#werewolfhumanmating

I didn’t even have the strength to fight anymore. My body was drained. Only the soft, trembling tears at the corners of my eyes proved I was still desperate for some kind of mercy.

I knew that pleading wouldn’t change anything. He didn’t understand my words. To him, I was the unreasonable one, the fragile little human who didn’t know anything, who was confused, who needed to be guided.

But even knowing that, my mouth still moved. Some instinct inside me begged for a last chance.

“Please… please, I beg you…”

My voice came out broken, soft enough that even I could barely hear it. Speaking louder felt wrong, as if the sound itself would provoke him.

“Aleric… please… let me go.”

It was the first time I ever said his name.

His entire body froze like an animal that had just heard its prey make a sound it had been waiting for. His eyes snapped up to mine. The grip on my thighs tightened abruptly, enough to make a yelp escape me.

“...fuck…”

He leaned closer.

“So that’s how you say my name,” he whispered, voice full of a hunger so raw it was frightening. “You say it so good, little one.”

I expected the moment to soften him. To make him hesitate. To make him… think.

Instead, it had the opposite effect.

Something in him broke loose, as if the sound of his own name from my lips had fed something feral inside him.

“You shouldn’t have said my name,” he growled, though he sounded almost… grateful. “Now I won’t be able to stop.”

He looked down at my body, then back up to my eyes, as if torn between having patience and surrendering completely to instinct.

“I told myself,” he breathed, “be gentle… be slow… she’s small, she’s scared…”

His jaw clenched, teeth grinding.

“But gods—”

He stared at my lips like he wanted to devour the sound of his name again.

“When you say ‘Aleric’ like that…It makes me want to take you even harder just to hear you begging me more.”

I shook my head desperately. “Please—”

He cut me off with a brutal whisper. “You’re only going to remember my name by the end of tonight.”

His fingers dug into my skin, pulling me closer, breath shaking as he failed to calm the wild excitement racing through him.

“I’m impatient,” he admitted. “Too impatient for a human girl like you. I swear… I can’t stop myself.”

His hand circled under my waist, dragging me higher onto his lap. His grip locked around me like a band of iron. I couldn’t move, not even a twitch. His strength felt unreal, more than anything I could ever imagined.

He stroked himself once, twice, slow and heavy, all while staring down at my pussy like he couldn’t look anywhere else. He lowered his cock's angry tip, and when he touched me, skin against skin, lust against fear, he hissed through his teeth.

I thought I might faint. Or die.

“Aleric… please,” I said shakily, every breath a struggle. “You’ll hurt me...I can’t...I can’t take you...you’ll tear me—”

My voice broke, stuttering on the edges of panic. I didn’t even know if he could hear my words now. But I needed to say them. Needed to try. Needed him to pause, to think, to see me.

A dark chuckle vibrated through his chest, not mocking but hungry. He didn’t even lift his eyes. His entire focus was on where our bodies met.

“You will take me,” he murmured. “You just don’t know it yet.”

His thumb brushed over my hip. “The moon brought you to me, and if the moon says you’re mine… then you can take anything from me.”

I didn’t even have time to plead more.

His hips pressed forward.

My head snapped back as a sharp cry tore from my throat. A shock of pain bolted up my spine, stealing the air from my lungs. Only the tip of him was inside me, barely anything, and yet the stretch felt impossible.

“Fuck…”

His voice cracked.

“You’re so tight.”

His hands clamped down on my hips, almost trembling with how hard he was holding himself back from plunging deep inside me in one thrust.

He moved deeper, slowly, carefully for him, but still too much for me. As he went an inch deeper, my muscles constricted around him, trying to get his large offending cock out.

His fingers dug into my skin, gripping both sides of my hips as if they were the only things anchoring him to sanity.

“Little one…” he panted, forehead lowering toward mine, voice strained, “don’t fight me… let me in…”

The frustration, the desperation, and the raw hunger vibrating in him were frightening. He wanted patience, but he didn’t have it. He wanted gentleness, but instinct clawed at him from beneath his skin.

And I…I could only tremble beneath him, too full of fear and shock to speak, too overwhelmed to even cry properly.

His thumbs stroked my hips, almost soothing, almost apologizing.

“I need you,” he whispered hoarsely, “I need all of you—”

A sob scraped out of my throat as I tried to pull myself away from him. But his hold on my hips was immovable. I couldn’t shift even a millimeter. My legs trembled uselessly on either side of him, my bound hands numb behind my back, and all I could offer was a single, desperate whisper:

“Please…”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he dragged himself slightly out of me, causing a sharp sting to go through my body.

And then he snapped his hips forward forcefully.

A scream ripped out of me as something inside me tore open. My body arched violently in his grip, pain shooting up through my spine, robbing the air from my lungs. Tears spilled instantly, blurring everything.

He growled at the exact same moment. His arm around me tightened impossibly, almost crushing. His other hand slammed down beside my head, palm sinking into the furs as he stared down at where our bodies were joined.

“Aleric—” I gasped, my words dissolving into another sob.

He pulled back just enough to see.

Blood streaked him.

A shudder went through him, pleasure, awe, possession, his chest rising and falling like he was losing his mind.

I shook beneath him uncontrollably as the burning pain of him inside me spread through me like fire. His eyes lifted from our joining, glinting with pride as he met my tear-blurred gaze.

“Relax for me, little one,” he murmured, voice coaxing, as if my body would ever obey him. “Shhh… it will pass soon.”

He leaned down, brushing gentle kisses along my wet cheeks, but the tenderness didn’t reach his body.

He was shaking.

Not in sympathy,

but with impatience.

“Moon Goddess has blessed me,” he whispered against my skin. “An untouched mate… I am the luckiest werewolf alive.”

His forehead pressed against mine, his weight lowering onto his forearm. The closeness made the situation feel even more overwhelming; his breath on my lips, his scent everywhere, his body caging mine.

He slid his palm over my skull, fingers spreading through my hair... not caressing. But locking me in position. His grip around my waist tightened again. A low growl built in his chest; deep, warning, desperate.

“I’m sorry, my little mate…” he whispered. “But I can’t wait anymore.”

And then his hips shifted.

I barely had time to tense before he forced himself all the way inside. To the hilt.

The scream that tore out of me didn’t sound human.

My back arched off the floor, pressing my breasts to his chest from the esplosive pain. My lungs seized, and I couldn’t breathe. My vision blurred as his massive hot heavy cock filled me, so deep I could feel it in my lungs.

