Darkness.
That was the first thing she noticed.
Not silence. Not pain.
Darkness.
It pressed against her eyes like something alive, thick and suffocating. For a moment, Tania didn't move. She just lay there, her mind slowly clawing its way back to consciousness.
Then the pain hit.
Sharp.
Blinding.
Her head throbbed like something had been slammed into it—no… like someone had.
Her breath caught.
Memory.
The guards. The fight. The Alpha.
Devon.
Her eyes snapped open.
Still darkness.
But now she was fully awake.
"Where the hell am I…?" she muttered, her voice dry.
She pushed herself up slowly, wincing as the dull ache at the back of her neck flared. Her hands moved instinctively, searching—
Cold metal.
Her wrist.
Tania froze.
Then she yanked.
Clang.
The sound echoed through the room.
Chains.
A slow, dangerous calm settled over her.
"No…" she whispered.
She pulled harder.
Nothing.
Her wrist was locked in an iron cuff, the chain short enough to keep her from moving more than a few steps in any direction.
Her chest rose and fell sharply.
"Are you serious right now?"
Her voice wasn't scared.
It was pissed.
Tania forced herself to look around. The darkness wasn't complete—there was a faint light seeping through a small, high window. Stone walls. Cold floor.
A cell.
They had locked her in a damn cell.
A laugh escaped her.
Low. Disbelieving.
"Of course," she muttered. "Of course the great Alpha prince kidnaps people now."
She leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes for a second.
Think.
Panicking wouldn't help.
She tested the chain again, slower this time. Solid. No weakness. The kind of restraint meant for people they didn't want escaping.
Good.
That meant they were worried.
A small smile tugged at her lips.
Then—
Footsteps.
Tania's eyes snapped open.
Slow. Measured. Getting closer.
She straightened, ignoring the way her body protested.
The door creaked open.
Light spilled into the room, blinding her for a second.
And then—
Him.
Devon.
He stood there like he owned the air itself, his presence filling the doorway effortlessly. Behind him, two guards remained still, watching.
Waiting.
Tania didn't look away.
She refused to.
"So," she said, her voice steady despite everything, "this is how royalty behaves now? Kidnapping girls and throwing them in chains?"
Devon stepped inside.
The door shut behind him with a heavy thud.
"You're awake," he said.
No apology.
No explanation.
Just observation.
Tania scoffed. "Disappointed?"
His gaze flickered briefly to the chain around her wrist, then back to her face.
"No."
She tilted her head slightly. "Then what? You expected me to cry?"
Devon didn't answer immediately. He walked closer instead, his boots echoing against the stone floor.
Each step was slow.
Controlled.
Like he had all the time in the world.
Like she had none.
"You attacked my guards," he said finally.
"They tried to touch me," she shot back.
"They were doing their job."
"And I was doing mine."
A pause.
The air shifted.
For a second—just a second—something unreadable crossed Devon's face.
Then it was gone.
"You're bold," he said.
Tania smirked. "You noticed."
"You shouldn't be."
Her smile didn't fade. "And you shouldn't be kidnapping people, but here we are."
The guards shifted slightly behind him.
Devon didn't.
His gaze stayed locked on hers.
Unmoving.
Unimpressed.
"Your father owes me," he said.
"And I told you he'll pay."
"He won't."
Something sharp flickered in her eyes. "You don't know that."
"I do."
The confidence in his voice made her want to punch him.
"Then you're stupid," she snapped. "Because he will."
Devon stepped closer.
Too close.
Tania felt it—that shift again. That Alpha presence that made the air heavier, thicker.
It wasn't fear.
But it was something.
Her fingers curled slightly.
"Listen carefully," Devon said, his voice dropping just enough to make it dangerous. "Debts in Luminaria are not requests."
Tania held his gaze. "And people aren't property."
A pause.
Then—
"They are," he said calmly. "When they can't pay."
Silence.
Cold.
Final.
Tania's jaw tightened.
"So what?" she said. "You think chaining me here is going to make me cooperate?"
"No."
That answer caught her off guard.
Devon's expression didn't change.
