Poor Orphan Girl Fed An Injured Wolf Pup With Her Last Piece Of Bread… The Next Night, The Alpha King Came With His Pack

Maja felt as though the world had tilted beneath her feet.

A king. A queen. A prince.

The tiny pup she had nursed by her fireplace was the heir to the entire Northern Kingdom.

"I... I only did what anyone should have done," Maja murmured, lowering her head, feeling terribly self-conscious of her worn dress and smudge-stained apron in front of such regal beings.

"No," Kael corrected firmly, his golden eyes burning with intense conviction. "Others of your village would have driven a spear through his heart to collect a bounty from the local lord. You offered him life when you barely had enough life to sustain yourself."

Kael took a step toward her. The air between them felt suddenly charged, heavy with a strange, magnetic pull that Maja couldn't understand.

"In the Frostblood Clan, an act of mercy to the royal blood creates an unbreakable debt," Kael declared, his voice ringing through the quiet cottage. "A debt of life must be repaid with protection, honor, and sanctuary."

Before Maja could process his words, harsh light exploded outside the cottage windows.

Torches flickered through the dark tree line. Shouting voices echoed across the snow as a mob of villagers, led by the village magistrate and heavy-set hunters wielding pitchforks, iron pikes, and torches, spilled into the clearing.

"There she is!" yelled Mayor Vane, pointing an iron-tipped spear toward the cottage. "The orphan girl has summoned the beasts! She’s a witch! She's in league with the monsters!"

"Burn the cottage down!" shouted a hunter. "Kill the wolf scum!"

Maja’s heart sank into her stomach. The villagers—people she had lived alongside for years, people whose shops she had cleaned and whose streets she had walked—looked at her not with sympathy, but with pure, unadulterated hatred. Fear had warped their minds into viciousness.

Kael's jaw tightened. A dangerous, low rumble vibrated in his chest—a sound so deep and predatory it made the wooden floorboards shudder. His golden eyes flickered with lethal fire as he glanced toward the shouting mob.

Outside, the fifty dark wolves of the Alpha's personal guard bared their fangs, a unified growl echoing like thunder through the clearing. The angry mob instantly halted, panic rippling through their ranks as they realized they were vastly outmatched.

Kael turned back to Maja, turning his back on the mob as if they were nothing more than buzzing flies. He extended a broad, calloused hand toward her.

"You have given everything to people who offer you only contempt in return," Kael said softly, his voice cut through the chaos outside. "Your home is here no longer, Maja. They will never forgive you for showing mercy to what they hate."

"I... I have nowhere else to go," Maja whispered, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at her small, empty cottage—the last memory of her late parents.

"Come with us," Kael offered, his voice dropping to a tender, fierce whisper. "Come to the Northern Citadel. Under my roof, you will never go hungry. You will never freeze. You will be protected by the entire strength of the Frostblood Pack. I offer you a home, a family, and a life of honor."

Maja looked at his extended hand. It was strong, warm, and steady.

She looked at the Queen, who gave her a warm, welcoming nod, holding the little prince closely.

She looked out the window at the snarls of the villagers who had treated her like garbage for six long, lonely years.

Slowly, Maja reached out and placed her small, cold hand into Kael’s palm.

His fingers closed securely around hers, sending a jolt of warm energy rushing up her arm.