Chapter 4
The next morning, the chains were gone. I woke with my wrists free, the silver shackles unclamped sometime in the night. No guard had come. No explanation. Just… freedom. Or what passed for it here.
My ankles still throbbed and my skin ached from the cold stone. But I was upright now, no longer dangling like some hunted creature on display. The cell door opened slowly.
two warriors entered silently they were armed,They didn’t speak to me. One of them tossed a folded piece of dark cloth onto the floor. The other one held a collar. I stiffened. “What is that?”
Neither of them answered.
“Tell him I will rather die.”
Still nothing. Then a third figure stepped through the doorway. A woman. Tall. Golden-haired. Dressed in tight leather and eyes sharper than daggers.
“Name’s Vanya,” she said. “Beta of Blackblood. You will do as you are told.”
My lip curled. “If I don’t?”
“You will be dragged out by your throat,” she said flatly. “Alpha’s orders.”
I stared at the collar in her hand. Thick. Black. Reinforced with runes.
“You think a collar will control me?” I hissed.
“No,” she said, and there was no humor in her voice. “But it will mark you. As property.”
Property? My stomach twisted. I wanted to scream. I wanted to rip the damn thing apart with my bare hands. But I knew Kade. This wasn’t just a power play it was punishment. It wasn't a punishment for defying him, it was a punishment for surviving him surviving him.
Vanya tossed the collar at my feet.
“Put it on yourself, or I will.”
My hands trembled, but I picked it up. And I buckled it around my own neck. And followed them like a lost sheep.
Blackstone walls towered on every side, the pack warriors were patrolling with dead eyes and sharper blades. The snow had turned red in places remnants of training, or something worse.
I wasn’t led through the back halls or hidden like a secret. they paraded me with the collared around my neck, barefooted and a Head held high. I passed the warriors who smirked. Others who snarled. One spat near my feet, calling me “Omega filth.” I said nothing. I didn’t flinch. I walked like the chains still dragging behind me were made of silver fire instead of shame. Let them stare. I wasn’t here to beg for mercy.
I was here because fate had a plan and I would not be forgotten. Vanya led me into the heart of the pack, into the war room. And there he was.
Alpha Kade Varyn stood at the head of a massive obsidian table, flanked by three Betas and a handful of advisors. Maps, blood-marked scrolls, and strategic plans littered the surface. He was speaking to them in low tones, but when I entered, the room shifted. His words stopped. Every eye turned to me.
My wolf stirred uneasily. Why are we here? Why has he brought us before his warriors like this? She was confused. So was I. Kade looked at me, expression unreadable. His silver gaze fell to the collar.
And for the briefest moment Regret. It flickered behind his eyes like a dying candle. Gone before I could catch it.
“Dismissed,” he said.
The room emptied. Only Vanya remained behind him. She leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, but said nothing.
“You made a mistake,” I said softly, once we were alone.
He raised a brow. “Which one?”
“You should have let me die in that forest.”
He stepped toward me slowly, like a wolf circling a wounded animal. “And miss this glorious view? You are collared and trembling?”
“I’m not trembling.”
He looked down. And damn him he was right. My hands were shaking. I hated that he noticed.
“I let you out of that dungeon for one reason,” he said, circling me. “To see what kind of beast the Moon Goddess has cursed me with.”
“I’m not cursed.”
“No,” he said darkly. “I am.”
He stopped behind me, too close. His breath touched the back of my neck. “You smell like war. Like prophecy. You scare my men. You terrify my seer. And you haunt me.”
I didn’t move. But every word etched itself into my skin like a scar.
“You rejected me,” I whispered. “This isn’t what rejection looks like.”
“No,” he admitted. “It’s not.”
He reached up. His fingers brushed the back of my neck. Not to hurt. Not to yank the collar. Just to touch gently.
“I don’t know what you are anymore, Aria Vale,” he murmured. “But you’re not mine.” And yet he didn’t move away. I turned my head. Our faces were inches apart.
“Then stop looking at me like I am.” He was silent for a moment. He looked at me, and then his eyes dropped to my lips. I could taste his fury. His need. His confusion.
And just when I thought he might kiss me, he stepped back.
“You will be housed in the East Wing,” he said. “The guards will watch you. And if you ever try to escape, you will be punished.”
“I’m not your prisoner.”
“You’re mine,” he said, voice tight. “That’s enough.” Then he turned away. And just like that, I was dismissed. Vanya and the guards escorted me to the East Wing. It was beautiful and hollow. Marble floors, velvet drapes. Fireplaces carved with ancient symbols. A bed far too large for one person.
The guards stood outside like shadows. Silent. Loyal to their Alpha. Loyal to my captor.
I sat on the edge of the bed, collar heavy on my throat, and stared at the fire. It flickered like the rage in my chest hungry, restless. I hate him. I hate that bastard
But beneath the hate, the mate bond still pulsed like a heartbeat I couldn’t silence. It didn’t care about his cruelty. It didn’t care about my pain.
It only wanted to burn us together. I touched the collar.
And smiled bitterly. If I was his pet then one day, I will become the beast that devoured him whole.