He roared.

A sound so loud, the whole tent seemed to tremble with it, as if the forest itself must have heard our joining. His entire body shuddered above mine, muscles locking tight as he buried himself to the very last inch, finally, completely inside his mate.

My vagina was trying hard to adjust to him, but it was almost impossible. Every nerve in me screamed that he was too much, that my body was not made for him.

My legs simply gave out, falling uselessly around his waist. It felt as though my lungs were trying to climb up my throat just to escape the pressure inside me. My mouth hung open, desperate for air, while tears streamed hotly down my cheeks. The weight of him pressed down from every direction, swallowing the space inside and around me.

I couldn’t even see properly. Just the blurred shape of him above me, massive and unmoving, like a mountain pinning me to the earth.

He dipped his head suddenly, capturing my mouth in a hungry kiss. His lips moved against mine, as though he was trying to soothe me even while his body betrayed both of us.

He dragged his cock back, leaving its tip only inside and a violent shudder went through my body. Even him dragging himself out was painful.

His forehead pressed against mine, damp with sweat. His breath came in harsh grunts.

“Look at me,” he rasped. “My little doll…" breathe. Just breathe for me.”

He bit out a curse, his voice cracking with pleasure he couldn’t hide as he started to move his hips.

A sharp jolt rocked through me, drawing a broken yelp out of my throat. My hands scrambled helplessly at the fur beneath my body, trying to cling to something, anything, as heat flashed through my abdomen.

“I’m trying,” he groaned, his voice thick with agony and need. “I swear to the Moon, I wanted to go slowly. I wanted to treat you like something fragile.” His forehead pressed harder to mine. “But I can’t. I can’t control myself around you.”

His hand slid to the back of my head, holding me still, as though if he let go, he would lose all the thin scraps of restraint he had left.

“You don’t understand,” he whispered harshly. “You feel… unbelievable. Too good. Too tight. Too perfect.”

My body trembled violently beneath him. Tears slipped down my temples. I didn’t understand what was happening inside me; why the pain was slowly giving way to something else, something warm and terrifying and utterly wrong.

He heard the squelching sounds as he pounded his hips into mine. He felt my slickness covering him, easing his movement inside me.

A low chuckle vibrated through his chest. “Your body is welcoming me even while you cry.”

“No—” My voice broke.

“She-wolves don’t make sounds like this,” he whisper-growled against my skin, his words filled with awe. “They don’t react like you. They don’t… offer themselves like your human body does.”

I tried to move my head away, but his hand held me in place.

“You are full of wonders. Every part of you… made for me.”

I clamped my teeth on my lower lip, desperate to stifle the sounds breaking out of me, but I failed instantly. Each time he moved, a helpless cry escaped me. The force of him and his pace only grew harsher in response.

A sound slipped out of me that didn’t even feel like mine. A loud moan as my pussy throbbed helplessly around him.

Aleric reacted like a wolf hearing prey stir in the grass. His eyes blazing as he looked down at me, drinking every reaction.

Another sound broke out of me; sharper and louder as Aleric’s thrusts became even faster, his hips slapping against mine with force.

I bit my lip trying to hold my sounds but his expression darkened in a way that made my stomach twist.

“No,” he rasped, pulling my lips away with his teeth gently. “Don’t hide from me. Don’t you dare hide any part of yourself.”

He released my waist without ever easing his rhythm. His hand trailed down between our bodies, seeking something he had only learned moments before.

“—don’t—”

His fingertips circled my clit, sending lightning through my spine. A broken cry ripping from my throat before I could swallow it as an orgasm tore from me unexpectedly. The world flashed white at the edges, my breath lost.

He let out a low, breathless laugh.

“Moon Goddess…” he whispered. “Humans… you feel pleasure so sharply. So beautifully.”

But then his laugh shattered into a groan as my muscles convulsed around him, tightening with a force neither of us expected.

“Ah—little one—” His forehead dropped to my shoulder. “You’re… you’re gripping me so—”

He had to stop. His body froze above mine, his breath stumbling out in ragged bursts. “What in the goddess’s name are you doing to me?”

I sobbed in half pleasure, half pain as my body finally came down.

“I never—” His voice shook. “I last longer. I am a damn Alpha.” His hands tightened around my waist. “But you—”

His words cut off in a deep groan.

“—you undo everything inside me.”

I barely heard him.

The aftershocks still trembled through me, my vision foggy, my breath broken. The orgasm he took from me was so strong and new to me that my brain was barely comprehending him.

“I need—gods, sweetness, I need—”

His body shifted. And I felt something change in him, something unmistakably werewolf. A new kind of pressure at his base. Growing.

And suddenly, I understood what he had meant.

“My body… is preparing my knot. For you. For my mate.”

Sweat dripped from his temple to my cheek. From his chest to my stomach. The strange markings carved into his skin blurred with the heat of him, fading with every breath he took.

I only tried to breathe.

That was all I could do.

Just breathe, one shaky, thin inhale after another.

But every time my lungs began to fill, another broken sound tore out of me.

Not even a moan anymore, just something sharp, the kind of sound your body makes when it has no idea how to handle what’s happening.

Aleric lowered himself, his chest pressing fully against my chest, his weight enveloping me from every direction until there was nowhere left for me to go, without ever stopping his thrusts inside my trembling pussy.

His voice was a breathless rasp against my mouth:

“It’s the time… the time I have waited all my life.”

His hips snapped into mine even faster if possible. My cum making squelching sounds around him.

“You’re—” he groaned hard, “you’re perfect… so warm… so tight… I could die a happy man right now.” he panted, nothing halting his fast hard rhythm, “ And now I will bind with you completely.”

His breath hitched.

“I will feel everything you feel,” he whispered fervently. “Every fear. Every joy. Every heartbeat. I will protect you. I’ll bring you happiness. I’ll—”

I heard his words. But they didn’t make sense. They reached my ears and slid right off, as if my mind couldn’t hold onto anything.

I didn’t understand what “bind” meant. I didn’t understand why he sounded reverent.

All I knew was the pressure at his base, growing, swelling, and pushing for more space than I had. My legs pressed against the ground, heels digging in as my body instinctively tried to retreat from the pressure.

“No—no, no—” My voice broke in panic.

His body jolted above me and he roared.

“It’s all yours,” he growled, nearly feral. “My love...it’s all yours.”

I didn’t understand anything, not until he put all his weight on his hips and forced his knot inside me.

