Bella POV
"Crazy," I muttered to myself. "Absolutely insane. Absolutely gorgeous. Absolutely…ugh, I hate him."
The moment I stepped into the hallway, I stopped dead.
What the hell.
This wasn't a hallway. This was a freakin' marathon. Doors lined up on both sides like I'd wandered into some billionaire's palace.
Nothing looked familiar. Not a single wall, painting, or statue reminded me of Grandma's villa. My heart thumped, each beat louder than the last.
I decided to go straight. Because turning left or right felt like the exact moment I'd stumble into a death trap—or worse, naked Logan.
"Grandma, did you renovate this part of the villa and forget to tell me?" I muttered under my breath, scanning the endless corridor.
And then a tiny, cautious voice in my brain whispered, What if the perv was right Maybe… maybe I teleported.
I slapped that idea down immediately. "Teleport? Me? Yeah, right. I can't even teleport my laundry to the basket."
The hallway just kept going. And going. And going.
Finally, I saw a huge window. I stopped and pressed my hands against the glass. Time to make sure I wasn't on Mars.
Yep. Still Earth. Italy, maybe. Definitely not my grandma's villa. The ground was ridiculously far below, fenced off like some top-secret compound. And that's when I saw them.
A whole group of shirtless men. Training. Fighting. Sweaty and terrifying.
"What in the hell…?" I muttered.
One of them crouched low. I blinked. His bones cracked loudly, snapping in a way that sounded… unnatural.
My pulse hit my throat.
And then…
His skin twisted. His shoulders bulged, his arms elongated, and hair sprouted all over his body. His face stretched, jaw snapping, teeth sharpening. A guttural snarl erupted from his chest.
I didn't scream at first. I couldn't. My throat had turned into stone. My lungs refused to work.
He was no longer human.
He was… a wolf.
A massive, snarling, predatory wolf.
My knees buckled. My hands flew to my mouth.
"No. No, no, no… this isn't real. This can't be real!"
I felt my blood run cold, my body stiff as ice. Every survival instinct screamed at me to run, hide, climb the walls if I had to.
And then my heart sank even further.
Another man in the group tilted his head, noticing me. I could feel his gaze burning through the window. My body froze, every muscle screaming for action.
I flung myself down below the ledge, pressed my back against the cold wall, trembling.
My hands shook so badly I couldn't even wipe the sweat dripping down my face.
My legs felt like noodles.
My entire body was trembling.
"Where the fuck am I?" I whispered, voice shaking. "What is this nightmare?"
One thing was clear—I needed that creep Logan. Now.
I turned around quickly. "I need to find him. I need answers."
I barely took two steps when a voice barked behind me,
"YOU! STOP THERE!"
I spun around fast.
Three men in security uniforms stormed toward me.
"The witch!" one of them yelled.
"What? NO! I'm not a witch!" I screamed, waving my hands like an idiot.
"Get her before she runs!"
They moved like lightning. Supernatural speed.
Before I could blink, they grabbed me by both arms.
"LET ME GO!" I yelled, kicking uselessly. "What the hell is wrong with you people?!"
"Drag her to the cell," he said coldly. "Lock her up until the party is over. After that, we'll know what to do with her."
Cell?
Party?
Were these people INSANE?
"Let me go!" I snapped, twisting my arms. "I said LET GO! Do you guys only speak stupid or what?!"
Nothing.
They kept dragging.
My mind raced. Think, Bella. Think.
Logan said he was the king…
Maybe if I pretended like I knew what was going on, they would back off.
I took a deep breath and yelled,
"STOP! I came to see Logan! I'm his guest!"
The guards froze.
Good. That worked.
Then—
A woman's voice cut through the hallway.
"What did you just say?"
Everyone turned.
And I swear… my jaw nearly dropped.
A woman walked toward us like she owned the entire world.
Long curly blonde hair.
Cold blue eyes.
A body like she stepped out of a fashion magazine.
And a long red gown trailing behind her like fire.
She stared straight at me.
"I asked you a question," she said, voice like glass cutting. "What did you just say? Did you claim you're a guest—"
"Yes," I cut her off before she even finished.
"I'm Logan's guest. In fact…"
I lifted my chin higher.
"…I'm his fiancée. So all of you better watch how you're treating me."
Gasps.
Actual gasps.
The blonde lady looked like she swallowed a lemon dipped in poison.
"What?" she hissed. "How dare you lie about the king? And how dare you claim the Alpha is your fiancé? Who is she?" she snapped at the guards, fury steaming off her.
"We don't know, Miss Clara," one guard stuttered. "We found her snooping around the Alpha quarters. So we arrested her."
"Wait—wait—wait."
I raised both hands.
"I think we're misunderstanding something here. I said Logan is my fiancé. I don't know anything about this Alpha guy you're talking about. Now let me go, okay? Time is not on my side. I need to see Logan immediately."
Clara's eye twitched.
"Logan?" she repeated slowly. "How dare you call him by his name?"
Something in me snapped too.
"What do you mean 'how dare I'? That's literally his name. That's what he told me. Why are you getting so angry?" I shot back.
Her face twisted in pure hatred.
She stepped closer, leaned in, and—OH GOD—sniffed me.
Yes.
