Cyrus Montgomery POV:

I looked down at the woman lying unconscious in my arms.

She was lighter than I expected, almost weightless. Her scent was faint, carrying the clean trace of cedar and rain. Yet there was something strange about her presence. The Forbidden Forest had been restless when I entered it tonight, its energy pressing against my wolf and restricting the full force of my power. But ever since this wolfless woman appeared, that pressure had begun to fade.

I raised my eyes and looked around the clearing.

The forest was quiet.

Too quiet.

Even my inner Lycan had noticed the change. There was no recognition or attraction toward her, but for the first time since entering the Forbidden Forest, I could feel my wolf's power moving freely through my body. The invisible pressure that had been suppressing me was gone.

My gaze returned to the woman in my arms.

A wolfless had somehow entered the Forbidden Forest and changed the balance of the place just by being here. I didn't know why, but one thing was becoming clear. I needed to keep her close until I understood what was happening.

Then I felt her body tremble.

Her breathing had grown weaker, and the color had almost completely disappeared from her face. I looked toward the dark forest around us. The longer she stayed here, the more her strength was being drained. Whatever had made the forest settle around her was also consuming what little energy she had left.

If I left her here, she would die.

I tightened my arms around her and lowered my gaze to her pale face. Taking her back to Bloodmoon Pack would be the obvious choice, but she might not survive the journey in her current condition.

There was only one way to stabilize her immediately.

A mark could transfer my energy into her body and help restore the strength she was losing. It was a simple decision.

I would mark her.

My fingers brushed against her cold cheek before sliding down to her jaw. Her skin was softer than I expected. I lowered my head, bringing my lips close to her neck, and her scent immediately filled my senses.

Cedar and rain. Clean, cool, untouched.

I paused for a brief moment, my breath grazing her skin. The scent did nothing to stir my wolf, yet it settled something restless inside me. I couldn't explain why, and I didn't have time to think about it.

My canines extended. I bit into the side of her neck.

Her body trembled sharply in my arms. A faint sound escaped her lips as my teeth pierced her skin, and the warmth of her blood touched my tongue. I tightened my hold around her waist, keeping her against my chest as my energy flowed through the mark.

Her fear and pain brushed against my mind through the connection. Beneath them was exhaustion so deep that it frightened me for a moment.

I poured more energy into the mark. Gradually, her trembling eased. Her breathing grew steadier, and the coldness beneath my palm began to fade.

I lifted my head slowly. The fresh mark stood out against her pale skin, only inches from my lips.

My gaze lingered there before moving back to her face. Her lashes were still, her lips slightly parted, completely unaware of what had just passed between us.

A faint sound escaped her again, followed by a tear slipping from the corner of her eye.

Before I could think, I lowered my head and brushed the tear away with the tip of my nose.

The softness of her skin against mine made me pause. I stayed there for a moment, my breath warm against her cheek, before slowly lifting my head.

She was fragile in my arms, yet her presence had done something no one else had managed to do. The moment she entered the Forbidden Forest, the restless energy around me had quieted, and the restriction on my wolf's power had disappeared.

I didn't like unanswered questions. And I had no intention of letting her out of my sight until I discovered why.

Footsteps sounded through the trees. Dax and the guards emerged from the darkness.

I straightened, my expression returning to its usual coldness, and adjusted my clothes to cover the wound left by the silver blade.

Dax stopped when he saw the unconscious woman in my arms. His eyes fell to the fresh mark on her neck. Surprise flashed across his face before he lowered his gaze and knelt.

"Alpha King. What are your orders?"

"Clean everything. Leave no evidence behind." I glanced down at the woman in my arms. "As for her, she's my new attendant. That's all anyone needs to know."

Dax hesitated for half a second before answering. "Yes, my King."

His report gave me her name.

Annamarie.

I carried her to the black armored vehicle and placed her on the back seat. When I sat beside her, I didn't move away. Her head shifted with the motion of the vehicle and came to rest against my shoulder.

I looked down. Even unconscious, she seemed to seek warmth instinctively. One loose strand of hair brushed against my neck, carrying that faint scent of cedar and rain.

I should have moved her away. I didn't.

Outside the window, the forest gradually disappeared behind us. Only then did I think of the Elders.

They had been pressuring me for months to accept a political marriage with another Alpha's daughter. I had refused every proposal, unwilling to let them turn my mate into another piece of their political game.

Now I had a woman beside me whose presence could quiet the Forbidden Forest and release the restrictions on my wolf.