"It's not about cooperation," he continued. "It's about ownership."
Something in her chest snapped.
"You don't own me."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"I do now."
The words hit harder than she expected.
Not because she believed them.
But because of how easily he said them.
Like it wasn't even a question.
Tania laughed.
But it wasn't amused.
It was sharp.
Mocking.
"Try it," she said. "Let's see how long that lasts."
For a moment—
Devon just looked at her.
Really looked at her.
Like he was trying to figure something out.
Then he turned.
Just like that.
As if the conversation was over.
Tania blinked.
"Wait—what?"
He walked toward the door.
"Get up," he said.
She stared at him. "Excuse me?"
"I said," Devon repeated, glancing back slightly, "get up."
Tania looked down at the chain on her wrist.
Then back at him.
"Are you blind or just stupid? I'm chained."
One of the guards stepped forward quickly and unlocked the cuff.
The metal fell away with a soft clang.
Tania rubbed her wrist, glaring at all of them.
"Finally."
"Move," Devon said.
She didn't.
Not immediately.
Then slowly—
She stood.
Every muscle in her body was tense, ready.
Watching.
Waiting.
But she followed.
Not because she wanted to.
Because she needed to see where this was going.
—
The palace was worse than she imagined.
Not because it was ugly.
Because it wasn't.
It was too beautiful.
Too perfect.
Everything was polished, clean, controlled.
People moved out of Devon's way instantly, heads lowering as he passed.
Tania noticed it.
Of course she did.
Power.
Real power.
And he wore it like it was nothing.
"Keep staring," Devon said without looking at her.
Tania rolled her eyes. "I'm just trying to understand how people live like this."
"Like what?"
"Like they're afraid to breathe wrong."
Devon didn't respond.
They walked in silence for a while.
Then—
"Where are you taking me?" she asked.
"To your place."
She frowned. "My place?"
"You'll see."
That didn't help.
At all.
—
When they finally stopped, Tania expected another cell.
What she got instead…
Was worse.
A room.
Clean. Large. Bright.
Too nice for a prisoner.
She stepped inside slowly, her eyes scanning everything.
A bed.
A window.
A table.
No chains.
No locks.
Her brows furrowed.
"This isn't a cell."
"No," Devon said from behind her.
Tania turned.
"So what is it?"
He met her gaze.
"It's where you'll stay."
She blinked once.
Then laughed.
"You're joking."
"I don't joke."
Her smile faded slightly.
"And what exactly am I supposed to be doing here?"
Devon didn't hesitate.
"Working."
Tania's expression hardened.
"Working… as what?"
A pause.
Just long enough to make it worse.
"My slave."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
Tania stared at him.
Then—
She smiled.
Slow.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
"Yeah," she said softly. "That's not happening."
Devon stepped closer.
Not rushed.
Not angry.
Just certain.
"It already is."
Her heart pounded once.
Hard.
But she didn't back down.
"You think I'm going to listen to you?"
"No."
That again.
That calm.
"That's why you'll learn."
Something in his tone sent a chill down her spine.
Not fear.
But warning.
Tania folded her arms. "And if I don't?"
Devon's gaze didn't waver.
"Then I remind you what happens to people who don't."
The threat wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
Tania held his stare for a long moment.
Then—
"Try it," she said again.
But this time…
There was something else beneath her words.
Not doubt.
Never that.
But awareness.
Because for the first time—
She realized something.
This wasn't just a fight.
This was a game.
And Devon?
He had been playing it far longer than she had.
—
Later that night, the palace was quiet.
Too quiet.
Tania sat by the window, staring out at a world that suddenly felt very far away.
Her hands rested on her lap.
Still.
Unchained.
But not free.
She exhaled slowly.
"Slave," she muttered.
The word tasted wrong.
Foreign.
Disgusting.
Her fingers curled slightly.
"No," she whispered to herself. "Not for long."
Somewhere in the palace—
Devon stood by his window, looking out into the same night.
His expression unreadable.
But his mind…
Was not.
Because for the first time in a long time—
Something had caught his attention.
And her name…
Was Tania.