"Three days."
Seraphine had been trapped in the Alpha King's wing for three days.
Three days of suffocating silence broken only by the crackle of fireplaces and the distant echoes of warriors training in the grounds below.
Three days of Astrid's cold visits, bringing meals and fresh clothes with barely concealed contempt.
Three days of waiting.
Waiting for Kael to decide what to do with her.
She hadn't seen him since that first breakfast the one where he'd commanded her to eat, interrogated her about her parents, and made it devastatingly clear that she was his to control.
But she felt him.
His presence was everywhere in this wing. His scent clung to the walls, the furniture, even the clothes Astrid brought her. Dark pine and smoke and something wild that made her wolf restless.
At night, she heard footsteps in the hall outside her room. Slow. Deliberate. Pausing at her door.
But he never came in.
It was worse than if he had.
The anticipation was a living thing, coiling tighter in her chest with every passing hour.
On the morning of the fourth day, everything changed.
Seraphine woke to harsh knocking.
She jolted upright, heart hammering, as the door swung open without waiting for permission.
Astrid stood in the doorway, her expression as cold as ever. But there was something else today a glint of satisfaction in her amber eyes.
"The Alpha King wants you," she said curtly. "Now."
Seraphine's stomach dropped. "What...why"
"He doesn't explain himself to servants." Astrid's smile was razor-sharp. "Or to you."
She turned on her heel. "You have five minutes. Don't keep him waiting."
The door slammed shut.
Seraphine scrambled out of bed, her hands shaking as she splashed water on her face and pulled on one of the simple dresses from the wardrobe. Her fingers fumbled with the laces.
Why now? What does he want?
Four days of silence, and now
Five minutes.
She barely managed to braid her hair before Astrid returned, flanked by two guards.
"Come," Astrid said, already walking.
Seraphine followed, her heart pounding in her throat.
They didn't take her to the dining hall this time.
Instead, they led her deeper into the wing down a corridor she hadn't seen before, past more locked doors and shadowed alcoves.
Finally, they stopped in front of a heavy oak door carved with wolves mid-hunt.
Astrid knocked once.
"Enter." Kael's voice, muffled but unmistakable.
Astrid opened the door but didn't go in. She stepped aside, gesturing sharply for Seraphine to enter.
Seraphine hesitated.
One of the guards cleared his throat meaningfully.
She forced her legs to move.
The door closed behind her with a soft click.
The room was darker than the others lit only by a fireplace and a few scattered candles. Bookshelves lined the walls, crammed with old texts and maps. A massive desk dominated the center, covered in papers, reports, and what looked like territorial maps.
And behind the desk sat Kael.
He was reading something, a glass of dark liquid whiskey? at his elbow. He didn't look up when she entered.
Seraphine stood frozen just inside the door, hands clasped tightly in front of her.
Seconds stretched.
Her pulse roared in her ears.
Finally, without lifting his gaze from the paper, Kael spoke.
"Come here."
His voice was calm. Controlled.
She didn't move fast enough.
His eyes flicked up silver and sharp.
"Seraphine."
The way he said her name made her body react before her mind could. She crossed the room quickly, stopping a few feet from his desk.
Still not close enough, apparently.
Kael set down the paper and leaned back in his chair, studying her with that unnerving intensity.
"Closer."
She took another step.
He gestured to a spot directly beside his chair.
Her throat tightened, but she obeyed, moving around the desk until she stood at his side.
He reached out without warning, his hand closing around her wrist.
She gasped softly.
He pulled her closer not roughly, but with absolute authority until she was standing right next to him, his hand still circling her wrist like a shackle.
"Better," he murmured.
He released her wrist but didn't lean back. Instead, he picked up the paper he'd been reading and held it out to her.
"Read this."
She blinked, confused. "I what?"
"Read it," he repeated, his tone making it clear this was not a request.
Her hands trembled as she took the paper.
It was a report something about border patrols, rogue sightings near the eastern territory, a request for additional warriors.
She read it quickly, her mind racing. Why does he want me to read this?
When she finished, she looked up at him uncertainly.
Kael was watching her face, not the paper.
"What do you think?" he asked.
She stared. "I... I don't understand."
"The report," he said patiently, though his eyes were anything but patient. "What do you think of it?"
"I'm not I don't know anything about"
"You can read," he interrupted. "You understood the words. So tell me what you think."
This had to be a test. But of what?
She swallowed hard and looked at the paper again.
"It... it says the rogues are moving in larger packs than usual," she said hesitantly. "And that they're getting closer to the borders."
"And?"
"And..." She bit her lip. "If they're moving in larger packs, maybe they're organizing. That's... unusual for rogues, isn't it?"
Something flickered in Kael's expression.
Interest.
"Go on."
"If they're organizing," she continued, her voice growing steadier, "then someone might be leading them. Or paying them."
Kael's lips curved slightly not quite a smile, but close.
"Perceptive."
He took the paper back and set it aside.
"You're right. Rogues don't organize unless someone powerful is pulling the strings." His eyes locked onto hers. "Which means we have a problem."
He leaned back in his chair, gesturing to a stack of papers on the desk.
"You're going to stay here while I work," he said casually. "You'll read the reports I give you. And you'll tell me what you notice."
Her mind reeled. "But why"
"Because," he said, his voice dropping into something darker, "you see things others miss."
He reached out, his fingers brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face.
"That one-second resistance," he murmured. "The way you paused before lying to me. The way your eyes tracked every exit in this room the moment you walked in."
His hand lingered near her cheek.
"You're observant, Seraphine. And I need observant."
