Nadia’s POV:
Before I could even process the fact that I had been marked, Kane’s hand tightened around my waist as he pulled me in closer,
His gaze burned like fire as he leaned down and did something that sent a shiver running down my bone.
He planted a kiss on my lips.
The moment his lips left mine, shock exploded through my entire body.
It was unlike anything I had ever felt before.
Fire spread from my lips and then raced down my veins like molten metal.
I have never been kissed before, and the shock, force and surprising warmth that it brought made my knees buckle until darkness blurred the edges of my vision.
For a moment, I thought I might actually die, and I didn’t even know what for.
A broken gasp escaped my throat as the room tilted around me, but somehow, the shock slowly twisted into something else, an emotion I had thought I would never feel again, security.
I felt safe.
My body trembled violently, yet somewhere deep inside my chest, a strange calm began to settle. Kane’s hand steadied my waist before I could collapse. His golden eyes, darker now and hazy with something primal, shifted from my eyes to the wound he had made on my neck. For a brief second, I thought I saw a flicker of conflict cross his face.
Then, as if restraining himself, he pulled away. We broke apart, both of us breathing heavily in the sudden, charged silence. A faint flush crept up my neck, and for a fleeting moment, his eyes lingered on my swollen lips before his jaw clenched.
"You will remain here," he said coldly, his expression hardening back into stone. Left without his support, my knees buckled. I staggered backward, desperately reaching out until my spine hit the cold, solid wall to keep myself from collapsing.
"Lucky me, then," I whispered, trying to steady my racing heart.
I knew Alpha Kane’s way of doing things—once I stepped into his territory, leaving without a plan was simply impossible.
Kane straightened his coat, ignoring the pure sarcasm in my voice,
“From this very moment on, you are my mate.”
I shivered at that word, my eyes snapped towards the bars against the windows,
“Oh,” I muttered under my breath, “A mate who is under house arrest,”
His eyes flickered briefly, but he didn’t deny it.
“At least here, no one is allowed to harm you,” he said, reminding me of my real situation. Before I could even respond, he turned toward the door.
The heavy door to the chambers opened, and I spotted several warriors standing guard outside.
He let each word drop deliberately, heavy with authority: “A very important guest.”
“I don’t want to hear any strange rumors from anyone in the other packs I meet with,” he added, his cold gaze sweeping over the warriors, silently questioning them.
The warriors quickly responded, signaling that they understood.
That single sentence exploded through the hallway like a thunderclap.
A wave of whispers followed as everyone’s eyes darted from their alpha towards me, and then, towards my neck.
“My goodness,”
“He marked her!”
“Why would he mark a human?”
“This is impossible…”
The whispers continued, rippling through the crowd, but Kane made no move to stop them.
If anything, his broad shoulders looked suspiciously relaxed, soaking in the gossip like a badge of honor.
I drowned out the noise, watching silently as he walked away. He didn't spare me another glance.
The moment he disappeared, the air in the chamber felt colder.
The next few minutes were a blur as for the first time in what felt like forever, I was all alone in a safe space.
I walked back to the door and made sure it was locked before crawling onto the bed. The moment I sat down, the silence wrapped around me—and the control I’d been clinging to finally slipped. All at once, everything I’d been holding back came crashing down, and I broke into tears.
My tears fell silently as I thought about the last image I had of my father, mauled and torn to pieces by his own brother. I had refused to think about it since then, but now that I finally had the time to, I was overwhelmed by sadness.
I was so overwhelmed that I did not even hear the footsteps before the door slammed open again.
The door sprung off its hinges and a woman stormed inside. She was tall, beautiful, and terrifying.
Her silver hair flowed down her back like moonlight, and her amber eyes burned with pure rage.
I had no idea who she was, but I knew the look in her eyes could only mean one thing – trouble.
Her gaze swept over me slowly. She looked over my mud-stained clothes, my bare feet and my messy hair. Then, disgust curled her lip.
“So,” she said softly, “this is the human who he chose? This pig?”
My lips parted, but before I could even respond, she moved. I barely even saw the blur before my body slammed against the stone wall with so much force, my spine almost cracked.
Her hand wrapped around my throat, and my feet were lifted off the ground as she pinned me there effortlessly.
Now that she was up close, her nails began to change, they slowly stretched until they sharpened into claws.
The tips pierced the skin of my neck, warm thick blood trickled down.
Lyra smiled coldly as she stared at the blood.
“You are wolfless.” she hissed, surprise flickering across her face.
Her voice dripped with contempt.
“And that makes you even worse than a human. You are trash. Why would he choose you?”
Her grip tightened so hard that black spots danced across my vision.
“With just a little force,” she whispered near my ear, “I could snap your neck.”
My chest burned desperately for air.
But I refused to beg. Even as pain tore through my body, forcing tears from my eyes, I kept glaring at her.
The tears from before had been born of grief—these were dragged out of me by pain.
Lyra’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Still defiant?” she mocked. “Pathetic.”
Then, I felt him. I had no idea how, I just did.
Before I could even blink or understand what I was feeling, I heard a crash and Lyra’s grip around my throat vanished completely.
I glanced up just as her body flew across the chamber like she had been hit by a speeding truck.
She slammed into the stone door with so much force, it shattered into the hallway.
I collapsed to my knees, gasping violently as air rushed through my lungs.
I looked up just as I felt his heavy footsteps approaching me.
Kane.
But unlike the cold gaze I was expecting, his golden eyes were blazing with something far darker than anger as he looked down at me.
He nodded, seemingly satisfied that I was not hurt, before turning around and walking towards Lyra.
When he reached her, he leaned down and grabbed Lyra by the back of her neck.
With one brutal motion, he lifted her like she weighed nothing, and before I could blink, he smashed her through the broken doorway.
Stone cracked under the impact.
Lyra screamed as blood began trickling from her ears.
And the moment her scream left her lips, Kane’s overwhelming Alpha King aura crashed down on the hallway like a tidal wave.
She dropped instantly to her knees, shaking and completely terrified.
For the first time in my life, a werewolf looked tiny.
Kane’s voice as he spoke was like ice,
“From this moment on, whoever dares touch my mate…” his eyes burned completely with killing intent as his hands moved towards her throat, “dies.”
Lyra’s face had gone pale.
Before he could say anything more, she scrambled backward on trembling hands.
Then she got on her feet, shot me a dirty look and ran off.
Disappearing down the corridor like prey escaping a predator.
The silence afterward felt unreal.
Kane turned back and walked towards me, before I could react, his arms lifted me effortlessly from the floor.
My head spun from the chaos, and I could feel something strange stirring inside me.
No one had ever stood in front of me like that before or protected me like that.
My heart began beating faster for a completely different reason, and I panicked. So hard that I pushed against his chest,
“I don’t need—” my lips parted, and I turned away, but the moment I did, his arm tightened.
He pulled me back against him instantly.
My back hit his chest.
“Nadia,” my name left his lips with such ferocity within it that I shuddered,
His voice was deep.
Certain.
“You better get used to being protected by me.”
My pulse raced wildly.
His hold tightened slightly.
“Because in this life,” he continued quietly with a firm gaze, “don’t even think about escaping.”