Chapter 4

*Dimitri*

Selene slipped back into my office, settling into the chair opposite me. Her eyes searched mine. “Well? How was it, Alpha?”

“She signed without hesitation,” I answered, my voice low, clipped. “No argument, no resistance. Nothing.”

I should’ve been pleased. Instead, disappointment tugged at me. I had expected her to claw, to cry, to beg , to be like every other Alpha’s daughter, greedy for power or desperate to warm an Alpha’s bed. But Nyra Dorn… she accepted everything as though none of it mattered.

The way relief softened her face when I told her she’d have her own room… It unsettled me. For the first time in my life, I felt something I hated: undesirable.

I turned to Rowan. “You traveled with her two days. What did you see?”

He shrugged, though his eyes lingered on the memory. “She was… quiet. Polite. More hurt than angry, if I’m honest. I saw no bond with her family. She clung to her friends, but not to her father. It’s as if she didn’t belong to them at all.” His jaw tensed. “She even asked me if I would hurt her. As if she expected it.”

Selene’s voice was softer. “I gave her one of the worst rooms, as you asked. She was happy. Do you know why? Because she said she’d been living in the attic for years.”

Silence blanketed the room. Even I had no words for that.

Selene leaned forward. “Perhaps we were wrong about her. Perhaps she didn’t know about this marriage.”

I raked a hand through my hair, frustrated. “Then why?” My voice roughened. “Why would the king force this on me? Why now, when war with Ashthorne still rages?”

“Could Queen Selandra have influenced him?” Rowan asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. But we’ll find out.”

My gaze dropped to the file the king had handed me. A neat folder, Nyra’s details laid bare in ink , her lineage, her height, her weight, her face captured in still images. All true. Yet the girl I saw was nothing like the spoiled child the king had described.

“Send eyes to Shadowfen,” I ordered Rowan. “I want everything on her past. No detail too small.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

But even as he bowed, I couldn’t shake the gnawing question clawing at me. Why her?

*Nyra*

The thunder split the sky in two, ripping me from sleep. My body stiffened, fists twisting in the sheets. The storm dragged me backward , to that night.

“No,” I whimpered, turning my head. “Don’t, don’t come near me.”

My breaths came in short, jagged gasps as the memories crashed over me. My voice rose, trembling, breaking. “Stop! Please stop!”

The cry ripped from my throat before I even knew it.

The door slammed open. I jolted awake, eyes wide, heart in my throat. And there he was , Alpha Dimitri, tall and broad, framed in the doorway like a shadow I couldn’t outrun.

Panic surged. I scrambled off the bed, bowing low. “I’m sorry, Alpha! Forgive me, I didn’t mean to wake you. It was only a nightmare.” The words tumbled out fast, the way I’d learned at home , apologize, beg, soften the blow. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it saved me.

But Dimitri didn’t lash out. His brow furrowed. “Why are you on the floor?”

I blinked, startled. “I… I haven’t slept in a bed for three years. I thought I’d rest easier on the ground.”

His eyes flicked to the untouched bed, then back to me. His jaw tightened. “You had a nightmare because you’re uncomfortable. Get back on the bed. Now.”

The command left no room for disobedience. I scrambled onto the mattress, dragging the sheets over my legs when I caught the weight of his stare. My skin burned, and I curled my arms around myself.

Selene and Rowan burst in behind him, their shock plain when they found their Alpha in my room.

“Alpha,” Rowan said carefully, hiding his surprise. “We heard her scream.”

Selene came closer. “Nyra, what happened?”

“I, ” My throat tightened. I glanced at Dimitri, then back at Selene. “It was just a dream. A memory from three years ago. The storm… the trees against the window… it brought it back.”

Her eyes softened. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head quickly. “No. I’ve made peace with it. Sometimes it just returns when I sleep, but I’m fine.”

“Get her water,” Dimitri ordered. Rowan obeyed immediately, returning with a pitcher and glass. I drank, my trembling finally easing.

When I set the cup down, Dimitri’s gaze pinned me. “Sleep on the bed,” he said firmly. “If I find you on the floor again, and you wake screaming, ” his voice dropped lower, dangerous, “, I’ll tie you to the bed myself.”

I nodded so quickly my head spun.

The three of them left, voices murmuring outside my door. I lay back against the pillows, staring into the dark. I tried to count sheep, tried to press my body to exhaustion, but sleep teased and taunted me for hours.

When I finally drifted, the storm was still raging outside. But my dreams surprised me.

It wasn’t the storm that haunted me this time. It was him. Dimitri.

In the haze of sleep, I saw his hand brush my hair back, his fingers trace my cheek. His dark eyes , usually sharp, unyielding , looked down at me with something softer. Something I didn’t understand. And for reasons I couldn’t explain, that image… calmed me.

The man who was supposed to be my prison somehow became the reason I slept through the storm.

I blinked once and the next time I opened my eyes, it was morning. Immediately after breakfast with the staff, Selene found me.

“Nyra, we have much to prepare , your gown, the ceremony. But first, we’re moving you to another room.”

I frowned. “Another room?”

“Yes,” she nodded, her tone matter-of-fact. “It’s quieter, farther from the trees. You’ll have a view of the entire pack from the top floor.” She hesitated, then added, “Alpha Dimitri thought it would help you rest easier.”

My heart stumbled. “Oh no. Did I upset him last night?” I groaned, biting my lip.

Selene didn’t answer. Instead, she helped me gather my meager belongings , it took less than an hour , and we climbed two floors higher. This part of the packhouse was brighter, richer, every detail polished.

Finally, we stopped at a door. Selene turned to me with a small smile. “Here. This will be your new room.”

I stepped forward, but froze when she added, almost too casually, “It’s right next to Alpha Dimitri’s chambers.”

My jaw dropped. My hand flew to my mouth.

Next to him?

Had I just landed myself in even more trouble?

.