Solana

CHAPTER FIVE

SOLANA

I woke up sore and alone.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows. I shifted, groaning softly at the deep ache between my legs and the bruise on my body from the rope. I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. It was different from my room back in Stormridge. 

I could feel his mark on my throat, tender and hot. I could also feel the ghost of his hands all over my body. I hadn’t expected to survive the night, but I did, and now, I was going to find out what it meant.

A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I sat up and pulled the sheets around my body. 

The door opened, and I stiffened, expecting the maid from earlier. Instead, I saw two younger women, accompanied by a man. From his uniform, I knew he was a high commander. 

He stared at me in surprise, as if he’d expected to find my corpse. Then, he nodded and walked out without a word, leaving me confused. 

“My … my lady.” One of the maids whispered. “Would you like to wash up now?” 

She could not meet my eyes as she spoke.

“Please call me Solana,” I murmured, holding the sheets firmly around my body. “And yes, I’d like to wash up.”

The harshness from last night was gone, and now they treated me with reverence. Worry knotted in me as they washed me. This had to be the last time. I wasn’t comfortable using them this way. I could wash myself. 

Afterwards, I changed into a dress already made available. A fine dress, made from the softest fabric. It must have cost a fortune. 

“King Ronan will like to see you, my lady.” She said when I was dressed. 

My heart skipped a beat and heat spread through me at the thought of seeing him so soon. Did he want to mate me again? I could still feel his cock in me. He needed to give me time to heal. I knew he would not force me; he didn’t last night.

Together, we walked out of the room. The guards straightened when they saw me.

The change made me uneasy. Last night, they had dragged me out of my home, thrown me into a carriage and brought me here with a sack over my head, and now they couldn’t even look me in the eyes? Because I survived the night?

The strangeness continued as the maid led me down the enormous corridors. I could see every part of it clearly under the morning sunlight, the servants, and the gardens below. The Capital was vast and endless. Everyone we passed stared at me as if I was an enigma; some even pointed and whispered. I couldn’t hear what they said, but I could tell from the awe on their faces.

Perhaps something had changed after all. 

Then, I stepped into the dining hall and saw Ronan. He looked completely different from the beast which visited me last night; he was withdrawn. He was flipping through scrolls before him.

He wasn’t alone. The high commander from earlier sat on his right. I took a step toward him, but a different maid stopped me and pointed to a seat farther away from him. I nodded and sat down. Only then did he look up.

“You survived the night.” He spoke with detachment, blue eyes staring at me. Gone was the passion of last night; gone was the man who had looked at me with wonder as he rutted in me. This was the Supreme Alpha, the mighty warrior, the King. 

Behind him, I could see the large banners of the eight packs he ruled. 

“This is Silas, my second-in-command.” He introduced him coolly. 

I glanced at the man and nodded. 

“His Majesty will continue the arrangement,” Silas said, looking at me. “You will be available to him several times a week until conception is confirmed. You cannot leave the palace. You will have protection and a personal maid. You can request a few reasonable things. Once you are with child, provisions will be made for your future. After the birth, you will be allowed to leave with whatever you desire, except the child, of course – when the time comes, you will name your price.”

Every word he said landed like a blow to my gut. The words landed like stones.

I stared at him, then at Ronan, who had already returned his attention to the scrolls.

“No.” My voice came out thin at first, then louder. “No. I did not agree to this. I was sold. I was dragged here against my will. You cannot just decide I will carry your child and then discard me.” 

My hands curled into fists on the table, heat spreading under my skin. “I am not livestock. I am not a breeding bitch you can use and throw away when you’re finished.”

Ronan’s eyes lifted slowly. The blue in them was flat, empty of everything I had seen the night before. “You will lower your voice,” he warned sharply, staring at me through a narrowed gaze.

“I will not.” My heart slammed hard in my chest until I was nearly shouting. “I never agreed to any of this! You do not own my body just because my father sold me. I will not – ”

Silas got up, and two guards stepped in. Their strong hands closed around my arms.

“Let go of me!” I twisted hard, voice cracking. “I said no! I do not agree –”

They dragged me backwards, and my chair scraped loudly across the floor. I kept shouting until the doors of the dining hall slammed shut behind us and my voice echoed uselessly down the corridor.

Only when the guards finally released me did I realise tears were streaming down my face. What a fucking fool I was.

Silas remained near the door, expression almost pitiful.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand, breathing hard. The hopelessness was still there, but underneath it something colder and clearer had settled. I would not give them the child they wanted. 

I turned to Silas and asked, “May I visit the herb gardens?”

He studied me for a moment and nodded. “If you so desire. You are not a prisoner here. You may move freely within the residential area and gardens. Just take your maid, the guards assigned to you, and stay out of the Alpha's wing. Anything else?”

I shook my head and straightened my spine.

I had been rejected, sold, used and discarded in the span of two days. 

I was done playing according to their rules. I would not hand him the one thing he wanted and walk away empty-handed. He could take my body for as long as he wanted, but his seed would not take root. I would make sure of that. I had been a healer long enough to know how to make contraception. 

Whatever it took, however long it took, I would walk away on my own terms.