Lilith
Sunlight burned against my eyelids. I groaned and turned away from it instinctively, throwing my arm over my face to deter the sharp brightness.
Yet, the damned light refused to fade. It only grew warmer and brighter, pressing insistently against my skin. Where on earth was this beam of light coming from? Last time I checked, the dungeon did not have windows.
The only opening had been a narrow slit near the ceiling, hardly wide enough for a strip of air, let alone this flood of light that now warmed my skin.
I squeezed my eyes tighter, annoyed, assuming the guards had decided to torment me by forcing light into the cell. Muttering under my breath, I rolled onto my side to shield my eye. My hand sank into something soft, instead of the cold slab I'd lain on last night.
I froze. Very slowly, I became aware of the mattress beneath my body. My heart began to pound. I tried to take slow breaths, but my lungs were immediately filled with Alpha Jaxon's scent.
I jolted upright so violently that the room spun. This was not the dungeon. My stomach dropped. I knew this room: The Alpha's chambers.
The last thing I remembered was the dungeon. Had he brought me back? Bile surged into my throat at the thought. Had he rejected me publicly only to drag me here again in private and use me again because he could?
I would rather die than let him touch me again. My stomach churned violently. Who was I kidding? Alpha Jaxon was despicable enough to do it.
My hands trembled as I clutched the sheet tighter around myself. I was naked beneath it, exactly as I had been when they dragged me before the pack.
Just then, the chamber doors swung open, and I flinched instinctively.
The same two women who had dragged me from this very room yesterday stormed inside. I recoiled at the sight of them. "Stay back," I warned hoarsely.
Their eyes widened the moment they saw me sitting upright. Then, without hesitation, they dropped to their knees.
"Alpha," they said in unison, their heads bowed deeply.
Alpha? Was I in a terrible drug-induced nightmare?
My breath hitched as I slowly turned, dreading to see Alpha Jaxon standing behind me, certain that he had entered behind me without my noticing. But there was no one there.
When no one responded, they slowly lifted their heads and looked directly at me.
"Alpha Lilith," one of them said with a smile. "You are awake."
I stared at her.
"I… what?"
"You gave us quite the fright," the other added quickly. "You collapsed two nights ago and did not wake for an entire day. The healers feared the worst."
My pulse roared in my ears.
"We are relieved to see you awake." They said simultaneously. "The pack has been restless and afraid."
I stared at them. This had to be a comedy at my expense. Laughter burst out from me before I could stop it. I pressed a hand to my mouth, trying to smother it, but it only came harder.
"This is a joke," I said between breaths. "Is this another humiliation tactic? Did he think this would be amusing?"
The women exchanged confused glances.
"Alpha?" one of them asked hesitantly.
I laughed again, shaking my head. "Is he hiding somewhere and waiting to see how I react? Does he want me to beg again?"
Their eyes widened, and they exchanged another glance.
"There is no one hiding, Alpha," one said quickly. "We are alone."
I laughed harder, then raised my voice and screamed. "Nice one, Alpha! What a wonderful, cruel joke!"
"Alpha," one of them said gently, "you have been unwell. You must not agitate yourself."
The door burst open again, and a young male guard rushed in without knocking.
"The council—" He froze mid-step when he saw me sitting upright in bed.
The two women moved faster than my eyes could track. In a blink, they lunged at him and knocked him flat against the wall. One pinned his arms while the other's claws extended dangerously near his throat.
"How dare you barge into the Alpha's chambers without permission?" one of them snarled.
He struggled, panic flashing across his face. "I—I apologize! I did not know she was awake—"
"Silence!" the other hissed, her claws extending slightly as she pressed harder against his throat.
I stared at them in disbelief. These were the same women who had dragged me naked before the pack. Now they were ready to rip out a throat for me. Impossible.
"Go ahead," I said flatly. "Rip his throat out. Maybe that would make this dream more convincing, or even better, I'll wake up from whatever madness this is."
All three of them froze. The women slowly turned their heads toward me. The guard stared as well, his face pale.
"You heard me," I continued, a strange calm washing over me. "Kill him. It won't change the fact that none of this is real."
The male's eyes widened in alarm. The women immediately released him and rushed toward me.
"Alpha," one said urgently, reaching for my arm.
"Has the illness affected your mind?" the other whispered anxiously.
The male recovered and hurried forward as well, kneeling at the bedside. "Should we summon the healer?"
I looked from one terrified face to another.
"You're all mad," I said softly. "Every single one of you."
The other woman knelt closer, peering into my face as if searching for signs of insanity. "Do you recognize us?"
"Do I recognize you?" I repeated slowly. "You dragged me naked through the hall while the pack laughed. How can I ever forget that?"
Their faces drained of color. The guard looked between us, confused and alarmed.
"She is not well," he muttered.
I laughed again.
"Of course I'm not well," I snapped. "I was rejected, publicly humiliated, and thrown into a dungeon. And now I wake up in your Alpha's bed while you kneel and call me Alpha."
"Alpha," one of the women said carefully, "there has been no other Alpha."
The world seemed to narrow to a single, terrifying point.
"What did you just say?" I asked.
"You are our only Alpha," she replied.