A scream, raw and bloody, tore out of me as he pushed past that last impossible resistance. The pressure was overwhelming; an engulfing fullness I never imagined my body could hold.

Aleric let out a sound I had never heard before; not a groan, not a roar, something ancient.

And then—

He went still.

A heavy, pulsing presence locked us together inside. The head of his cock was pressed right against my cervix, pushing through it as if demanding entry to my poor womb. My muscles stretched so violently around his knot that I could feel the strain in them in a way that no one should.

The pressure and pain were too much for me to handle. I cried out in despair as he growled loudly before I felt his knot pulsing before his hot creamy cum filled me.

He was cummimg non-stopply. Filling me again and again with his hot cum as my vision was getting blurred at the pressure inside me. I was going to faint as he growled again, his head snapping back and filled me with another load of his cum.

"Pl... ple....s.?!” My voice was desperate and tired, I just wanted him out of me. I tried to pull away, but I couldn’t. I was held in place, trapped by him.

His face was twisted with a raw ecstasy that frightened me even more.

And then I heard his clan. A thunder of voices rose into the night: Cries of joy. Shouts. Stomping feet.

Celebration.

For this.

For him.

For whatever had just happened to me.

Aleric’s hand slid behind my back. The sound of fabric tearing filled the tent as he ripped open the leather, unbinding my wrists with a single swipe of his claw.

I didn’t even have the strength to move. My muscles burned from being held back for so long. I couldn’t lift them. Pins and needles raced down both arms in hot waves.

Aleric noticed.

His large hand slipped under my wrists, guiding them gently out and placing them beside my head. My limp fingers brushed the fur, numb and tingling, as if they didn’t belong to me.

Then he took my hands in his. He intertwined our fingers, pressing the backs of my hands to the ground, trapping them under his palms.

He lowered his mouth to mine, giving me a brief tender kiss as he whispered against my lips:

“Breathe slowly, little one… you’re breathing too fast.”

I didn’t feel like I was breathing at all.

My body was trembling uncontrollably, unable to process the pressure, the fullness, the shock, the intensity of everything that was happened.

He started kissing me again. Not the hungry, desperate way from before. But with small, soft kisses scattered across my cheeks, the corner of my mouth, my jaw, my temple.

Tender.

Gentle.

But even this tenderness I would expect to feel comforting, only made my panic spike higher.

I didn’t want his mouth on me anymore. I didn’t want the weight of him pressed along my body. I didn’t want the hot, humid rush of his breath across my face. I didn’t want to feel his skin sticking to mine. I didn’t want his knot pulsing inside me and him still cumming and filling me with his hot cum.

I felt myself slipping. The edges of my vision black and pulsing, my head light, my breath ragged and uneven. I might have fainted if not for the constant pulsing, insistent pressure still holding our bodies inseparably locked.

I don’t know how long it lasted.

Minutes.

Hours.

I couldn’t tell.

My body was shaking with exhaustion. His weight felt heavier and heavier by the second, even though he tried to hold himself up on his forearms.

And then, at some point, I felt something change. Aleric’s breathing slowed. His body softened against mine. His knot shifted, shrinking, loosening its hold on me. And with one deep, shuddering exhale, he dragged himself out of me.

Even without the binding hold that had kept us locked, he could have stayed inside easily. The size difference alone made my body locked into his.

As he pulled out, his cum spilled out of me in a warm rush. So much cum that I let a sound in pure discomfort.

I truly believed it was over now. My body had gone quiet, trembling only when a wave of his cum rolled out of me. Everything outside the tent had died into a silence. I thought he would finally let me slip into the heavy darkness my body begged for.

But then… he lowered his head and brushed his tongue along my cheek, slow and deliberate, tasting the dried marks of my tears.

“Look at me, my love.”

His voice was calmer now, but with a simmering heat beneath it. I forced my eyes open. The change in him after he knotted me was instant and terrifying.

He cupped my face with both hands as if I were fragile glass, leaned down, and kissed my lips. Then he kissed both of my eyes, the salt still on my lashes, before murmuring:

“Now I can feel everything that you feel. We’re bound.”

He let out a chest-deep laugh.

“My wolf… gods, he’s surging. Stronger than before. Stronger than ever.”

He pressed his forehead into my shoulder, laughing again, breathless, almost drunk on the sensation.

“I’m rising to a place I could never reach without you.”

I closed my eyes, trying to let myself fall... just fall into unconsciousness.

Suddenly the world flipped. My body rolled beneath him, landing on my stomach. The breath punched from my lungs. A sound, half moan, half whimper, escaped me. Every inch of me ached. My arms were useless. My legs barely responded.

I wasn’t ready.

I wasn’t ready for anything.

His hands traced my spine slowly, as if he were memorizing each bone. The contrast between his touch and the panic swelling in my throat made my eyes burn again.

Then his hands slid to my hips, and he lifted them. My knees dragged beneath me, my face pressed into the furs as he positioned me the way he wanted; the way his wolf demanded. I moaned softly, not in pleasure but in helpless protest, the sound cracking in my throat.

“Please…” My voice was barely there. “I’m tired. I’m so—”

He shushed me, leaning over my back, his chest molding to my spine.

“I will do the work,” he whispered, lips brushing the shell of my ear.

“You just feel.”

This time he slide into me easily, pushing his own cum out as his cock took its place between my trembling walls again. He pushed himself to the hilt and groaned, showing his pleasure shamelessly.

A helpless sound broke out of me; a sound torn between panic and something frighteningly close to surrender. My hands clutched at the furs beneath me without strength. My body shook, overwhelmed, overstimulated, unable to run, unable to think.

His hips started to move; this time with purpose. He dragged his heavy length inside me slowly at first, just letting me feel him everywhere inside me.

As my broken moans rised, his hips slapped into my butt faster, building a tempo that he was sure I would crumble beneath it.

His hand slid beneath me as his finger found my overstimulated clit and started to rub it furiously. I choked on a scream as I tried to bury my face the furs. Pleasure hit me like a shockwave, sharp and unwanted, my body betraying me again.

He growled behind me, a deep, animal sound that vibrated against my back.

“My wolf is… thrilled,” he rasped, his breath hot against my neck. “Thrilled to see you breaking under me.”

His fingers moved even faster as his hips thrust into me like he was rearranging my guts.

“I know you’re tired,” he murmured, voice almost soothing as his hips rolled against mine. “I can feel it through the bond.”

His lips brushed the nape of my neck.

