MICAELA

The moment I stepped into his office, I suddenly felt something.

A scent.

My chest tightened, my wolf stirred awake, and one word filled my head.

Mate.

Again?!

No, it can't be possible!

I froze. The cruel, distant Alpha Barrett, the man who bought me, was my mate.

He stood near the window, back turned, his posture calm. The light caught the sharp line of his jaw when he finally looked at me, and the air in the room changed. I couldn’t breathe.

But he didn’t react. His eyes were steady, cold. He didn’t feel it.

The realization hit hard. He couldn’t sense me. He didn’t know.

Barrett motioned toward the chair across from him. “Sit.”

I obeyed, my pulse loud in my ears.

He opened a folder and pushed it toward me. “The doctor said you passed the tests. You’re suitable.”

“Suitable?” I repeated quietly.

“To breed,” he said without hesitation.

The word hit like a slap.

He continued, calm as ever. “Once the child is born, you’ll be compensated and released. If it’s a son, you’ll leave with protection and money. If it’s a daughter, the agreement changes.”

I stared at the papers in front of me, my hands shaking. “You’re serious?”

Barrett’s expression didn’t change. “I don’t waste time joking.”

I wanted to scream at him, to throw the papers in his face, but I couldn’t. He was stronger, colder and unreadable. And my mate.

My wolf howled inside me, furious and confused.

“What if I refuse?” I asked.

He leaned forward, voice steady. “You won’t. Because you have nowhere else to go.”

He was right. I had no one. No home. No pack. I’d been sold like an object, and now I sat across from the man the goddess decided to tie me to.

I swallowed hard, forcing the words out. “You don’t even know what you’re doing. You can’t smell me, can you?”

His eyes flickered for a second, but he said nothing.

“You can’t,” I repeated quietly. “You don’t even know what I am to you.”

He stood slowly, walking around the desk until he was standing close, too close.

“What you are,” he said, voice low, “is someone under my roof. You’ll follow my orders and you’ll stay alive. That’s all you need to understand.”

I wanted to hate him. I really did. But being this close made my heartbeat twist.

Barrett placed a pen beside the contract. “Sign it.”

I stared down at the papers again. Each line was a cage, rules, conditions, restrictions. No leaving the mansion, no visitors, no outside contact. Even what I could eat was listed.

My voice came out small. “And if I don’t?”

His gaze didn’t soften. “Then you’ll wish you had.”

I gripped the pen, my hand trembling. My wolf whined, begging me to fight. But I couldn’t fight an Alpha, not here. Not him.

So I signed.

The ink bled into the paper, sealing my fate.

Barrett took the file without looking at me. “Good. You’ll move into the west wing tomorrow. Someone will prepare the room.”

I pushed the chair back, but he stopped me with one word. “Wait.”

I froze.

He walked closer again, slow and deliberate, until he was standing right in front of me. The scent that had pulled me apart before came stronger now. My breath hitched.

He reached out, his hand lifting toward my chin. My first instinct was to flinch, but I didn’t. His fingers brushed my skin, rough and warm, and my body reacted before my mind could stop it.

A spark shot through me. Real. Instant. The bond recognizing him even if he didn’t.

His gaze lowered to where his hand touched my jaw. For a second, he looked almost confused, like he’d felt something he couldn’t explain.

Then it was gone. His expression hardened again, his tone cold. “You’ll eat well, sleep early, and follow the doctor’s schedule. I don’t want weakness.”

I nodded slowly, forcing myself to keep my voice steady. “You talk about me like I’m a project.”

He stepped back, putting distance between us. “You are.”

The words cut deeper than I expected.

When I stood, he didn’t stop me. My legs were unsteady, my throat tight, but I managed to speak. “You really don’t feel it, do you?”

He turned his head slightly. “Feel what?”

I almost said it. I almost told him. But something stopped me. The pride that still lived somewhere inside me. If he couldn’t sense our bond, I wasn’t going to beg him to.

“Nothing,” I said quietly.

Barrett’s eyes followed me as I moved toward the door. “You’ll get used to the rules,” he said behind me.

“I don’t think I will,” I muttered.

He didn’t respond.

I reached the door and placed my hand on the handle, but then I stopped. My pulse was racing, my chest tight. I turned to face him.

“Why me?” I asked. “Out of everyone you could have chosen, why did you buy me?”

His expression was unreadable. “You were available.”

My chest hurt. “That’s it?”

He nodded once. “That’s it.”

Then his tone turned cold again. “You may go.”

I didn’t move. I just stared at him. “You act like you don’t care about anything,” I said quietly. “But you do. You just don’t know how to show it.”

Something flickered in his eyes, but he ignored it. “Leave.”

I nodded slowly, holding his gaze a moment longer before I turned to go.

As I walked down the hall, I could still feel his scent clinging to me. My wolf was restless, pacing inside me. He’s ours, she whispered, he just doesn’t know it yet.

I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to steady my heartbeat. I should hate him, but the bond made it impossible. The pull was too strong. The mate bond wasn’t fair, it didn’t care about cruelty or kindness.

All I knew was that I had to survive this place. I had to survive him.

Because one day, he would find out what I was to him.

And when he did, everything would change.