FATED MATES

Aria POV

Three days later.

I heard the distant sounds of stomping feet and muffled cries from above my dungeon window. The noise echoed through the stone walls, a grim reminder of what awaited me.

I sat in the corner of my cell, my body pale and thin from starvation and dehydration. My hair was tangled and matted, clinging to my face. My dress hung in rags on my body, reeking of sweat.

For three days, I had been trapped in this darkness. Not a single person had come to visit me. There was no food beyond the scraps they threw through the bars, and no water beyond the occasional trickle that I caught in my hands.

My stomach burned with hunger, my throat was raw with thirst, and my body ached with a pain that had become a constant companion.

I heard footsteps approaching.

My eyes met Victor's as he gazed down at me through the bars. I looked away, too exhausted to face him.

I already knew what today was. From the noise above, the crowd gathering, and the anticipation in the air...

I was going to die today.

"Did you do it?" Victor asked.

I didn't answer. I just looked down at my cold, bare feet.

"Answer me." His voice was sharp, his hands gripping the cell bars.

His face was a storm of confusion, guilt, and fear. I didn't understand him. He had never cared for me before. Why was he acting this way now?

"Why do you care?" I whispered, my voice barely audible. "You won't believe me anyway."

"You are my sister," he said stiffly, his jaw tight. "I cannot just..." He hesitated. "The evidence came from your research, Aria."

I looked up at him in shock.

"Research?"

"Your brewing supplies. Your potions. You always did have a talent for creating things." His voice faltered. "They found a poison in your workshop. A poison designed to kill the princess."

I stared at him, disbelief washing over me.

"You think I killed her? You think I would do something like that?"

"The evidence points to you," he said, but his voice lacked conviction.

I looked away, too exhausted to fight anymore.

"Just leave me in peace," I murmured. "When I am gone, you will finally be happy without me."

Victor looked conflicted, his face twisting with emotion. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the sound of marching boots echoed down the corridor.

The Lycan King's warriors appeared at the end of the hall.

Victor stepped back as the cell door swung open. Their rough hands grabbed me, yanking me forward. They put chains around my wrists, the cold metal biting into my raw skin.

The crowd's roar rose to a deafening pitch as they dragged me across the threshold of the Lycan King's throne room.

I was thrown to my knees, my bare feet scraping against the stone floor.

There was only one thing I truly feared in these halls.

It wasn't the brutal winter of the North that made my blood run cold.

It wasn't the hungry, bloodthirsty stares of the spectators lining the walls, their eyes gleaming with anticipation of my public shame.

It was him.

The Lycan King.

Magnus.

My breath came in shallow, ragged gasps as I forced my gaze upward.

He was like a northern mountain carved from endless war.

He was even more massive from this close. His broad shoulders seemed to block out the torchlight behind him, casting a shadow that swallowed me whole. His black hair spilled past his collarbones, wild and untamed. His jaw was sharp as a blade, his cheekbones high and severe.

But it was his eyes that stopped me.

They were cold and unforgiving.

And... arousing.

The moment his gaze met mine, something stirred deep inside me.

My wolf, silent for three days, suddenly shifted.

I hated the reaction.

Of all the men fate could have bound me to, it had chosen the one sitting before me.

His blue eyes widened for a fraction of a second before narrowing into dangerous slits. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply, and I watched his massive chest rise and fall with a sharp, uneven breath.

His knuckles went white against the armrest of his throne.

I quickly averted my gaze to the marble floor, unable to bear the weight of what I saw in those eyes.

How cruel was fate to bind me to the very man who wanted me dead?

"We bring you the traitor who murdered the Lycan King's sister."

The man standing beside him spoke, his tone sharp as a blade. From his attire, I could tell he was the Gamma.

"Today will be a lesson for those who dare harm and betray the royal family."

Logan stepped forward, Natalia clinging to his arm like a vine. They both bowed to the dais, my sister's golden hair spilling over her shoulders like a halo of false innocence.

"I apologize for the wicked deeds of my former Luna," Logan announced, his voice carrying through the hall. "I will gladly give any of her properties and assets to the kingdom as a token of our forgiveness."

I glanced at them.

Natalia shot me a smirk, triumphant and cruel. My parents stood behind her, unmoved, while Victor simply stared at his feet.

I looked away.

