Chapter 8 Chapter 8
I hated the way the silver burned. I hated the way the guards looked at me like I was dirt under their boots, not worth the chains that bound me.
But most of all, I hated him. The Alpha. Lucian. I've heard all about him and how ruthless he is. I'm surprised he didn't kill me at the spot for trespassing in his pack.
Even now, his scent lingered on the air, dark and suffocating, wrapped in the sharpness of cedar and smoke. I'd barely been able to meet his eyes, and yet they were burned into my mind, ruthless, cold, but something else flickered there too. Something that terrified me more than the threat of death.
Rage.
They ripped the silver cuffs from my wrists roughly, the searing pain leaving angry, blistering welts. I clenched my jaw, swallowing down the scream that clawed its way up my throat. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
"Stand up, rogue," one of the guards barked.
My legs trembled as I rose, every nerve on fire, but I kept my head high. I wouldn't be dragged to my knees again, not in front of them, not in front of him. I had to make a life for myself here whether I was scared or not.
I was shoved through the winding corridors of the packhouse, the air heavy with the scent of wolves. It felt like walking into the den of beasts who would tear me apart without a second thought. I belonged nowhere, not to them, not to any pack. I was a stain on their perfect, orderly world.
They took me into a room that smelled of lavender and warm bread, a jarring contrast to the dungeon's filth. A woman waited there, tall and dressed in fine silks that told me everything I needed to know about her rank. She wrinkled her nose at me like I was a stray dog brought in from the mud.
"Alpha's orders," one of the guards said, tossing me at her feet like garbage. "Get her cleaned up. The alpha wants her... presentable."
Presentable. Like I was a thing to be polished and dressed for his pleasure.
My chest burned with fury, but I bit my tongue. Survival meant obedience. For now.
The woman sighed in clear disgust but motioned to a basin of steaming water and clean linens.
"Strip," she ordered without sparing me a glance. "I won't have you stinking up the Alpha's study like that."
My hands shook as I peeled off the shredded rags clinging to my body. Shame prickled under my skin, even though I told myself I had no pride left to protect. I'd learned long ago that dignity was a luxury rogues couldn't afford.
Still, the humiliation sat heavy in my throat as she scrubbed me down with rough hands, as if trying to erase the very scent of me. Her touch was cold, clinical, like I wasn't a person beneath the dirt, just an object.
She dressed me in a simple gown—soft linen, gray, the color of submission. No jewelry, no adornments, nothing to remind me of what I'd once been before I was a stray.
When I caught sight of myself in the mirror, I hardly recognized the teary eyes girl staring back. Yesterday, I looked like I was worse than death but now I looked... fragile. Breakable. I was still fragile from the Lorcan's betrayal.
No. Don't think of Lorcan anymore, he's in your past now. I have to think about my present and possibly my future. That's if I have one. I'll allow them to keep thinking I'm a rogue than for them to know I was betrayed by my supposed mate.
Good. Let them think I was weak. Let them underestimate me.
The guards returned like vultures circling a dying animal, dragging me down the endless halls until we reached a heavy wooden door. The scent of him hit me before they even opened it, heady, thick, Alpha. It sent a violent shiver down my spine.
The room beyond was a den of dark wood, leather, and shadows. It was too warm, suffocating, every surface heavy with his scent.
And there he sat. Behind a massive desk, sprawled in his chair like a predator who knew exactly how dangerous he was.
His eyes pinned me the moment I entered. Pale gray, like winter storms. They tracked every inch of me, and I fought the urge to shrink under the weight of that gaze. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"Leave us," he said, voice like gravel and steel.
The guards hesitated, glancing between him and me like they feared what he might do alone with a rogue. But they obeyed, leaving the door open just enough for me to hear it click shut behind them. Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.
Alpha Lucian.
The name tasted like poison on my tongue, though I hadn't spoken it aloud. This was his territory. His rules. His world and I was trapped in it.
"Sit," he commanded softly, though there was no kindness in it. It wasn't an offer. It was an order.
I forced my trembling legs to obey, lowering myself onto the chair opposite his desk, the wood cold against my thighs through the thin fabric of the dress.
He leaned back, studying me like I was some puzzle he couldn't quite solve.
"You're not what I expected," he murmured, almost to himself.
I kept my face blank. I wouldn't ask what he expected. Let him play his games.
"You crossed into my lands" he continued, voice a slow, dangerous rumble. "That alone is enough to warrant death. So tell me, rogue... why are you still breathing?"
My throat tightened, but I forced myself to meet his gaze. If I broke now, I was dead anyway.
"Because you want to know who I am," I said quietly. "You could've killed me already."
A flicker of something passed through his eyes. Amusement? Interest? I couldn't tell. It scared me more than anger would have.
"You think highly of yourself"
"No" I whispered. "I think you're curious. And curiosity is the only reason I'm still alive" His jaw tightened. I'd hit a nerve.
He rose suddenly, towering over me, and my breath caught. His presence filled the room, suffocating, dominating. He placed his hands on either side of me, caging me in without touching me, his scent crashing over me like a tidal wave.
"You think you're clever?" he growled, close enough that his breath brushed my ear. "You think you can manipulate me?"
I swallowed hard, heart slamming against my ribs. The urge to bare my throat, to submit, was nearly unbearable but I clenched my fists in my lap, nails digging into my skin, forcing myself to hold his gaze.
"No, Alpha" I whispered, the title tasting like ash. "But I know men like you. You don't kill what intrigues you."
His nostrils flared, his wolf brushing against mine, a dangerous caress that made my body betray me with a shiver.
I hated him. I hated men. I hated the way my skin reacted to him, the way the air crackled between us like the pull of some invisible thread.
His lips curled in a dangerous smirk, as if he could smell the war raging inside me.
"Maybe I should teach you what happens to rogues who play games in my territory," he murmured, voice soft, lethal.
I swallowed down the panic rising in my throat. I wouldn't beg again. I wouldn't....but his hand shot out, gripping my chin, forcing me to look up at him.
And in his eyes... I saw something that terrified me more than his power.
Hunger.
Not the kind that wanted my blood. The kind that wanted me. His thumb brushed over my lower lip, slow, deliberate.My breath hitched despite myself.
He chuckled darkly, the sound vibrating through me like a threat.
"You're right," he whispered. "I'm curious."
Then he stepped back, leaving me trembling, exposed, stripped raw.
"Where are the others?" He asked dangerously
"Sorry?" I asked confused.
"The people you are working with, that helped you harm my pack members"
"I...I really didn't hurt anyone. I swear to you that I'm only looking for a place to stay. I can't remember how I ended up in the woods and lurking around your lands" I lied and he looked at me as though he didn't believe what I was saying.
"You're trying to tell me, you don't know anything about yourself?"
"I know my name but I don't know where I'm coming from or where I'm going"
"What's your name?"
"Ailsa" I said. He had a blank look on his face so I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"So what can you do?"
"I can cook, clean. I can do anything" I said hastily.
"You'll stay in the packhouse," he said like it was already decided. "You'll eat. Rest. And when I call for you, you'll come. Do you understand, rogue?"
I clenched my jaw so tightly it ached.
"Yes, Alpha." His smirk deepened.
"This is going to be... interesting."
And I realized in that moment, whatever fate I'd been running from, I'd just run straight into something far worse.
Him.