I didn’t expect the compound to look like this.

When I imagined a werewolf pack’s territory, I pictured caves and claw marks. Dirt floors and bone piles. But what Kale drove us into looked more like a fortress pulled out of an old war movie—stone towers, long iron gates, high walls, and torch-lit paths.

The SUV rumbled through the main gates like it belonged, but the second we passed the outer barrier, I felt the shift. Not just in the pressure around me, but in something deeper—something inside me. Like my blood recognized the land.

Or feared it.

The vehicle rolled to a stop in front of a stone building that looked too large and too cold to be a home. Two figures were waiting on the steps, both men, both tall, broad, and wearing matching black.

Pack guards?

Kale killed the engine but didn’t look at me. “Don’t speak unless I say so.”

I bristled. “Excuse me?”

He finally turned. “This isn’t your world, Aura. Not yet. They don’t know who you are. They’ll smell the mark and know you’re mine, but they’ll still test you. Don’t give them a reason to doubt my claim.”

My fists clenched in my lap. “So now I’m property?”

“No,” he said. “You’re protected. There’s a difference.”

He stepped out first. The two men stiffened the second they saw him, bowing slightly at the waist.

“Alpha.”

“Status?” Kale asked, voice sharp.

“Perimeter’s clear. No rogue scents inside the ridge. We’ve doubled patrols since we caught the trail near the river.”

“And inside?”

“No unusual movement.” One of the guards flicked his eyes toward me. “Except this.”

Kale’s gaze darkened. “She’s not your concern.”

The man held up his hands and stepped back. “Understood.”

Kale opened my door.

I stepped out, heart hammering in my chest as their eyes landed on me. One sniffed the air and visibly flinched.

“She’s…”

“Marked,” Kale said coolly. “Yes. We’ll talk later.”

They didn’t say anything else, but their stares lingered too long. Judging. Measuring.

I followed Kale up the wide stone steps, my sneakers nearly silent on the old stone. The front doors opened before he touched them.

Another man waited inside. Older. Scar across his brow. Pale eyes like frostbite.

“Alpha,” he greeted with a nod, then looked at me. “So. It’s true.”

Kale ignored the comment. “Where’s Rhea?”

“In the west wing. She’s been waiting.”

“She’ll wait longer.”

The man didn’t blink. “She won’t be happy.”

“She rarely is.”

I wanted to ask who Rhea was, but something about the old man’s eyes made my throat dry up.

We moved through the halls in silence, the air thick with tension and the scent of cedar, ash, and something faintly metallic—blood, maybe. My footsteps echoed softly, and every turn revealed more of the strange fortress: stone walls, torch sconces, dark wooden doors that looked a century old.

“This place is a castle,” I whispered.

“Not a castle,” Kale said. “A stronghold.”

“Same thing.”

He glanced down at me. “No. A castle is made to impress. A stronghold is made to survive.”

We stopped in front of a heavy door with black iron hinges. He pushed it open and motioned for me to go in.

I hesitated. “You sure it’s not a dungeon?”

“I can put you in one if you prefer.”

I didn’t answer. I stepped inside.

The room was large—larger than the living room of any house I’d ever lived in. A fire blazed in a stone hearth. The bed was massive, covered in thick furs. Windows stretched high and narrow across the far wall, letting in moonlight that lit the space in cold silver.

I turned slowly, taking it all in.

“This isn’t mine,” I said. “No way this is for me.”

“It is now,” Kale said behind me.

I spun around. “Wait—am I sleeping here? With you?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you see me undressing?”

“I see one bed.”

“It’s my room. You’ll stay here until I decide otherwise.”

“I’m not a prisoner.”

He stepped closer. “You’re not free, either. Not until I know you’re stable.”

“Stable?” I echoed, laughing bitterly. “Is that what you call being dragged from my life, marked by a stranger, and dumped in a stone fortress full of wolves who look like they want to rip me apart?”

“You’re not safe out there.”

“And I’m not safe here either!”

We were too close. Again. And I hated how the heat surged through my chest every time he looked at me like this. Like I was fire and he wanted to burn.

“You don’t get it, Aura,” he said, voice low. “If I hadn’t marked you, they would’ve killed you. You’re not just any wolf.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Then tell me. What am I?”

His lips parted, but a sharp knock interrupted.

Kale cursed under his breath. “Stay here.”

Before I could reply, he was gone.

⸻

I paced for nearly twenty minutes before I heard voices outside the door.

Then another voice cut through the hallway, sharp and female.

“She’s not one of us, Kale. You had no right.”

“I had every right.”

“Bringing an untrained, half-wild girl into our home? Marking her? You think that won’t cause chaos?”

“I don’t care.”

The door flung open.

A woman stepped in like she owned the place. Tall, willowy, silver hair braided down her back. Sharp cheekbones. Cold blue eyes that scanned me from head to toe like I was a threat.

So this was Rhea.

She crossed her arms. “So. This is the girl who turned my Alpha into a fool.”

Kale stepped in behind her, jaw clenched. “That’s enough.”

Rhea looked at me with disdain. “You’ll break him.”

I stood straighter. “You don’t know me.”

She smiled like a blade. “I don’t need to.”

With one last glance at Kale, she turned and left, the door slamming shut behind her.

I turned to Kale, heart thudding.

“Who is she?” I asked.

He didn’t answer. Just stared at the door, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.

“You’ve got enemies inside your own pack,” I whispered.

He turned to me.

And the look in his eyes said it all.

“No,” he said. “We do.”