Annabella's POV

I froze on the fence, heart hammering, fingers gripping the rough wood like if I let go, I’d vanish into a thousand pieces.

He stepped out of the shadows by the stables. Ordinary. Then I turned to look at him, he had brown hair, kind of messy, eyes a little sharp, mouth twitching like he wanted to laugh at something. Clothes were simple, boots scuffed. Definitely not a prince or an Alpha. Probably a beta.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. He didn’t know me. Didn’t even glance my way. Perfect. Maybe I could ask him to help.

I hopped down from the fence before thinking. My boots hit the dirt and I scrambled toward him. “Hey!” I called. “Please, I need your help!”

He turned, raised an eyebrow, and gave me a look that could have been friendly or could have been ‘please go away, I have no idea who you are.’ “You need my help?” he asked, voice calm.

“Yes!” I said, waving my hands like an idiot. “I need..look, I can’t stay there. The Alpha….”

He frowned. “The Alpha? Silvercrest?”

“Yes!” I nearly shouted, and then stopped. I wanted to say something clever about ugly, cruel monsters, but my throat went dry. “I. I need to get out of there. I can’t..OMG he’s ugh! You don’t understand! He’s..he’s…”

“Ugly,” he finished my sentence. Eyes sparkling. “That’s what everyone says?”

“Yes,” I said, a little stunned. “Exactly. He’s horrible. People say he kills people when he’s mad, doesn’t go outside much, wives in different houses. I heard it all and he most likely doesn't go out much cuz he's a beast urghhh I already have goose bumps thinking about it.” I leaned closer. “So you can help me, right?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“What? What do you mean no?” My voice cracked. “You can’t just..so you’re heartless, right? You’re one of his… people, aren’t you? You’re just standing there while a lady is in distress?”

“I’m not heartless,” he said, calm. “I just… need to know why you want to go.”

“Why I want to go?” I shouted. “Why I want to go? Because if I don’t, I get sold like a horse to a palace full of rich people with silver teeth and bad tempers!”

He frowned. “Sold to the palace? You mean… you’re the treaty bride?”

“Yes! Thank you for noticing!” I yelled, taking a step closer, waving my hands again. “Exactly! That’s why I’m running. Because the Alpha’s..he’s… well, scary. And his wives… well, you know, they’re everywhere.”

He didn’t move, , didn’t scold me for yelling. Just tilted his head and smiled a little. I noticed his smile, and somehow it made my stomach drop. Calm, quiet, but it made me feel… weird.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said. “Not just because you’re scared. Because I can’t let you.”

“What the hell?” I said, stepping up onto the fence again, trying to put some distance between us and the palace. “I’m not trying to fight you. I just..let me go. Please… pretty please! Come on bro help me go, what is wrong with you.”

He didn’t move toward me. Just… leapt. I swear he jumped like a cat with a purpose I didn’t even know existed. In one motion, he was in front of me, hands grabbing my arms, pushing me down before I could climb higher.

“What the. what the fuck!” I shouted, scrambling back, but he had this weird, unshakable grip on me.

“I said I can’t let you escape,” he said, voice calm but firm. “Because the person you’re running from… is me.”

I froze. “Wait. You’re…what?” My brain short-circuited. “You’re the Alpha? The Kael?, Aiii solma… there's no way, that's not possible, you're joking with me right? Right? Hahahah…” my smile slowly faded

He didn’t answer. Just held my arms loosely, enough that I couldn’t move but not enough that I felt trapped. “Yes,” he said finally. “I’m the one you’re supposed to marry.”

I blinked. Then blinked again. Then… bowed. My knees hit the dirt before I even realized it. “My lord… I..” My voice cracked. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have tried to..”

Before I could finish, he bent down, lifted me off the ground effortlessly, and hugged me. Warm. His arms around me made me want to say something , but my brain refused to function.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly against my hair. “I understand. You’re scared. I’d probably be scared too.”

I froze. The words were soft. Gentle. And somehow, impossibly, human. I wanted to ask a million questions, but one came first. “Can you… keep that? My trying to escape… let it be a secret?”

He lifted his head just enough to look at me. A little smile on his face. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

I exhaled, trembling. Part relief, part fear, part disbelief. I had just… told the Alpha I tried to run, and he didn’t yell. He didn’t even scold me. He understood.

“You don’t even know me,” I muttered, more to myself than him. “And you’re already… being kind.”

“I’ve noticed you,” he said quietly, and I didn’t know if that was comforting or terrifying. My stomach twisted. “And your reasons were valid, I like how honest you were.”

I wanted to cry for saying such a thing to him and now taking a closer look he's pretty not ordinarily, extra ordinarily pretty, his sharp jawline, round bright eyes and his hair was so pretty, he was tall and had broad shoulders and his teeth shone brighter than my future. I guess this is why it's named Silvercrest afterall. Man fuck who ever spread those rumors, I wouldn't have been so sad, had I known the Alpha I was getting married to was this hot.

He tilted his head, smiling again, like it was a puzzle he was enjoying. “I’m the Alpha,” he said simply. “You should get used to it.”

I gawked at him. “Get used to it?” I whispered. “I. God, I’m already trapped in your kingdom. I don’t even know your palace yet. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, and your wives…I heard your wives are everywhere”

“Not everywhere,” he said, voice patient, though I could hear a flicker of amusement there. “Somewhere. But not everywhere. And they’re not you. So that makes it… different.”

Instead, I muttered, “You’re ridiculous.”

He smiled wider. “Maybe. But at least I caught you before you hurt yourself. And me.”

I wanted to argue, but the truth slammed into me like a fist I couldn’t dodge. He was the Alpha. He was the one I was supposed to marry. And somehow, even in the middle of my panic and anger, I felt a small, impossible thread of… safety.

I swallowed hard. “Thank you,” I said, voice barely audible.

“For what?”

“For… understanding me.”

He held my gaze for a long moment, then finally let me go. Not far, just enough that I could breathe. “It’s a start,” he said.

Then he laughed quietly, “Don’t try that again,” he said. “It won’t end well for you.”

I blinked. “Noted,” I muttered, “Also… don’t tell anyone, right?”

“I won’t, I already promised” he said, and smiled that impossible smile again.