Silver

AURELIA

Aurelia held her ground, her gaze locked with the Alpha King’s.

They were destined for each other, according to prophecy. A couple with the potential for immense power, their path could lead to either peace or destruction. Either outcome seemed to suit the Alpha King just fine.

Alpha King Alastair was a creature unlike any other. Revered and feared by the most powerful beings on earth, his gaze was something most avoided, fearing some hidden power.

A power that could kill with a single look.

Yet, the girl before him held his gaze with ease. He was used to others cowering, their confidence and dignity left at the door.

And so, they stood there, locked in a silent battle of wills.

“Leave us,” the Alpha King commanded. The soft sounds of scuffling echoed as the other wolves obeyed their king’s order.

When the weight of his gaze became too much, Aurelia looked away.

“I guess you came for me, then,” she said, her mind flashing back to his words in her dream. ~I’m coming for you, little wolf.~ And so, he had.

His eyes darkened to a deep onyx at her words, swirling with what seemed like rage.

But he wasn’t angry. He just wanted her to tremble in fear, to realize she had disrespected her king. And she knew it.

They were evenly matched in wit, though neither of them realized it.

“Your grace,” she added, her voice steady, seemingly unaffected by the oppressive mood in the room. But inside, she was fighting his dominance with all her might.

“Your grace?” Alastair echoed, his tone menacing. It sent a chill down her spine colder than any winter’s night.

In a swift move, he grabbed her neck with his large, rough hand, squeezing gently, tightening his grip with each moment of fear she didn’t show.

But she was scared. Even though she knew about mates and that he couldn’t kill her, she was terrified. She hid it all behind a mask of self-respect.

She wouldn’t submit so easily.

He couldn’t have a mate who didn’t fear him. He couldn’t have one who would openly defy him, undermining his authority.

“You should remember who I am, little wolf. You may be my mate, but I could squeeze this pretty little neck of yours until you stop breathing,” he hissed, looking down at her.

He was trying to force her into submission.

He got the reaction he wanted from her. And then, he let her go.

But she wasn’t shaking out of fear of death. She had accepted death long ago.

She had met many mated couples in her life. As much as he might have wanted to, he couldn’t physically kill her. But the Alpha King was known to defy many laws of nature.

“What is your name?”

“Aurelia,” she replied, her voice soft, but her eyes stayed locked with his as if they belonged to him. The corners of his lips twitched as his hand cupped her cheek.

But his gentleness was a façade.

Heat radiated from his skin, threatening to burn her. The tingles pulsed through her, reaching down to her sex. He could smell her arousal, just as she could sense his.

Aurelia found the man before her intriguing. A game was beginning, a game she wasn’t sure she wanted to play. She knew she might start to miss her simple, quiet life back in her village.

Suddenly, the king’s hand shot out and grabbed between her legs, making her gasp. Her lips parted, but no words came out.

“Tonight, we will go to bed, I will mark and mate you and you will become a submissive little queen, kept mostly out of sight.

“You will bear me a child, a son, and you will take care of him until I train him to be a warrior. I won’t love you, but you can’t love any other man.”

He was living up to his reputation. The coldest, most arrogant, misogynistic man.

The Alpha King wasn’t just a legend. It wasn’t a rumor that his subjects fell to their knees before him, begging for mercy he never granted. He wasn’t just a myth.

Every word he spoke felt like a weight, falling on Aurelia as if he were throwing bricks. And she was being forced to comply.

But she wasn’t a normal wolf. She held back from using her powers. Only dire circumstances called for it. The more she used it, the more it chipped away at her compassionate soul.

Maybe then she would be compatible with this Alpha King.

“I won’t.” Her words surprised them both. “You can’t make me.”

Her hand gripped his wrist tightly. Her eyes tried to penetrate his mind, pushing against formidable barriers. But... she couldn’t. Her power wasn’t working.

What good was it if she couldn’t use it against those who threatened her?

She watched as his expression shifted, cycling through several emotions until settling on one.

“Guards!” he roared, the sound nearly bursting her eardrums and making her head spin. “Take Aurelia to a silver cell.” A smirk flashed across his face, brief but cunning.

A silver cell in his dreaded dungeons. How amusing for his little mate to suffer there. He knew he couldn’t seriously harm her himself.

Guards grabbed her arms, dragging her through the throne room as she squirmed and flailed. As the king disappeared from her sight, she took one last look.

He still wore his cruel smirk, his head held high in superiority.

“Where are you taking me?!” Was it back to that lowly pen? Would she see her sister again? “Let me go, you brutes!”

She tried to use her powers again but couldn’t get a hold on either of them. She wasn’t strong enough to use it without contact.

They reached a staircase that led deeper into the castle, down into the bleak darkness. Her fingers scraped against the rough ice walls, a spike of pain shooting through her at the contact.

As they moved down the corridor of cells, rabid wolves growling in the dark corners of their new homes, she was thrown into the first empty cell the guards found.

Her dress was torn to shreds from the abuse she had endured on her journey.

