Room7
758 Words
The Valecrest Keep didn’t smell like home.
It smelled like stone, cold iron, and Zevran’s scent everywhere. Even the air in the guest room was thick with cedar and frost. Like he’d slept here. Like he owned the air.
I hadn’t slept.
Not with his guards outside my door. Not with his last words looping in my head: _Get used to it._
Get used to what? Him watching me like I was a math problem he couldn’t solve but wouldn’t throw away?
A knock came at dawn. Sharp. Military.
“Lady Veyra,” a voice said through the door. “The Alpha wants you in the east hall. Now.”
I didn’t ask why. Asking gave them power.
I opened the door myself.
The guard flinched. Good. Let them remember I wasn’t just the girl they locked up.
The east hall was worse than the banquet. No crowd. No noise. Just empty space and silence that sat on your chest. Zevran stood by the window, back to me, looking at the mountains like they owed him money.
He didn’t turn when I walked in.
“You’re awake,” he said. Obvious. Useless.
“I’m alive,” I said. “For now.”
That got him to turn. His eyes moved over me slow, checking. Like I might c***k if he stared too long.
“You didn’t run,” he said.
“Where would I go? Your wolves are everywhere.”
“Not everywhere.” His mouth twitched. Not a smile. A warning. “You could’ve jumped the wall last night.”
I crossed my arms. “And break my legs? No thanks.”
He stepped closer. Not enough to touch. Enough that the air went heavy.
“Do you always talk back to Alphas who own you?”
“I don’t belong to you,” I said.
His jaw ticked.
“Old Law 7 says otherwise.”
“Old Law 7 was written by men who wanted excuses to lock Omegas up.”
For a second I thought I’d pushed too far.
Then he laughed. Low. Quiet. Not nice.
“Smart mouth. Dangerous mix.”
The doors behind me opened before I could answer.
“Alpha.”
Caelis. Zevran’s Beta. Tall, broad, eyes sharp enough to cut. He didn’t look at me. He looked at Zevran, and whatever he saw made his face tighten.
“You called for me?”
“I did,” Zevran said, still looking at me. “Our guest needs a real room. Not this one.”
Caelis finally looked at me. His eyes were careful. Like he was deciding if I was a threat or a problem.
“She’s staying here?”
“She’s under me,” Zevran said. “That means she stays where I can see her.”
Caelis’s jaw clenched. “Alpha, with respect—”
“Save it,” Zevran cut him off. “Take her to the west wing. Room 7. No one goes in without my word.”
Room 7. The Alpha’s private wing.
Caelis got it right away. His eyes flicked to me, then back to Zevran, and for the first time, something like doubt showed.
“Understood,” he said. Cold.
He turned to me. “This way, Lady Veyra.”
I followed him. Didn’t look back.
Didn’t need to. I could feel Zevran’s eyes on my back the whole way out.
The hallway was quiet until we were far enough.
Then Caelis stopped.
“Listen,” he said, voice low. “I don’t care what the Alpha says. You mess with his head, his wolf, I’ll kill you myself.”
I met his eyes. “I don’t want his head. I don’t want him.”
“Liar.”
Same word Zevran used. Hit the same way.
Caelis leaned in a bit. “I’ve served him twelve years. I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. Not even his dead mate.”
My stomach dropped.
“Dead mate?”
Caelis’s face went hard. “Don’t play dumb. You know what your smell does.”
He walked off before I could answer.
Left me standing there with a new problem.
Zevran wasn’t just dangerous because he was Alpha.
He was dangerous because he’d loved before.
And lost.
And now his wolf wanted me.
I turned toward Room 7.
The door opened before I touched it.
Inside, everything was black, silver, and too quiet.
And on the pillow, folded neat, was a silver cuff.
Not a suppressor.
A collar.
[End Chapter 3]
- Writer
