Prologue

Princess Evelyn Nightshade.

I stood in my shackles, desperately trying to block out the piercing screams echoing through the entire hallway. My heart raced with fear and disbelief. I had been falsely accused of killing my sister and her mate, the alpha king himself, Kieran was promising to make me pay for a crime I didn't commit.

A guard came and pulled me with my chain, causing me to stumble forward. He didn't stop, heartlessly dragging me towards the arena where a massive crowd had gathered, all eagerly awaiting the king's pronouncement to end my life.

Cheers and jubilations filled the air as I stood in the center of the arena. Some people had the nerve to throw things at me, even in the presence of such an unjust spectacle. Alya, my wolf companion, had fallen strangely silent since my imprisonment, and I doubted she had any plans to comfort me anytime soon.

"Silence." The alpha king's voice boomed, and the crowd fell silent. I stole a quick peek at him, seated arrogantly on his throne, his gaze fixed intensely upon me. Hatred surged within me whenever I remembered that he was the reason my sister's life had been cut short. But only I knew the truth.

"Today, we are gathered here to pronounce judgment on this traitor," he spoke, his voice dripping with venom and hatred as he locked his eyes on me. "She is the reason my Queen, Elizabeth, and my unborn baby died—stabbed out of jealousy." Shocked gasps resonated throughout the arena.

Lies! I wanted to scream, but my voice failed me. All I could do was glare at him with seething hatred in my eyes.

"Kill her!" The crowd screamed, their furious chants piercing my ears.

"Behead her! Make her pay!" The cries continued, and tears streamed down my face as my body trembled. Was this to be the end of my life? I hadn't even done anything.

He raised his hand, and a chilling silence fell over the arena. "Death is too easy a punishment for the monster who killed my wife and child. She shall become a slave. My personal slave. She will do whatever I tell her to do, and when the time is right, she will become my breeder and bear my children," he proclaimed.

Surprised gasps and murmurs filled the arena, and my gaze remained fixed on the king. Alpha Keiran, what wicked plans do you have in store for me? Slowly, the crowd began to accept his judgment, and jubilant shouts filled the air once more. "All hail the king! All hail the king!" they chanted, while some reveled in my misfortune, jeering at me.

"Prepare her and bring her to my chamber tonight. Her punishment starts now," he commanded, rising from his throne and walking away, casting a glance filled with malevolence in my direction.

Fear gripped my heart, and my palms grew clammy with sweat. I had no inkling of what he intended to do to me, but if the rumors about his ruthlessness were true, my life was irrevocably ruined. By the end of it all, I would know that death would have been the more merciful option.