Chapter 6 This Is Your New Home - II

• Eulalia remained motionless for a second, breathing quickly, her eyes roaming over the unfamiliar faces that watched her as if she were an exotic animal. Then, with what was left of her pride, she lifted her chin and stood up, following him, even though each step seemed heavier than the last.
• The heavy castle doors opened with a deafening creak, revealing a corridor lit by torches attached to the dark stone wall. The interior of Alaric's castle was as imposing as its façade: large tapestries with ancient coats of arms covered the walls, and footsteps echoed across a polished stone floor. Eulalia entered hesitantly, forced to keep up with Alaric's fast pace.
• Gradually, she fell behind; after all, he was walking too fast for her delicate legs, which were still amazed by the surrounding landscape. All she knew was a simple village; she had never been used to such luxury, nor to werewolves, so everything was too new.
• Alaric realized that his companion had fallen behind, and when he turned around, he saw her staring at a large tapestry bearing the symbol of their pack. He watched her for a few moments, his red eyes gliding over every piece of the young woman like someone admiring the most beautiful work of art. Then the wolf blinked a few times, feeling his instincts threaten to get out of control. He wanted to mark her, but not yet… Likewise, he couldn't forget the goddess' demands…
• “If you don't find this mate in the next 500 years, you will never know the love that is meant for you. No she-wolf will then be able to bear your cubs, and your lineage will be lost like leaves blown by the wind. You will be condemned to wander forever, a lonely being devoid of all the glory that your blood and cruelty could have guaranteed!”
• Remembering Sidonia's words, the alpha growled as he walked briskly over to Eulalia and took her by the arm, pulling her towards the staircase and forcing her to almost run to keep up with him.
• “You're hurting me, you brute!” she protested, trying to get free.
• “Then walk straight,” he retorted, without even turning his face.
• They climbed a spiral staircase that seemed to have no end. With each step, Eulalia felt further away from any hope of freedom. The castle was silent, but the tension that hung between them filled every corner. She felt her skin prickle not only from the cold of the stone but from the fear of the unknown.
• On the top floor, there was a double door, carved with ancient symbols that Eulalia didn't recognize. Alaric pushed it open and entered with her, revealing an absurdly large room. The walls were covered in black tapestries, and there was a huge fireplace burning in one corner, throwing its light onto a thick, fluffy fur rug. A huge, carved wooden bed dominated the center of the room, surrounded by thick curtains. In front of the fireplace, there were dark armchairs, stacked books, a table with a tea set, and flowers here and there; it looked like a room specially prepared for an important woman.
• Her.
• Alaric let go of Eulalia's arm abruptly.
• “This will be your room.”
• Eulalia took a step back, staring at the space as if it were a golden cell. She crossed her arms, her face completely flushed, when she realized that he was still naked, standing in front of her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
• “By all that's holy, can you… put something on?” she exclaimed, quickly turning around and covering her eyes with her hand. “It's indecent! A naked man in a room with a girl! That's absurdly disrespectful, you know?”
• Alaric frowned, not understanding the drama. He put one hand on his hip and replied naturally:
• “Human custom. Among wolves, there's no shame in not wearing clothes when you've just returned to human form.”
• “Of course there's shame! What kind of barbarians are you?” she shouted, still on her back, her cheeks on fire. “If you intend to keep me here, at least respect the minimum of decency!”
• Alaric sighed, walking slowly over to a chest in the corner of the room. He took out a pair of dark, thickly woven pants and put them on without haste, as if he were just doing me a favor. Then he said:
• “You are my companion, Eulalia. This is your home now; you'll get used to it.”
• “This place will never be my home!” she spat out the words, turning to face him with angry eyes. “I'm not your thing! I'm not an object to be dragged up to a castle and locked in a room like a hunting trophy! You can't be just… take me as if I had no will of my own!”
• Alaric looked at her for a moment. His face was a mask of stone, but something in his eyes narrowed, as if that reaction didn't surprise him, but it didn't please him either. Deep down, he was happy that his companion wasn't a submissive little thing with no will of her own, but he was also annoyed that she didn't obey him at any time.
• “You're here because fate wanted you to be. The goddess destined you for me; there's no escaping it; I won't let you escape it. Get used to your new life.”
• “I wish the goddess had forgotten me!” she shouted, her voice cracking with rage.
• The silence that followed was heavy. Alaric didn't answer; he just walked over to the door, opened it, and took one last look at the young woman, now panting and teary-eyed. Instead of any words of comfort, he simply closed the door firmly and turned the key, locking it from the outside.
• The sound of the latch echoed through the room like a sentence.
• Eulália ran to the door and started punching the wood as hard as she could, shouting:
• “You can't do this! Get me out of here! Get me out of here now, you bastard!”
• But there was no response.
• Outside, Alaric went down two steps and stopped, his hand still on the doorknob. He took a deep breath, fighting the urge to kick the door back and shake it until she understood. But instead, he clenched his fists, containing the instinct that roared inside him.
• “That girl is like a drill,” said a voice behind him.
• It was Mika, his beta, emerging from the shadows of the corridor. His gaze was amused, although he tried to disguise it with a serious expression.
• “She's fiercer than many of the she-wolves in the pack,” he continued, with a half-smile. “She's going to be a handful.”
• Alaric gave Mika a hard look.
• “She's stubborn. Arrogant. Yells too much.”
• “But you wanted her, didn't you?” Mika crossed her arms. “The goddess showed her the way, and she doesn't choose wrongly.”
• “Sidonia keeps punishing me, even after 499 years…”
• Alaric growled low and backed away from the door, his eyes returning to their dark, menacing tone.
• “She'll give in,” he said, his deep voice cutting through the air like steel. “She just doesn't know it yet.”
• And, without looking back, the alpha walked down the stone corridor, leaving behind the muffled screams of the girl who, at that moment, hated every wall of that castle, and even more, hated the man who inhabited it.