Chapter 4 Meeting horrible boy

KORA

The next thing I became aware of was softness. Too much softness. I frowned. That was strange. Forests weren’t soft. Roots definitely weren’t soft.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and immediately froze.

The room looked like something ripped straight from a storybook. Massive windows stretched from floor to ceiling, allowing moonlight to spill across polished floors and expensive furniture. Elegant curtains swayed gently in the night breeze, and the bed beneath me was bigger than the cave I had spent the last three winters hiding in.

For several seconds, I simply stared, confused, disoriented, and increasingly terrified.

Memory slammed back into place so suddenly that my stomach lurched. The body. The wolves. The forest. The Alpha.

I sat upright immediately, only to regret it when dizziness crashed through my head. Looking down, I realized I was still wearing my old clothes. Still filthy. Still smelled like blood, smoke, and the woods. Yet somehow, I had woken up inside what could only be a palace.

Before I could decide whether to panic or escape, the bedroom door burst open.

A huge figure stepped inside, filling the doorway with broad shoulders and an unmistakable air of confidence.

For one very embarrassing moment, my brain stopped functioning.

Gods. He was beautiful. That was my first thought. My second was wondering what his soul tasted like.

The realization horrified me.

The stranger was tall. Ridiculously tall. Dark hair framed a face that looked unfairly sculpted, with a sharp jaw and features that belonged on some heroic statue. The scent of wolf wrapped around him like smoke.

Young and dangerous. Definitely arrogant.

He stood there staring at me as though I had personally offended him by existing.

“Are you the riffraff my father picked up from the gutter?”

I blinked. “Riffraff?”

“You heard me.” His gaze swept over the dirt, blood, and tangled mess that was currently me.

“You look like you spent your entire life living in a pig’s den.”

I stared at him.

Then before I could stop myself, I shot back, “Your mouth sounds like it spent the night in one.”

The silence that followed was magnificent.

His eyebrows shot upward. Mine did too. Apparently neither of us expected that.

Then, unexpectedly, he smirked.

“You don’t just look like a pig,” he said. “You smell and speak like one too.”

My jaw dropped. The audacity.

“Excuse me? Pigs do not speak.” I paused. Then groaned internally. Was that really my argument?

“I am Karlton,” he continued smoothly. “Karl, for short. Though you will never call me that. It’s not for people like you.”

I immediately gritted my teeth.

“Oh really?”

His smirk widened.

I straightened despite looking like I had crawled out of a grave.

“Koraphina. Kora for short. But you will never call me that. It’s not for people like you.”

Genuine irritation flashed across his face.

Victory, Tiny, but deeply satisfying surged through me.

His nostrils flared before his expression smoothed out once more.

“Get up, Kora.”

I hated the way he said my name.

“Why?”

“My father wishes to see his favorite princess.”

The word princess dripped with mockery.

Before I could think of a suitable insult, he turned and walked out of the room.

The door slammed behind him.

The moment he disappeared, I collapsed backward onto the enormous bed and stared at the ceiling.

Gods.

What a horrible boy. A horrible, handsome, terrible boy.

I lay there for a moment replaying every infuriating thing that had come out of Karlton’s mouth. The longer I thought about it, the more annoyed I became.

Strangely, though, I felt better.

The dizziness was gone. The weakness in my limbs had faded, and even the constant hollow ache that came whenever I went too long without feeding seemed quieter than before.

That wasn’t normal.

Yet somehow, I felt stronger.

Shaking off the feeling, I climbed off the bed and headed for the door. Whatever strange thing was happening to me could wait. Taking a steadying breath, I grabbed the handle, pulled the door open, and stepped into the hallway.

The scent reached me first. Food.

A lot of food.

My stomach immediately growled. I froze. The smell was so strong it practically wrapped around my head and dragged me forward. Before I even realized what I was doing, my feet were already moving. The hallway outside was enormous, twisting into several directions, but strangely enough, I didn’t feel lost. The scent guided me effortlessly. The closer I got, the stronger it became until eventually I stepped through a large archway and found myself staring into what looked like the biggest living room I had ever seen. A long dining table occupied the center, and gods above, there was enough food on it to feed an entire village. 

Roasted meat. Fresh bread. Fruits. Stews. Cakes. Things I didn’t even recognize. My stomach clenched so painfully I almost folded in half.

Seated at the table were the Alpha and the horrible boy. The Alpha looked up first, a smile immediately spreading across his face. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Kora.” I blinked. First of all, he and the horrible boy looked ridiculously alike. The same dark hair. Same eyes. Same sharp features. Second of all—how did he know my name? 

You told horrible boy, dummy. 

Right. I cleared my throat. Despite the food. Despite the fact that every part of me wanted to launch myself at that table and inhale everything in sight. I didn’t move.

“What am I doing here?” I asked. 

The horrible boy was already staring at me again. That same cold look. The kind that made me feel like he was mentally calculating how long it would take to throw me out a window. 

The Alpha, however, only smiled wider. “This is my son.” I glanced at Karlton. Unfortunately. “I’m guessing you’ve met.”

“I’ve suffered through it,” I muttered. Karlton’s eyes narrowed. 

The Alpha laughed. Then he leaned back in his chair. “You will live here from now on, Kora.” 

For a second I genuinely thought I had misheard him. My mouth fell open. “Pardon?”

“A girl like you has no business living alone in the woods.” 

“She looks perfectly adapted to it, Father,” Karlton interrupted dryly. “Living in modern civilization might be difficult for her.” 

I shot him a glare. He smirked. 

The Alpha sighed through another laugh. “I’m sure she’ll adjust.” His gaze shifted to his son. “Especially since you’ll be the one helping her.”

The smirk disappeared so fast it was almost impressive. Karlton straightened. “I’m too busy to babysit.” 

“I know.”

“Then why volunteer me?”

“Because if I hand her over to anyone else, they’ll exploit her.”

“What about Killian?”

“Killian is out of town. I told you this.” Karlton groaned and rubbed his forehead. 

The look he sent me afterwards could have soured milk. Most people would probably have flinched. I didn’t. Three years alone in the wilderness had cured me of caring what people thought of me.

“One unnecessary stress from you and I’m out, do you understand that?” he asked.

“No. I don’t.” His eyebrow twitched. Before he could respond, I looked back at the Alpha. “The gesture is nice,” I said carefully, “but I’ll have to decline. I don’t know either of you well enough to stay in your house.” The words hurt to say because every instinct inside me was screaming the opposite. Stay. Stay where it’s warm. Stay where there are no storms or wide animals. Stay where food exists. I was tired. Tired of sleeping on stone. Tired of eating whatever scraps I could find. Tired of pretending the cold didn’t hurt. But wanting something didn’t make it safe.

My mother’s final words still haunted me. 

Run, Kora. Do not let them find you. 

I still didn’t know what I was, but I knew enough. Enough to understand that if they discovered the truth, they would kill me. So I gave the Alpha a small nod and turned toward the door. 

My hand had barely touched the handle when his voice stopped me. “The moment you leave, my soldiers will arrest you.”