CHAPTER TWO: THE ALPHA’S TERRITORY
842 Words
The Blackthorn Pack lands were carved from stone and shadow.
Seraphina felt it the moment she crossed the border—an invisible weight crashing down on her chest, thick with dominance and old blood. Mountains rose like jagged teeth around the valley, their peaks slicing the moonlit sky. The forest was dark, ancient, and watching.
This place was not meant for mercy.
Silver cuffs bit into her wrists as warriors dragged her forward. She stumbled more than once, her legs weak from the rejected bond, her heart still screaming in pain.
Kael walked ahead of her.
He never once looked back.
The palace loomed before them—black stone, towering walls, burning torches lining the entrance like sentinels. Wolves bowed as he passed. Heads lowered. Fear rippled outward wherever he went.
This was his kingdom.
And she was nothing more than a prisoner dragged into it.
“Move,” one of the guards snapped, jerking her chains.
Seraphina bit back a cry and straightened her spine.
Do not beg, she told herself.
Do not break.
The massive doors opened.
Inside, warmth hit her skin—firelight, fur-lined halls, the low hum of power vibrating through the stone floors. Servants froze when they saw her. Whispers followed in her wake.
“That’s her…”
“The traitor’s daughter…”
“The rejected mate—”
Kael stopped abruptly.
She crashed into his back, her bound hands pressing against hard muscle. Heat surged where they touched, sharp and unwanted.
He turned slowly.
Up close, his anger was terrifying.
“You will not touch me unless I command it,” he said.
“I didn’t mean to—”
His hand shot out, gripping her chin.
Not gentle.
Not cruel.
Controlled.
“For the rest of your stay here,” Kael said quietly, “you will speak only when spoken to. You will obey every order. You will not roam. You will not question me. And you will not”—his thumb brushed her jaw, and her breath hitched despite herself—“forget whose territory you stand on.”
She met his gaze, heart hammering.
“Yours?” she asked softly.
Something dark flashed in his eyes.
“No,” he said. “Mine implies choice.”
He released her and resumed walking.
The guards shoved her forward.
They climbed a spiral staircase, deeper into the palace, until Kael stopped before a massive door carved with wolf sigils.
“My chambers,” he said.
Her stomach dropped.
The guards hesitated.
“My Alpha,” one said carefully, “the guest quarters—”
Kael’s aura flared.
“She stays with me.”
The door opened.
The room was enormous—black stone walls, a roaring fireplace, a massive bed draped in dark furs. The scent of him was everywhere. Smoke. Pine. Power.
Her wolf whimpered.
The guards unclasped her chains and retreated quickly, shutting the door behind them.
Silence fell.
Dangerous. Intimate.
Kael turned to her slowly.
“Strip.”
Her head snapped up. “What?”
“I said strip,” he repeated flatly. “You don’t bring Vale secrets into my bed.”
Her cheeks burned. “I won’t—”
In a blink, he was in front of her.
Her back hit the wall.
Kael’s arm caged her in, palm slamming beside her head. His face was inches from hers, breath hot against her lips.
“You test me,” he growled. “And I will remind you why that’s foolish.”
Her voice shook—but she held his gaze. “If you wanted obedience, Alpha, you should’ve bought a slave without a spine.”
The words hung between them.
Kael laughed.
Low. Dark. Dangerous.
“Good,” he said. “At least the traitor didn’t raise a coward.”
He stepped back abruptly.
“Get clean,” he ordered, pointing to a side door. “A servant will bring clothes. You sleep on the floor.”
Her chest tightened. “You expect me to—”
“I reject you,” he snapped, eyes blazing. “But the bond doesn’t care. If I leave you alone in this palace, every unmated wolf will scent it.”
Realization hit her.
“You’re protecting me?” she whispered.
Kael’s jaw clenched.
“I’m containing you.”
She turned toward the bathing chamber, legs trembling.
Just before she disappeared inside, Kael spoke again—his voice rougher than before.
“If you try to run,” he said, “I will hunt you.”
She paused.
“And if I don’t?” she asked quietly.
His answer was immediate.
“Then you’ll learn exactly how dangerous it is to belong to a man who hates you.”
The door closed behind her.
Kael stood alone in his chamber, fists clenched at his sides.
The mate bond pulsed violently in his chest.
He slammed his hand into the stone wall, cracking it.
“This changes nothing,” he muttered.
But the air still smelled like her.
And his wolf was already pacing.
- Writer
