Chapter Four: Know Your Place
416 Words
Aria was given no time to recover.
By midday, the summons came.
Two guards appeared at the servants’ quarters, faces hard, eyes cold. “The Alpha orders you to the training grounds.”
The training grounds.
Her stomach dropped.
That was where wolves were corrected.
The sun was high when she was marched into the open field. Warriors lined the edges, their conversations dying as she appeared. At the center stood Alpha Kael, arms crossed, Lyra at his side.
Aria felt it again—the pull. The bond stretched between them, tight and aching.
Kael’s face remained unreadable.
“You disobeyed me,” he said, his voice carrying across the grounds.
Aria lifted her chin. “I did nothing wrong.”
A ripple of murmurs moved through the crowd.
“You collapsed in public,” Kael continued coldly. “You disrupted pack order.”
Her hands curled into fists. “I was in pain.”
“Excuses,” Lyra said softly, stepping forward. “An omega should know better than to draw attention.”
Kael did not correct her.
Instead, he turned to the guards. “Restrain her.”
Gasps broke out.
Aria’s heart slammed against her ribs. “You can’t—”
Rough hands seized her arms, forcing her to her knees in the dirt. The bond screamed in protest, white-hot and furious.
Kael’s jaw tightened.
Do it, she thought bitterly. Show them who you really are.
“You will remain here,” Kael said, eyes locked on hers, “until sunset. Let this be a reminder.”
The crowd stared. Some with pity. Some with satisfaction.
None with mercy.
As Kael turned away, Aria’s voice cut through the silence.
“I will not beg you.”
He paused—but did not turn back.
Hours passed.
The sun burned. Her knees ached. Her throat went dry. Dust clung to her skin. Still, Aria did not cry out.
Lyra watched from the shade, a smile playing on her lips.
When finally the sun dipped low, Kael returned.
“Release her.”
The guards stepped back. Aria swayed, nearly falling—but she caught herself.
Kael stepped close, his voice low enough only she could hear. “This ends now. Do you understand?”
Aria looked up at him, dirt-streaked, exhausted, unbroken.
“No,” she said quietly. “This is just beginning.”
For a split second, something like regret flickered in his eyes.
Then Lyra took his arm.
The bond burned.
And Aria smiled.
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