Seven Mates

The Glass Cage.

And I must leave—this country, this kingdom, this cursed continent. Whatever it is. I need to run.

I can’t live like this. Not with seven mates.

I will never be free. Not here. Not under them. I’ll be a puppet. A breathing body. A warm vessel for their pleasure. That’s all I am to them. That’s all I’ll ever be.

They know.

They must have found out I’m an Alpha.

That’s why they’re watching me so closely. They don’t know what it costs me. Pretending to be an Omega was the only way I could survive.

Whenever I reveal I’m an Alpha, they back away. I’m met with rejection, suspicion, and silence. No one wants to work with me. No one lets me in. I’m seen as a threat.

But when I act like an omega, doors open. Perverts offer me comfort, thinking they’ll have their way. But I always escape before they take what they want.

It’s a game. A dangerous one. But it’s kept me alive. So how the hell did I end up in this mess?

I eased open the door, stepped into the corridor, and gently shut it behind me. My breath trembled in my chest. My ears strained for sound.

Nothing.

I exhaled slowly.

No footsteps. A scent? No.

Good.

I moved, each step a silent prayer. My feet padded softly across the floor, heartbeat controlled, breath measured.

I flexed my hands. My claws slid out with a quiet rasp, just in case. I didn’t want to kill. But if I had to, I would.

To survive.

My eyes glowed.

Endless red carpet, glowing chandeliers, and furniture sewn from the riches of a hundred kingdoms. Everything shimmered like a heaven I’d never believed in. I tiptoed down the hall, eyes darting. I needed to get out of here.

Then I stopped. A door slightly ajar. A sound. Low grunts and slurps.

Curious, I peeked in—and froze.

A man stood with his trousers at his hips, head thrown back as a boy knelt before him. The younger one’s lips moved hungrily. The man’s hand tangled in his blonde hair, guiding him faster.

He groaned.

“ahhhh…go deeper.” He urged him.

What in hell...?

“Suck harder,” he murmured to the boy beneath him. “Take it all in.” He moaned.

His scent hit me like a memory I couldn’t place.

An Alpha? His voice is smooth as moonlight and a little angelic.

But how? Alphas rarely took other Alphas. Or so I thought. Were they both Alphas? Was this normal? Was this… accepted?

The one receiving had hair so white it seemed to glow—but as he turned toward me, his hair bled into black, then white again. His deep blue eyes locked onto mine.

And everything else vanished.

His stare gripped me. Choked me. It was like a spell—no, a command. My knees buckled under the weight of it. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak.

He was beautiful. And familiar.

Why did my heart ache like I had known him in another life?

My hand accidentally pushed the door open wider.

His bloodshot eyes turned to me. The younger alpha beneath him gasped and ducked his face.

But the white-haired one never flinched. His stare was so intense, I thought I could melt.

Scent... so…it was him.

The one missing during the bond. One I hadn’t seen, until now.

“I—I was just looking for the toilet,” I blurted, eyes wide with panic. “Yes. The toilet.” I laughed nervously.

He didn’t answer.

“I-I should go,” I muttered and spun away, heartbeat thundering, face burning.

He didn’t stop me.

I can't believe it. So that was him. He knew I was his mate. He saw me. And yet—he stayed away.

Why?

I hurried down another corridor until I found a grand dining room. Alphas sat at a golden table, laughing and talking like gods in mortal skin.

It was them. I panicked. Why didn't I sense them earlier?

I turned to leave—but a voice stopped me.

“Hey, Rudina!” Jeremy called.

Rudina. That wasn’t my name. It was the name they forced on me when they took everything else. I clenched my jaw, refusing to cry again.

I almost ran out when the huge doors closed in front of me, blocking my path.

“You can't escape.” Jeremy burst out laughing.

I turned. “What do you want?” I snapped. “Open the doors.”

Jeremy grinned. “Didn’t know you’d woken up.”

“Look who finally rose after a week,” Lyall smirked, biting sarcasm dripping from every word. “Sleeping Beauty would envy your nap.”

A week?

“I almost thought you died, Rudina.” Jeremy added.

My mouth went dry. “A whole week?”

“Indeed.” Jeremy climbed onto the dining table, walking along its gold-trimmed length like it was a stage.

“Will you get the hell down?” a deep, quiet voice cut through the air.

Griffith.

I knew it had to be him. The most cold-blooded, stone-faced Alpha of The Seven.

I remembered it clearly—his kiss from a week ago.

He was even more handsome now than I’d realized before. Not that I hadn’t seen him before—but something about him today... he looked more confident. More magnetic. Like he owned every inch of the room.

“I know, Mr. Nosy Stoneface,” Jeremy muttered, rolling his eyes as he leapt down from the table and strolled toward me.

“How was your day, Sleeping Beauty?” he teased, leaning in to sniff my face. My cheeks flushed instantly. His scent was intoxicating.

Why would he even ask that? Obviously, my day, or rather, my week-long sleep, hadn’t been pleasant. Did he think I was happy to be here?

I wasn’t.

All I wanted was to leave this cursed place and go back to my normal, sane life.

I didn’t want a mate.

Mates were just myths, fairy-tale delusions stuffed into thick-headed egos. They weren’t loyal. They weren’t kind. Only thought about themselves and the pleasure they could wring from others, never stopping to care about what we endured. They didn’t give a damn.

And I didn’t want one.

I’d made my choice. No more bonds. No more games. I didn’t care.

I just wanted to leave this godforsaken castle. Every one of these Alphas. They are rude, entitled, brutal rapists and deserve to rot. That’s what they were to me.

My body still hurts.

My thighs ached. My core stung with every step. I rolled my eyes and refused to meet Jeremy’s gaze.

“Hey! Don’t tell me you’re gonna keep ignoring me,” he said, feigning offense.

“A cat must’ve eaten the b***h’s tongue,” Cario muttered with a mocking grin.

“I see,” Griffith murmured, voice low and unreadable.

Jeremy sniffed again, wrinkling his nose. “You stink. Have you even bathed?”

He knew damn well I didn’t reek. He was just trying to provoke me.

Then Lyall appeared, as smug as ever. “I was the one who bathed your filthy body,” he sneered. “You should thank me for cleaning up after the others dumped you like trash.”

That explained why I felt clean when I woke up. I hadn’t even questioned it. But now, I was furious.

Sure, maybe I should thank him, if I wanted him to explode. But why speak like that to someone you supposedly helped? If I hadn’t been unconscious, if I weren’t aching and exhausted from the hell they put me through, I would’ve bathed myself.