Layla's POV
The carriage was warmer than I expected.
After all the cold I'd been swallowed in for months—filthy floors, metal-tasting water, chains that gnawed my bones—this felt too unreal. The thick, fur-lined interior muffled the outside world, and the cushions beneath me were impossibly soft. Like clouds.
But my body couldn't relax. Not really. Every nerve stayed on edge, strung tight as bowstrings.
He hadn't spoken much after the meeting. Just one order, and they'd dragged me to the carriage like a possession being shipped off. No goodbye. No final insults from Felissa. No one even dared to look me in the eye.
That was more terrifying than any slap.
It meant one thing: they believed I was already dead.
My fingers clutched at the hem of the thin dress they'd forced on me, the silk too light for comfort, the wounds beneath it burning like hidden fire. The scent of healing magic still clung faintly to my skin—Nisaba's quick patchwork spellwork, meant to hide, not mend. Just long enough to fool him. Just long enough for them to throw me away without guilt.
But I didn't cry. Not anymore.
I couldn't afford tears now.
I thought I'd stay awake the entire journey, heart pounding every second. But somehow, the heat and silence swallowed me whole. My thoughts blurred, exhaustion pulling me under.
When I woke, it was… different.
The air was heavier, laced with something wild. Untamed. I blinked slowly, squinting through the low amber light of a crackling fire in the corner of the massive chamber.
Wait—chamber?
I sat up fast.
Not the carriage. No. This was something else. Something too large to be called a room, yet enclosed enough to trap me.
The walls were of stone and carved obsidian. Thick tapestries of black and crimson hung down like ancient shadows. I sat on an enormous bed, its frame carved from dark bones and polished metal, with furs softer than anything I'd ever touched. The scent of smoke, forest, and blood clung to the air.
And then I felt it.
Him.
My breath caught in my throat. A chill ran down my spine before I even turned.
He was there.
Not the man.
The Beast.
Towering. Monstrous.
He stood across the chamber, half-shadowed by the firelight, yet there was no mistaking what I saw.
His form was massive—at least twice the size of a normal wolf, but his body was unlike any beast I had ever imagined. Muscles rippled beneath his midnight-black fur, thick and coarse like storm clouds. His claws were long, curved like obsidian blades, clicking softly against the stone floor as he moved.
Markings—glowing, celestial markings—ran along his limbs and chest, like veins carved by moonlight. They pulsed slowly, softly, like a heartbeat, each one shifting between deep silver and angry crimson.
His face…
Gods.
His snout was long and sharp, fangs glinting even when his lips weren't bared. His ears flicked in constant awareness, and his mane—yes, mane—was darker than the rest of his body, streaked with faint ash-grey at the tips like smoke trailing off a fire.
But it was his eyes that locked me in place.
Crimson. Pure, burning crimson.
Glowing like fire through a blizzard. Intelligent, focused, and absolutely feral. And they were fixed on me.
I couldn't move. My hands trembled where they clutched the fur blanket. My heart screamed against my ribs, pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it.
And yet, he didn't move closer.
He simply stood there… watching.
Like a hunter deciding when to strike.
Fear slithered up my spine. I could barely breathe.
This is it. This is where I die.
The memory of Felissa's voice echoed in my mind—"He kills them all. None survive him."
I wanted to run, but where would I go? I was already in his den. Already claimed. Already too late.
Still, I managed to whisper, voice cracking, "Please… don't hurt me."
For a second, nothing happened. No change in his eyes. No movement.
Then his ears twitched.
And he stepped forward.
Each step was slow, deliberate. The floor beneath him groaned, but not from weight alone—it was his power, coiling through the air, pressing down on my skin like invisible chains. My lungs couldn't pull in enough breath. My pulse became a scream in my ears.
He came close enough for me to smell him.
Earth. Blood. Night air. Magic.
A primal scent that wrapped around me and made my instincts scream. I sank backward on the bed, trembling.
He tilted his massive head.
And then… his voice.
It was deep, like thunder crashing through the bones of the world. But it wasn't the cruel snarl I expected.
It was calm. Cold. Laced with steel.
"You fear me."
I nodded slowly, tears stinging my eyes.
"Good."
His voice cut into me like a blade, but he didn't lash out. He didn't touch me.
He just stared.
And yet, that stare stripped me bare. I felt exposed. Small. Breakable.
But something else lingered beneath the fury in his eyes.
Curiosity.
Maybe even… hunger.
He didn't just want to destroy me.
He wanted to understand what I was.
And that might've been the most terrifying thing of all.
Because monsters didn't study their prey. They devoured them.
Only kings did that.
And he… was both.