plain but clean, even better than the servants' quarters I left behind.

"The trials begin in three days," Kael said from the doorway. His voice was cold and flat. "You need to rest and practice until then."

"What are the trials?" I asked quietly.

"Tests to prove you're worthy." He crossed his arms over his chest. "The King will decide what they are."

"And if I fail?"

"Then you die." He said it like my death meant nothing at all. "Get some rest. You'll need your strength."

He turned to leave but I spoke before I could think better of it.

"Why did you claim me?"

Kael stopped but didn't turn around.

"The bond formed. I had no choice."

"But you could have let them kill me."

He was quiet for a while and seemed to be observing me. When he spoke, his voice was even colder.

"Don't mistake what happened for something it's not. Every woman who's been bound to me has died. You'll likely die too. The only question is when."

His words cut deep and I wrapped my arms around myself.

"Then why not just let me die in the hall?"

"Because I can't watch my mate die without trying to protect her first. It's instinct and nothing more." He glanced back at me and his silver eyes were hard. "You could reject the bond and leave. It could mean you get to survive."

"What if I don't want to reject it?"

His expression turned to ice. "Then you're a fool."

He walked away before I could respond. His footsteps echoed down the hallway and then a door slammed somewhere in the tower.

I stood alone in the small room, my hands shaking as Kael's words ran through my head over and over.

I sat on the bed and stared at the wall. Everything felt unreal, like I would wake up any moment back in the servants' quarters and this would all be a dream.

But it wasn't a dream. This was real and I was bound to a man who expected me to die.

I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes, but sleep wouldn't come. My mind raced with questions I couldn't answer. Why did the bond form between us? What did it mean that a human could be mated to a wolf? How was I supposed to survive trials designed to kill me?

I stared at the ceiling and tried to make sense of everything. He said I had three days until the trials started. That was three days to figure out how to survive. Three days before I would either prove myself or die trying.

"I'm not going to reject you," I whispered into the darkness. I didn't know why I said it, but the words felt important. "Even if you want me to."

The tower was completely silent then a door slammed so hard that the walls shook.

I pulled the blanket up to my chin and my heart pounded. Did he hear me? Was he angry about me being mated to him? What if he suddenly decides to reject the bond?

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but two questions kept running through my mind.

What really happened to Kael's other mates? And how could a slave human be mated to a wolf?