"No wolf enters the Alpha’s chamber unchanged. Some leave broken. Some don’t leave as wolves at all."
— Pack Myth
005.
Seyra’s grip on the hem of her dress tightened as they began their walk to the Alpha’s chambers. Every step she took made her heart pound.
She had no idea what was waiting there for her. She didn’t know what this monster would do to her. He could kill her without a second thought, and no one would hold him accountable.
And he could send her back as a maid. She didn’t even want to think about being his toy for sexual pleasure. She’d rather die than become that one.
The guard turned a corner, and they got to another wing of the palace. The air was different here, and that presence that had been pressing into everything was even stronger. It was day but this particular wing was dark like it was night, save for the dim lights that came from runes on the walls.
Seyra shuddered.
They were getting close to him.
She decided to distract herself from her impending doom and counted the frames on the wall instead. They looked a bit old and ancient and had pictures of warriors who had gone to battle and came out victorious.
For a second, she wished she saw one where the Alpha was. At least, she should have a glimpse of who she was going to meet, but there was nothing about him there.
Seyra sighed and gave up just as they got to a large oak door with gold knobs. The presence was even stronger here, and it took all the strength she had not to fall to her knees.
The guard stopped close to the door and turned to face her. "This is the door leading to his inner chambers. He already knows you’re coming, so I’ll leave you to go in there yourself."
Seyra’s eyes widened. "To go in there myself?" she asked.
The guard didn’t respond and turned to leave, but she blocked his path. He looked at her, his face contorting into a frown.
Seyra cleared her throat. "I’m sorry. I just want to ask one question. Actually... two questions."
"I am not allowed to talk to any of the women brought to the Alpha’s chambers, or even answer any questions from them, palace rules. I’ll be on my way."
"Please," Seyra clasped her hands. "Just tell me what’s in store for me. Will he really kill me if he finds me to be an inconvenience?"
Now that she was in front of his door, the coward in her had risen to the surface. Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it would jump out of her chest.
This was a bad idea.
Why did she agree to come here?
The guard looked at her and sighed. He saw the way she was shaking and couldn’t help it. He hated this part of his job. Every time he brought any she wolf here, it was either he was back to collect their dead bodies or lead them to the maid quarters.
Looking at Seyra, whose story of rejection had basically spread throughout the pack—it wasn’t hard not to recognize her. She was the only one with silver hair and a freckled face in Harlow Hades.
He actually felt a bit sorry for her.
He was about to open his mouth to give her some tips on how to not get herself killed tonight, but a voice interrupted them.
"If you want to know whether I could kill you if you were an inconvenience," the rich baritone voice spoke up, just as a dark, spicy scent wafted past her nostrils.
Seyra froze.
"Why not ask me in person? Why my guard?"
Seyra did a slow, robotic turn and almost shrieked when she came face to face with the man the whole pack tagged as a monster.
The guard went down on his knees immediately while Seyra just stood there, too shocked to move.
He tilted his head, his brows creased as he looked at her.
"A... Alpha O... Orin," she whispered. She didn’t know what else to say or think. Her thoughts seemed to have flown out the window.
This man emanated an intense aura that made it difficult for her to breathe.
He was tall. Much taller than she had imagined, with broad shoulders and a strong, lean body that looked like it had been built for war. He was dressed entirely in black, the fitted shirt stretching across his chest and shoulders.
His shoulder-length dark hair was slightly messy and shiny—glossy in a way that reminded her of the beauty standards in this pack.
But it was his eyes that held her attention.
Blue-grey.
They were unlike anything she had ever seen before. They almost seemed to glow beneath the dim lights of the hallway, watching her with an intensity that made her want to look away.
Yet she couldn’t.
The mask covered most of his face, hiding whatever expression lay beneath it. Still, she could see the sharpness of his jaw and the high cheekbones that gave him a strangely intimidating appearance.
He didn’t look like the old monster she had imagined.
If anything, he looked...
Dangerous.
Not because of his appearance.
Because of the way the air seemed to change around him.
Seyra swallowed hard.
The dark, spicy scent she had noticed earlier was coming from him, stronger now that he stood so close. It filled her senses until she could barely think of anything else.
Her knees suddenly felt weak.
This was Alpha Orin.
The man people whispered about.
The man parents used to frighten their children.
The monster no one dared to look at.
And he was standing right in front of her.
Watching her.
"Did you not hear me?" His voice was deep, rich, and calm, but there was something beneath it that made the hairs on her arms rise. "I asked why you were asking my guard instead of me."
Seyra opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Orin’s brows creased slightly.
The guard remained on his knees, his head bowed.
Seyra forced herself to breathe. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Orin sneered. "No words?" His icy gaze swept to the guard on the floor. "The rules here are simple, yet you disobeyed them. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I’m sorry, Alpha!"
"I see." One corner of Orin’s mouth lifted beneath the mask. "Look at me."
The guard raised his head as he met Orin’s eyes.
Orin snapped his fingers, and the guard’s head snapped sideways, his neck bent at an unnatural angle.
Seyra screamed as the guard fell to the floor, lifeless.
Orin turned to face her, and she covered her mouth, terrified.
"Inside. Now." was the only thing he said as the doors opened on their own, and he walked in.
Seyra’s leg had already turned to jelly. She looked at the lifeless guard as her eyes filled with tears. She was talking to him a few minutes ago.
How...
Her gaze turned to the door, then returned to her trembling hands.
"Seyra, this is the day you die."