Chapter 3

Elena POV 

The throne hall was colder than the dungeons.

I had been led there with no warning, my wrists shackled in delicate chains that glittered like jewelry but cut my skin if I tugged too hard. The guards walked in silence, their boots clicking against the marble floor. My heart thumped with each step, dread rising in my throat until it tasted like iron.

The double doors opened with a groan.

The hall stretched endlessly, banners of black and crimson hanging like rivers of blood along the walls. At the far end, four thrones stood side by side, carved from obsidian, high and sharp-backed like blades. And on them, the quadruplet alphas.

I froze.

They weren’t men. Not really. They were forces, carved of power and moonlight, each different but equally terrifying.

Damien sat in the center, golden eyes steady and burning. His posture was straight, shoulders broad, hands resting calmly on the arms of his throne. A leader who didn’t need to speak to command silence.

To his right lounged Aiden, his blue gaze cold as winter ice. Even sitting, his presence pressed against me like a blizzard, sharp and merciless.

Lucian stood by the window, his silver gaze unreadable. He was the quiet one, I’d been told, but the weight of his silence pressed heavier than words.

And Kael, the youngest, smirked lazily from his throne, tilting his head as if I were nothing more than a game piece tossed into his amusement.

The guards shoved me forward. My bare feet slapped against the cold marble as I stumbled, catching myself before I fell. The hall stretched too far, each step echoing like a drumbeat announcing my doom.

When I reached the foot of their dais, silence fell.

Then Kael’s smirk widened. “This is her? The contract bride?”

His tone was mocking, dripping with disbelief.

Aiden sneered. “She looks weaker than a servant girl. How is this supposed to carry our heirs?”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. My throat tightened.

“She doesn’t even smell like a wolf,” Kael added, wrinkling his nose. “Just human. Fragile. Breakable.”

Lucian finally spoke, his voice low and smooth, but sharp enough to cut. “She won’t last long.”

Each word sliced into me like a blade. They didn’t see me. Not a person. Not a woman. Just a womb. A fragile vessel that would shatter before the job was done.

Something inside me snapped.

I lifted my chin, though my legs trembled. My voice shook but I forced it out. “You don’t know me. Don’t decide what I can or can’t survive.”

The words echoed through the hall.

For a second, they seemed almost surprised. Then Kael threw his head back and laughed, the sound cruel and careless. “Listen to her. The little human thinks she has teeth.”

Aiden rose from his throne in one smooth, terrifying motion. His presence slammed into me like a wall of ice. My knees buckled under the weight of his dominance, but I locked them tight, refusing to bow.

“She has insulted us already,” Aiden said, turning toward Damien. His voice was sharp, laced with disdain. “End this farce. Break the contract. Send her back before she costs us more trouble.”

My chest clenched. Panic clawed at me. If they ended the contract, what would happen to me? The pack that sold me wouldn’t take me back. They’d kill me for being useless. My life dangled in their hands, fragile as glass.

I opened my mouth to beg, but Damien finally moved.

He rose slowly, his golden eyes never leaving mine. His presence wasn’t icy like Aiden’s or mocking like Kael’s. It was heavier, older, something that wrapped around the room and silenced everyone without a word.

“No,” Damien said. His voice cut through the hall like a blade.

Aiden stiffened. “No?”

“She stays,” Damien said. “The council has sealed the contract. It will be honored.”

Kael frowned, leaning back in his throne. “Even if she dies before the child is born?”

“She won’t,” Damien answered flatly, as if daring anyone to argue.

Silence stretched.

Finally, Lucian’s gaze flicked toward Damien. “If the council questions her strength, how will you silence them?”

Damien’s golden eyes slid back to me. They were unreadable, steady, terrifying. “We bind her.”

My stomach dropped. “Bind me?”

Before I could ask what that meant, a guard stepped forward, carrying a small silver case. He opened it, revealing a slim needle filled with glowing liquid—bright as molten moonlight.

My blood froze. “No…”

The guards seized my arms before I could move. Their grip bruised, unyielding. My heart pounded wildly, panic flooding every nerve.

Damien descended the steps, his gaze never wavering. He took the needle from the case, holding it like it was nothing, like it wasn’t about to change everything.

“Don’t,” I whispered, thrashing against the guards. “Please don’t…”

He didn’t hesitate.

The sting was sharp as the needle slid into my arm. But it wasn’t the pain that stole my breath, it was the fire.

The liquid seared through my veins, burning brighter and hotter than anything I’d ever felt. My body convulsed, back arching, breath ripping from my throat in a strangled cry.

“Damien!” Aiden barked. “She can’t…”

“She will,” Damien said, voice iron.

The fire spread, licking through every vein until I thought I would burst into flames. My vision swam. The marble floor blurred. I gasped, clawing at the guards’ arms, but they held me steady.

Then I felt it, wetness on my arm.

I looked down. Blood poured from the injection site, thick and fast, running down my skin in crimson rivers. It spattered on the marble, bright against the black stone.

My knees buckled. The guards tightened their grip, but my body sagged, weak and trembling. My vision tunneled.

Somewhere far above me, Damien’s voice spoke, steady and merciless.

“It is sealed.”

The world tilted.

My last sight before darkness claimed me was crimson drops spreading across the marble like blooming roses.