Jasmine had no choice but to follow her stepmother. Each step toward the unknown felt heavier, colder. Her mind reeled from the chilling words echoing in her head—“The Lycan King demands she be delivered today before nightfall.” Her father’s belongings… her mother’s cherished pendant—still trapped in the house that no longer felt like home—were more than possessions. They were her last ties to love. To family. To safety.
The thought of leaving them behind made her chest tighten.
“We don’t have time. Pack up her rags,” her stepmother had spat with urgency, like she was ridding herself of a burden.
Dragged into the heart of an unknown pack, Jasmine found herself swallowed by a world far bigger, darker, and more dangerous than she had ever imagined. Her breath quickened, her pulse thudded like war drums beneath her skin. This wasn’t just a relocation. It was a sentencing.
Two maids approached her with guarded expressions, flanking her like soldiers escorting a prisoner.
“Is she the breeder for the Lycan King?” one of them whispered to a nearby guard, her voice trembling, as though merely saying his name could summon the monster himself.
Jasmine’s heart dropped.
Breeder.
The word slashed through her thoughts like a blade. Her knees nearly buckled as she tried to grasp the horrific weight it carried. Was that what this was? Was she meant to bear the child of a king whispered about like a curse? A king feared more than respected?
The guard gave a curt nod. “Lycan Ardor has been waiting. Take her in.”
The pack’s walls loomed like cliffs, indifferent to her terror. As Jasmine was led forward, every step felt like walking into a storm with no shelter in sight.
“I feel sorry for you,” said one of the maids quietly, managing a small, warm smile. “Even as a maid, I have more freedom—and more hope—than you ever will.”
Her words, though spoken kindly, settled on Jasmine like a death sentence.
The pack house was grand, cold, and unforgiving. At its core lay the most forbidden chamber of all—the Lycan King’s room. It was a sanctuary of authority, a space no one dared enter without summons. Not even his Beta would cross the threshold unless bidden. Only one woman was granted entry without question—his mate, Jeanne, queen of his world… and ruler of the venom in it.
Inside, Lycan Ardor paced like a caged predator, his fury simmering just beneath the surface. The silence in the room trembled under the weight of his wrath until a sharp knock split the air.
He opened the door to find trembling maids kneeling, pale as ghosts. Behind them stood Jasmine—confused, terrified, and utterly alone.
“What the hell is going on?” he growled, his voice low and dangerous.
“She… she is the breeder,” one maid stammered, the words crawling from her lips like a curse. They didn’t wait for a response—they scurried off, vanishing down the hallway, leaving Jasmine to face the king.
Just then, Jeanne swept in like a storm, her face curling into disgust at the sight of the girl who stood at her mate’s door.
“She’s the breeder?” Ardor muttered, stepping back as if the word itself turned his stomach.
Jeanne’s eyes narrowed into slits. “You shouldn’t have brought this filth here,” she snapped. “She looks like bacteria!” With a sharp push, she shoved Jasmine away and slammed the door behind her.
Inside the room, Jeanne’s fury boiled over. “Why the hell were you looking at her like that?” she hissed. “You should have slapped her!”
“Calm down,” Ardor said, weariness in his tone. “You know I only used the list you gave me.”
Jeanne’s voice quivered as she clung to her pain. “Just because I can’t give you a child doesn’t mean you can use her—or any girl—to bear your heir.”
That struck a nerve.
“I never asked you to whore around and get pregnant for another bastard,” Ardor roared, rising to his feet. Jeanne flinched, then stormed out, but not before pausing to glare at Jasmine.
Her eyes burned with hatred as she hissed, “You’ll regret breathing the same air as me.”
Once she was gone, the air fell deathly still.
“Come in,” Ardor’s cold voice called out.
Jasmine hurried in, dropping to her knees with her head bowed, her entire body trembling.
She had decided—if fate had brought her here, she would endure it.
But she had no idea what that truly meant.
“Get cleaned up and be on the bed in five minutes,” Ardor ordered, turning and leaving her alone.
Jasmine rose slowly, scanning the lavish room in stunned silence. At least I’ll suffer in luxury, she told herself, gathering courage as she stepped into the bathroom.
She thought she understood her role—that of feeding pack animals, assisting the maids.
But the truth was about to crush her.
After bathing quickly, she stepped out in a towel, only to find a white nightgown laid out neatly on the bed. Her heart skipped a beat.
Then came the voice again—calm, cold, final.
“Get dressed and lie down on the bed.”
Jasmine obeyed. She dropped the towel and slipped into the sheer gown. It clung to her body, exposing more than it concealed.
She climbed onto the bed, heart pounding, eyes stinging with tears. The realization struck like lightning:
She now knew what breeder meant.
The door opened. Ardor entered and began undressing. Jasmine broke.
“Please,” she whispered, tears falling freely. “I didn’t know… I didn’t choose this. Please—don’t…”
SLAP.
Her head snapped to the side. Her lips trembled, blood rising to the surface of her skin.
“You don’t look me in the eyes,” he snarled. “I don’t sleep with filth.”
With that, he stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.
“Get out. Find your way to the breeder’s quarters. End of the hallway.”
Jasmine’s tears came hard now—hot, ashamed, and helpless. She dressed in silence, her soul breaking with every breath. As she stepped out into the corridor, the stares stabbed into her like daggers.
They knew.
They all knew what she was now.
She ran.
Down endless halls, past strangers whose gazes cut deeper than any blade, until she reached a large door marked with a single word:
Breeders.
She paused, breathless. Broken.
I was just a young girl, she thought, dreaming of love and children, of a home filled with laughter. Now… I’m just a breeder.
Knocking softly, her voice cracked as she asked, “Can I come in?”
The room behind the door fell silent. No one came to greet her. Fear lingered like fog in the air.
Jasmine opened the door.
Dozens of girls stared back at her—young, older, lost. Their eyes held the same story hers now did.
A future no longer hers to decide.