“But your pleasure…”

He exhaled sharply, taking my scent in.

“is something else entirely.”

His grip tightened on my hips, drawing me back against him.

Behind me, my warriors followed suit. The forest filled with the sound of breaking bones and low, animal groans as they shed their wolves and returned to men. For us, it was a familiar symphony: the wild’s way of reminding us who we truly were.

When the gates of my territory came into view, the guards in front of it instantly bowed. The heavy wooden doors creaked open, and the smell of smoke and meat drifted toward us.

A young boy ran forward, carrying furs to cover our bodies if we wanted. One of the young warriors still not mature enough to enter the fights with me stepped forward and wrapped a thick strip of pelt around my waist, tying it with trembling fingers.

“Alpha Aleric,” he murmured, voice shaking with awe.

I only gave a short nod.

The people lined both sides of the path as we entered; men, women, and children, all howling in victory. My warriors joined them, raising their voices until the forest itself seemed to roar. I should have felt the thrill of triumph. Once, I would have. But now…

Victory meant nothing.

Maybe twenty years ago, I would have felt pride. But now... when forty winters had passed me by and the scent I was destined to find had never come... no.

Children waved at me, faces glowing with joy, their tiny hands lifted to me as if I were something holy. I forced my gaze forward.

How could an Alpha smile when his wolf was dying?

My warriors’ laughter echoed behind me, full of pride and exhaustion. They were proud, and they deserved to be. They had followed me into blood and fire, and they came back alive because I had been there. That was how it always was.

Or used to be.

Now… things were different.

As we reached the center of the village, the females stepped forward, carrying trays piled high with raw meat and dripping with fat. The scent was heavy, rich, meant to celebrate.

“Alpha,” one of them called softly, bowing low, “the feast awaits.”

The crowd went still. Every gaze found me, waiting — for my approval, my smile, my first bite. Because the pack’s joy was bound to mine.

If the Alpha did not rejoice, no one could.

I looked over them, faces I had known since they were pups, and I saw the same thing mirrored in their eyes that haunted my own reflection: fear. Not of me… but for me. They knew.

Our kind were bound by more than command. Our souls were tethered through instinct. They could feel my unrest, the hollow ache that never eased. And I feared, one day, that my so-called curse the emptiness of being unmated would poison them too.

Because what was an Alpha without his mate?

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to reach for the tray nearest me. The meat was still warm, blood running down my wrist as I lifted it. The taste of iron filled my mouth. I bit into it only for them, for my people, so that they could begin their feast.

The moment my teeth tore through flesh, a roar of celebration erupted around me. My pack howled and laughed. I waited until their voices grew steady again before tossing the half-eaten meat back onto the tray.

The females stepped back instantly at a flick of my hand, bowing their heads in silence.

I turned and walked through the crowd toward the center of the village, where my den stood tall among the trees. “Den” was hardly the right word. It was three stories of stone, timber, and wood, built by hand and claw over decades. It rose high enough that from my balcony, I could see nearly the entire territory, miles of green breathing wilderness that belonged to me.

I pushed the heavy wooden door open, stepped inside. The noise of the feast dulled to a distant echo.

The silence within my home was deafening.

As I climbed the stairs, I passed by the corridor lined with doors, empty rooms that were supposed to be filled with laughter, with the scent of pups, with the heartbeat of a family.

Rooms that would have belonged to my children.

One… two… ten, perhaps — however many my mate would have given me.

But they were empty. Always had been.

I reached the last door at the end of the hall, my chamber. Or what should have been ours. The circular room opened wide to the forest beyond, its great archways letting the wind spill through. The furs on the bed were untouched from my nights being spent on the floor instead.

The room was built for warmth, but no warmth ever came.

I stepped out onto the balcony, the cold air brushing over my skin. From up here, I could see everything: the dancing, the laughter. My warriors were surrounded by villagers, offered food and touch, and praised for the blood they spilled.

But when my eyes drifted to the children — small feet stomping in the dirt, their laughter rising like birds — a familiar ache clenched inside my chest.

Because I had none.

And I would never have one.

A soft knock came from behind. I didn’t turn.

My brother’s scent reached me before he did. Lucas.

The door creaked open.

“You should rest.”

He was twenty-two now — young, strong, untouched by bitterness.

He stepped closer. “Eat something. Or join them, at least. People want to see you.”

I exhaled slowly, eyes still on the firelit celebration below. “I’m going to the river,” I said. “Don’t follow me. Don’t send anyone.”

When I turned to leave, Lucas moved into my path, placing a hand against my chest. His eyes — bright blue, full of light I once had — searched mine.

“They still believe in you,” he said. “They believe the Moon will send her. You can’t lose hope, brother.”

I looked down at his hand, then back at his face. He was everything I was before time stripped it away. His skin unscarred, his spirit unbroken. My reflection in a purer form.

“I don’t need your hollow words,” I said, voice low.

He didn’t move. “They’re praying for you, Aleric. Every full moon, every night before the hunt—”

“I don’t need their prayers,” I snapped, shoving his hand aside. “And I don’t need the Moon Goddess either. If she wanted to give me a mate—”

I stopped at the doorway, turning my head just enough to look back at him.

“She should have given her to me twenty years ago.”

Lucas said nothing. His throat worked as if to speak, but no words came.

“My wolf grows weaker every day,” I murmured, almost to myself. “One night, he’ll break. And when that happens, I’ll tear myself apart before I let him hurt any of my people.”

A bitter laugh escaped me — harsh, humorless.

“You’d better be ready to be the next Alpha, brother.”

Lucas growled in response to my words, irritated that I would even say such a thing. I was already halfway down the corridor when his voice thundered after me.

“You are the Alpha, and you will always be the Alpha till the end!”

Their loyalty humbled me. Even though my brother could claim the position if he wanted, my people never even considered it. They still looked to me, even when I had no faith left in myself.

I left the house through the back door, unwilling to meet anyone’s eyes or spoil their joy. My steps carried me past the gates that guarded our homes and toward the river: the river that gave us life. One branch for drinking, one for washing, one for bathing.

And then there was the sacred stream: the one reserved for the Alpha and his mate.

I never touched it. I could not. It was meant for her… and she had never come.

I washed the blood from my skin in the cold water, though I no longer felt its bite. I dipped my head beneath the surface, closing my eyes for a moment, wishing that when I opened them again, I might find myself in another world. A world where I was not empty.

But wishes never come true.

