I sat in the back of a horse-drawn carriage, my hands curled into fists, my heart pounding as I stared at the thick iron bars that separated me from the outside world.
Two guards sat across from me, their armor clicking every time the carriage hit a bump in the dirt road. They wouldn't meet my gaze. Not directly. They only watched me from the corners of their eyes, like I was something unnatural.
Something they feared.
And maybe I was.
I clenched my jaw, my mind racing. This wasn't a dream. This wasn't some cruel afterlife punishment. I was alive. In a different body. In a world I didn't recognize.
And the man who had killed me once was taking me back to his palace.
My stomach twisted.
He had looked at me like I was an impossible thing. Like I had crawled out of my own grave just to haunt him.
He choked me. Slammed me against the cold stone wall. And yet… he let me go.
Why?
The carriage hit a deep rut, and I lurched forward, barely catching myself before I fell off the seat. One of the guards grunted but didn't reach out to help.
I swallowed hard.
They didn't see me as a person.
They saw me as a problem.
A problem their Alpha didn't know how to solve. Shit!
Wetin few seconds we were at the palace and gosh it was breathtakingly massive.
Towering black stone walls rose high into the misty sky, surrounding a sprawling fortress. Torches flickered along the battlements, casting eerie shadows across the courtyard as we passed through the main gates.
The carriage rolled to a stop.
The door swung open.
"Out," a guard barked.
I hesitated for half a second before stepping down onto the cobblestone path. The cold bit into my bare feet, and then I realized I was walking barefooted. But who cares? I could walk.
A crowd had gathered.
Dozens of people stood at the edges of the courtyard, nobles in fine robes, warriors in dark leather, and servants clutching baskets. Their faces were pale, their expressions frozen somewhere between shock and horror.
I took a slow breath.
They were staring at me like I was wrong.
Like I was unnatural.
Like they had already mourned me, and my return had shattered everything they believed in.
My skin prickled under their gazes.
And then the air shifted.
A presence that was dark, powerful, and suffocating descended upon the courtyard like a storm.
The crowd parted instantly, bowing their heads as he approached.
Oh the Alpha.
I turned just in time to see him step into the torchlight.
He was still terrifying.
Tall, broad-shouldered, his black cloak billowing behind him. His silver eyes locked onto mine, unreadable, burning with something I couldn't name.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Neither did I.
There was this tension stretching between us, that was thick and heavy, as if the entire kingdom was holding its breath.
And then… "Inside," he ordered.
His voice was calm. Too calm than earlier.
I didn't move.
His eyes darkened.
"Do not make me repeat myself."
I wasn't stupid. I knew better than to challenge a man like him in front of his entire court. I mean I didn't even know where I was.
So I lifted my chin, forcing my body to move, forcing my legs, this unknown body to walk toward the palace doors.
But I could feel his eyes on me. Watching. Like he was studying me or something.
Like he was waiting for me to prove something.
The inside of the palace was just as cold as the outside.
Stone walls. Dim torchlight. High ceilings with banners bearing a symbol I didn't recognize. I didn't want to believe that I was in a historical movie or book rather like the kdramas I watched.
Two guards flanked me as I was led down a long corridor, deeper into the heart of the fortress.
We stopped in front of a massive set of doors.
The guards pushed them open.
I barely had time to register the lavish chamber before I was shoved inside.
The doors slammed shut behind me.
I turned sharply, but I wasn't alone.
The alpha was there.
Standing in front of the fireplace, his arms crossed over his chest.
I inhaled slowly. This was planned.
Was this test?
A game?
He wanted me alone.
I squared my shoulders, refusing to look weak.
"You dragged me all the way here just to lock me in a room with you?" I asked, my voice steady. "Should I be flattered?"
A flicker of something, amusement, maybe? crossed his face before it vanished.
"You seem different."
The words were spoken with certainty, and yet... I could hear the hesitation beneath them.
I tilted my head. "What do you think changed?"
The alpha took a slow step forward.
"You look like the slave, what's her name, yes, Seraphina. You sound like her." His eyes searched mine, as if trying to see inside me. "But you don't seem weak."
A muscle in my jaw ticked.
"So that's why you killed her," I said quietly. "Because she was weak?"
His gaze flickered. "Because she was a traitor."
Something in my chest tightened.
That wasn't a simple execution.
That was personal.
I took a step closer. "Then why am I here, Alpha?" His name tasted strange on my tongue, but I wanted to see how he reacted. "Why am I standing in front of you if you killed me?"
The air between us grew thick.
For a moment, he didn't answer.
Then—
"That is what I intend to find out."
I barely had time to process his words before he moved.
Fast. Too fast.
One second, he was standing across the room.
The next, he was inches away.
His hand caught my chin, tilting my face up.
A forced closeness. A dangerous game.
His fingers were cold, his grip firm but not painful.
I should have been afraid.
But I wasn't.
I was furious.
I didn't know if it was Seraphina's memories buried deep inside me or my own stubbornness, but I refused to let him think he had power over me.
So I didn't flinch.
I didn't look away.
I let him look at me, truly look at me as if he could peel back my skin and see what was hidden beneath.
The alpha's expression didn't change, but his grip tightened ever so slightly.
"You are different," he murmured, almost to himself. "But how?"
I let out a slow breath. "Maybe you didn't know me as well as you thought."
His fingers lingered against my skin for a second too long.
And then he released me.
Stepped back.
The loss of contact sent a strange, unwelcome sensation through me, one I didn't understand and refused to acknowledge.
He exhaled through his nose,
"This is not over," he said, his voice lower now.
I gave him a small, defiant smile. "I didn't think it was."
His jaw clenched.
Without another word, he turned and strode toward the door, his dark cloak sweeping behind him.
The door opened.
He glanced back at me one last time—one final look, filled with too many unreadable things—before disappearing into the corridor.
The door slammed shut.
"Uhm…" one moment I was on my own and the next he was standing in front of me with his lips glued to mine.
I tried to push him away but who was I kidding?
Heat exploded through me, knocking the breath from my lungs. The bond flared to life, pulling me deeper, making me want to melt into him even when I knew I shouldn't.
I wanted to hate him. To despise him.
But my body didn't care.
My hands fisted in his shirt and before I knew it, I was kissing him back.
Something growled deep in his chest, his hands lifting me off the ground, pressing me against him like he couldn't stand the space between us.
He carried me, moving fast, and before I knew it, we were in other room.
He kicked the door shut behind him, his lips never leaving mine. His hands roamed my body, rough, desperate, like he needed me as much as I needed air.
I didn't fight him.
I should have. But the moment his fingers brushed the hem of my dresd, I arched into him, craving more.
I barely noticed when he ripped it over my head, his lips trailing down my jaw, my neck… And then, just as suddenly as it started he stopped.
His whole body went rigid, his breath harsh. I blinked up at him, dazed. "Alpha…"
Before I could go any further he had already pulled away. His hands dropped from my skin, his face the usual, unreadable. And then without a word he turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
I sat there, my chest rising and falling rapidly, my lips still tingling from his kiss.
There and then I realized something horrifying. He stole my first kiss and even worse I wanted more.