Lorelei POV

For the first few seconds, I just stood there in confusion.

The lights above me flickered on and off, faint fluorescent bars buzzing overhead and casting more shadows than actual light.

The space was enormous, far larger than any room I had seen in the estate. Concrete walls stretched around me beneath a high ceiling, and hanging from the center were thick chains dangling from above, some broken and some stained with something dark.

"Hello?" I called out before immediately regretting it.

Only my own voice echoed back at me, and I instantly scolded myself.

Wasn’t that drawing attention to myself?

Whatever "it" was, I definitely didn’t want it knowing where I was.

I took a careful step forward, letting my eyes scan the darkness as I searched for another exit. Deep down, though, I already knew there wasn’t one.

This place looked less like a room and more like a cage.

That was when I heard a growl.

It was low and deep, a sound that rumbled from somewhere in the darkness ahead.

Every hair on my body stood on end, and the lights flickered once.

In that brief flash of illumination, I saw it.

A massive shadow.

It was four-legged, hunched, and easily the size of a horse.

My heart nearly stopped.

The lights flickered again, and this time the shadow was closer.

"Help!" I screamed as panic completely took over.

I spun around and tried to run back toward the door, but my legs refused to cooperate. They felt weak and shaky beneath me, and I barely made it two steps before stumbling and crashing to my knees.

Pain shot through my legs as they hit the concrete floor.

I tried to crawl. I tried to scramble away.

But I couldn’t move fast enough.

The lights flickered on again, and this time they stayed on.

The beast stepped fully into view.

It was a wolf, but not like any wolf I had ever seen before.

Its fur was the color of dried blood, a deep crimson red that looked almost black in certain places. Parts of it were matted, while the fur running along its spine stood bristled and sharp.

Its muscles rippled beneath its pelt with every step, powerful and coiled as though it could tear through steel if it wanted to.

And its eyes...

Its amber eyes burned as they stared directly at me.

For a split second, they reminded me of someone.

The Alpha King.

They were almost identical to the amber eyes I had seen on his face.

The moment the beast locked its gaze on me, another growl ripped from its throat. This one was much louder, vibrating through my chest and rattling my teeth as pure terror flooded every part of my body.

Then it charged toward me.

Its massive paws pounded against the concrete, claws scraping and sparking against the floor. Its jaws opened wide, revealing rows of teeth that looked more than capable of tearing me apart with a single bite.

This was it.

I was going to die.

A scream tore from my throat as I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the end.

But it never came.

Instead, I heard a sharp yelp, followed by a loud crash, and then silence.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

What was going on?

I was terrified out of my mind, but after a few seconds, I managed to gather enough courage to slowly open my eyes.

A soft gasp escaped my lips when I found the beast was now only inches away from my face.

Its amber eyes were no longer burning with rage. Instead, they were wide and fixed on me, looking almost... confused.

It pressed its nose against my cheek and sniffed me before pulling back slightly. Then it tilted its head and let out a strange sound, almost like a whine.

"What... the hell?" I breathed, swallowing hard.

Maybe I was dreaming.

Or worse, maybe I was already dead.

Because why on earth would a beast this big suddenly start acting like a puppy?

It leaned in again, sniffing my hair, my neck, and my hands. Its nose was cold and wet against my skin. After a moment, it pulled back and sat on its haunches, its massive body blocking most of the light as it simply stared at me.

Waiting.

But for what?

Slowly, I pushed myself up onto my elbows. My entire body was trembling so badly that I almost lost my balance.

"You’re not going to kill me?" I whispered. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

The beast whined again and lowered its head, resting its massive snout on the floor in front of me. Its amber eyes never left my face.

I didn’t understand.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" I asked as I cautiously moved a little closer.

Slowly, I extended my hand, not quite touching it, just letting it see my fingers hovering in the air.

Its nose twitched.

Then, instead of snapping at me, it turned its head and deliberately brushed its fur against my palm.

The gesture caught me so off guard that a surprised chuckle escaped my lips.

"You scared the hell out of me, you know that?" I whispered, letting my fingers sink into the thick, coarse fur along its jaw, and the beast let out another soft whine that sounded almost apologetic.

The corner of my lips curled upward before I could stop it, and I found myself running my fingers through the softer patches of fur behind its ears.

"Why do you remind me so much of the Alpha King?" I murmured, mostly to myself.

The beast’s ears immediately perked up at the mention of him.

I scoffed.

"That heartless, selfish bastard." I continued brushing my fingers through its fur as I vented out loud.

"Can you believe he made a move on me, had sex with me for hours, by the way, until my back hurt and I could barely walk, and then had me locked up in here with a giant beast? What kind of monster does that?" I huffed in fustration as I thought about that night.

"And between you and me, he wasn’t even that good in bed. Sure, he had stamina, I’ll give him that, but that was about it."

Hearing that, the beast let out a low sound that was almost a grumble.

I just assumed it was agreeing with me and kept going.

"I’m only letting this slide because he’s the Alpha King," I continued, growing bolder with every word. "If he wasn’t, I would have taught him a lesson. I would have..."

I held up my fist, still covered in dried blood, and showed it to the beast.

"You see this? I’m getting stronger. I think my wolf is finally waking up."