Chapter 5

The Lycan’s Prison or Sanctuary?

Alya had expected chains. Darkness. Cold stone walls and cruel whispers in the night. But as she was led into Slade’s territory, she found none of those things.

The massive gates of his domain creaked open, revealing an expanse of towering pine trees and rugged cliffs. The scent of earth and rain filled her lungs as she stepped hesitantly forward. Wolves—both in human and beast form—watched her with unreadable expressions, their golden eyes tracking her every movement. Yet no one moved to harm her. No shackles were placed around her wrists. No cage awaited her.

Still, the uncertainty ate at her. What did Slade want from her? Why had he spent such a crazy amount of money just to bring her here?

The answer came soon enough.

Slade strode ahead of her in his wheelchair, his powerful frame cutting through the crowd effortlessly. He stopped just before the grand estate nestled against the cliffs, turning to face her. His piercing gaze bore into hers, sending a shiver down her spine.

“You healed me,” he said, his voice low but edged with something that made her stomach twist. “That night in the woods. You saved my life.”

Alya swallowed, resisting the urge to step back. “I—I only stopped the bleeding. You looked like you were dying.”

His lips twitched as if he found her answer amusing. “You did more than that.” He tilted his head slightly, studying her like a puzzle he had yet to solve. “I should have been dead, Alya. The wounds I had reopened….even a Lycan shouldn’t have survived. But I did.”

She dropped her gaze to the ground. She had felt it that night—the strange warmth that had flowed through her, the way his wounds had begun closing faster than they should have. It had drained her more than any other healing attempt before, but she had thought nothing of it. Until now.

“I want you to do it again.”

Her eyes snapped up. “What?”

Slade came a step closer, and the air between them shifted, thick with tension. “My injuries—they may not be visible now, but I can still feel them. You didn’t heal me completely.”

“I can’t,” she admitted, voice trembling slightly. “I don’t know what I did. I have never done it be-fore,” her voice trailed off into the air as Slade stood up from his wheelchair. The crowd around them screamed in excitement.

“You did this,” Slade said to Ayla who had her hands on her mouth, shaking her head.

“I couldn’t,” she whispered. “I don’t have any healing abilities,” Ayla didn’t know who she was trying to conceive. Slade or herself. 

“Then how do you explain this?” he asked her.

“Maybe this is all a trick to get me to sleep with you. I am Alpha's daughter after all,” she said with pride.

“I don’t need to trick a wolfless omega into sleeping with me,” his words cut through Ayla. she gasped and took a step back from him.

“It’s been a long journey, where will I be staying?” Ayla asked him with a straight face.

“Take her,” Slade directed his guards. He didn’t even try to recant his statement. To him, a King never does.

Ayla followed the guards, thinking she would be spending her days in a cell but instead she was given a room-lavish, but not grand. 

The estate was grand but rugged, its stone walls and wooden beams a reflection of the wilderness around it. She was allowed to roam, watched but unrestrained. 

The Lycans kept their distance, though she often caught their curious glances. Some regarded her with suspicion. Others, with something softer. Respect, perhaps?

Slade, on the other hand, grew increasingly anxious. He had expected Ayla to be excited about healing him, instead she looked scared and terrific. He knew his words had an effect on her but as much as he would want to apologise for it, he won’t.

He watches as Ayla tries to make conversation with the people in the palace but nobody seems to be interested. He had given a fair warning about her and no one dared to defile him.

“You need to try again,” Slade said after catching up with her. Ayla turned around, wondering how he knew where she was.

“So you can call me names again, not a chance,” she stood her ground.

“I’m sorry, did you think you had a choice in the matter?” he asked her and she swallowed hard. “A lot of money was spent to get you here, now you wouldn’t want that to go to waste, would you?”

Ayla couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How could he ask her such a thing? She is a person, not a commodity.

In anger she rushed at him and placed her hands on him, “See, I told you…..” all of a sudden there was a huge bowl of light that threw both of them off balance.

The blinding burst of light filled the corridor, illuminating every inch in a white glow. The force of it sent Alya sprawling backward, her breath stolen from her lungs. Slade, equally thrown off balance, landed hard against the stone floor, a growl escaping his lips as he pushed himself up.

Silence followed.

Alya’s hands trembled as she stared at them, the lingering warmth still pulsing beneath her skin. Her heart pounded. She hadn’t meant to do anything—she hadn’t even known she could.

Slade rose to his feet, the usual sharpness in his expression replaced with something unreadable. Wariness? Curiosity?

“What the hell was that?” His voice was calm, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed him.

Alya shook her head. “I—I don’t know.” Her throat felt dry, her pulse erratic.

The guards who had been nearby rushed forward, stopping just short of them, their eyes wide with alarm. One of them, a man with silver streaks in his hair, turned to Slade.

“My Lord, are you injured?”

Slade ignored him, his gaze locked on Alya. “You felt that, didn’t you?”

She swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“Then do it again.”

She flinched. “I can’t just do it on command!”

Slade took a step closer. “You didn’t just stop my injuries from killing me that night. You changed something in me. I feel it.” His golden eyes darkened. “And I need to know how.”

Alya backed away. “I don’t know how,” she admitted, panic seeping into her voice. “It just happens.”

Slade studied her, his mind clearly working through something, thinking. Then, unexpectedly, he let out a breath and turned to the guards.

“Leave us.”

The guards hesitated but obeyed.

Once they were alone, the tension between them thickened.

Slade crossed his arms. “You’re afraid of this.”

Alya exhaled sharply. “Wouldn’t you be? I don’t even know what I am. I was born wolfless. I’m supposed to be nothing.”

Slade’s expression flickered, something unreadable passing over his face. “Nothing wouldn’t have healed me.”

She hated that he was right.

A long silence stretched between them before Slade finally spoke again.

“I’ll give you time.”

Alya blinked. “What?”

“You’re no use to me if you’re too afraid to even try,” he said, his voice edged with reluctant patience. “So, take time to figure it out. But don’t think for a second that I’ll let this go.”

Alya clenched her jaw, torn between relief and frustration.

Slade walked into his chamber to see his Beta waiting for him. “A message just arrived,” the Beta said, handing him a piece of paper.

Slade opened it up and his eyes shone and hands trembled. “What is it?” his Beta asked out of concern.

“This is a hundred years old,” Slade said and his Beta nodded. “But this is clearly Ayla,” he turned the paper and the Beta looked surprised as well.

“It states that the woman in this picture will be named the Promised Luna, destined to save us all. How can this be possible?” he asked himself.