Elaria.
I hadn't moved since the Beta stormed out like some pissed-off demigod with the manners of a rabid raccoon. Not that I had the strength to chase after him or the pride left to beg him to return and finish whatever weird primal tantrum that was.
I'd cursed, limped, and even thrown a pathetic pillow at the wall. I'd tried the handle. Locked. I'd searched for a window. None big enough to pass through and it was locked too. I was weak, but I couldn't rest. Not when I didn't know if I was a guest or a prisoner. And knowing my luck? Probably both.
My body ached, my head throbbed and my pride? Oh, it was currently buried six feet under after being sniffed like a damn forest flower and then dropped like spoiled meat.
I leaned against the bed, every part of me on edge. My mind was spinning, replaying everything. My wolf wasn't helping either. She was pacing inside me, restless and confused, her instincts flaring and flickering with something I couldn't name.
That was when the air changed instantly.
No sound or footsteps, just a shift.
The warmth in the room drained in a breath as the door clicked. The air grew dense, heavy, like the entire world was holding itself still.
Something was here.
And I didn't need anyone to tell me it wasn't just another curious wolf or beast from this twisted kingdom.
I turned slowly, heart lurching in my chest and there he was.
Towering, broad-shouldered and muscles coiled beneath inked skin like a god carved from storm and rage. He was ripped, devastatingly so, but that wasn't what made me forget how to breathe.
It was the horns.
Short and curling slightly, like they belonged more to a beast from the old tales than anything that walked this earth. And his scent... goddess.
My pulse skipped.
I knew it.
That pull, that cold commanding gravity.
This was him.
The creature from the cave.
The one who ripped through Crescent warriors like they were made of parchment.
The one who saved me.
His glowing red eyes locked onto mine and they burned. Not with desire or even rage but with something older and wilder. As if he was trying to decide if I was worth destroying.
His face was beautiful in the way ruin was beautiful. Sharp, sculpted, dangerous, inhuman, terrifying and still something in me recognized him.
My wolf surged forward with a growl that wasn't fear. No. It was worship.
"Mate."
She didn't whisper this time. She howled it.
Like she'd waited lifetimes just to say it.
I shivered, unable to look away. Every part of me knew I should be afraid. He wasn't just a male, he was an apex power. A creature older than logic, standing in flesh and power before me.
But my wolf didn't cower.
She sang.
His presence filled the room, thickening the air, pressing against my skin. I couldn't see it but I sure felt it in my bones and just like that, I wasn't tired anymore but I wanted to speak.
To say something, anything. Maybe a weak "Hi." Maybe a sarcastic "Thanks for saving me back there." Something.
But the words caught in my throat and died.
He moved in a slow deliberate step, each step echoed in the room.
He wasn't just walking, he was approaching like a predator closing in on prey, and I was the rabbit that forgot how to run. His eyes never left mine, those glowing embers searing across my skin, daring me to flinch.
He looked like danger.
The kind of danger you should run from.
But also the kind I wanted to touch... goddess, I'm stupid!
My wolf was already pacing, tail high and excited, panting like she'd just been gifted her favorite meal.
"Stop it!" I hissed in my mind. "You don't even know what he is."
"He's ours," she growled, practically wagging her invisible tail.
"He could be anything. A demon. A beast. A goddamn hallucination."
She growled louder.
But I snapped her back into silence the moment his steps stopped.
He was close now, close enough to feel the heat radiating off him.
Then he spoke.
"Elaria."
He said my name like it burned his tongue. Like it was a curse or a disease.
My breath hitched, but I didn't move. I refused to step back but how did he know my name?
"I don't know who the hell you are," I said, swallowing down the tremble in my throat, "but you just said my name like I stole something from you."
He smiled and I immediately wished he hadn't.
It was sharp and it looked wicked.
A grin that didn't belong on a man's face, it belonged on something much older, something with claws and blood on its hands.
"You did," he said, his voice deep and jagged. "Or rather... your blood did."
My skin crawled. This shit about blood again... who's it this time... my dad or mom... it's mostly my father, he seemed to be pretty popular.
Taking a deep breath, I asked, "Who are you?"
He stepped closer, his shadow engulfing mine. The very air around him crackled like the world itself hated his existence.
"I am the Beast King," he said, voice low, steady, and cruel. "Ruler of Lykos. The one your kind fears. The nightmare whispered to pups in moonless nights. I am war. I am wrath. And you…" he tilted his head, eyes glowing brighter, "you are in my kingdom now."
I didn't speak.
I couldn't.
His power pressed down on me as if the sky itself had fallen.
"You are not welcome here, little healer," he continued. "And you are not free to leave."
Something icy slid down my spine and I looked up deep into his eyes... Was he mentally impaired?!
"Not welcome but can't leave either... if so, why save me and bring me here?"
His smile faded.
"I didn't," he replied flatly. "I saved what I needed. Not what I want."
My mouth parted, confused. "What you need?"
He leaned closer.
