My furious, adrenaline-fueled attempt to find an escape route was a spectacular failure. The Obsidian Manor wasn't just luxurious; it was a fortress built by paranoia. The windows were impossibly reinforced, the heavy oak door was secured with multiple internal bolts that were inaccessible from my side, and even the air vent—which I managed to pry open with the thin metal of a forgotten hair clip—was too narrow and blocked by thick mesh.
Defeated, I sank onto the plush rug as the sun finally dared to rise, casting long, pale shadows across the North Wing. The rage was still a knot in my stomach, but it was now laced with a cold, terrifying clarity: I was utterly powerless.
Around 7:00 AM, a soft, electronic chime sounded at the door. I scrambled up, wiping the tear tracks from my face, and stood rigid.
"Elara," Kael's voice came through the intercom, the sound cold and commanding. "Breakfast is served in the main dining hall. You will open the door."
I hesitated, wanting desperately to scream a refusal, but the thought of him breaking the door down to retrieve me was even more terrifying. I strode to the door and flipped the internal latch.
Kael stood there, impeccable in a charcoal suit, already projecting the powerful aura of the Alpha beginning his day. Behind him stood a small, terrified-looking servant—a female wolf, clearly nervous about witnessing the current tension.
"Good morning," he said, his gold eyes impassive, noting my rumpled clothes and puffy eyes without comment.
"It is not a good morning," I replied, gripping the doorframe. "I am not going anywhere."
"You don't have a choice. This is your first introduction to the Pack hierarchy," Kael said, stepping past the threshold and immediately filling the room with his presence. He picked up the velvet-lined tray the servant carried, placing it on a nearby writing desk. "But first, a lesson in survival."
He gestured to the clothes on the tray—soft, dark leggings and a cashmere tunic in a shade of deep emerald. "Dress. You will not present yourself in Pack spaces looking like you slept in a ditch. It invites challenge. Seraphina will see it as a lack of respect for the Alpha."
"I'm not wearing your uniform," I snapped, backing away.
"It is not a uniform. It is clothing appropriate for the Manor," he countered, his patience dangerously thin. "Your defiance is noted, Elara. But your life is forfeit if you give these wolves a reason to believe you are unstable or unworthy. They challenge weakness. They respect strength." He paused, his gaze burning into me. "Prove you are strong enough to stand next to me, even if you hate me for it."
The logic, infuriatingly, resonated. I snatched the clothes off the tray. "Fine. But don't think this means I accept anything."
"I think it means you are intelligent," he said, the corner of his mouth ticking up almost imperceptibly—the closest I'd ever seen him come to a smile. He dismissed the servant with a gesture and turned his back, allowing me privacy to change.
The clothes were soft, comfortable, and devastatingly expensive. They felt like a cage, albeit a very comfortable one. When I emerged, Kael simply nodded.
"Follow me. Keep your eyes forward. Do not show fear."
The main dining hall was overwhelming. It was a space designed for two hundred, with massive stone archways and a ceiling that soared three stories high. A long, dark mahogany table dominated the center, already occupied by perhaps thirty wolves—most of them males, rugged and intensely focused on their food and their Alpha.
The second Kael and I entered, every sound ceased. The scraping of forks, the low rumble of conversation—all vanished, replaced by the crushing silence of focused attention. Every single golden, brown, or amber eye in the room fixed on me, the human girl Kael had dragged in.
I felt the wave of hostility instantly. It was a palpable, mental pushback, an instinctive, territorial rejection. Weak. Foreign. Unwanted.
Kael, impervious to the scrutiny, steered me to the head of the table. He took the Alpha's seat, and I was forced into the seat directly to his right. This was a position of immense significance—the Luna's chair.
Before anyone could speak, a smooth voice cut through the tension from the chair directly opposite me.
"It seems the Alpha has found his new trinket," Seraphina said, placing her fork down delicately. She was dazzling this morning, wearing a deep crimson dress that highlighted her power. Her eyes were chips of black ice.
"Seraphina," Kael acknowledged, his voice an undercurrent of warning.
