IMPRISONED by the ALPHA

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Two guards dragged Elara up the grand staircase, past servants who stopped to stare. Nobody spoke. The hatred in their eyes said everything. One woman spat at her feet, and no one stopped her.

"Move, murderer," one guard muttered.

At the top stood massive black doors carved with wolves. The guards threw her inside. "Wait here. The Alpha will come when he's ready."

The doors slammed.

The room was enormous, dark, and cold. A great stone fireplace sat unlit. A heavy bed with black curtains stood in the center, and maps and swords hung on the walls. A long desk was buried under scrolls. Everything was perfectly neat, and everything felt empty, as if nobody had truly lived here in years.

She sat on the stone floor, not daring to touch the furniture. Her wrists were raw, and her dress still smelled of blood. She tried not to think about whose blood it was. Hours passed. The window went from gray to orange to black.somewhere in her heart,the keep felt silent,and she realized no one would knock,bring food,or ask whether she was still alive at all

At last Kaelen walked in alone. He didn't look at her. He hung up his cloak and poured a drink from a silver jug.

"Stand up. You will not sit on my floor like a dog."You told me to wait, and I didn't know where..."

"Did I ask you to speak?"

"No, my lord."

The firelight caught the hard line of his jaw. His eyes were red around the edges, and she realized with a small shock that he had been crying, or very nearly.

"Do you know what the law says about a servant bound to the Alpha? She has no name. No rank. No rights. Say it back."

"I eat what you give me. I sleep where you say. I go where you go."

"Good. Now bow."

She hesitated. Then she bowed.

"Lower."

She bowed until her forehead nearly touched her knees. Her eyes burned, but she refused to cry in front of him.

"Remember how that feels," Kaelen said coldly. "You will do it often."

That night he made her sleep on the floor beside the door. She lay on a thin blanket, listening to him pace. Around midnight something broke, glass or pottery, followed by a low, rough sound that might have been a growl or a sob. Then silence.

He loved his brother, she thought. Whatever else he is, he loved him.

It was the first time she had felt anything for him but fear. She pushed it away at once. He was not a man who deserved her pity.

Morning came early. A boot nudged her shoulder. "Bring my breakfast, polish my boots, and clean this room before I return. If a single speck of dust remains, you go without food today. And Elara? Do not leave this floor without a guard."

In the kitchen, Brenna handed over the tray without a word.Brenna, I want you to know I didn't..."

"I have nothing to say to you." Brenna's voice shook. "He was a good boy. He used to steal pastries from my table when he was little. And you..." She wiped her eyes. "Go."

In the corridor, two maids crossed to the other side. Even they believe it. Everyone does.

She scrubbed the floor until her knees ached. She polished every sword on the wall and every boot in the closet. By evening her hands were blistered. Kaelen returned and walked slowly around the room, running a finger along the shelves.

"Dust," he said, holding it up. He wiped it on her sleeve. "No dinner."

"I cleaned every shelf twice."

"And yet."

The words were out before she could stop them. Kaelen went very still.

"What did you say?"

Her mouth went dry. "Nothing. I'm sorry."

"Say it again."

She swallowed. "I did my best. And I did not kill your brother, and no amount of dust will change it."

He crossed the room in three strides and stopped inches away. She had to tilt her head back to see him.

"Do you think you can talk your way out of this?"

"No."

"Then why do you keep protesting?"

"Because it's true," she said, trembling. "And someone should say it out loud, even if nobody wants to hear it."

His jaw tightened. Something flickered in his eyes. It wasn't kindness, but it wasn't quite hatred either.

"Sit," he said finally. "There, by the window. You'll eat after all."

"Why?"

"Because if you faint, I'll have to carry you, and I do not intend to touch you." He tossed a roll at her. "Eat."

She ate in silence while he stared out the dark window, his back to her. The bread tasted like ash.Why did you spare me?" she asked quietly.

"I told you. Death is too easy."That isn't the whole reason."

His shoulders stiffened. "You think you know me?"

"No. But I think you're not sure either."

"Honesty is how omegas get hurt." He turned, and his face was a mask again. "Finish your food. Tomorrow will be harder."

That night, she was almost asleep when she heard it.A faint scratching on the balcony outside the window.

Elara opened her eyes. Kaelen's bed curtains were closed, his breathing slow and even. The sound came again, soft and deliberate, like claws dragging across stone.

She sat up, heart pounding.

Something moved beyond the glass. A dark shape slid across the moonlight, long and low and silent. It paused at the window.

Two pale eyes opened in the shadows, looking straight at her.the shape slowly lifted a paw and pressed it against the glass, and the window began to crack.