The car passed the Middle Class region where the houses actually had painted walls and intact roofs. But we didn't stop there. We kept climbing until the air smelled of blooming jasmine and expensive security.
By the time we reached the High Class gates, the guards didn't even check our IDs. They saw the vehicle, caught a whiff of the Prince's scent, and the gates swung open like they were bowing.
"We aren't going through the front," Kaeren informed.
"Ashamed to be seen with a 'shack rat'?" I bit out, trying to hide the fact that my palms were sweating.
"I'm avoiding a circus," he countered, finally looking at me.
His eyes tracked the smudge of soot on my collarbone. "If my stepmom, her daughter, my brother, or my uncle sees you in this state, they'll have you dissected before you can say 'Spain.' You're a surprise for tomorrow. Tonight, you're a secret."
He tapped the glass, and the car veered off the main drive, taking a narrow, tree-lined path that led toward what he called the servant's entrance near the kitchens.
Even the richest person in the outer district didn't have such a beautiful, spacious home. The servant's entrance, he said?!
The car stopped. Kaeren moved first, stepping out and pulling me after him before the driver could even open the door. He pushed me forward with his hand on the small of my back, sending sparks instead of annoyance within me…
… and that left me annoyed. Very. How could my body react in such a way to the douchebag who wasn't even trying to hide his irritation with me?
"Keep your head down," he hissed.
The sneak was anything but graceful. We had to navigate a narrow stone corridor that smelled of roasting meat and expensive detergent. Twice, we had to duck into the shadows of arched alcoves as servants hurried past with silver trays.
In the cramped darkness of a linen closet alcove, the world suddenly shrank to the space between us. Kaeren pressed me against the cold stone wall to hide us from a passing maid.
His body acted as a shield, pressing me into the hard masonry. My chest heaved, my breath hitching as it hit the hollow of his throat. He was so close I could feel the heat radiating from his chest through the thin, blood-stained fabric of my dress.
"Pia is purring," my wolf whispered, sounding utterly betrayed by her own instincts. "Why is she purring? He's literally holding us hostage."
His hand shifted from my back to the wall beside my head. He was looking down at me with a challenge darkening his silvery gold eyes. He hated me for being the face that forced him into this messy gamble when he was the one who sought me out first, and I hated him for being the man who thought he could buy my loyalty.
And yet, in the silence of the corridor, the air felt charged, like the moment before a lightning strike. My heart wasn't just thudding from fear anymore; it was reacting to the raw, Alpha power of the man pinning me down.
"You're a mess, Waverly," he breathed, his gaze dropping to my lips for a split second before snapping back to my eyes.
His anger was palpable, but it was tangled with a frustrated, electric tension that seemed to spark to life between us.
"And you're a liar, Your Highness," I whispered back, swallowing down the foreign sensation pooling in my throat.
His jaw tightened, his face inches from mine. "I'm the liar that's keeping you alive. Remember that when you're soaking in the tub I'll prepare for you. I didn't bring you here because I wanted you. I brought you here because I need you to play a part. And pawns don't get to have an attitude."
'Pawns'? Really? I'm just a pawn to him?!
He pulled away abruptly, the loss of his heat making me feel cold and exposed. He led me up a winding back staircase, the wood polished so brightly I could see my own terrified reflection.
We reached a heavy oak door at the end of a secluded wing. He pushed it open, revealing a suite that was larger than my entire foster home.
"Stay here," he commanded, stepping back into the hallway. "Austin will send the staff to scrub you. Don't try the windows; you might get spotted. And Waverly?"
I turned, my hand on the doorframe.
"Enjoy the silk. It's much more expensive than polyester." He smirked with a mocking glint in his eyes.
Why, that jerk!
The door clicked shut, the lock turning with a finality that echoed through the room. I was safe from the shacks, safe from the Syndicate, and safe from the law.
But as I looked at the massive canopy bed and the marble bath, I knew that being Kaeren's "fated mate" in a house full of people that were on a much higher plane than I was… was going to be a different kind of death sentence.
.
The bathroom was a temple of ivory and gold, and for the first time in my life, I didn't have to count the seconds of hot water. I scrubbed until my skin glowed pink, watching the grey residue of the Outer District swirl down the drain.
For a moment, I felt like a Queen, or at least, what I imagined a Queen felt like before the world tried to take her crown.
I stepped out of the steam, wrapping myself in a white robe. I didn't bother tying the silk sash; I expected the maids to burst in at any second with the "midnight silk" Kaeren had promised.
The room was vast, the air-conditioned chill raising goosebumps on my damp skin. A strange, bubbly giddiness rose in my chest.
I was alive. I was clean. I was in a palace.
I started to hum a tune I'd heard on a passing radio in the Middle District. I began to twirl, the heavy silk of the untied robe flaring out around my hips, baring the curve of my waist and the line of my thighs to the cool air.
I felt free. I felt like I was finally shedding the skin of the girl who scrubbed latrines.
Just then, the door suddenly clicked open.
I spun around, a laugh dying in my throat, expecting to see a row of grey-uniformed maids.
Instead, I found Kaeren.
He was leaning against the doorframe, his dark hoodie gone, replaced by a black dress shirt with the top buttons undone. He froze, his hand still on the silver handle. His golden eyes darkened instantly as they swept over me—from my damp, tousled hair down to the open front of my robe, which hung precariously off my shoulders.
Shit. I was near naked.