I didn't know what she was. But I knew I needed her close.

The thought of the Elders returned.

I wondered whether the woman sleeping against my shoulder might become more than an unexplained anomaly. She might be the answer to a problem I had refused to solve their way.

I lowered my eyes to her sleeping face. Whatever secrets she carried, I would find them out.

Annamarie Whitmore POV:

I woke up in a bed so soft that my body sank into the mattress. Above me hung a crystal chandelier, its cold light reflecting across the unfamiliar room. The air was filled with a strange scent of sandalwood, deep and powerful enough to make me tense.

This wasn't my room, and I was no longer in the Blackwood Pack.

The memories returned all at once: Jared's rejection, the Forbidden Forest, the assassins, and the cold, powerful man who had caught me before I lost consciousness.

I sat up quickly, but a sharp pain shot through my neck. My hand immediately covered the injured area as I rushed toward the full-length mirror across the room. The moment I saw my reflection, my entire body froze.

A dark bite mark remained on my neck, an Alpha's mark left by a stranger. My heart sank as I realized what had happened.

My torn dress had been replaced with a clean silk nightgown, and the wounds from my escape through the forest had been carefully treated. Someone had saved me, but the thought did not bring comfort. The memory of the man's cold eyes made my body tighten with fear.

I checked myself carefully. Other than the mark on my neck, there were no other signs that anyone had violated me.

A small sense of relief appeared beneath the fear.

Before I could understand what had happened, a knock sounded at the door.

I immediately stepped back as a man in a black suit entered. His presence was calm and powerful, carrying the scent of a Beta. He looked at me with an unreadable expression after confirming that I was awake.

"Miss Whitmore." He gave a slight nod. "I am Dax, the Alpha's Beta. The Alpha ordered me to deliver this once you woke up."

He placed a black folder in front of me.

My fingers tightened as I opened it. The title on the first page made my expression change.

"Personal Attendant Service Agreement."

I read through the contents, and the colder my expression became.

This was not an ordinary employment agreement. It was a contract that restricted every part of my life, requiring me to serve as the Alpha's personal attendant, follow his orders, remain within designated areas, and obey every rule written inside. My living arrangements would be provided, but my freedom would no longer belong to me.

The most humiliating part was the explanation of the mark on my neck.

It stated clearly that the mark had no meaning beyond a temporary measure and that my relationship with the Alpha was only that of an attendant and master.

My fingers tightened around the paper.

"What is this?" My voice came out hoarse. "Then what is the mark on my neck?"

I touched the bite mark, feeling a sharp sense of humiliation.

Dax's expression did not change. "The Alpha marked you because your condition required it. The mark does not represent a mate bond or any personal relationship."

His calm explanation made my chest tighten.

I had escaped being treated as a possession by one family, only to become a possession of someone even more powerful.

I looked at him. "And if I refuse to sign?"

Dax was silent for a moment before answering. "You are currently on Bloodmoon Pack territory. Without the Alpha's permission, you are considered an outsider who entered illegally. Under our laws, outsiders who threaten the pack's security can be punished."

His words erased the last bit of resistance I had left.

I was alone, with no family to return to and no pack willing to protect me. Compared with being sent back and sold as a bargaining piece, staying here as the Alpha's attendant was the better choice.

The mark on my neck had tied my fate to this man, but at least I was still alive.

I lowered my eyes and forced myself to calm down. Survival came first.

As long as I stayed alive, there would always be a chance to change my situation.

I picked up the pen Dax offered and signed the bottom of the contract.

Annamarie Whitmore.

Dax took the document back and nodded. "Good. Follow me. I will show you your room."

I followed him out of the luxurious guest room and through the cold, modern corridors of the building. We entered a staff elevator and continued downward, leaving behind the penthouse overlooking the city.

When the doors finally opened, Dax stopped in front of a narrow room. Inside was only a single bed, a wardrobe, and a small window. Compared with the guest room I had just left, this place felt like a storage space.

Dax handed me a key card. "This is your room. Your duties begin tomorrow. The Alpha's schedule will be sent to your terminal. Remember your position."

He turned and left without another word.

I stood alone in the small room and slowly walked toward the window. The view outside was not the city skyline. Only a cold, empty wall of another building.

I slid down against the wall, clutching the key card in my hand.

The mark on my neck continued to ache, reminding me of the price I had paid for surviving. I had escaped Jared's rejection and my foster father's plan to sell me, but I had only entered another cage.