I rose from the river and drifted into the forest. I could never be lost here; every tree, every scent, every breath of the wind belonged to me. My wolf knew every path by heart.

Still, I walked without aim.

Because what aim could I have left?

My will had weakened with the years. An Alpha should grow stronger... but I hadn’t. Even in battle, I felt slower, duller. It was humiliating. My warriors knew, but they never said a word. They only stood close, guarding me when my strength faltered.

But the rogues… they knew. They could smell weakness. They tested our borders every week now, hungry for what was mine. And each time, I wondered how much longer my wolf could hold on without her.

At first, he was furious, aching to find her. I searched across lands, months away from my people, hoping to scent her somewhere. But I never did. Every she-wolf I met — even rogues — smelled wrong. Not her.

By the time I reached thirty, my wolf had grown quiet. Not angry. Not sad. Just… quiet. As if he had given up, yet still waited, deep down, for a miracle.

I tried to keep fighting for my people to strengthen what remained of us. But lately, I feel as though both of us — man and wolf — are dying slowly.

I had imagined her so many times.

Sometimes strong and fierce: a warrior with short hair and coal tattoos across her chest and back, fighting beside me.

Other times, gentle: one who would teach the children our ways and nurture the next generation.

Either way, I always imagined her here.

And that was the cruelest dream of all.

I didn’t even realize how much time had passed. Only when I looked up and saw the moon climbing the sky did I notice how far I had walked.

When I looked around, I realized I was far from my village. If I wanted to return before the nightly routines began, I would have to run in my wolf form. But my wolf wasn’t in the mood. He didn’t care for our traditions anymore.

It had become difficult to shift unless I was in battle. As if my wolf no longer wanted to answer me.

I sighed loudly and tilted my head toward the moon — our goddess, our source of strength. Her light poured between the branches, pale and cold. I had cursed her a thousand times before, but even that rage had burned out long ago.

Now, I only stared and whispered in my mind, "Let her find me… or let me die, so I no longer have to wait."

My eyes closed. I breathed deeply, ready to turn back. But then—

A scent.

Faint. Unexpected.

My eyes snapped open. My body froze.

Could it be a rogue? An intruder? I inhaled again, searching for it, but it was gone.

No—there. Just a trace. So strange. So… right.

My wolf stirred suddenly. The first reaction I had seen from him in years.

I shifted, bones cracking, skin tearing, and fur spreading across my body until I stood in my wolf form. My claws dug into the earth as I sniffed the air. And there it was again, stronger this time.

A scent of vanilla… roses… and something sweeter.

Soft. Dreamlike. The kind of scent that did not belong in this world.

And my wolf howled with a sound that broke through the still night because he knew.

It was her.

His joy exploded through me, pure and violent. I ran. Branches snapped beneath my paws as I followed the trail, faint but intoxicating. The wind carried it like a whisper. My body burned for more of it. I needed it. I wanted to drown in it.

Every breath that entered my lungs had to be hers now.

The scent grew stronger in one direction. I slowed, muscles tense, shifting upright onto two legs. My wolf form was large, towering, black fur blending with the night. Unlike ordinary wolves, we could walk on two feet as easily as four, though running was faster when low to the ground.

I moved carefully, silently. And then I saw her.

At first, I thought my mind was tricking me. But no... there she was.

A small figure wandering through my lands, completely unaware that she had stepped into her fate.

I narrowed my eyes and stepped closer. She was… different. Too small for our kind. Her shoulders narrow, her waist delicate, her figure curved.

Curved.

She-wolves never had curves, not unless they carried life or were nursing currently.

A surge of anger and panic flashed through me. Could she be pregnant?

The thought was unbearable. My hands clenched, claws digging into my palms as a deep growl rolled from my chest.

The sound startled her. She froze, eyes wide, scanning the darkness.

And then she turned, fully toward me.

I saw her face.

Soft, round, terrified. Eyes wide and shining under the moonlight. Her hair tied in a messy bun, strands falling loose. Her skin smooth, untouched by our coal markings or tattoos.

She was beautiful. Fragile.

And unmistakably different.

As the wind shifted and her scent surrounded me, the truth struck like lightning.

She wasn’t one of us.

She wasn’t a wolf.

Alaric’s large hand wrapped around my arm as he pulled me out of the room and down the narrow wooden stairs. I resisted, clutching the doorframe, the walls, even digging my fingers into the wooden carvings as we passed, but it didn’t matter. He simply tugged me behind him as if I was a one year old child. I could only cry.

Somewhere in the haze, I held onto a fragile thread of hope. Maybe Kate would come. No... she would definitely come to pull me out of this nightmare.

The lower floor of his house looked like it belonged to another world, just like the upper floor. Everything was made of wood and stone; raw, uneven, ancient. There were so many strange doors, leading to places I didn’t want to imagine.

He dragged me into what looked like a kitchen. There were bowls and knives and wooden cupboards. But there was no stove, no fridge, no sign of modern life. Just stone counters and the faint smell of smoke and iron. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe this wasn’t a kitchen. Maybe this was where they’d put me on that counter… cut me apart… eat me.

He opened a small back door, sunlight spilling through.

“My people want to meet you,” he said, his voice rough, “so, so badly. But it is not the right time. Better not to attract them by going from the front door.”

He glanced over his shoulder at me. “We should clean you, give you...proper clothes… make you ready before the night comes.”

He ushered me outside as I tried to twist away, digging my nails into his skin. “Let me go!” I cried. “Please, just let me go!”

Before I could continue with my beggings, three women appeared, rounding the side of the house. One walked ahead, the other two flanking her, moving with sharp precision.

The one in front was older, maybe in her fifties or sixties, her hair mostly white with streaks of black still fighting through. It was cut short, brushing her jawline. All three wore… not clothes. Strips of leather wrapped around their chests, which was...strangely straight. There was no sign of a feminine breast on them as if they had never grown breasts when they hit puberty. Their stomachs were bare with strange markings etched across their skin. Around their hips, hung skirts of animal pelt that reached just above their knees. They were tall and broad-shouldered.

If they walked through a city, they’d never find a dress to fit those shoulders.

When they reached us, they bowed deeply, not to me, but to him.

“Alpha Alaric,” the elder woman said, her tone filled with reverence, “accept our congratulations, please.”

Alaric gave a dark, amused laugh. “The congratulations,” he said, “should be kept for tomorrow.”

He turned his head toward me, and for the first time, the three women followed his gaze, as if only now noticing I existed.

