A Cage with Velvet Walls

The thing about royal dungeons? They weren’t as bad as I expected.

Sure, I was technically a prisoner, but apparently, the Lycan King didn’t do “damp caves and rats” like normal tyrants. Nope. My “cell” looked more like a luxury suite at an expensive gothic hotel—stone walls draped in velvet, a massive bed that screamed bad decisions happen here, and a fireplace crackling like it was auditioning for a cozy Christmas commercial.

If he thought fancy décor was going to make me more obedient, he was out of his wolfish little mind.

“Enjoying your accommodations, rogue?”

The voice rolled over me like thunder. I froze, then turned.

Kael was standing in the doorway, broad shoulders filling the frame, his golden eyes glowing faintly in the firelight. He didn’t just enter a room—he owned it. Every inch of him radiated authority, the kind that made lesser wolves drop to their knees without a word.

Lucky for me, I’d never been good at “lesser.”

“Not bad,” I said, plopping onto the bed like I owned it. “I was expecting chains, mold, and maybe an ominous dripping sound. This is… classy. Almost makes me forget you kidnapped me.”

One dark brow arched. “You think highly of yourself if you believe you’re important enough to kidnap.”

“Oh, thank you, Your Royal Arrogance,” I shot back. “That clears things right up.”

He stepped into the room, and the air seemed to tighten with him. His presence wasn’t just physical—it was weight, dominance, command. My wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, begging me to lower my eyes. I didn’t. I couldn’t.

“You stand in my territory. You answer to my laws. Every breath you take here is because I allow it,” Kael said, his tone flat, cold, terrifying.

A shiver slid down my spine. Naturally, I covered it with sarcasm. “Wow. Do you practice that speech in the mirror, or is it just a natural talent?”

His jaw flexed. He moved closer—slow, deliberate, like a predator closing in. When he stopped, he was right in front of me, his shadow swallowing mine, his heat searing my skin. He reached down, caught my chin in his hand, and forced my gaze upward.

“Most wolves tremble before me,” he said softly, almost like a threat whispered in the dark.

“Oh, don’t worry,” I said, flashing a smile. “I’m trembling on the inside. Can’t you tell?”

His growl vibrated through his chest and into my bones. My wolf shivered again, damn her. Kael’s eyes burned brighter, as if testing how much defiance he could strip from me.

“You amuse me,” he murmured. “But do not mistake my patience for weakness. One word from me, and your head rolls before the fire dies down.”

I leaned closer, ignoring the fire licking at my nerves. “One word from me, and this pillow hits you square in the face. We all have power, Your Majesty.”

For a moment, silence. Heavy, electric. His thumb brushed against my jaw, too gentle for the danger wrapped in his touch. His mouth curved, not in humor but in something darker—possession.

“You will learn your place here, little wolf,” Kael said, releasing me abruptly. His voice was pure command, the kind that no one ever disobeyed. “Rest. You’ll need your strength.”

“For what?” I snapped.

He smirked, the cruel, devastating kind. “For surviving me.”

Then he turned, cape sweeping behind him like some overdramatic villain, and left the room. The heavy door slammed shut, locking me in.

I flopped back on the bed, glaring at the ceiling. “Great. Kidnapped by a king with a God complex, a growl that could melt steel, and abs you could grate cheese on. Just my luck.”

My wolf huffed in amusement. You like him.

“I also like chocolate cake and not being murdered,” I muttered. “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna mate either of them.”

But even as I said it, the lingering echo of his dominance clung to me like chains made of smoke. Chains I wasn’t sure I wanted to break.