Chapter 2 TWO

SERAYA

My breath hitched, and a slight tremor ran through me. If I had ever imagined what it would feel like to stand this close to the Alpha, this was not it.

He sounded angry. Too angry.

The urge to look up and confirm it on his face tugged at me, but I forced it down, letting my gaze drift instead to the flagon lying on the ground, its contents already soaked into the sand.

Mistress Yhlda would have my skin for this.

And that wouldn’t be the end of it. She would make me work twice as long in the kitchen while everyone else rested, stealing what little sleep they could before morning came again.

I would be the one preparing twice the amount of wine I had wasted.

“Look at me,” Alpha Rhazien ordered.

I swallowed, my fingers tightening around the fabric of my dress as I shook my head.

“I-I can’t,” I whispered, unsure if he even heard me.

“I order you, as your Alpha, to look at me!” he barked.

My eyes snapped up instantly.

My tongue darted out to wet my lower lip as I straightened, my back going rigid the moment my gaze met his.

I froze.

I had thought him handsome from afar, but the image I had carried in my mind didn’t come close to the man standing before me.

He was too striking, commanding, too far above me to even share the same air.

“I asked you a question.”

“W-what?” I winced.

I hadn’t been listening. Instead, I had been staring at him, letting my thoughts wander to what those hands of his could do.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I quickly shook my head, trying to push away the image of where those hands might go, how they might make a woman feel wanted… undone.

“Why in the goddess’s name do I scent you all around Bastion? Why you?” His gaze swept over me, his lips tightening slightly.

“You’re in heat, are you not?”

I couldn’t answer. I swallowed hard, forcing back the lump in my throat as my body trembled.

Everything had been fine when the guard passed me. He hadn’t noticed anything. He must have resisted whatever he sensed.

I dropped my gaze again.

“Look at me.” His alpha authority wrapped around his voice.

I glanced up. Alpha Rhazien closed the distance between us in two long strides.

Oh gods.

Why did he have to come closer?

His scent filled my senses, stealing the breath from my lungs. Burned cedar, crushed stone, and something sharp beneath it, something metallic. It was unlike anything I had ever smelled, and it overwhelmed me completely.

“Do you realize the gravity of what you’ve done?” His voice dropped, low and dangerous.

I shook my head, about to beg for mercy, when his hand closed around my wrist and pulled me back toward the tunnel.

“I didn’t mean to… please,” I whispered, trying to resist.

He stopped abruptly and turned, his glare cutting into me.

“You want mercy?” His voice hardened. “Then you had better calm this big, bad wolf you’ve awakened!”

He let me go, and I had barely taken a breath of relief when he suddenly hoisted me over his shoulder and sped away.

“No, stop!” I cried, struggling and protesting, but he ignored every word.

We were in the woods within seconds. Then everything blurred.

One moment, he set me down and shoved me against a giant oak tree. The next, he was all over me, his breath hot against my neck, his voice low as he whispered words I couldn’t fully process.

I felt myself slipping.

My head spun, my knees weakened, and I could barely hold myself upright. The world tilted, and the last thing I heard was his voice.

“Mine, Omega. You’re mine!”

—

I wheezed as I jerked awake.

My head pounded, my mouth tasted sour, like I had feasted on lemons. And my neck? It felt like it had been snapped and forced back into place.

A moan slipped from my lips as I clutched my head, afraid it might roll off from the ache in my neck. I slowly opened my eyes, blinking several times as they adjusted to the brightness of the room.

When my vision finally cleared, I looked around.

This wasn’t my room. Of course it wasn’t.

My room was small and cramped, with chipped walls and a bed barely big enough to lie on.

I pushed myself upright from the massive bed and stared at the wide window, its dark brown drapes drawn open to one side. The ceiling was lined with smooth, dark wooden beams, and a large bookcase stood beside a polished mahogany desk near the bed.

I ran a hand through my hair, my gaze dropping to the thick duvet wrapped around me.

Then to my chemise on the floor, stained with blood. The memory of the night came rushing back all at once.

“Alpha Rhazien… the woods…” I gasped, slapping a hand over my mouth as I fought back the wave of nausea rising in my throat.

“No… no… no…” The words tore from my lips again and again.

You foolish girl, Seraya.

“What the hell have I done?!” I groaned, pacing the room.

A sharp knock sounded at the door, cutting through my thoughts. My eyes widened, and I spun toward the floor where my chemise lay, but the door flew open before I could reach it.

A girl, no older than I was, stood at the doorway, her face twisted in clear disgust. She was one of the Omegas with a distinct scent. Only those born of noble blood carried such a presence.

I froze, clutching the duvet tightly around myself, my eyes fixed on the floor.

“You should return to your quarters,” she said coldly. “And if I were you, I’d do it now. The moon is still out. It’s safer that way.”

“Y-yes,” I stuttered, scrambling to pick up my chemise.

I pulled it on quickly before slipping into my dress. I was grateful the damage had been limited to the chemise. I didn’t know how I would have walked out otherwise, not with the weight of shame already pressing down on me.

“Thank you,” I whispered as I hurried past her.

“Don’t thank me. I didn’t come to help you,” she replied flatly.

I nodded and rushed down the long, narrow hallway.

“Halt.”

The command rang out behind me. I froze, my heart pounding wildly as I turned.

Two Alpha guards stood there.

One stepped forward, inhaling deeply before wrinkling his nose. “Omega,” he grunted. “You’re not allowed near the Alpha’s wing.”

I knew that.

The Alpha Hall was sacred territory in the Wolfsbane Bastion. Only Betas of high service, lunas-in-waiting, ranked females, officials, and noble-born Omegas with formal duties were permitted there.

Even as an Omega, I didn’t qualify.

I was unranked, my status far beneath theirs. Worse, I had no family name or position to fall back on.

Being found there alone should have earned me punishment. But the guards only stared, clicking their tongues in disapproval.

“Leave at once, and don’t return,” one of them said.

I nodded quickly and hurried away, not daring to look back until I reached Ashhall. And then I ran straight into Mistress Yhlda.

Of all people.

“I-I…” I started.

She cut me off sharply. “Take the herbal tea. With that scent of yours, we don’t need another Alpha on patrol losing control.” She dismissed me without another glance.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. She knew. Could this get any more humiliating?

I ignored the stares around me as I walked over to the clay jars holding the suppressant.

I scooped out the herb and took a sip. Almost immediately, my stomach churned.

A sour, burning sensation crawled up my throat, tightening my jaw. I clutched my stomach as sweat broke across my skin.

I stared at the jar, then at its label, making sure I hadn’t taken the wrong one. It had never felt like this before.

My vision blurred.

The room tilted, and I stumbled toward a stool, trying to sit, but I didn’t make it.

My body convulsed violently. I doubled over and dry heaved onto the kitchen floor.