“I am thinking,” Alaric went on, his eyes kept on me with such a hunger that you would assume he would just tear me apart there. " Let people introduce themselves to my sweet mate tomorrow and not tonight. Tonight... we're gonna be really busy.”

The elder smiled at me warmly, almost maternal.

“We will accompany your mate, Alpha,” she said softly. “We will prepare her for you.”

Alaric’s brow furrowed, and he extended his hand slightly, as if to stop her. “I want to prepare her myself.”

But the woman shook her head, “Alpha,” she said gently but firmly, “it is tradition. We will prepare your mate for the first night for you.”

Aleric’s hand tightened around my upper arm. “But I don’t want to be away from her,” he said, his voice low, almost desperate. “Not even for one more minute of my life.”

The older woman smiled softly, though her eyes betrayed a flicker of respect mixed with fear. “I understand that, Alpha,” she replied, bowing her head slightly. “But it is tradition.”

Aleric exhaled, a deep sound rumbling from his chest, half irritation, half acceptance. “Tradition,” he echoed under his breath. “Well…” he sighed, his thumb absently brushing over my arm where he held me, “I think we are going to have a lot more traditions from now on. Now that I’ve found her.”

His gaze slid down to me then with an impossible mixture of adoration and hunger in his golden eyes.

The woman at the front, her hair streaked silver and her back straight with authority, cleared her throat. “Your brother and the elders are waiting for you, Alpha.”

Aleric gave a little chuckle. For a second, he looked like someone who didn’t quite know what to do with the sudden flood of responsibility. “You’re right,” he murmured. “I had almost forgotten.”

Then his eyes were back on me. In a heartbeat, his hand rose to the back of my head, fingers sliding through my hair as he guided my face upward. My other hand was still clinging to his shoulder, my nails digging into his skin. His height forced my neck into a strange, aching angle as he tilted my face up to meet his gaze.

“This is Gwen,” he said, nodding toward the older woman. “She is one of our best she-wolves. Her English is good and she'll help you.” His tone turned firmer, darker. “You will listen to her. You will do what she says, what she asks. You understand me?”

I stared up at him, confusion and fear tangling in my chest, words trembling on my lips. “Please… please—”

He didn’t let me finish. His breath brushed across my face as he leaned in and his lips touched mine.

At first it was only a fleeting contact, a small, restrained peck that made my breath hitch. I twisted in his hold, struggling to free myself, but his grip only tightened. Then something inside him broke and his hunger took over. His lips pressed harder, moving over mine with an urgency that bordered on worship and possession. His beard scratched my skin as he kissed me like he had been waiting for this moment all his life.

When I refused to part my lips, he pulled on my hair until I gasped, and that was all he needed. His tongue slid against mine, tasting, claiming.

When he released me, his eyes gleamed, wild with triumph, joy, and something dangerously close to madness.

When I glanced around, I realized the three women were staring at us. All of them had faint smiles on their faces, like they had just witnessed something divine.

Aleric turned to Gwen. “I’m trusting you with her,” he said, though his tone carried reluctance, as if the act of leaving me was physically painful. Then, with a heavy breath, he dragged his feet backward, his steps slow and unwilling.

The moment he rounded the house, instinct took over. I backed away, my eyes darting between the three werewolves in front of me and the forest behind them, searching for any way out. I could almost feel the earth beneath my feet, calling me to run.

But before I could even shift my weight to sprint, Gwen moved.

She was unnaturally fast. One second I was ready to flee, the next her hand was already clamped around my arm, gripping the exact same place Aleric had held moments ago.

“Don’t make this hard on yourself,” she said softly, though her voice carried the weight of warning. “Please. For you… and for us.”

Her eyes softened just a fraction. “We already love you. None of us wish to be harsh with you. But if you try to run... if you do anything that displeases or upsets our Alpha…” She leaned closer, her tone turning low, final. “We will step forward.”

Her words sank deep, cold, and sharp. I stared at her, trembling, realizing in that moment what I truly was to them.

I wasn’t a guest. I wasn’t even a person in their eyes.

I was something their Alpha had claimed.

And my only safety depended on staying useful, on keeping him pleased.

They began to move, silent, and coordinated. One of the younger women walked behind me, while another stayed ahead. They moved in perfect formation, front, back, and side, boxing me in completely.

I realized quickly that this wasn’t just an escort. It was containment. They didn’t even give me the luxury of space to think of running away. Every direction I could turn, one of them was already there. They were like walls keeping me safe, yes, but for him, not for me.

Gwen’s hand was still firm on my arm. Desperation clawed at my chest, and I grabbed her wrist, holding onto her as if she were my last chance at reason.

“Please,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “You’re also a woman… you must understand. Please, help me. I don’t know what this man wants from me.”

My words stumbled out between breaths, jagged and trembling. “Please, I’m just a girl...I came from the city. I didn’t mean to disturb anything, I didn’t want to come here. I just... I didn’t know where I was going.”

Tears slipped freely down my face. I tried not to sob, tried to hold myself together, but my throat was closing. My lips still burned from his kiss, and every time I remembered it, dread knotted inside me again.

Gwen didn’t respond. She kept walking, her steps steady, dragging me forward with the ease of someone who didn’t need to exert herself. My shoes scuffed against the dirt, half-tripping as I begged again, “Please… you have to help me. He’s going to kill me. It’s obvious—”

Her head snapped toward me so fast it startled me into silence. Her eyes blazed with sudden anger. “Do not say that word,” she hissed, her tone trembling with restrained fury. “He would never harm you. Never.”

I froze, staring at her. It was the same kind of anger Aleric had when I had said something similar to him, an almost sacred outrage, as if the idea itself was sin.

“He will do everything to please you,” Gwen continued, her voice softening slightly. “And you will do everything to please him. That is how it is.”

Her hand tightened on my arm, her strength frightening. She could’ve easily lifted me over her shoulder and walked miles without effort. “You don’t understand what’s happening,” she said, almost pitying me. “You stepping into his lands...that wasn’t a coincidence. That was the Moon Goddess’s will. You were led here.”

She glanced at me. “Do you realize what a blessing that is? To be chosen for our Alpha? You came from far, from a city of noise and lies, and yet your feet brought you straight to him. The Moon herself guided you to his side.”

I wanted to scream that it wasn’t a blessing (that it was a curse), but the words stuck in my throat. Gwen looked so sure, so filled with conviction, that my protests felt small and useless.

“You should be grateful,” she said quietly, still dragging me along as I cried. “You should stop this behavior before you offend the Goddess herself.”