"I only wish to understand, Alpha," she continued, her voice sweet as poison. She addressed Kael, but her eyes never left mine. "The bonding ceremony is, traditionally, a sacred rite. The Luna must be a pillar of the Pack, one who can withstand the shift and lead during the Mating Moon. This… human is fragile. How can she provide stability when a brisk wind might shatter her?"
I knew Kael wanted me to stay silent, to defer to his protection, but her condescension was a physical slap. The rage I felt earlier returned, purified by indignation.
"I can assure you, my bones are quite strong," I said, looking her directly in the eye. I ignored the gasps that rippled down the table. "And I may be human, but I understand stability better than anyone who has lived a life of pampered obedience."
Seraphina laughed—a brittle, practiced sound. "Obedience is how packs survive, girl. Defiance is how they die." She leaned forward. "We value strength here, human. Show us yours. Or step aside before you endanger the man who claimed you."
"I haven't claimed anything yet," I shot back, my voice shaking slightly, but steady. "And I don't intend to. Your Alpha forced this bond, and if you think that makes me grateful, you don't understand humans at all."
The room erupted in low growls. It was the ultimate insult: challenging the Alpha's wisdom in public.
Kael slammed his hand on the table—not hard enough to break it, but hard enough to shake the silverware and silence the entire Pack instantly. His golden eyes flashed a command for order that no one dared disobey.
"The conversation is over," Kael stated, his voice low, controlled, and radiating lethal power. "Elara will remain here. Any challenge to her authority—or any attempt to harm her—is a direct challenge to me. And a direct challenge to the Alpha is a death sentence."
He looked at Seraphina, his expression giving her no quarter. "Seraphina, you are dismissed. You have Pack duties that require your attention."
She rose, her eyes never leaving mine, her gaze promising I would pay for her public humiliation. "As the Alpha commands," she murmured, and swept out, her exit silencing the entire room again.
The tension was suffocating. I had made a powerful enemy, and in their world, I was just a target.
Kael finally looked at me, a flicker of something—not pride, but a grim satisfaction—in his gaze. "You are reckless. But you survived," he stated, pushing a plate of food toward me. "Eat. You need strength."
"You let her bait me," I whispered, keeping my voice low. "You wanted me to fight back."
He picked up his fork, his movements relaxed despite the chaos he had just commanded. "I wanted to see if you had teeth, little star. A Luna must command respect. If you had crumbled, Seraphina would have had an excuse to petition for my choice to be invalidated. You, however, gave her no weakness to exploit, only anger. Wolves understand anger."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "You earned a moment of grudging acceptance, Elara. Do not waste it. Now, about this Pack hierarchy…"
For the next ten minutes, over silent observation from the Pack members, Kael outlined the structure. He spoke of Betas, Deltas, the Elders (the true source of political resistance), and the constant struggle to maintain control. He explained that Seraphina was the leader of the Omega class and the political representative of the old guard who believed he was too young and too progressive.
"They believe the fated bond is a sign of weakness," Kael admitted, finally looking directly at me. "They believe it makes an Alpha predictable. They fear you because you are an unknown variable in my controlled life."
"And what do you believe?" I challenged, pushing my half-eaten food away.
He paused, a dark, complicated expression crossing his features. "I believe," he said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper, "that if fate had given me a choice, I would have chosen solitude. A mate is an anchor, Elara. And an Alpha must be free to fight. You are both the gift and the complication I never wanted."
He rose abruptly, the meeting over. "I have matters to attend to in my study. Gareth will be your shadow for the day. You will not leave his sight. Understood?"
I nodded, utterly exhausted.
"Good," he said. "Now, come. There is something you need to see."
He didn't wait, striding out of the hall, leaving the room to slowly erupt into low, speculative conversation behind him. Gareth immediately stepped to my side, his presence a silent shield. I knew I had just passed the first test, but I had earned myself a lifetime of enemies in the process. Seraphina's hatred, I suspected, was far more dangerous than the Alpha's dominance. I was truly trapped in the Luna's cage.