The Enslaved Wolf Queen

Mothers

Adelaide POV:

I dried my hair with the towel until it was only damp, the strands curling and clinging to my neck as I pulled on yet another one of Luke’s shirts. It hung off me like a dress, soft and warm, carrying that infuriating scent of pine and heat that somehow calmed and aggravated me at the same time. Barefoot, I padded across the wooden floor toward the window. The glass was cool beneath my fingertips as I looked out over the dense trees, their shadows stretching like long fingers across the forest floor. Morning light filtered through the leaves in broken patches, and for a moment, the world felt quiet. Peaceful. Too peaceful.

There was a knock on the door and I didn't think too much of it. Luke would answer, after all, I was a guest. My fingers trailed my lips as feelings from last night resurfaced. Why were things so complicated? I felt a strong pull towards him, but I could not for the life of me understand why the two of us would ever be paired together. We are polar opposites, and he's arrogant, self-absorbed... Before I could finish, there was a knock on the door again, this time more urgent or maybe annoyed. I made my way downstairs and to the front door, hand on the door knob, I pulled open the door to a woman who looked like royalty. "Ah!" She exclaimed in a loud pitched voice, "you must be the mate." She smiled at me, and I hesitated. Without me saying a word, she pushed her way in with her staff, following closely on her heels with garment bags and shoe boxes in their arms. "I am so sorry for my son's impoliteness, it is completely out of character," she said, but her words did not feel genuine. "He was not impolite in any way," I said, not understanding for myself why I was sticking up for the ass. Her smile faltered. "Aren't you kind?" Her words, although polite, were late with venom. She turned to one of the serving girls, "Attend to her and get her dressed and presentable. We'll leave in ten minutes." My jaw dropped, "And where are we going?" I asked, folding my arms against my chest. "To breakfast, of course," I could tell by her attitude that she did not like to be asked follow-up questions.

The servants pulled me upstairs roughly and with urgency, and before I could protest, they started to undress me. I stood in front of them naked. The one girl laid out lingerie on Luke's bed. "I—I don’t wear things like that," I muttered, stepping back. The girl simply blinked, expression blank, and stepped forward. "You do now." Before I could argue, they were fastening straps, adjusting lace, pulling at fabric with practiced hands until I stood there, stiff and humiliated in underwear that felt far too revealing. My pulse hammered in my ears. "This is ridiculous," I hissed under my breath. "I’m not a doll. And I don’t need—" But then they held up the dress. And everything inside me froze. It was stunning. A deep forest-green gown with a slit up the side and a fitted bodice, embroidered with silver thread that shimmered like moonlight. It looked expensive. Intimidating. Like something meant to be worn by someone who belongs in their world. Someone who wasn’t me.

"You’ll look lovely," one of the girls said, voice soft but detached.

Like she wasn’t talking to a person.

Like I wasn’t allowed to disagree.

Before I could form a protest, they slipped the dress over my head, tightening the waist and adjusting the straps until it hugged my body perfectly. I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked… different.

Striking.

Almost regal.

But trapped—like a wolf cornered in silk.

The door burst open then, startling all of us.

Luke stood there, breath catching, eyes locking on me instantly. He froze—not with shock, but with something much more dangerous. His gaze sharpened, darkened, tracing the lines of the dress, the curve of my hip, the bare skin the slit revealed.

Heat shot up my spine. "Get out!" He roared, and the servants ran with their eyes to the ground. He stepped into the room and shut the door. I could hear both our hearts beating. Racing. Great! Of all the times that the wolf hearing decides to work...

He took slow and careful steps towards me. It was as if the ground would crumble under our feet if he ran. For me, time had stopped and in a slow blink he was in front of me. His vanilla scent filling my nose and swirling directly into my heart. His hand reached up and unclipped my hair, it fell in waves down my shoulders and back. However, he did not move his hand, and before either of us could predict what would happen next, the door burst open and Luke turned around in one swift move, growling deep and possessively. His mother stood at the door.

"Audrey," he growled, "what the hell do you think you’re doing?" Audrey swept into the room, elegant and composed, ignoring his anger entirely. "Presenting your mate properly for her first breakfast with the Alpha. Honestly, Luke, have some sense of decorum."

Luke’s jaw clenched. "You don’t get to barge into my home and drag my mate around." "She’s part of this family now," Audrey replied smoothly, "and the family must look presentable." I swallowed hard, feeling every pair of eyes on me—his hungry, angry ones… and hers sharp and assessing. For the first time since stepping into this world, I didn’t feel like a hunter or a beast.

I felt like prey.