Her body was ablaze. It was a heat that outmatched any fire, searing her skin and making her squirm in an attempt to extinguish it. But the source of her torment was elusive.

She refused to scream. She wouldn’t give the Alpha King that satisfaction. Instead, she screamed silently, within herself.

She stumbled towards the bars, gripping them tightly. The touch stung her hands, but she held on.

“What is this?” she demanded. The guards remained as still as statues, looking at her but not meeting her icy gaze.

She wanted to throttle them. Maybe they were smarter than she gave them credit for. “I asked you a question.” She gritted her teeth, fighting through the pain.

Then, it hit her. ~A silver cell.~

She was surrounded by silver. A silver bullet could kill a werewolf. Being surrounded by it was pure torture.

She had to admit, the Alpha King’s method of punishment was impressive. It was agonizing, but this amount of silver would only bring a wolf to the brink of death.

But he had put her in there.

After hours of enduring the pain, it became numbing, monotonous, repetitive.

She had experienced so much of it that she had pushed her wolf as far away as she could, hoping to lessen the pain in her human form.

“Don’t you talk?” she asked, her voice rough. They responded with silence. “Did the king order you not to speak to me? I could be your queen.”

She heard a faint scoff from one of them.

“I am your king’s mate. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“If you keep defying him, you’ll be stuck here forever,” one of them replied in a low voice. The other guard glanced at him but said nothing.

“The goddess doesn’t make mistakes. If I’m the Alpha King’s mate, I must be his equal. Aren’t you afraid of my power?”

“Power? You’re trapped in a silver cell, runt.”

“Why doesn’t the silver affect you?” she asked. They didn’t answer.

They must be wearing armor, she thought, something that shielded them from the excruciating pain she was experiencing.

She gauged the distance between the cell and the guards. Could she reach them both?

It wouldn’t be enough to use her power on just one of them. Then the Alpha King would know. Her secret power was her only hope, but it would be useless if her enemy knew about it.

With that in mind, she lunged, throwing her body against the bars and reaching through the gaps. She grabbed their ankles and looked up to meet their eyes.

She wasn’t sure if she could remember how to use her power on multiple targets. It required an immense amount of concentration.

There was a time when she could command a room of a hundred people with her power.

The incident that had turned her village against her forever, even though they never really knew what had happened.

“You will unlock my cell and let me escape. You will wait ten hours before telling the king that I’ve escaped and that you helped me.”

Maybe it was the power corrupting her, but she wanted them dead. And so it was done. She would make the Alpha King do her bidding. He wouldn’t forgive their betrayal and insolence.

The cell was quickly unlocked, and she could see the beginning of her freedom. But this was just the start.

The path ahead was unknown. She would need more help, and therefore, more use of her power.

Her boots were ruined, dirty, and worn. Her golden hair was streaked with the mud and dust of the castle dungeons. She was a mess, but that wouldn’t stop her.

She hurried through the tunnels that seemed to stretch for miles. They twisted and turned, lined with cells of various tortures. She came across a cell that looked strangely familiar.

And then another. And another.

“Oh, little wolf,” a voice behind her taunted, stopping her in her tracks.

A voice that sent shivers down her spine. A voice that drew her back. “You are quite entertaining.” It was cruel, devilish, haunting. Dominant.

She was yanked back and pressed against a chest covered in a cloak. Their bodies touching sent sparks through her. Just their closeness made her underwear damp.

One hand rested dangerously low on her stomach, the other around her neck, tightening.

“You see, Aurelia, these dungeons are inescapable if I want you to stay here. Even if you manage to get out of your cell.

“These dungeons are enchanted, the silver is special, more toxic but not lethal. Yet, here you are, thinking I’m a fool.”

He was no fool.

And she had underestimated him.

She had thought he was so consumed by power, authority, and dominance that he wouldn’t bother to strengthen his defenses.

These dungeons had been fortified by the most powerful sorcerers in his kingdom.

“My, my, little wolf, aren’t we quiet now? Have nothing to say?”

She wisely kept her mouth shut. It wouldn’t do her any good to disrespect him, especially since her power didn’t work on him.

It must be either the mate bond or his unique power.

She was also terrified of her mate.

Anyone who had seen the bodies of the girls she knew pass by her, and his impulsive yet confident decision to kill the wolf who brought her in, would be.

“You have a choice. Come to my bed or rot down here. I can even increase the intensity of the silver in your cell.”

His hand moved lower, brushing her sex over the thin material that covered her. She was throbbing with desire, but she held firm.

“I can feel you want to,” he whispered huskily.

“I’d rather stay here than ever mate with you,” she spat. She couldn’t resist her defiant urge, despite her fear.

“Maybe your time down here will teach you to watch your fucking mouth,” he growled, pulling her by her golden hair and throwing her back into her cell.

She looked at the dead guard wolves and felt a small victory. Maybe she could use her power this way to manipulate the king.

She noticed the king wasn’t wearing any armor. The rumors must be true. He was immune to the effects of silver. That was important to know.

The king left his mate to writhe in agony once again. He was curious about how she had escaped the cell in the first place. But she would soon learn her place here.