Selene’s POV
My heart stopped when I heard my na.
The sound of my na on his lips... it was like a match striking the coldest part of my chest.
I froze behind the pillar, barely able to breathe. A part of wanted to run. But the other part... the foolish, aching part... needed to hear more.
Did he rember ...that I was trapped here?
Or is it just a casual question? I needed to confirm it.
I took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm the storm inside . Carefully, I shifted my feet, planning to move just a little closer—close enough to hear their conversation. I needed to know what they were saying. I needed to know if he asked about because he still rember .
But just as I stepped forward, a hand shot out from the shadows and grabbed my wrist. Before I could scream, I was dragged away so fast my feet barely touched the ground.
The corridor spun around in a blur of stone and torchlight.
I was yanked behind another pillar and shoved against the cold wall, the air knocked out of my lungs. Panic surged through . I opened my mouth to scream...but a strong hand clamped over it, silencing instantly.
Terror closed around my throat like a rope.
I looked up, expecting to see a guard.
But it wasn’t. It was Lucian.
His grey eyes stared into mine with calmness and that familiar gentle smile played on his lips.
But this ti... it looked too fake.
A new kind of dread twisted in the pit of my stomach.
mories from last night slamd into like crashing waves. My body rembered before my mind even had to. My skin crawled. My breath trembled. Every inch of wanted to push him away, to tear his hands off .
But I couldn’t move.
His grip was like iron—tight, cold, and unshakable.
He leaned in slowly, his voice brushing my ear like a poisoned whisper.
"Really eager to et your lover, aren’t you?" he said, voice smooth but laced with mockery. "Can’t have a little patience to see him... little slave?"
My whole body went stiff.
I wanted to scream, to bite the hand covering my mouth. My jaw ached with how hard I clenched it.
But Lucian wasn’t finished.
He leaned closer, breath warm against my cheek.
"You think too highly of yourself," he whispered, eyes glinting with cruel amusent. "That the Lycan Prince would care for you... a slave?"
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
Lucian smiled, tilting his head like he was enjoying my silence.
"Do you really think a slave is worthy of being his queen? That he’d put his reputation on the line... for you? Go against the Council? Risk war, just to save soone else’s property?"
The words hit harder than any slap.
My stomach dropped. My chest felt tight. Because... he wasn’t wrong.
He wasn’t lying.
Even if Prince Vaelen rembered —even if he still cared—it didn’t an he could save . Royals weren’t allowed to interfere with pack property. And I... I was property now.
A slave...without any na or title.
Just a possession of the pack that owned .
Lucian leaned in, his breath brushing my skin as he smiled wider. "You know the law. Slaves belong to their pack. He can’t take you without breaking it. And your precious prince isn’t going to break the law for a girl he hasn’t seen in years."
I shut my eyes tightly.
I didn’t want to be queen. I didn’t want a throne or title. All I wanted was freedom.
Just to breathe on my own. To walk out of this place and never look back.
But Lucian’s words planted sothing cruel inside —doubt.
Was I really that naive to think Prince Vaelen would help ?
That our friendship from a short period of ti, the warmth I clung to in the dark—was enough to make him fight for ?
Maybe not.
Maybe... to him, I was just soone he once knew.
Soone from a better ti.
I swallowed hard, my mouth still covered, my arms pinned.
I felt so small. So powerless. And yet, the worst part wasn’t Lucian’s grip.
It was the feeling rising in my chest—that maybe he was right. That I was completely alone in this.
I stood frozen against the wall, my hands still trembling where Lucian had held . My skin crawled, every inch of feeling touched in the worst way—even though he hadn’t done anything obvious this ti. It didn’t matter. His words had been sharp enough to leave marks.
He turned his back to , taking a few slow steps before pausing. I thought he would leave—but of course, he wasn’t finished.
"You’re not allowed in this part of the estate again," he said coldly without looking at . "You have no business near the royal guest wing. No errands, no cleaning, no excuses."
My breath hitched.
This was where Vaelen would stay. Where I might have caught a glimpse of him... might have spoken to him if fate allowed. But Lucian—he was sealing it off like a cage door.
"You will work in the Alpha Wing now," he continued. His voice was clipped, stripped of any fake warmth. "That’s your only assigned territory from this mont on. You clean there. You sleep there. You do not leave without permission."
I clenched my fists, the edge of my nails digging into my palms.
He turned back to face then. His grey eyes weren’t soft like before. There was no smile now. Just command.
"If I see you outside the wing again..." His voice dropped lower, but the danger in it grew louder. "I’ll make sure you’re punished properly."
I swallowed hard, my throat dry and raw.
Punished.
The word carried too many anings.
Too many mories.
My heart pounded painfully against my ribs, but I gave a small nod. I didn’t trust my voice.
Lucian looked at for a mont longer. Then he smiled again—cold and satisfied. Like he had clipped the wings of sothing that dared to fly.
And then he walked away.
His footsteps echoed through the corridor until they faded into silence.
I stood alone, the stone wall still cold against my back. My chest rose and fell in shaky breaths, the weight of his warning pressing down on like chains.
No way out.
I had dared to dream, even for a second—and Lucian had crushed it beneath his heel with just a few words.
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