She sniffed me.
Her face curled as if I smelled like trash.
"You're HUMAN," she said loudly.
I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly fell out.
"Why is everyone asking me that?" I groaned. "What else am I supposed to be? A flamingo? A toaster? You people are weird. Now can I see Logan?"
And then—
S L A P.
Her hand hit my cheek so hard my head snapped to the side.
I gasped.
My hand flew to my face.
"Did you just SLAP me?" I shouted, shocked, furious, and very ready to throw hands.
I tried to swing back, but the guards grabbed my arms before I could touch her.
"Let go of me!" I yelled, kicking. "Oh so SHE can slap me but I can't slap her back? Make that make sense!"
Clara smirked like the villain she clearly was.
"You have no idea the mess you're in," she said sweetly. "But don't worry—you'll find out soon."
She turned to the guards.
"Where were you taking her?"
"We were about to take her to the cell," one guard said.
"No," she snapped. "Take her to the Punishment Hall. She broke the law. She must be punished."
"What?" a guard gasped. "But who will judge her? Everyone is preparing for your engagement party—the priests, the elders—"
Wait.
ENGAGEMENT PARTY??
Oh my God.
Logan's engagement party.
Clara.
HOLY SHIT.
She was the fiancée he was talking about earlier.
I messed up.
I messed up BAD.
"I will judge her myself," Clara said confidently.
One guard stuttered. "But you can't—"
"Yes I can," she cut him off. "I'm about to be the Alpha's wife."
My stomach dropped.
"Take her," she ordered. "Now. I will sentence her immediately."
"Yes, Miss Clara," they bowed.
The guards grabbed me again.
"WAIT—WAIT—WAIT!" I screamed. "I think we started on the wrong foot—let's introduce ourselves again—"
"Take her!" Clara barked.
They dragged me away while I kept yelling like a madwoman.
We passed more rooms, long halls, guards staring at me. When we reached near Logan's room, I took a deep breath, ready to scream the roof down—
But Clara must've read my mind.
"Cover her mouth," she said.
A guard slapped a hand over my lips.
"Mmmph! Mmmph! Let me GO!"
They dragged me farther and farther until we reached a massive iron door.
It creaked open.
And inside—
My heart stopped.
Chains.
Whips.
Tools I didn't even know existed.
A huge dark hall filled with things that screamed PAIN.
A cold wave washed over me.
"What the FUCK is this place?" I screamed. "What are you planning to do to me?!"
They threw me on the floor.
My knees hit the cold stone, and pain shot up my legs. I looked up—dizzy, angry, confused—and there she was.
Clara stood over me, sneering.
"And what are you even wearing? Do you think you can seduce him dressed like a harlot?"
"What?! No! This is my NIGHTGOWN! I'm not trying to seduce anybody!"
"Shut up," she snapped. "Confess your crime. You have five minutes."
"I didn't commit ANY crime!" I yelled.
She smirked. "You all heard her—I gave her a chance to confess and she refused."
"That's because I didn't DO ANYTHING!"
"Pick her up," she ordered.
They obeyed.
"Tie her to the Pole of Shame."
Yeah.
The actual name.
Pole. Of. Shame.
My pride died right there.
They dragged me to a tall wooden pole in the center of the hall and wrapped ropes around my wrists and waist. I struggled, twisted, pulled—nothing worked. These men were built like angry refrigerators.
"Let me GO!" I screamed. "This is insane! I don't even know where I am!"
Clara stepped closer.
Too close.
And in her hand—
A long, thick horse whip.
My heart stopped.
I screamed before I even understood what was happening.
"What are you doing with THAT?! Put that thing down! Put it DOWN so we can talk like—like normal people! Let's use words, not—THAT!"
She ignored me.
She lifted her chin and announced loudly, "Human, you are hereby sentenced for trespassing and impersonation."
"WHAT did I impersonate?!" I cried.
"Me," she snapped. "You dared to claim you are me—the Alpha's fiancée."
I blinked at her.
"That's not impersonation!" I protested. "That's just… me being stupid! There's a difference!"
She smiled—a slow, evil smile.
"For your crime, you are sentenced to fifty strokes of the cane."
My blood ran cold.
"Fifty? FIFTY?!" I shrieked. "That will kill me!"
"I guess we will see," she said casually, lifting the whip higher, as if she were about to swat a fly.
That was it. I snapped.
I sucked in a breath and screamed with everything I had.
"Logan! Logan, please—help me!"
"Cover her mouth!" Clara barked, panic flashing across her face, like she feared he might actually hear me.
The idiots moved at once. One of them yanked a strip of rough cloth from his pocket—old, dirty, and stiff. He pressed it hard over my mouth while another wrapped it around my head, pulling it tight behind my neck.
I tried to scream again, but the sound died in my throat, trapped behind the gag.
My chest tightened.
Tears burned behind my eyes.
My heart hammered so hard it hurt.
She stepped closer.
The whip cracked loudly in the air.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
And then—
B A M !
The doors of the hall slammed open so hard the walls shook.
"ENOUGH!" a voice thundered, deep and furious.
The whole hall fell silent.
My eyes flew open.
Because that voice—
I knew that voice.
And from the doorway…
He stepped in.
Logan.