And I felt it then, beneath his skin, behind his eyes, beneath the calm fury in his voice.
Magic.
Old, angry and unforgiving.
"You are the traitor's daughter," he said, each word landing on me. "The one whose father broke the Veil and condemned our world to rot. The healer born of cursed blood. Your father's child."
My lips parted, but the words were thin, useless.
"No…" I whispered, shaking my head. "That's not... that can't be true… you all are misunderstanding my father."
He didn't blink but chose to continue.
"You are not a guest here," he continued, voice cold. "You are not owed kindness. You are not free."
He took a step closer, his aura pressing against my skin. "You are a vessel. That is all."
I staggered back, breath caught in my throat.
A vessel?
My vision swam and my mind spun.
What was he saying? My father? The Veil? What Veil? The vessel?
The mark on my wrist throbbed violently, glowing in defiance, its pulse syncing with the ache in my chest. It had appeared the moment our eyes met in that cave. The moment the bond awakened.
I raised it between us, trembling. "And this?" I asked, voice cracking. "This bond you forced on me?"
He glanced at it and then, without hesitation, without emotion,he said, "It means nothing."
I stared at him and something inside me broke.
It didn't snap, it cracked, a slow, ugly sound I felt echo through my soul.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to rip the bond out of my skin with my own hands. What kind of bond was this?
Because nothing should hurt like this and mean nothing.
My wolf whimpered, her howl fading into silence as she retreated deep within me. Her warmth vanished and her trust shattered, we've been rejected again I guess.
And still, somehow, I stood.
Barely.
"You're wrong," I whispered, voice barely audible, "about everything."
I didn't know what I meant. I didn't know if I believed it but I had to say it because it was all I had left.
He didn't answer, didn't even pause.
His arm shot forward, fingers clamping around mine.
"Enough," he growled.
"Let me go...!" I gasped, twisting in his grip. "You don't get to treat me like this!"
But he didn't stop, slow or flinch.
He dragged me like I was nothing, like I wasn't someone who had lost everything.
The door burst open, and blinding sunlight poured into the hall.
His grip on my arm was unrelenting as he dragged me through the winding stone corridor. I stumbled, cursing under my breath, clawing at his hold. My feet scraped uselessly against the floor, my wounds screaming with each forced step.
"Let go of me, you horned lunatic!" I snapped. "I don't care if you're King of the Moon, I will claw your face off..."
But he didn't flinch, just yanked harder.
I fought him, teeth gritted, heart pounding. "You don't get to manhandle me like I'm your sacrifice, beast!"
We reached the exit and light hit me like a slap, bright, and stinging. I squinted, gasping, and then I saw them.
Dozens of them.
Beasts.
Beastly figures with strange eyes, fur, scales. Watching from cliffs, boulders, shadows. Tall, monstrous, and still. Their eyes burned into me, cold, judgmental, and full of loathing. Not a single one of them blinked. Not a single one of them breathed wrong.
And yet... They were waiting.
I shivered.
The Beast King released me with a shove, forcing me to my knees before them all.
"This," he called out, "is Elaria Valen. Daughter of Valen de Cruz, the traitor who shattered the Veil, who doomed our realm with his betrayal."
I froze.
No...
No, that couldn't be...
"She bears his blood," the king continued, glaring down at me like I was dirt beneath his boot. "But unlike her father, she can't run. She will stay. She will atone. And she will fix what he destroyed."
I stared up at him, stunned.
"What are you saying?" I breathed. "I didn't even know him. I don't know any of this!"
He didn't care.
"To restore the Veil," he declared coldly, "we needed a vessel. The Healer born of the broken line. She has finally arrived."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some snarled and others grinned, baring teeth.
"You're lying," I whispered, trying to rise, my voice trembling. "You're twisting this. My father wasn't...he couldn't have..."
"You carry his magic," the Beast King snapped. "And now you'll carry our burden. As punishment for your bloodline."
"I'm not my father!" I shouted, chest aching. "You can't punish me for something I didn't do!"
"You're not here for what you did," he growled, stepping close enough for his shadow to swallow me whole. "You're here because you exist. YOU WILL HEAL OUR KINGDOM."
His hand struck without warning.
He grabbed me by the throat, lifted me like I weighed nothing, and hurled me down in front of his people.
My knees hit first, then my face and pain flared.
Laughter followed.
"Imprison her," he ordered, without even looking at me.
Two guards stepped forward. I tried to rise. I really did.
But one kicked my side, the other yanked my arm and I screamed.
"Don't touch me! You're all monsters! This isn't justice...this is madness!"
The Beast King turned one last time, gaze blazing with hatred.
"Then pray you survive it."
They dragged me away, my limbs screaming, my voice hoarse with protest.
I didn't know where they were taking me.
I didn't know what I'd be forced to become.
But I knew this...
I wasn't just the daughter of a traitor.
I was something they couldn't yet define.
And if I survived this… I'll find the Crescent Pack first...
They'd all regret not killing me when they had the chance.