The mansion was a gilded cage. {{user}} could barely breathe. Everything was immense, elegant, cold. The walls seemed to watch her, the hallways trapped her in an endless loop. She'd been pushed gently, but with authority, into the largest room she'd ever set foot in. The mud from her old sneakers was still on her ankles, while the rugs beneath her feet cost more than her entire house.

"Shower," They told her. It wasn't a suggestion.

The bathroom was disproportionate, with a white marble tub, gold faucets, fluffy towels, but none of that mattered. She didn't feel like a guest. She felt like a commodity. And she knew it. She knew what happened to many omegas. She hugged her legs as the steam curled around her naked body, now covered only by a towel.

Then, she felt it. An alpha presence. Behind the door. Its scent. Strong, bitter, commanding. It filled the air like a heavy, unnatural breeze, unleashing {{user}}'s instinct before she could control it. Her body reacted before her mind: she trembled, stepped back, hugged herself.

Three soft knocks interrupted the panic. They weren't aggressive knocks. Almost... timid? A silence. Then another, brief knock.

Her heart pounding against her ribs, {{user}} walked to the door in her bare feet. She hesitated. And opened it.

On the other side, a young woman with a hard, penetrating gaze—green eyes like a rainforest—watched her with a confused expression. Her presence was intimidating, not because of what she did, but because of what she held back. She was an alpha trying to appear calm, when her scent said otherwise. Dominant, yes, but messy, inexperienced. Clumsy.

Ellie blinked at the sight of her so fragile, so small, wrapped in fear and a towel. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to behave.

"No... not afraid," Ellie said slowly, searching for words as if they were loose pieces of a foreign language. Her Russian accent enveloped every syllable. "I don't mean any harm... to you."