She couldn't breathe.
"But I don't know anything about"
"You'll learn."
It wasn't a suggestion.
He pulled his hand back and picked up another report, holding it out to her.
"Sit."
There was a small chair in the corner. She started toward it
"Not there."
She froze.
Kael's eyes glinted with something dangerous.
He pushed his chair back slightly and patted his thigh.
Her heart stopped.
"Here."
"I...I can't"
"You can." His voice was soft, lethal. "And you will."
Every instinct screamed at her to refuse. To run.
But his aura pulsed just once and her knees buckled.
She found herself moving forward, lowering herself carefully onto the edge of his thigh, her body rigid with tension.
His arm came around her waist, holding her in place.
Not tight.
Not painful.
Just... possessive.
"Relax," he murmured against her ear.
She couldn't. Her entire body was trembling.
Kael sighed, his breath warm against her neck.
"You're going to sit here every day while I work," he said quietly. "And eventually, you'll stop shaking."
He handed her the report.
"Now read."
"Hours Later....."
Seraphine sat perched on Kael's thigh, reading report after report while he worked through correspondence, signed documents, and occasionally dictated orders to guards who came and went.
At first, she was so tense she could barely focus on the words.
But slowly slowly her body began to adjust.
Kael's hand remained on her waist, a constant warm pressure. Sometimes his thumb would brush absent-mindedly against her hip. Sometimes he'd shift slightly, adjusting her position without asking.
He never hurt her.
But he never let her forget who was in control.
Between reports, he would ask her questions:
"What do you think this means?"
"Does anything seem unusual to you?"
"If you were planning an attack, where would you strike?"
At first, she stammered through her answers, terrified of saying the wrong thing.
But he never mocked her. Never punished her for honest mistakes.
He listened.
And that was somehow more unsettling than if he'd been cruel.
At some point, a Beta wolf entered a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair and sharp green eyes.
He stopped short when he saw Seraphine sitting on Kael's lap.
His expression flickered surprise, confusion, disapproval before smoothing into careful neutrality.
"My king," he said, bowing slightly. "I have the updated border reports."
Kael didn't move Seraphine. Didn't explain her presence.
"Darius," he said, nodding toward the desk. "Leave them there."
Darius his Beta, Seraphine realized set down a folder and stepped back.
His eyes flicked to Seraphine again. She saw the question in them:
What are you?
Kael's hand tightened fractionally on her waist.
A warning.
Darius caught it immediately. His gaze snapped back to Kael.
"Will that be all, my king?"
"For now."
Darius bowed again and left.
The door closed.
Seraphine exhaled shakily.
Kael's voice was low, almost amused. "He doesn't approve."
She didn't know what to say to that.
Kael leaned back slightly, his hand sliding from her waist to rest on her lower back.
"He thinks you're a distraction," Kael continued thoughtfully. "A weakness."
His fingers traced a slow circle against her spine.
"He's wrong."
He turned her slightly so she was facing him more directly, his silver eyes boring into hers.
"You're not a weakness, Seraphine."
His hand came up to cup her face.
"You're a mystery."
His thumb brushed her lower lip.
"And I will solve you."
Her breath hitched.
For a long moment, they stayed like that frozen in a tableau of predator and prey.
Then Kael released her and turned back to his work as if nothing had happened.
"Next report," he said calmly.
She picked up the paper with shaking hands.
Late Afternoon
When Astrid finally came to collect her, Seraphine's entire body ached from sitting still for so long.
Kael dismissed her with a simple: "Same time tomorrow."
Not a question.
A command.
As she walked back to her room, flanked by Astrid's cold silence, Seraphine's mind spun.
He was going to summon her every day.
Keep her close.
Study her.
Test her.
And she had no idea what he was looking for.
Or what would happen when he found it.
That Night
Seraphine lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Her body still remembered the warmth of his hand on her waist. The sound of his voice in her ear. The way his thumb had traced her lip.
She hated that she remembered.
Hated that some small, traitorous part of her had felt... safe.
He was dangerous. Ruthless. A predator who'd claimed her for reasons she didn't understand.
But he hadn't hurt her.
Not yet.
Not yet.
She rolled onto her side, pulling the blankets tighter.
Outside her door, she heard the now-familiar sound of footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Pausing.
She held her breath.
The footsteps moved on.
And somehow, that felt worse than if he'd come in.
----------
Kael stood at the window of his private chambers, a glass of whiskey in hand, staring out at the moonlit grounds.
His wolf was restless.
Pacing.
Demanding.
Claim her. Mark her. Make her ours.
"Not yet," Kael muttered aloud.
His wolf snarled in frustration.
But Kael forced it down.
He'd spent hours today with Seraphine on his lap, her scent filling his lungs, her warmth seeping into his skin.
And she'd been useful.
Her observations had been sharp sharper than some of his trained warriors.
She noticed details others missed. Patterns in the reports that even Darius had overlooked.
She was clever.
And she was hiding something.
He could smell it on her the faint edge of secrets, buried deep.
Every time he asked about her parents, her heartbeat spiked. Every time he got too close, her body tensed in a way that spoke of more than just fear.
She knew something.
Or she was something.
And he would find out what.
Kael downed the rest of his whiskey and set the glass aside.
Tomorrow, he'd summon her again.
And the day after that.
And the day after that.
Until she couldn't hide anymore.
Until she was so tangled in his presence that she couldn't imagine being anywhere else.
His wolf rumbled approval.
Kael's reflection in the window showed silver eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
"Soon," he promised his wolf.
"Soon she'll be ours."