I lowered my head. My thoughts spun and blurred, panic and disbelief bleeding together. They weren’t going to help me. None of them were.

The sound reached me before the sight did: the soft, rhythmic roar of water spilling from stone.

Under any other circumstance, that sound would’ve calmed me. I’d always loved the sound of water, the way it could cleanse the mind, quiet the heart. But now, that same sound only made my chest tighten with grief. The closer we got, the louder it became until the trees parted, and I saw it.

The waterfall was breathtaking. Water poured from a low ridge of rock, cascading into a broad, crystal pool that shimmered beneath the sunlight. Steam curled above the surface, catching the light like soft threads of gold: a natural spring.

The air was heavy with the scent of moss and clean earth. There were pelts on the rocks around it, neatly folded, and baskets filled with fruits and herbs. Everything looked ritualistic, deliberate, as if this place had been waiting for me long before I arrived.

Gwen ushered me forward. One of the younger women knelt beside the baskets, taking some leaves and roots out and started to mash them in a stone cup. Gwen released my arm as the woman at my back reached for the hem of my hoodie. I flinched and caught her wrist.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, my voice breaking.

Gwen’s calm eyes lifted to mine, answering instead of her. “These things you wear are wrong for the body,” she said. “They hold the dirt of your cities, smoke, oil, sickness. They must be gone before the cleansing.”

“You’re the one not even wearing clothes,” I shot back, fear sharpening my words.

That earned a faint, amused lift of her brow. “We are clothed in what is pure,” she replied. “Yours are made from... poison.”

Before I could stop her, the woman behind me tugged the fabric, and my protests drowned beneath the sound of the waterfall.

When the hoodie was on the ground, the flimsy t-shirt with rock-and-roll symbols of my favorite singer made Gwen to release a sound in displeasure.

"This is all dark energy. Negative. All poisonous." She tore the remaining cloth in one motion before I could even comprehend.

I stumbled back, clutching at the rags.

“You’re all insane!” I cried. “Leave me alone!”

I lunged sideways, but a strong arm caught me around the waist. The young she-wolf’s strength was effortless; she pulled me close as if I weighed nothing, my wrists pinned.

Gwen sighed, her tone turning almost maternal. “I warned you not to fight, sweet girl. We could bind you, but it would hurt, and the Alpha would grieve to see you like that.”

Her gentleness terrified me more than her threat. “You’re all crazy!” I screamed. “I’ll call the police! They’ll come here—”

Laughter broke from her. Gwen’s smile curved, pitying. “Police? Even your black metal toys have not signals here. The air itself keeps them away. How your so-called police could know of your location...”

My strength left me at her words. The woman holding me loosened her grip only to tug away the rest of my clothes until I stood shaking in the cool air, left in my panties and bra with my bare feet sinking into the wet soild

I felt smaller than I ever had in my life.

Gwen studied me with an assessing calm, circling once as if she were reading the lines of my body like a prophecy. “You are different,” she murmured.

I covered myself with shaking hands, but Gwen caught them, lowering them.

“Do not hide,” she said softly. “You are to be remade, not shamed. The water will know what to do.”

She loosened the bra and it hit the ground, as I cried in humiliation from all their stares on my bare body. I yelped suddenly as Gwen cupped one of my breasts in her hand, brushing her finger over my nipple.

"We only have such full chest when we're with child or nursing. But look at you, sweet girl." Gwen said as weighted my breast in her hand.

I grabbed her wrist, knowing I couldn't even push her away with the strength they had.

"And those wide hips and the softness here..." she touched my stomach and lower back where I had shamefull fat. Something related to the sweets and pizzas I had all the time.

"You’re ready to carry life inside of you. You’ll become a great breeder for Alpha."

I gasped at her words. Breeder? Was I...

My breath hitched in my throat as I was now fully aware of what Aleric’s intentions were for tonight.

"Alpha must be delighted to have a soft mate already full but pure with no men's trace on her." I looked at her with confusion through my teary, scared eyes as Gwen gave me a small smile. "We can smell your virginity, sweet human. Moon Goddess always sends the best to our Alpha. Untouched and soft. For our Alpha to have his ultimate pleasure after so many years of waiting."

When my panties were also put in the pile of my clothes, I tried to hide myself behind my hands, but Gwen swatted on my hands as she looked at my pelvis. Her eyebrows furrowed down at my smooth skin.

“You have no hair on your body,” Gwen murmured. Her tone had something judgmental beneath it, like she was observing a broken artifact. “What did they do to you in those filthy cities?”

I didn’t answer. My throat ached from crying; my chest felt hollow. I only looked at her; pleading, silent, shaking.

Gwen clicked her tongue and shook her head. “We all have hair. Hair is part of nature. It protects, and it connects. It grows for a reason. But you…” She frowned, her eyes roaming over me, “…you have none.”

She grabbed my arm and guided me closer to the water. My steps were shaky, the earth slick beneath my bare feet. The surface of the pond rippled in the sunlight, like a living creature waiting for me to step inside its mouth.

Her hand slid down to my leg, fingers brushing my skin, and she exhaled slowly. “We will grow your hair back. Don’t worry.” Then, as if remembering herself, she added with a faint smile, “Of course, however the Alpha wishes you to be, we will prepare you like that.”

The words made my stomach twist in horror.

The water was warm as I put my feet inside. Gwen’s hand still held my arm firmly, keeping me from falling forward as the pond deepened. The water reached my waist, my ribs, my shoulders... until it came just below my chin. It was deeper than I thought. My heart started to pound.

“Please,” I whispered, trembling. “I don’t know how to swim. I can’t...I’m scared... please, I’ll drown—”

I tried to climb out, clutching at Gwen’s arm, but she pressed both her hands firmly onto my shoulders, pushing me back into the water. “Hush, girl,” she said. “Nothing will harm you here. We are with you. The water itself will protect you. It is sacred, blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. If it meant you harm and you weren't the true Alpha’s mate, it would have swallowed you already.”

Her voice was too calm as I stared at her in horror. She truly believed what she said.

They all did.

A younger woman knelt by the edge of the pond and filled a wooden bowl, pouring the water slowly over my hair. It ran down my neck, over my shoulders, rippling away into the darkness.

“This is the sacred water,” she murmured again. “Only for you and the Alpha. It will bind you to him. The river remembers. It carries the voices of the Moon.”

I stared at her, my lips trembling. “You’re insane,” I whispered, but she didn’t hear or pretended not to.

