Chosen Chains
Amelia's POV
I scrubbed with more force than necessary. My knuckles were turning red, but I didn't care. Each stroke of the rag was a war cry—if I couldn’t fight them with claws or fire, I’d damn well fight them with spite. The tiles may have shone, but inside me, nothing gleamed. Not anymore.
Mira nudged me with her foot. “Stop glaring at the floor like you want to burn it.”
“Maybe I do,” I muttered.
Her eyes widened. “Don’t say that. Not here. They say the walls have ears.”
I leaned in, whispering like I was sharing a secret with the stone. “Let them listen. Maybe they’ll finally hear how tired I am of being treated like a damn object.”
She gave me a nervous glance. “If you keep talking like that, Madam Roxana won’t be your worst problem.”
I didn’t reply. I kept scrubbing, my hands moving like they had a mind of their own, while my ears strained for the sound of that woman’s heels—Lady Larisa.
Her name already irritated me. Not because she was beautiful—I could hate beauty on principle, but this felt deeper. It was the fact that he had someone chosen for him. While I was hunted like an animal, he had someone picked out, polished, perfect.
The stone suddenly looked more appealing to bash my head against.
“So,” Mira said in a hush as we moved to the next section, “You really don’t feel anything? For him?”
I glanced at her. “You sound like a romantic.”
“I’m just saying… he dragged you out of that hell. And they say Prince Damien never joins the hunt.”
I scoffed. “Well, he picked the perfect time to start.”
“You think he did it to hurt you?”
I paused. “I think princes don’t do anything unless it benefits them.”
Mira looked like she wanted to argue, but the heavy doors at the end of the hall creaked open—and in walked her. Lady Larisa.
She swept across the marble like the floor was made of clouds and she didn’t know what dirt felt like. Gold silk trailed behind her, her hands folded daintily in front, as if she didn’t know how to lift anything heavier than a wine glass.
Mira lowered her head instantly.
I didn’t move.
I wasn’t in the mood to bow to another porcelain doll groomed to sit beside a man who’d never known real pain.
Her footsteps stopped inches from my bucket.
“You,” she said, her voice like honey that had been left to ferment. “Are you the one Damien brought in today?”
I looked up, slow and steady. “Depends on who’s asking.”
Mira sucked in a breath so sharp I thought she might choke on it.
Lady Larisa tilted her head, studying me like I was a riddle she didn’t quite understand.
“Such spirit,” she said, almost amused. “That’ll get you whipped.”
“And yet,” I said, squeezing out the rag, “here I am. Still un-whipped.”
Her golden brows lifted. “Charming. Damien does seem to enjoy things that bite.”
I rose from my knees, ignoring Mira’s panicked hiss.
“Let me guess,” I said sweetly. “You’re his betrothed. Groomed and bred to sit beside him while the rest of us bleed beneath your boots.”
She smiled, slow and venomous. “I see he hasn’t trained you yet.”
“I’m not a dog,” I said coldly. “And he’s not my master.”
She stepped closer, her perfume wrapping around me like a trap. “You think what you have is special?” she asked. “Let me guess… your heart fluttered when he caught you? You felt a little tug in your chest and now you think you matter?”
I didn’t answer.
She leaned in, voice low and sharp. “You are nothing, mutt. Whatever bond you think you have, it’s not real. Damien is mine.”
For some reason, that word—mine—set something off in me.
I tilted my head, smiling just enough to be disrespectful. “Then why are you here, marking territory like a frightened pup?”
Her eyes flashed.
Before she could answer, a voice echoed down the corridor.
“Amelia.”
I turned—and of course, it was him.
Prince Damien stood at the far end of the hall, dressed in black again, only this time with silver threads curling along his sleeves. His eyes locked onto mine like he’d heard the whole damn thing.
Lady Larisa turned, smiling. “Damien.”
He barely acknowledged her.
“Come with me,” he said to me instead.
I looked down at my rag, then at the glint of wet marble I’d been scrubbing like it owed me something. “Why?”
