Chapter 61: You'll Stay Here - Callista's POV

I wanted to scream or shift and tear through the door, but Beta Kensley was still blocking our path. I knew that even if we got past her, we wouldn’t make it off the mansion grounds.

The Alpha King had us trapped, and he knew it. He had every intention of making us submit to whatever he wanted.

“Fine,” I said, my voice tight with barely controlled anger. “What’s your compromise then? Because we are not moving in here full-time. That’s non-negotiable.”

The Alpha King studied me for a long moment, and I could see him reassessing his request.

“You may live at the Nightshade residence during the week,” he said, his voice low. “But on weekends, starting Friday evenings through Sunday night, you will stay here. That gives time at home, and then two days of full training.”

"Friday through Sunday?" I repeated. "Why should we do this?”

“That’s my offer, so you can take it or leave it.” His expression was pleasant, but his eyes were cold. “And if you choose to leave it, well, we both know what it means for your packs.”

Riven’s hand tightened around mine. Through the bond, I felt his conflict. He wanted to support me, but he was also terrified of what refusal meant.

“Can we have a minute?” I asked, my voice dipping lower. My gaze flicked to Riven’s for a moment. “We need a moment alone to discuss.”

“Of course,” the Alpha King said calmly. “Beta Kensley, give them some privacy.”

She moved aside, but only barely. It didn’t appear she would leave the hallway entirely.

Riven pulled me a few steps away, lowering his voice. "Callista, I know you're angry—"

"I'm furious," I hissed. "He's changing the terms every five seconds, backing us into a corner—"

"I know. But..." He glanced back at the Alpha King, who was watching us with that same pleasant expression. "Weekends here aren't ideal, but it's better than living here full-time. We'd still get to go home most nights. Still get to see our families and sleep in our own beds during the week."

"It's still a trap," I said, gritting my teeth. "Once we're here on weekends, who knows what he'll try. We don’t know what experiments he'll run when we're stuck here with no way to leave."

“Then, we’ll make sure we aren’t separated,” Riven whispered. “We will watch each other’s backs and use what we know. If anything feels wrong, we’ll find a way out of it.”

“That is going to be hard to do, Riven,” I snapped. “We’ll be in separate rooms at night and our training is different.”

I wanted to argue my point further. I wanted to tell him that this was a terrible idea, but looking at his face, I saw something that made my stomach flip.

He was confident and almost too eager, as if he were certain this was a challenge he could win.

"Riven, you need to take this seriously—"

“I’m taking this seriously,” he said, a hint of irritation in his voice. “But I’m not going to act like we’re helpless. We have leverage here and he needs me, remember? You said it yourself, so we’ll use that.”

The demon. It had to be influencing him, making him think he was more in control than he actually was.

"Okay," I said quietly, even though everything in me was screaming to keep fighting. "Weekends here, but we will set boundaries. No experiments without both of us present and agreeing. No separation. And if he breaks those rules, the deal is off."

"Agreed." Riven squeezed my hand. "We've got this."

We turned back to the Alpha King.

“Fine,” I bit out. “We will spend weekends here just as discussed, but we have conditions that—”

"No experiments without both of us present and consenting," Riven said. "We stay together during training. And if you break those rules, the deal is off and we walk away."

The Alpha King’s smile widened slightly. “That is acceptable, though I should note that experiments is a harsh word. I prefer finding a cure.”

My blood ran cold, but Riven just nodded as if this were a reasonable distinction.

"Whatever you want to call it," Riven said. "As long as we both agree before anything happens."

“Of course. I wouldn’t dream of proceeding without your full cooperation.” The Alpha King gestured to Beta Kensley. “Now, she will give you a tour of the mansion, so you know where everything is. Your training starts Friday at five. Don’t be late.”

“Friday at five?” I repeated.

“Yes, and come prepared to stay two nights. Bring whatever you need for the weekend.” His smile was pleasant, but firm. “I’ll have rooms prepared for you in the west wing, side by side as requested.”

Beta Kensley stepped forward. "This way, please. I'll show you the facilities now so you're familiar with the layout before Friday."

She led us through the mansion, pointing out different areas including the training grounds, which was a massive facility with equipment that looked more suited for the military than standard pack training. The library was large, filled with ancient texts and scrolls. Then we saw various meeting rooms where Riven would probably be sitting in soon. That would be part of his leadership discussions.

The next room was the dining hall.

“On the weekends, you will eat all meals here,” Beta Kensley said, her voice low. “Breakfast is at seven, lunch is at noon, and dinner is at seven. The Alpha King expects you to arrive on time to each.”

"What about the east wing?" Riven asked, nodding toward a corridor that had been conspicuously absent from the tour.

"Off-limits," Beta Kensley said shortly. "And you know why.”

“Fine, what about our rooms?” Riven glanced down the opposite hallway. “Shouldn’t we know where we are staying?”

“Of course. I just want to warn you that while you have free reign of the place, never go down the east wing. It’s too dangerous if you catch my drift.”

I nodded. Honestly, getting to the Alpha King’s son would be hard, but I knew we’d have to sneak in there, eventually. He was the only other person with the answers we needed.