His Territory

The heavy clang of the gates locking echoed in my chest like a death toll. The wolves shifted around me, murmuring, assessing, their eyes sharp and filled with hostility. I could feel it pressing down on me, the weight of their hate, the unspoken promise that I wouldn't leave this place alive.

Zain didn't stop walking. He strode ahead, his broad back cutting through the sea of bodies without hesitation. He didn't acknowledge the stares, the whispered threats. Didn't even look to see if I was following.

Because, in his mind, I had no other choice.

I lifted my chin, forcing myself forward, even as my instincts screamed at me to run.

Cian stayed close, his usual smirk absent. Selene trailed behind, like a predator waiting for me to misstep. Wolf pressed against my leg, his body tense, his growl barely contained.

The fortress swallowed us whole.

Inside, the air was thick with the scent of stone and woodsmoke, old blood and something wilder beneath it. Torches lined the high, cavernous walls, casting flickering shadows across the vast hall.

At the center of the room stood a long wooden table, dark and scarred with years of use. Wolves lined it, some lounging in their seats, others standing, watching. At the far end was a grand chair—more throne than seat—its edges carved with intricate markings, runes I didn't recognize.

Zain walked straight to it and sat.

The room shifted around him, the wolves falling silent, their focus locked onto their leader.

Then, finally, his gaze lifted to me.

Dark. Cold. Unreadable.

"You're in my territory now, hunter," he said, his voice quiet, yet carrying through the hall like a storm waiting to break. "And that means you live or die at my command."

The words sent a slow, crawling chill down my spine.

He tilted his head slightly, as if considering something, his expression unreadable.

Then—

"Kneel."

The command was soft. Deadly. A test.

And I knew, in that moment, that my next move could determine whether I saw another sunrise.

As bad as I wanted to talk back, to defy his orders, i knew here wasn't the time nor space so I didn't argue, instead I found my body bending against my will. In few seconds, both my knees were touching the cold hard floor.

A satisfied murmur rippled through the room, the wolves watching with cruel amusement. I could feel their eyes crawling over me, waiting for me to resist, to fight—to give them an excuse to tear me apart.

But I didn't.

Not because I wanted to obey.

Because my body didn't *belong* to me in that moment.

Something unseen, something dark and oppressive, had wrapped around me the second the word left Zain's lips. My muscles weren't my own. My will wasn't my own.

My body *obeyed* him.

My stomach twisted at the realization. My hands clenched into fists against the stone floor, nails digging into my palms as anger warred with something far more dangerous.

Power.

It wasn't just his presence that made the air heavy. Wasn't just his title or his strength that made every wolf in the room defer to him.

It was something else.

Something *wrong.*

I lifted my head, locking eyes with him.

Zain watched me with cold detachment, as if my silent defiance amused him. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the arms of the throne, his fingers tapping once against the wood.

"You feel it, don't you?" he murmured.

I didn't answer.

His lips curled, but it wasn't a smile.

"You thought you could come into my world, spill my kind's blood, and walk away untouched." His voice was soft, but it carried, filling every inch of the room. "But you don't understand, little hunter. *You are mine now.*"

A chorus of low growls rumbled through the hall. The weight of their pack pressing in, suffocating.

I swallowed hard, forcing my expression into something unreadable. If they wanted fear, I wouldn't give it to them.

But Zain saw.

His midnight eyes flickered with something unreadable, something almost...curious.

Then, just as quickly, it was gone.

"Take her to the lower chambers," he commanded.

Cian grabbed my arm before I could react, yanking me to my feet. Wolf snarled, but a single look from Selene had him hesitating, his ears flattening in warning.

Zain didn't spare me another glance.

Because to him, I wasn't a threat.

To him, I was nothing more than a foolish little human who had wandered too far from the safety of her own world. A weak, breakable thing that didn't belong here.

But he was wrong.

I may have been on my knees just moments ago, but that didn't mean I was broken. Not yet.

Cian's grip tightened around my arm as he dragged me from the throne room, his pace unrelenting. The farther we moved from Zain, the more the weight on my body lifted, but the aftershock of his presence still clung to my skin like something *unnatural.*

My jaw clenched as we descended a spiral staircase, the air growing colder with every step. The wolves flanking me said nothing, their expressions unreadable, their movements precise.

I wasn't a guest here. I was a prisoner.

The lower chambers were just as I expected—dark, damp, and carved into stone. The scent of earth and old blood filled the air, making my stomach churn.

Cian pushed open a heavy iron door and shoved me inside. I barely caught myself before hitting the floor.

"Get comfortable, little hunter," he murmured, his golden eyes glinting in the dim light. "You'll be here a while."

I lifted my chin, refusing to look away. "Enjoy the game while you can, *wolf.* Because one day, the roles will reverse."

He chuckled, stepping back. "You have quite a nasty mouth to that face of yours, don't you? Anyway I'll be waiting."

The door slammed shut.

I exhaled slowly, forcing my breathing to steady as I took in my surroundings. The room was small, the walls uneven, the only source of light coming from a single torch flickering just outside the cell.

Wolf whined at my feet, pressing against my side. I ran a hand through his fur, grounding myself in his warmth.

The silence in the cell wasn't empty—it was *watching me*.

I could feel it, the weight of unseen eyes, the steady thrum of something just beneath the surface of this place. The walls held secrets, and the air was thick with something old and restless.

I wasn't alone.

Wolf's ears twitched, his body going rigid against my side. A low growl built in his throat, barely audible, but enough to set my nerves on edge.

I swallowed, shifting slightly on the cold stone floor, listening.

There.

A sound—so soft it could have been mistaken for the wind slipping through the cracks. But this wasn't the wind. This was *breathing*.

Slow. Measured. *Too close.*

I tensed, my fingers itching for a weapon I didn't have. My pulse pounded in my ears as I kept my gaze forward, refusing to react.

*Don't show fear. Don't give them the satisfaction.*

And then—

A whisper.

Low. Amused. Slithering through the darkness like smoke.

"You shouldn't be here, Violet Hawthorne."

My stomach turned to ice.

The voice didn't belong to Zain, or Cian, or any of the wolves I had met so far.

It was something else.

Something different .

I turned my head slightly, my breath caught in my throat. The shadows along the farthest wall shifted, curling inward, stretching, until—

A figure stepped forward.

Or rather, peeled itself from the darkness.

My body went still.

He was tall, draped in something that made no sound as he moved. His face was obscured, his presence almost unreal, like he existed in the space between what was real and what wasn't. But the way he stood, the way the air thickened around him, told me one thing—

He was dangerous.

And he was *watching* me.

I forced my voice to stay steady. "Who are you?"

The figure tilted his head, as if amused by the question.

"A ghost."

The torchlight flickered. The cell felt smaller.

"Or maybe just a shadow."

His voice was silk and knives, wrapping around my skin like a warning.

Wolf growled louder, his hackles raised.

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you want?"

The figure chuckled, low and knowing.

"To see how long you survive."

And then—

He was gone.

The air shifted, the weight lifted, and the cell was empty once more.

But I wasn't fooled.

Because now I knew the truth.

There were more monsters in this place than just the wolves.