Eliana POV

The damp, suffocating air of the servant quarters was a welcome relief after the chaotic mess hall. I sat on my lumpy cot in the dim light of the evening, counting the few crumpled bills I had managed to stash away. It wasn't enough to buy my freedom yet, but it was a start.

The heavy wooden door creaked open, and Berniece, the Beta in charge of personnel, stepped inside. The murky, unwashed scent of her Beta aura filled the small room. She held out a plump, expectant hand, her eyes gleaming with greed.

"Time to pay up, Eliana," she sneered. "If you want to keep your cushy spot in the East Wing, near Lord Jaren, it’s going to cost you your next month's wages."

In my past life, I had eagerly handed over every last coin, desperate to stay close to the Alpha I foolishly thought I could win over. Now, the mere thought of Jaren made my blood run cold.

"I don't have it," I said, keeping my eyes lowered to avoid challenging her Beta authority. "And I don't want the position anymore. Please, Berniece. Transfer me. I'll work in the laundry room, the stables—anywhere. Just get me out of the East Wing."

Berniece’s Inner Wolf bristled slightly at my refusal, but a cruel smirk quickly replaced her frown. "Giving up so easily? Fine. There are plenty of fools willing to pay for that spot anyway. But pack transfers take time. You’ll be reassigned in two days."

*Two days.* The words hit me like a physical blow. I still had to survive two more nights in the beast's lair.

Panic clawed at my throat as night fell. Since Jessenia had been elevated to Breeder and moved into the inner chambers, I was assigned to the outer suite for the night shift. I couldn't let Jaren see me, and more importantly, I couldn't let him smell me.

I bound my chest and waist tightly with rough linen strips, flattening my curves until it hurt to breathe. I swapped my uniform for the baggiest, most threadbare laborer's tunic I could find. Finally, I took a handful of wood ash and cheap, lye-heavy soap, scrubbing it fiercely over my neck and collarbone. The harsh mixture burned my skin, but it effectively masked my natural white peach and jasmine scent, as well as the bruised bite mark Jaren had left on me.

Trembling, I made my way to the East Wing. Outside the heavy oak doors of the Alpha Suite, I bumped into Elsie, the Omega maid I was relieving. She looked pale, her eyes wide with terror.

"Keep your head down, El," she whispered frantically. "Lord Jaren is in a foul mood. Whatever Jessenia is doing in there, it’s not soothing his Inner Wolf."

I swallowed hard and slipped inside.

The suite was suffocatingly dark, thick with the aggressive, intoxicating scent of dark rum and cedar. My knees buckled slightly under the sheer weight of his Alpha aura. I shrank into the deepest shadow near the doorway, praying to the Moon Goddess that I would remain invisible.

Jaren was slumped on the massive leather sofa across the room. He didn't even glance in my direction. Suddenly, a low, guttural growl vibrated from his chest, a sound so primal it made my Wolfless bones rattle.

"You," his voice boomed, laced with the undeniable, crushing power of an Alpha's Command. "Get in here and prepare the bath. Now."

My body betrayed me instantly. As a Wolfless, I had zero defense against an Alpha's direct order. My legs moved on their own, dragging me out of the shadows and toward the private hot spring in the inner chamber.

The heavy wooden doors to the bathhouse were already open. Thick, scalding steam rolled out, hitting my face like a physical wall. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs. The intense heat and moisture were already making my skin slick with sweat.

I grabbed a stack of fresh towels, my hands shaking violently as I approached the edge of the bubbling pool. The steam clung to my clothes, dampening the wood ash and lye soap on my neck. If the water washed away my disguise, the beast waiting in the other room would instantly recognize the scent he had tasted last night.

Eliana POV

The steam clung to my clothes, dampening the wood ash and lye soap on my neck. If the water washed away my disguise, the beast waiting in the other room would instantly recognize the scent he had tasted last night.

Heavy footsteps echoed on the wet tiles. Jaren loomed through the mist, his broad chest bare, his eyes glowing a dangerous, predatory gold. I hunched my shoulders, shrinking into the oversized laborer's tunic, making myself look as small and pathetic as possible. The harsh, acidic stench of lye soap billowed off me in the humid air.

Jaren’s nose crinkled. His Alpha aesthetics and volatile Inner Wolf recoiled in pure disgust at the sight and smell of me. He snatched the towel from my trembling hands, his lip curling into a sneer.

"Get this repulsive stench out of my sight," he snarled, his voice dripping with venom. "Leave."

I didn't need to be told twice. I practically fled into the corridor, pulling the heavy oak doors shut behind me. I leaned against the cool wall, gasping for air, my heart hammering against my ribs. I had survived.

"Look at you. Like a rat scurrying in the dark."

I looked up. Jessenia stood a few feet away, draped in a sheer silk nightgown that left nothing to the imagination. The suffocating cloud of her cheap floral perfume almost masked the nervous sweat underneath.

She stepped close, her fingers pinching my chin with cruel force. "Listen closely tonight, Wolfless," she whispered, her eyes alight with arrogant malice. "Listen to how a pureblood Alpha treats a real Omega. You'll always just be dirt beneath our feet."

She pushed past me, her hips swaying as she slipped into the hot spring. I rubbed my jaw, a cold sneer touching my lips. She had no idea what kind of monster she was walking into.

It didn't take long. Less than ten minutes later, a terrifying wave of Alpha Aura bled through the thick wood of the doors, so oppressive it drove me to my knees.

Inside, Jessenia shrieked. It wasn't a cry of pleasure, but of pure, soul-crushing terror. The scalding steam had washed away her cheap perfume, exposing her painfully ordinary Omega scent. Jaren’s beast had realized the deception.

