Chapter 3 A wolf's cage

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Chapter Three: A Wolf's Cage

(Lily's POV)

She didn't know if her feet touched the ground.

The wind howled around her ears as the world blurred into motion. One second, she was standing behind the column, trying to breathe, trying not to faint.

The next... she was in his arms.

The Alpha.

Rudolf.

The most feared creature in all the Northern territories.

Her captor... or her savior?

Lily's heart thudded like a war drum as he carried her through the screaming crowd. Farrah's voice clawed through the night-shrill, furious.

"Put her down! She's nothing! She's not even part of the ceremony!"

But he didn't look back.

He didn't speak.

His grip was firm, arm like steel across her back, his warmth seeping into her cold skin. Not gentle. Not cruel. Just... unchanging.

Like a storm that didn't care what it destroyed in its path.

Lily didn't dare move. Every bone in her body screamed, every nerve begged her to fight. But some deeper instinct held her still. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was the wild, primal pull she felt when he touched her.

Or maybe... she'd finally broken.

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The fortress gates opened before them with a groan. Two wolves bowed low, eyes wide. Rudolf didn't even acknowledge them. He stormed down the torch-lit corridor, past gold walls and snarling statues, past servants who turned their eyes away in fear.

Lily felt like a ghost in his arms.

A bruised shadow.

She hadn't even spoken.

Not one word.

But her mind screamed.

Why me?

Why now?

Why would an Alpha choose someone like me?

She thought of Farrah-how she'd laughed when Lily cried. How Mira and Elna had stolen her food, ripped her dresses, smeared her face with ash before pack meetings just to mock her.

"You'll never be Luna," Elna had once whispered, yanking Lily's hair. "You're dirt. You'll always be dirt."

So why?

Why had he-the monster king-chosen her?

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They entered a massive chamber at the top of a spiral staircase. Carved stone. Black furs. A fireplace that roared like a beast in its own right.

He dropped her onto a soft bed with a thud and stepped back.

The room was quiet. Too quiet.

She looked up slowly, her breath catching.

His eyes were glowing.

Not golden.

Red.

Like molten fury.

He looked at her as if she were the first thing to ever confuse him.

"I don't understand you," he muttered. His voice was gravel and thunder, yet something in it cracked-just barely.

Lily didn't know what to say. Her lips trembled, but no words came out.

She flinched when he stepped closer.

But he didn't hit her.

Didn't hurt her.

Instead, he crouched in front of her... eye level.

She could feel the heat rolling off his body. Could smell the faint scent of pine and smoke on his skin.

His gaze scanned her bruises. Her torn dress. The dried blood at the corner of her mouth.

A growl built deep in his chest. Low. Lethal.

"Who did this to you?"

His voice was quiet.

Too quiet.

Lily blinked.

Did she answer?

Would he kill her if she didn't?

She opened her mouth-barely-but he shook his head before she could speak.

"No," he said darkly. "I already know."

His hands curled into fists.

They hurt what's mine.

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Suddenly, he stood.

Turned.

And walked to the door like a predator ready to slaughter.

"Stay here," he growled.

Lily sat frozen, her pulse a living thing beneath her skin.

His hand rested on the doorknob. His voice came again, colder than winter steel.

"If you try to run, I will find you."

He didn't say what would happen if he did.

He didn't need to.

Because something told Lily that the only thing more dangerous than Rudolf the Alpha... was Rudolf with a reason to burn the world.

And she...

She had just become that reason.

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Cliffhanger Ending:

The door slammed shut behind him, and she was left alone.

Alone in the king's den.

A broken girl with nothing...

...except the bite mark on her wrist that now tied her to a wolf who killed without blinking.

Lily stared at the mark.

The skin was still red. Still burning.

She wasn't his prisoner.

She was his possession.

And she had no idea what that meant.

Not yet.

But she was about to find out.

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