Chapter 3 The Golden Cage: Zoey's POV

"In the Moonhill Pack, the sun doesn’t rise; it merely reveals the bars of your cage."

The gates of the Moonhill estate were made of heavy iron, topped with spikes that looked like frozen claws.

It was was colder here. My heart felt like a lead weight in my chest. I had expected a prison, but what I saw was a palace of stone and shadows.

"Welcome home, pet," Klaus said, his voice a low vibration next to my ear. He hadn't let go of me since the tavern. His grip was a constant reminder of the bargain I had made.

We dismounted in the courtyard, and the entire pack seemed to emerge from the darkness. They were larger than the wolves of the Dust Pack.

"Alpha," a tall woman stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she looked at my plain dress and trembling hands.

"Is this the tribute? She has no wolf. She is... nothing."

"She is my personal servant, Elara," Klaus barked, his voice cutting through the whispers.

"And you will treat her as such."

He didn't wait for a response. He dragged me into the Great Hall, but we didn't stop at the throne. He led me to a pedestal where a small, black velvet box sat. He opened it, revealing a collar made of thick, midnight-blue silk. It was beautiful, but the heavy gold buckle made it clear what it was.

A leash.

"A mark for a royal," Klaus murmured, stepping behind me. I felt the cold metal of the buckle against my skin.

"Since you have no wolf to mark you, I will have to do it myself."

"Is this necessary?" I whispered, my eyes filling with tears.

"I gave you my word. I am here."

"Your word is a ghost’s promise, Zoey," he hissed, tightening the silk until it hugged my throat.

"This makes it official. You belong to the Alpha of Moonhill. Every wolf who sees this will know you are off-limits. You are mine to use, and mine to break."

He turned me around to face the crowd. My father had tried to sell me, but Klaus had branded me.

"Take her to my chambers," Klaus ordered a guard.

"And prepare a bath. I’ve just come from the hunt, and I find I’m... restless."

An hour later, I stood in his private bathroom. Klaus stood in the center, his shirt discarded on the floor. He looked dangerous.

"Wash me," he commanded, gesturing to the bowl of warm water and a sponge.

My hands shook as I dipped the sponge into the water. I stepped toward him, my breath hitching as I entered his personal space.

"You’re trembling, little mouse," he mocked, though his eyes were dark with a hunger he couldn't hide.

"Scared I’ll bite?"

"I’m waiting for you to finish what you started at the tavern," I said, my voice gaining a spark of defiance as I pressed the warm sponge against his shoulder.

"You talk about ruining me, but all you do is growl."

Klaus’s body went rigid under my touch.

"You think you want me to finish it? You have no idea what it means to be a man’s pleasure tool. You’re a virgin playing with fire.”

"I am a woman who saved her pack," I snapped, scrubbing harder at a bloodstain on his chest.

"I made a deal. I’m not playing. I’m surviving. Why don't you just take what you want and let this be over?"

He grabbed my wrist, his grip so tight the sponge fell back into the water with a splash. He pulled me flush against his hard body.

"Because I don't want to just take it," he growled into my hair.

"I want you to beg for it. I want to see that 'good girl' mask of yours shatter. I want you to scream for my touch because you can't breathe without it. Until you surrender your spirit, this body is just a shell I don't care for."

"Then you’ll be waiting forever, Alpha," I whispered, staring into his obsidian eyes.

"You can have my service, Klaus. You can have my freedom, which I have willingly given you. But you will never have my heart."

He stared at me for a long, agonizing minute.

I expected him to throw me onto the bed. I expected him to prove me wrong. Instead, he shoved me away, his chest heaving.

"Finish cleaning the room," he spat, turning his back to me.

"I find your presence... irritating."

He walked out, leaving me alone in the steam. I spent the next hour scrubbing the floors and tidying his massive bedroom.

It was a dark, masculine space, filled with heavy furs and the scent of him. As I moved toward a small, locked cabinet near the balcony, I noticed a corner of a frame sticking out from behind a stack of books.

Curiosity got the better of me. I pulled it out.

It was a portrait. A beautiful woman with golden hair and eyes the color of a summer sky was smiling back at me.

This was her. The mate he had lost.

"She was beautiful, wasn't she?"

I jumped, nearly dropping the frame. Klaus was standing in the doorway, his eyes fixed on the painting.

"She was my soul," he whispered, walking toward me. His voice was hollow.

"Every part of me belonged to her. When she died, the world went gray. I thought I could fill the void with other women, but they were just shadows."

He took the frame from my hands and tucked it back into the darkness. Then, he turned to me, his eyes turning cold and cruel once more.

"And then there’s you," he said, stepping into my space until I was backed against the cabinet.

"You look nothing like her. You have no wolf. You have no light. You are just an addiction, Zoey. A drug I can't stop taking, even though it tastes like poison."

"I never asked to be your drug," I whispered, my heart breaking for a man I was supposed to hate.

"It doesn't matter what you asked for," he said, pointing to the cold stone floor at the foot of his massive, fur-covered bed.

"You aren't a guest here. You aren't a mate. You are a pet."

He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear one last time.

"Tonight, you sleep there. At my feet. Like a dog."