VALERIA

"Tell me if you can comply with that condition, or I will leave my position right now, King Aldric. I am not your prisoner," I confronted him for the first time, raising my chin, ready to resist his whims and selfishness.

However, Aldric just stared at me in silence.

I could feel his entire body tense, as if he were struggling with an internal enemy, resisting with all his strength.

In his gray eyes, the beast inside him flickered, tinged with red, like his lycan form.

"Fine," he finally relented, stepping back, clenching his teeth so tightly I thought his jaw muscles might snap. "I accept. For now."

He responded, and we were left facing each other in a battle of wills.

If someone had told me a month ago that I would do something like this, I would have called them crazy.

"You need these clothes. You have nothing else to wear. The women in that pack are extremely snobbish, and I don't want anyone looking down on you. Just think of them as extra uniforms if it makes you feel be