Violet
I tensed up, my muscles stiff.
I wasn't seeing things, this woman clearly did not like me. Rightfully so, but who was she?
I couldn't sense the same superiority in her that Ila had. Then again, she could still be another superior wolf, or a gamma.
"Please, where am I?" I asked, my voice coming out hoarse.
"Are you stupid? Or you just didn't know where you were heading when you joined Kael's camp."
I was caught off guard. Her voice had come out stern and harsh. This treatment was nothing new, and I had always stomached it, but something about experiencing it now, made my insides restless.
I did not deserve to be treated like this.
And at the same time, I did not know why it made me so angry.
I frowned. "No, I don't think I am. No one told me where we were going either."
The woman scoffed and took a step fully into the room. The moonlight caught more of her features now. She had sharp cheekbones, thin lips pressed into a disapproving line, and eyes that held nothing but contempt.
"What even are you?" Her eyes roamed my body, and she frowned. "You smell at times like an omega and mostly like nothing. How weak are you to even fully be an omega?"
I flinched, the frown slowly vanishing from my face. Her scalding tone was the least of my worries. What did she mean by nothing?
She angled her body away from me with a sneer, and she talked to herself, but loud enough for me to hear. "What was he even thinking bringing this creature—"
"Please, don't call me that. You don't know anything about me," I said quietly, my hands clutching the blanket.
She glared at me. "I know enough. Everyone does. A wolf that can't even shift shouldn't be here, and it doesn't even look like you were brought in as a captive."
I frowned, genuinely beginning to get confused. This was someone in high position, she could have the decency to mask her distaste for me at the very least. I just got here.
My body began to heat up. "I didn't even do anything to you, why are you—"
"I do not know what plans he has for you here, but I promise you won't last a week before—"
"Before what?"
The voice came from the open doorway, cold and sharp.
My head snapped up and a shudder swept through my skin. He stood in the entrance, his frame filling the tall doorway. He held onto the door frame, a subtle gleam in his eyes as he stared hard at the woman, his jaw tight.
He was angry.
She went rigid, and her face turned to a pale white as it drained its colour.
"Kael," she whispered.
That was his name?
"Before what?" His voice was dangerously soft as he stepped into the room. "You shouldn't insult my guest, Maren. In my Capital. In my estate. Under my roof. In a room I personally assigned to her…"
Kael moved closer, and though he didn't raise his voice, the air in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
Maren's mouth opened and then closed. She tightened her lips shut, her shoulders hunched as her composure seemed to crack.
"Let me be very clear." He stopped just behind Maren, and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. I held my breath as she craned her neck to look up at him. "She is under my protection. She is a guest here. And anyone who insults her or questions her presence here will answer directly to me."
His eyes flashed with a faint glow I had seen before and a strange sensation flooded my chest.
Him defending me felt so strange I was shocked.
She frowned. "What are you doing? She will still feel unwelcome here."
He looked at her, but said nothing.
The silence lingered in the air and she grudgingly shrugged off his hand from her shoulder. She lowered her head and created some distance between them.
"I may have spoken out of turn, but I uttered no lies," she grumbled.
"Do not do that again. Leave."
Maren left and the door closed behind her with a soft click.
Suddenly, Kael and I were alone. He finally turned his eyes to me and my pulse quickened. The silence stretched between us, heavy.
I should have said thank you. Should have acknowledged what he'd just done, but something about it was strange. The room seemed to grow warmer. But not from heat.
"You intend to have me prove myself to your pack," I whispered, gripping the blanket as my heart thundered in my chest. "Please, I don't have to be here, I—"
"Stop."
His voice was gentle, but stern. He stood still, tall, imposing, and completely overwhelming in the small room. I sensed a strong turmoil within him and it made me uncomfortable. He didn't want to come any closer.
It felt like he was afraid to.
"We both know that won't happen."
His eyes held mine, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
He took a step closer. Then another. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I was sure he could hear it. The room suddenly felt so small, and the space between us charged with something I could not describe.
I hated it, and couldn't crave enough of it at the same time.
The bond I felt with Damon was never like this. This was stronger.
"Please leave," I breathed out, leaning back as he drew closer.
"No. This needs to be addressed." His voice was rough, and lower than before. "Now."