Chapter 3 The Silver-Haired One

"Leave us."

The command was calm, almost mechanical, but it carried an authority that made the maids and the guard scatter without hesitation.

The heavy door shut behind them, leaving me alone with the silver-haired Lycan who stood in the center of the chamber, his eyes fixed on me like a scholar staring at a specimen.

My breath caught in my throat. His face betrayed nothing-no irritation, no warmth, just an unreadable stillness.

He moved closer, slow and deliberate, scanning me as if every detail on my body needed cataloging. My stomach knotted.

"You are my mate," he said at last, his voice flat, as though he were announcing a fact from a book.

I stiffened. "No... no, you're mistaken," I forced out, my voice breaking despite my attempt at defiance. "I'm just... I'm just the new breeder they brought here."

His head tilted slightly, expression still unmoved, and he regarded me like a machine processing faulty data. "You are my mate. The bond is absolute. It does not lie."

My palms were dampened with sweat. I hated how my pulse quickened at the word mate. "You don't understand," I tried again, shaking my head. "I don't belong to any of you. I was sent here for a purpose that has nothing to do with this bond."

Unblinking, he continued, "The mate bond is strong, immediate, and infallible. For Lycans, it has never been wrong. Generations of records prove it."

I bit down on my lip. He wasn't shouting like Rowan, nor arrogantly smirking like Kai. He was... strange. Detached. Almost too detached. It unsettled me more than rage would have.

My voice trembled. "But I... I feel it with the others too. How can that be?"

He took a measured step forward. "Because what I feel, they feel. Our fates were bound together the moment we came of age. All four of us share one mate-you."

My stomach dropped. All four of them? I swallowed hard, horror slamming through my chest. "Why would anyone do that?" I whispered.

"For power. For unity," he replied, as if he were reciting from a textbook. "We are tied to a single female, so our reign remains unbroken."

My knees weakened. The thought of being chained to four of them made bile rise in my throat.

He moved closer, his silver hair catching the dim torchlight. "I will mark you first. It would not be safe for all four to mark you at once. The intervals must be calculated."

My eyes widened as he muttered to himself, as though computing the solution to a mathematical problem. "A span of days between each mark would ensure your body does not collapse under the strain," he continued.

My breath came in shallow bursts. "W-Wait-mark me? No, I... I can't-"

"What is your name?" he asked, ignoring my panic.

I swallowed hard. "Mira."

"Damien," he answered curtly. "Remember it. I am the most intelligent among my brothers. Stay close to me, and you may endure this with less suffering."

My pulse thudded painfully in my ears. Intelligent? He thinks this is about intelligence?

"I..." I licked my dry lips. "But Kai already sent for me. He said-"

"You will answer to me," Damien cut in, his tone firm yet still void of emotion. "When I mark you, you will inform me. Until then, his call does not concern you."

The word mark made my chest tighten with terror. I shook my head, desperation seeping into my voice.

"Please... don't make me go to him. I'm not ready. I-" I lowered my eyes, feigning shyness, masking my fear as best I could. "I'm... I'm not prepared for that. Please."

For a long moment, Damien only studied me, unblinking. Then, without warning, he turned and gestured for me to follow. "Come."

Relief washed through me in a shaky breath. He was taking me away from Kai-for now.

We entered his quarters, and I blinked at the sight. The room was nothing like the others I had seen. Bookshelves lined the walls, scrolls and manuscripts stacked in neat piles. A large desk covered in parchment dominated the space. It felt more like a study than a bedroom.

Damien gestured to a chair. "Sit."

I obeyed cautiously, my eyes flicking to the neat rows of quills and inkpots.

He turned to one of his guards lingering outside. "Bring herbal tea."

The guard vanished, returning minutes later with a steaming cup. Damien set it before me with precision. "This is the finest drink for she-wolves. My research confirms its restorative properties."

I stared at the cup, then at him. "You've... researched me?"

He nodded once. "Every mate must be understood. Observed. Analyzed."

My jaw clenched. Analyzed? Like I'm an experiment?

He sat across from me, eyes never leaving my face. The silence stretched, broken only by the scratch of his quill when he jotted something on a parchment. It was maddening.

Finally, I leaned forward, forcing a smile. "You know... I've always wondered something about the mate bond."

Damien looked up, interest flickering faintly. "Speak."

"What happens to pleasure workers," I asked slowly, "when they discover they're mated? Do they just... stop what they do?"

He considered the question, his fingers steepling together. "Some abandon their profession at once. Others attempt to resist, but eventually, they must choose. There are those who even attempt to break the bond entirely."

My brows knitted. I feigned surprise. "Break it? That's even possible?"

He nodded. "Possible, yes. But dangerous. The process is both physical and emotional. Many who attempt it are driven to madness. Some die."

A chill ran down my spine. "How... how is it done?"

Damien's gaze sharpened, though his voice stayed even. "That I will not tell you."

My stomach tightened. He knows I don't want this... but he won't let me see a way out.

"You are displeased," Damien observed flatly. "I can see it in your face. You came expecting to be used as a breeder. But you are more. You are our mate. The plans for you must change."

Before I could answer, a guard appeared in the doorway. "My lord, the shipment of goods has arrived."

Damien rose, adjusting his robe with precision. "Wait here." He left with the guard, the door closing behind him.

The moment silence fell, my eyes darted to his desk. Heart hammering, I slipped to my feet and moved quickly to the open book he had been studying earlier.

The pages were dense with symbols and text, but my eyes locked on the words that made my blood run cold:

To sever a mate bond, one must remain in proximity to the mate and willingly cut into the chest with a dagger, releasing both blood and bond in sacrifice.

My breath hitched. The letters blurred as fear clawed at my chest. Pain. Madness. Death. But the Queen, Serena's warning, echoed in my mind, as did the mission I had been forced to bear. Too much was at stake.

My trembling fingers closed around the hilt of a dagger lying nearby. I slid it carefully into my dress, concealing it against my side.

Straightening my shoulders, I forced my breathing to steady. I'll do it. I have to.

I left the chamber and found a guard waiting outside. My voice was steady, though my heart raced. "Take me to King Kai's quarters."

If breaking one bond severed them all, then that was where I had to begin.