He didn’t answer.
Mira nudged me. “Go. Before Madam Roxana comes back and flays us both.”
I dropped the rag and walked forward slowly, every inch of me rebelling.
As I passed Lady Larisa, I said under my breath, “You might want to reapply your perfume. He didn’t even notice you.”
Her sharp inhale was almost better than slapping her.
When I reached Damien, he didn’t speak. Just turned and walked. I followed, reluctantly, but curious. We passed the kitchens, the scullery, the servants' quarters—then veered into a wing I hadn’t seen before.
It was quieter here. And colder.
He finally stopped at a door carved with crescent wolves and opened it, stepping inside.
I hesitated.
“What, afraid I’ll bite?” he asked.
“No,” I said, stepping past him. “Afraid you’ll expect me to roll over.”
He shut the door behind us. The room was massive, walled with books, soft rugs on the floor, a fire already lit.
I stood awkwardly in the middle, still barefoot, still dripping onto an expensive carpet.
“You look like hell,” he said after a moment.
I crossed my arms. “Sorry I didn’t dress for the occasion. I was busy running for my life this morning.”
His jaw ticked. “You shouldn’t have been out there in the first place.”
“Oh? I forgot you were on my side now.”
“I didn’t hunt you, Amelia.”
“But you let them,” I snapped. “What did you do while your brothers laughed and placed bets? Sit in your tower and pretend it wasn’t happening?”
He stepped closer. “I didn’t know it was you they were after.”
“Oh, so if it was someone else, that’d be fine?”
“No,” he growled. “But I didn’t know they were hunting a bonded wolf.”
I froze.
He ran a hand through his hair. “I felt it. The moment they set the dogs loose. I didn’t know who it was, I just knew something was wrong.”
“You felt it,” I repeated, voice dry. “How nice for you. Meanwhile I was bleeding in the dirt while your brother called me a mutt.”
His fists clenched. “Klaus is an idiot.”
“And Adrian?”
“Worse.”
I stared at him, heart pounding. “Why did you really bring me here?”
He looked at me, and for the first time, his storm-gray eyes softened. “Because the moment I touched you… I knew.”
“I didn’t want to be known,” I whispered.
He stepped forward. “You think I chose this? You think I want a mate the kingdom would rather see strung up like a trophy?”
“Then reject me,” I said, lifting my chin. “Do it properly.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to,” he said softly. “Because you’re mine.”
My heart clenched.
“I don’t belong to anyone,” I said.
“Then let me earn you,” he whispered.
That stopped me.
He stepped closer, slow, careful, like he was approaching a wild animal. Maybe he was.
“You think you’re the only one who’s suffered? I didn’t join the hunts because I was too soft. I didn’t join because I saw what my father did to his bond. To my mother. To the wolves he took in chains.”
My breath caught.
“You think I’m like them?” he asked. “I’ve spent every day trying not to be.”
I wanted to say something cruel. Something final.
But all I said was, “Then why claim me like one of your pretty things?”
“I didn’t claim you,” he said. “I rescued you.”
I shook my head, voice low. “There’s no such thing as rescue here. Only prettier cages.”
He looked like he wanted to argue—but he didn’t.
Instead, he walked to the door, opened it, and said, “You can go.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I said go. The hall’s empty.”
I didn’t move.
He glanced at me over his shoulder. “You wanted freedom. This is the best I can give right now. Walk away… or stay and fight beside me.”
I stared at him, confused, furious—and somewhere deep inside, shaking.
“I’ll scrub your floors,” I said finally. “I’ll learn your rules. But I won’t kneel.”
His lips curved. “Didn’t ask you to.”
“And I still reject you,” I added.
“Of course,” he said, amused now. “You’re very dramatic about it.”
I walked to the door, brushing past him—but not before turning back to say, “I’m not yours.”
He nodded once. “Not yet.”
That smug bastard.
I stomped back toward the scullery, but the part of me that was supposed to hate him completely?
It was already shaking loose.