They guided me to a flat stone barely submerged beneath the surface, perfectly placed as if carved for this very purpose. I sat there, now cold and weak, the water lapping against my shoulders, while Gwen and the women began.

They mashed herbs in a stone bowl, the scent thick and alien, something between mint, metal, roses, and... rot. It stung my nose. They dipped their hands in the mixture and began to rub it into my skin, moving in a slow, deliberate rhythm. Not random washing... no, it was patterned. Circular motions across my shoulders, down my arms, across my chest and legs in water, and then back again.

And as their hands worked, Gwen began to chant.

The words were in no language I recognized; syllables that rose and fell like waves, filled with throaty hums and clicking sounds. The other women joined in, harmonizing their voices, creating a haunting vibration that made the air itself tremble.

The herbs burned wherever they touched my skin, and I whimpered. “Please—stop—it hurts—”

But Gwen only lifted her chin, chanting louder. “Pain purifies,” she said between breaths. “Pain is the gate through which the Moon sees truth.”

The sound grew. The chanting echoed through the forest, blending with the soft rush of the river and the distant cries of birds. When they began to wash my hair with another concoction, some crushed leaves that foamed faintly under their palms, I could barely breathe. The scent was sharp and earthy.

Gwen raised her hands toward the sky, her eyes closed. “Moon above, see her. Flesh to flesh. Blood to bond. Purify what is foreign, and prepare what is yours for your Alpha.”

They poured water over my head again and again until I couldn’t tell if I was crying or drowning. I gasped for air as the water streamed down my face, my soaked long hair clinging to my skin.

“Please—please, I can’t—” I tried to stand, but Gwen pressed me down by the shoulders again, her fingers digging into my skin.

“Do not fight it!” she said sharply. “The water must accept you! You must let it!”

I thought I might faint then. My body shook uncontrollably; my teeth chattered. The world swam in the water’s reflection, the sky spinning, Gwen’s face a blur.

It didn’t matter how much I pleaded.

It didn’t matter how much I cried.

They didn’t stop.

Their hands were relentless, scraping the herbs into my skin again and again until I lost count. My skin burned, reddened under their calloused palms. I flinched, tried to twist away, but Gwen only pressed a hand to my shoulder, keeping me still.

And then suddenly, the chanting stopped. Gwen’s voice sliced through the silence.

“Look up.”

Her hand gripped my chin, forcing my face gently upward toward the sky. “Look, sweet girl,” she murmured. “The Moon has come to see you herself. She is here.”

I followed her gaze, breath trembling in my throat. She was right. I hadn’t even realized how the sky had changed while they worked. The horizon had dimmed into deep indigo, the first pale shimmer of the moon rising above the black tree line.

Gwen’s lips curved slightly. “See? The Moon accepts you. If she didn’t, she would hide behind clouds. But she comes... she comes to witness the mating tonight.”

I wanted to scream that the moon rose every night, that it wasn’t some divine sign meant for me, that they were all mad: her, Alaric, every single person in this forsaken place. But the words stuck in my throat. They wouldn’t have heard me anyway. They were too far gone in their beliefs.

They helped me step out of the water, each gripping one of my arms as my teeth chattered violently in the cold. The air had turned icy since dusk, sharp against my raw skin.

Gwen wrapped a thick piece of fur around me, rubbing it briskly over my arms and back to dry me. “There,” she said softly, as if to a frightened animal. “The Moon has cleansed you. You are ready to be dressed.”

One of the women brought her a folded bundle. Gwen unfolded it: a piece of soft leather, sleek and oiled, with ribbons dangling from the back. She wrapped it tightly around my chest, her fingers working the laces as if she’d done this a thousand times before.

When she pulled the ties, the leather constricted sharply around my ribs. I gasped, trying to squirm free. “Stop—please, it’s too tight!”

She ignored me and kept tightening until I cried out. Only then did she pause, exhaling as if remembering something. Her hand came down gently to my shoulder.

“I forgot,” she said quietly, tapping on my skin. “You are not like us. You have a… soft chest.”

She loosened the ties slightly, then stepped back to examine her work. The garment clung to me like a second skin, cold and alien with my small breasts were making a bulge inside it.

Then came the skirt.

It wasn’t like theirs, short and free for running or hunting. Mine was longer, heavier, falling to my mid-calf.

Gwen looked at it with clear disapproval. “We’ll need to make you something new,” she muttered. “This won’t do. Your frame is too small.”

I shivered uncontrollably, the night wind biting through the leather. My thoughts darted wildly; if I run now, could I make it? The ground was uneven, the forest endless, my feet bare.

They’d catch me before I even reached the trees.

Gwen draped a thick wool cloak over my shoulders. It was so heavy that it almost knocked me forward, and she caught my elbow to steady me.

“For warmth,” she said simply. The fabric smelled of smoke and animal fat. I tried to balance it, pulling it tighter as one of the younger women stepped forward to arrange my hair.

My long, wet strands were pulled forward, divided into sections. Their fingers worked quickly, weaving it into braids: two smaller ones framing my face, and one thick braid trailing down my back. The sensation was oddly intimate, almost tender, and I hated it.

I wanted to tear their heads off.

Gwen returned, holding a small wooden bowl of oil. Its scent was strong and suffocating: sweet at first, then sharp like tobacco. She dipped her fingers into it and began rubbing it along my collarbone, up my throat, across my face. My skin flared, stinging where she touched me.

“Please,” I whispered, trying to push her hand away. “Don’t—please, it burns—”

“Stop it.” Her voice snapped like a whip. “This is good. The Alpha will like it.”

When they were done, one of the women brought a small plate with pieces of fruit arranged carefully, like an offering. Bananas, berries, something that looked like figs.

“You must eat,” Gwen said. “But lightly. Your body must not be heavy tonight.”

“Tonight?” My voice cracked.

“You will not fall asleep on the Alpha with a heavy stomach,” she said, as if it were the most natural warning in the world. “You must serve him as long as he wishes. You can eat properly afterward, with him. But not before.”

The words hit me like a stone in the chest.

My hands trembled as I picked up a piece of banana and bit into it. The sweetness was nauseating. My stomach churned, and my throat tightened. I hadn’t eaten properly in almost two days, but now I could barely swallow. My body rejected even this small mercy. I forced myself to take another bite, chewing mechanically, my eyes fixed on the ground.

Gwen watched me with that same unblinking calm. “Good,” she said softly. “You’ll need your strength.”