He didn't kill her. Instead, for the rest of the night, I sat huddled on the floor in the corridor, listening to her agonizing, forced moans of fake pleasure as he used his crushing aura to break her wolf into submission. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. That was meant to be me.

By dawn, the moans had faded into hoarse, broken sobs. The doors opened, and a bruised, hollow-eyed Jessenia stumbled out, looking like a ghost before disappearing down the hall.

"You." Jaren's voice cracked like a whip from the bedroom. "Get in here."

I wiped my sweaty palms on my tunic and entered. The room was a wreck, reeking of dark rum, cedar, and pure Alpha rage. Jaren stood by the window, his chest heaving, a fresh black shirt draped over his shoulders.

"Button it," he commanded.

I stepped into his personal space, my hands shaking as I reached for the bottom button. The damp corridor air and my own sweat had eaten away at my disguise. As my fingers brushed his chest, he suddenly froze.

He inhaled sharply.

His eyes snapped down to me, flashing a brilliant, feral gold. A low growl vibrated in his chest—a possessive *Mine!* Before I could pull back, his massive hand clamped around my wrist, his grip so tight I thought my fragile bones would snap.

"Where were you last night?" he demanded, his voice a lethal, silken threat. His gaze sliced through my ugly disguise, searching for the truth.

"I... I was sick, My Lord," I stammered, the pain in my wrist bringing tears to my eyes. "In my room. Throwing up."

Jaren didn't let go. He leaned down, his nose brushing the exact spot on my collarbone where his teeth had pierced me twenty-four hours ago, inhaling the faint, lingering trace of white peach and jasmine hidden beneath the ash.

"Is that so?"

Eliana POV

I couldn't breathe. His golden eyes pinned me, his Alpha aura crushing my lungs. Desperation gave me a sudden, reckless burst of strength. I yanked my wrist from his loosened grip, bowing so low my forehead nearly brushed his boots.

"P-please excuse me, My Lord, the nausea—" I choked out, spinning on my heel and fleeing the Alpha Suite before his beast could fully process the faint scent.

I didn't stop running until I reached the damp, suffocating safety of the servant quarters. I slammed the flimsy wooden door shut, sliding down it until I hit the cold stone floor. My lungs burned, and my hands were shaking violently.

"El? You look like a ghost," Ivonne said, dropping a pile of folded rough linens on her cot.

Before I could answer, the door was violently kicked open, slamming into my shoulder. I cried out, scrambling back.

Jessenia stood in the doorway, flanked by her new shadow, Evie. Jessenia wore a sheer silk dress, deliberately pulled off one shoulder to display the dark, ugly bruises mottling her skin. They weren't the passionate marks of a mating; they were the violent aftermath of an Alpha's wrath. But to the untrained eye, she was parading her new status as a Breeder.

"Look at the little rat, cowering where she belongs," Jessenia sneered, stepping into the cramped room. The cloying stench of her cheap floral perfume filled the air, failing to mask the sour scent of her own fear.

Ivonne stepped in front of me, her Omega wolf bristling. "Leave her alone, Jessenia."

Evie lunged forward, her hand cracking across Ivonne’s cheek with a sickening smack. Ivonne stumbled back, gasping. Before I could even process the movement, Evie grabbed my hair and delivered a stinging slap to my own face. The metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.

"Hold her," Jessenia commanded.

Evie pinned my arms against the damp stone wall. I struggled, but as a Wolfless, I had no strength to fight off an Omega.

Jessenia stepped closer, her eyes wide and manic. From the folds of her silk dress, she pulled out a pair of heavy, iron tailor's shears. The rusted metal glinted in the dim light.

"You always thought you were better than us, Eliana," Jessenia whispered, tracing the cold tip of the shears down my cheek. "With your perfect little face and your stubborn pride. Let's see if any Alpha wants to look at you after I carve it up."

Panic clawed at my throat, but the memory of last night's terror sharpened my mind into a lethal blade. I didn't struggle. Instead, I leaned into the cold iron, locking my eyes onto hers.

"I know," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the pounding of my heart.

Jessenia frowned, pressing the tip harder. "Know what, Wolfless?"

I leaned closer, bringing my lips inches from her ear. "I know what you went through last night," I breathed. "And I know you aren't the woman with the white peach and jasmine scent who triggered his Heat."

Jessenia froze. The color drained from her face so fast she looked like a corpse. Her Omega wolf whimpered, instantly recognizing the fatal danger of her secret. If Jaren found out she was actively hiding the truth while parading as his Breeder, he wouldn't just break her—he would tear her apart.

The shears trembled violently in her hand.

"Get out," Jessenia snapped, her voice cracking.

Evie blinked, confused. "But, Jessenia, we were going to—"

"I said get out!" she shrieked, shoving Evie toward the door. "Both of you, out!"

Evie and Ivonne scrambled into the hallway. The moment the door clicked shut, Jessenia dropped the shears. They clattered loudly against the stone floor.

"If you touch me again," I said, my voice cold and steady despite the throbbing in my cheek, "I will march straight to the Alpha Suite and tell Lord Jaren exactly how you deceived his Inner Wolf."

Jessenia backed away, her chest heaving with terror, before turning and fleeing the room.

I stood alone in the silence, my knees finally giving out. I had won the battle, but the war was already lost. Jaren had smelled me this morning. It was only a matter of time before his beast put the pieces together. I needed to find a sanctuary immediately, a place where even a feral Alpha wouldn't dare to unleash his wrath.