ARTEMIS' POV
I wake up with a start, suddenly jolting upright, fists clenched tight, ready to defend myself against anyone trying to take me away.
But I'm not in front of the banquet hall anymore; I'm in a dimly lit room with stuffy air. Then the pain in my head hits, stabbing like needles from every angle, and I groan, massaging my temples.
What happened to me?
I try to force my brain to recall the last moments before I passed out, and the memory comes rushing back. I remember seeing Sera in pain, crying, and it hurt me deeply.
My wolf felt her agony; we needed to get to her, to console her, but then someone grabbed me, dragged me back, knocked me out with a drug that felt too potent to be legal.
Anger flares within me as I remember wanting to kill the person responsible for this. The pain intensifies as I furrow my brows, and I wince.
"You shouldn't strain yourself, Artemis," a voice says, seeping into my consciousness.
I open my eyes, looking towards the voice, and see her sitting in the corner by a vanity table, brushing her copper red hair, dressed in what appears to be a nightgown.
"Kamila...?"
What's she doing here?
She looks at me, brows furrowed with concern, but seeing her face triggers another memory from the night before, and my anger doubles.
I fight to keep my composure.
"Where am I?" I ask, scanning the unfamiliar room.
It's small, with no other furniture but the bed I'm on and her chair, musty and hot. I sit up and notice another anomaly: my clothes.
I've been changed into something light, almost transparent, with brown trousers that feel stiff-like a prisoner's garb.
Kamila watches me, her gaze skeptical, silent before turning away, continuing to brush her hair.
"Answer me!" I snap, losing my patience, but she remains silent.
I have to get to Sera, make sure she's okay, explain everything. I hope to reach her before she misunderstands, before she thinks I was complicit in whatever plan my father concocted.
I head for the door, grabbing the knob and pulling, but it's immovable. My patience evaporates, and I yell out, frustration boiling over.
My wolf fights against the restraints within me.
I punch the door repeatedly, pulling back and slamming into it with my whole arm, but my strength is diminished from the drug, and the door is barricaded from the other side, built of something my current strength can't overcome.
I don't give up. I throw myself at the door again and again, desperate.
I need to get to Sera.
"Artemis..." Kamila calls out to me, trying to sound calm, but it only infuriates me more.
The door doesn't budge; I can't break it. A sense of dread settles in my gut after every failed punch until I finally stop, huffing and puffing.
I've only managed to make dents, but it hasn't broken down, and I feel the drug in my system starting to affect me again.
"It's pointless. It's bolted tight, to keep us both here. Father's idea of getting us to 'reconcile'. He will only let us out once he's satisfied or when you mark me," she explains.
She sounds like she's already lost her fight and adjusted to the situation. She's calmer than any wolf should be in this situation, almost as if she's been locked up too long to be bothered by it.
My anger fades for a moment and I take deep breaths, trying to think clearly and figure a way out of this mess. There's no getting out through the door.
The only option is waiting.
I turn to look at Kamila. She's brushing her hair obsessively, maybe to make time pass here. It's like some sort of ritual for her, strangely mumbling words to herself.
Suddenly, I feel bad for losing my cool earlier, yelling at her when she's just as much a victim as I am. I should have known better.
"What happened, Kamila? We had a deal earlier," I start, thinking back to the banquet and the words she said in front of me.
Her brushing stops and she looks at me with a bitter smile before putting the brush down.
"What? Is it so hard for you to be stuck with me? You're disappointed that you didn't get your freedom, aren't you? I apologize, Artemis. You didn't think I'd let you go so easily after everything I've gone through for you, after losing so many years just for you," she says.
She never looks at me, not even once; I guess she can't.
Something feels off.
She seems more unhinged than usual, more erratic and off-center.
"What's really happening here, Kam? Is it your father? Is he making you do this? If you tell me, maybe I can find a way to help you-"
"Help me?" She scoffs and finally turns to look at me. Her eyes are pained, red and swollen against her pale skin and sunken cheeks. "You have no clue about what's really going on in the shadows, Artemis. You have no power, yet you talk about helping, forgetting that it's you and I who are locked in here together. We're both prisoners."
She pauses to laugh, but it's loud and almost strained, twisted. She forces the sound out until she starts coughing painfully.
"If you really want to help me though, mark me. Make me fully yours, Artemis. I deserve that much as your mate."
"I can't," I say firmly.
The person I want, the person I need, is Sera, no one else. She could never possibly fit in her shoes, even if I deluded myself into believing I could live with her for even a month.
My heart and body will always be for Sera alone.
She turns away, looking back into her mirror, and resumes brushing her hair, stroke after stroke. Excruciatingly.
"You will. We are to be married in a few weeks, like it or not. It has been decided. Fight it all you want, my love, but this is happening."
***
I don't know how many hours we've been in here, but it feels like too many.Too many hours spent staring at the ceiling and walls, too many hours of Kamila brushing her hair and humming, sitting still like a doll.
Then, finally, the doors click open.
I spring up, rushing towards the door, relieved, only to find two guards standing there waiting.
"Alpha Gideon will speak with you now," they announce, and then they escort us out of the room, which I realize is a hidden cellar under the school-something I knew nothing about.
Kamila seems unfazed by everything, following orders perfectly. We walk up to ground level and stop in front of an office repurposed for Alpha Gideon's use during his visit.
The door is open, and he's talking in hushed, agitated tones with one of his pack members. After sending the member away, he motions for us to come in.
As we stand before him, he smiles.
"I apologize for the wait. There's been an emergency-my beta went missing on a secret mission last night," he says.
"Jonathan?" Kamila gasps out loud, then quickly covers her face.
He looks at her, annoyed, but I step in to draw his attention.
"Sad news," I reply, my sarcasm barely veiled.
He turns to me, trying to mask his irritation with a smile.
"Prince Artemis, glad to see you're a bit calmer. My therapy must have worked," he says, referring to our confinement.
Therapy? More like a ploy to force our hands.
I meet his gaze, letting him see he hasn't broken me.
"I haven't marked your daughter, if that's what you were hoping," I tell him.
He laughs, amused. "Regardless, your wedding will proceed in a few weeks. The preparations have begun, Your Highness. The adults will handle it from here," he taunts, his formal address hollow against the backdrop of his disrespect.
"We'll see about that," I retort.
He nods, stands to leave, and walks past me, but then he leans in to whisper just to me.
"It's a shame I couldn't keep you on a leash longer, boy," he taunts once more, then steps back and addresses us both. "You may return to your dorms now."
I watch him go, my resolve hardening. My fight isn't with him-it's with the man who empowered him, the one who allows him to flaunt this power in my face.