Irina’s POV

I sat rigidly on the edge of the massive, custom-made mattress.

The thick velvet curtains were pulled tightly shut. They completely blocked out the afternoon sun. The heavy, oppressive darkness swallowed me entirely whole.

My life back at the Greystone compound was an endless, suffocating loop. Every single day was exactly the same. I woke up. I fed Luka. I stared blindly at the dark, heavy oil paintings lining the cold walls.

I had absolutely nothing to do.

I was the Alpha King’s fated mate, but I was treated exactly like a fragile, shattered glass doll. The heavily armed mafia guards watched my every single move. The Omega maids kept their heads entirely bowed, utterly terrified to even breathe near me. They didn’t speak to me. They scurried away the exact second I entered a room.

The sheer, overwhelming emptiness was completely consuming me. It clawed viciously at my chest. Fear and boredom violently twisted together in my stomach, forming a heavy, nauseating knot. I was trapped in a beautiful, bloody prison. My hard-earned freedom was entirely dead and buried under this cold marble floor.

Only two people from Nicholas’s vicious inner circle ever interacted with me.

Andrei was always polite. The Royal Gamma still offered me a small, careful smile when we crossed paths in the long, dark hallways. He occasionally brought Luka small, expensive wooden toys. He would gently pat the baby’s head.

But his kindness was heavily guarded. I could smell the sharp, metallic scent of his deep caution. He knew Nicholas was always watching. He knew the Mad King’s possessive jealousy was incredibly lethal. Andrei never lingered. He never asked how I actually felt.

Roman was a completely different story.

The Royal Beta made my blood run entirely freezing cold. His hatred for me had violently mutated into something openly hostile. Whenever Nicholas wasn’t directly in the room, Roman didn’t even bother hiding his absolute disgust.

I passed him in the grand foyer yesterday.

"Beta Roman," I whispered weakly. My shoulders instinctively curled completely forward in pure, reflexive submission.

He stopped dead in his heavy tracks. His perfectly tailored dark suit practically radiated pure, unfiltered disdain. His cold, dark eyes completely stripped me of any remaining dignity. The suffocating scent of icy pine and lethal judgment heavily crushed my lungs.

"A pathetic, useless Omega," Roman sneered darkly. His voice dropped to a harsh, lethal whisper that violently pierced my ears. "You drag the King down. You are an absolute stain on this entire empire."

I violently flinched.

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, hugging Luka fiercely against my chest. I didn’t argue. I couldn’t. Roman was completely right. I didn’t belong in this violent, brutal world. I was just a broken toy the King refused to throw away.

——

The heavy grandfather clock ticked relentlessly in the hallway. Time slipped entirely through my pale, trembling fingers.

It was Luka’s first birthday.

Nicholas demanded a massive celebration. He ordered the estate’s absolute best chefs to prepare a ridiculous, lavish feast. The grand dining room was completely transformed. Hundreds of dark silk balloons floated heavily against the blinding crystal chandeliers. A massive, three-tiered vanilla cake sat perfectly in the center of the polished mahogany table.

But the massive room was entirely empty.

It was completely suffocating. The huge, heavily scarred mafia guards lined the walls like unfeeling stone statues. Their dark, tactical gear and the harsh, metallic scent of gun oil violently clashed with the soft baby decorations.

Only one guest sat at the massive table.

Andrei smiled softly, handing Luka a small, beautifully wrapped silver box. "Happy birthday, little prince."

Luka giggled brightly. He grabbed the shiny paper with his chubby, tiny fists, completely unaware of the heavy, oppressive tension in the room.

I forced a small, weak smile. But my heart violently shattered inside my chest.

Roman didn’t come.

The Royal Beta deliberately boycotted the Alpha King’s heir. It was a silent, deafening statement. He entirely refused to acknowledge a pup born from a broken, runaway Omega. And because Roman didn’t come, the message was violently clear to the rest of the underworld. The other forty-two mafia bosses under Nicholas’s absolute rule didn’t dare to show up either. They were terrified of the Mad King’s volatile moods, but they also severely looked down on me.

My sweet, innocent baby was completely isolated.

He was surrounded by cold marble, lethal weapons, and absolute fear. He had no friends. He had no pack members to howl for him. He had no family other than the violent monster who ruled this bloody empire.

Nicholas sat rigidly at the head of the massive table.

His huge frame completely dominated the room. His golden eyes were totally blank, but the dark, dangerous tension radiating off his muscular body was entirely unbearable. He noticed Roman’s deliberate absence. He noticed my silent, hot tears heavily dropping onto my pristine porcelain plate.

He just didn’t say a single word.

He just drank his dark amber whiskey in absolute silence. His calloused knuckles were completely white around the heavy crystal glass. The furious, simmering Alpha aura bleeding off him made the armed guards violently flinch in the corners of the room.

——

The suffocating birthday dinner finally, agonizingly ended.

I followed Nicholas silently up the grand sweeping staircase. My bare feet slapped softly against the cold marble steps. I carried Luka entirely against my chest. My baby was already completely exhausted. His tiny head rested heavily on my shoulder. His steady, warm breathing brushed gently against my bruised collarbone.

Nicholas forcefully pushed the heavy mahogany doors of the master suite open.

The thick, intoxicating scent of rich cedar and dark spice instantly flooded my fragile lungs. I violently shivered. The suffocating weight of the Alpha King’s absolute territory completely crushed my chest.

I walked quietly to the far corner of the dark room. I gently placed Luka into his massive, custom-made wooden crib. I pulled the soft blue blanket perfectly over his sleeping form. I stood there for a long time, just staring blindly at his peaceful, innocent face.

My heart slammed fiercely against my ribs. *Thump. Thump. Thump.*

I couldn’t do this anymore.

I couldn’t just sit in this dark, gilded cage and rot until I turned to absolute dust. I was going entirely insane. The absolute isolation was violently tearing my fragile mind apart. If I didn’t find a way out, if I didn’t find a small piece of my own life, I was going to completely break. I didn’t want Luka to grow up watching his mother act like a terrified, mindless ghost.

I took a slow, ragged breath. It rattled violently in my incredibly tight throat.

I slowly turned around.

Nicholas was standing rigidly by the massive window. He had taken his dark suit jacket completely off. His expensive white dress shirt was pulled entirely tight across his broad, heavily scarred back. He looked incredibly dangerous. A lethal, apex predator trapped in a dark room.

Fear wrapped violently around me like a massive constrictor snake.

My small hands shook uncontrollably. I balled my trembling fingers into tight fists. I dug my short nails viciously into my own soft palms until the skin nearly broke.

I forced my frozen feet to move. I took one small, agonizing step forward.

"Nicholas," I whispered. My voice was completely raw, broken, and incredibly weak.

He didn’t turn around. But his massive shoulders instantly tensed. His body completely locked up. He was listening.

My throat burned like actual, scorching fire. The terrifying lump in my chest threatened to completely choke the absolute life out of me. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut for a fraction of a second. I gathered every single ounce of pathetic, desperate courage I possessed in my shattered soul.

I opened my eyes. I looked directly at his massive, unmoving back.

"I want to go to school."