I dropped my head, ready for my death. Ready for it all to end. Everything I had wanted to achieve would never happen, and now I was going to die within these very walls.

"And what does Aria have to say to me?" the Lycan King asked.

I forced myself to look up. I was tired of repeating myself, but maybe he would listen to me.

"I didn't poison your sister," I whispered.

His expression didn't change. "Then why does the evidence point to you?"

I swallowed, looking down at the marble floor.

"The Lycan King asked you a question," the Gamma snapped.

"I... don't know!" I said, spitting the words out in frustration. The Gamma's eyes widened, then twitched with anger, clearly shocked by my sudden outburst.

It didn't matter. He clearly didn't believe me anyway, so I didn't care about his stupid rank.

"No!"

I snapped my head toward the door, shocked to see Elias.

He ran toward the dais, breathless and desperate, his face pale with panic. Logan's face twisted into a vicious scowl, but Elias ignored him and bowed low before the Lycan King.

"Please, Your Majesty. She would never commit such an act." Elias's voice trembled with conviction. "Let me properly investigate this matter. I beg you."

A dangerous growl rumbled from the throne.

Magnus's fingers tightened around the armrest.

His gaze shifted from Elias to me.

Something dark flashed across his face before he looked back at Elias.

"All evidence points to her." Magnus's voice echoed down the hall, cold and absolute. "So death shall fall upon her."

"And what if such evidence was falsified?"

Elias stepped forward, his voice ringing with conviction.

The room fell silent. Even the guards hesitated.

"I have served beside Aria for five years. I have watched her work tirelessly for the pack. She would never have a reason to poison your sister, Your Majesty. She has spent years helping people, not harming them."

His voice cracked. "Please. Give me a chance to prove that."

Magnus's blue eyes narrowed as he studied Elias.

He was thinking.

"Nonsense!" Natalia's voice cut through the tension like a blade.

She turned to Magnus with wide, tear-filled eyes.

"Your Majesty, he is just a former Beta who is hopelessly in love with my sister. His judgment is clouded. He may even be working with her."

My eyes widened in horror.

I was fine with being blamed. I was fine with being sacrificed.

But I would not let Elias be dragged down with me.

"Don't tell such lies!" My voice cracked as I scrambled to defend him, chains rattling against the stone floor. "Elias has served these lands for years! He is not working for me or anyone. He is not a traitor!"

Natalia laughed, the sound light and cruel as she addressed the crowd. "You see? She is even defending her lover in front of the King himself. What loyalty. What devotion." She pressed her hand to her chest. "Too bad she couldn't show such devotion to her people."

The room erupted into laughter at every corner. I felt my face burn with shame. I glanced at Elias, expecting him to wilt under the humiliation.

Instead, he stood tall. His expression was calm, unyielding, ready. His eyes met mine, and I saw the truth in them.

He was not backing down. He would die for me. A grateful smile came to my face as I tried to wipe away my tears, but a loud growl echoed through the hall.

"Enough!"

Magnus's gaze locked onto mine.

I couldn't look away.

He rose from his throne and descended the steps slowly, deliberately. Each footfall echoed through the silent hall like a death knell.

I held my breath as he reached me.

His hand shot out, gripping my chin sharply and tilting my face toward the torchlight.

His thumb pressed against my jaw as he studied me with cold, clinical precision. His blue eyes searched mine, as though trying to understand something even he couldn't explain.

"She will be taken as my slave."

"W-what?"

The word left my mouth before I could stop it.

The room erupted.

Ugly, mocking laughter flooded every corner. I heard Natalia's delighted giggle above the rest. Elias's face turned red with humiliation on my behalf. Logan chuckled as he held Natalia closer, his hand resting possessively on her stomach.

Victor's face went white as snow.

A slave.

That meant I would serve the King.

A very demanding King. A man whose reputation for cruelty preceded him. That was worse than death.

My mind raced with everything I knew about Magnus and his slaves. He had taken many over the years-captives from enemy packs, traitors, criminals.

They endured harsh conditions, brutal training, and punishment for their crimes.

But this would be the first time he had taken a female slave.

And the way he was holding my gaze...

There was something different in his expression.

I didn't understand it.

I only knew that something inside me had awakened the moment I looked at him.

He was my fated mate.

And somehow, that terrified me more than death.