Amber.
The guards’ hands were like iron clamps on my arms. They hauled me from the ballroom, my worn shoes skidding on the polished marble.
“Please,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I didn’t do anything. It was an accident.”
The taller guard grunted. “Quiet. You will speak when the King commands it.”
“But where are you taking me?” Panic was a cold serpent coiling in my stomach. “To the dungeons?”
They didn’t answer. We moved through endless, opulent hallways, the sound of our footsteps echoing off the high ceilings. Portraits of stern-faced ancestors watched my pathetic procession.
“I have to get home,” I tried again, the image of Leo’s pale face flashing in my mind. “My brother, he’s sick. He’s alone.”
The second guard, the one who looked like a general, finally spoke. His voice was gravelly but not entirely unkind. “The King’s orders were absolute.”
“What orders?” I asked, desperation making my voice thin.
“That you are not to escape,” he said, and the finality in his tone stole the rest of my questions.
They stopped before a set of gilded doors at the top of a winding tower staircase. This was not the way to the dungeons. I had scrubbed the floors leading to that dark, damp place. This was something else entirely.
The tall guard produced a heavy iron key and unlocked the door, pushing it open.
“In here,” he commanded.
I stepped inside and froze. This was not a cell. It was a suite of rooms so luxurious it made the grand ballroom look plain. A massive bed with silken sheets sat in the center. A fireplace, already lit, crackled merrily. The far wall was made entirely of glass, offering a breathtaking view of the snow-covered kingdom under the moonlight.
“This… this is a mistake,” I stammered, turning back to them.
“There is no mistake,” the general said, his face grim. “Do not try to leave. The door will be locked. The windows are reinforced.”
“But why? Why am I here? I’m just a servant.”
“You are the King’s prisoner,” the tall one sneered. “That is all you need to know.”
They pulled the door shut. The heavy sound of the lock clicking into place was like a death knell. I was alone.
I rushed to the door and pulled on the handle. It was solid, immovable. I ran to the wall of glass, pressing my hands against the cool surface. The intricate metalwork woven into the glass was beautiful, and I realized with a jolt of fear, it was also a cage. I was trapped.
“What is happening?” I whispered to my reflection in the dark glass. A terrified girl with tangled hair and a cheap, borrowed uniform stared back at me.
I paced the room like a trapped animal, my heart hammering against my ribs. Why would they put me here? Prisoners were thrown in cells to rot. They weren’t given silk sheets and a private fireplace.
Unless this was a different kind of prison. A waiting room.
My mind raced back to the ballroom. The scent of pine and thunderstorms. The way the King’s eyes had locked on mine. The violent, irresistible pull that had brought me to my knees.
I knew the old stories. Every wolf-shifter child did. Tales of the fated, the mate bond woven by the Moon Goddess herself. A connection so powerful it could bring kings to their knees.
A connection that was said to be unbreakable.
“No,” I breathed, shaking my head. “It can’t be. It’s impossible.”
The King was an Alpha. The most powerful Alpha in the kingdom. And he was married. Happily, from all accounts. His Queen, Sienna, was an Alpha herself. Theirs was a union of power that secured the throne.
I was an Omega. A nobody from the slums. I was dirt under their noble fingernails.
An hour passed. Or maybe it was three. Time blurred in my panic. Finally, I heard the sound of the lock scraping again.
I scrambled back against the far wall as the door opened. A young guard entered, not one of the two from before. He carried a silver tray with a pitcher of water and a single glass. He looked barely older than me, his face nervous.
“The General sent this,” he said, his eyes avoiding mine. He set the tray on a small table.
“Please, you have to tell me what’s going on,” I begged, my voice cracking.
“I don’t know anything,” he said quickly. Too quickly.
“Everyone knows something,” I insisted, taking a hesitant step toward him. “I dropped a tray. That’s all I did. Why am I locked in a tower?”
“My orders are just to bring you water.” He turned to leave.
“It was the King,” I said, the words tumbling out in a rush. “He looked at me, and… and I fell. Did he think I was trying to attack him?”
The guard paused at the door, his back to me. “No one thinks you were attacking him.”
My breath hitched. “Then what do they think? What did he feel?”
When the guard turned, I saw pity in his eyes. It was worse than the contempt I was used to. Pity meant I was doomed.
“The bond,” I whispered, the horrifying realization finally solidifying. “It was the mate bond, wasn’t it?”
He flinched. “You should not say such things.”
“So it’s true.” The room spun. I leaned against a chair for support. “The Alpha King. My mate.”
“It’s a complication,” the guard said, his voice low.
“A complication?” I laughed, a sharp, hysterical sound. “He is mated to Queen Sienna! Their alliance holds this kingdom together. An Omega from the slums showing up as his true mate isn’t a complication. It’s treason.”
“The King ordered you kept safe,” he insisted, though he looked less certain now.
“Safe?” I repeated, my voice rising. “He can’t keep me safe from this! The Council, the Queen, her entire pack… they will see me as a threat to the throne. A threat to the stability of the kingdom. Do you know what they do to threats like me?”
He remained silent, his hand gripping the door handle.
“They eliminate them,” I answered for him, the words tasting like ash. “They will call for my head. They will say I bewitched him. They will demand my execution to preserve the alliance with the Queen’s family.”
My legs finally gave out, and I sank to the plush carpet, wrapping my arms around myself.
“This isn’t a sanctuary,” I whispered, looking around the beautiful, gilded cage. “It’s death row. He just put me somewhere comfortable to wait for the executioner.”
The young guard looked at me, his face pale. He opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it. He slipped out of the room, and the lock slammed shut once more, sealing my fate.
