VIOLET
Pain.
That was the first thing I felt.
A throbbing ache behind my eyes, a burning sensation along my wrists where the ropes had rubbed raw, and a dull pounding in my head that made the world spin.
I groaned, blinking against the blinding glare of a low-hanging lantern. The air was thick with smoke, musk, and sothing else—sothing sour. Sweat. Blood. Decay.
Where the hell was I?
I tried to sit up, but my body protested with a sharp jab of pain along my side. My hands were still tied—tighter this ti—and my ankles bound, too. I was lying on the hard-packed earth floor of what looked like a crumbling shed or maybe a hunting cabin long abandoned. The walls were wooden, half-rotted, and the only window was boarded shut. Moonlight stread faintly through the cracks.
My heart started to race.
The mory ca rushing back like a slap to the face.
The woods.
Wolf’s yelp.
Hands grabbing .
The face—his face.
That rogue leader.
I sucked in a breath, bile rising in my throat. My wolf stirred, restless and furious beneath my skin, but I couldn’t shift. Not with these bindings. Not like this.
Footsteps outside.
I tensed, heart in my throat.
The door creaked open and three figures walked in, silhouetted by torchlight. Two were the sa brutes who’d dragged through the forest. But the third—the third made the air feel colder.
It was him.
The rogue with the deathly pale eyes and a twisted grin. His black coat hung off his fra like smoke, and his hands were clasped behind his back like he was royalty surveying a prize.
"Sleeping beauty’s awake," he drawled, stepping forward slowly, like he had all the ti in the world. "Was starting to think you’d die on us before we even had our little chat."
I glared at him. "Go to hell."
He laughed softly, shaking his head. "You know, I’d almost forgotten how sharp that tongue of yours is. Just like your mother’s."
My breath caught.
"What did you say?"
His eyes glittered. "Oh, don’t look so surprised. You think we haven’t been watching you? That I didn’t recognize what you are the mont I saw you in that forest?" He crouched beside , his voice dropping to a whisper. "There’s wolf in you, little girl. Sleeping, maybe. But it’s there. And once it wakes up..."
He tilted his head. "You’ll belong to us."
"Never," I spat.
His smile widened. "You will. One way or another. See, your Alpha? He doesn’t know what you are. Not really. He’s playing with a fire he doesn’t understand. But ? I’ve seen your kind before. Blood that was never ant to exist."
"You’re insane."
He rose to his feet slowly. "Maybe. But I’m not stupid. You were a gift, Violet Hayes. Delivered straight to my hands. And when Zain cos charging in to rescue you..." He chuckled darkly. "Well. Let’s just say I hope he brings his whole pack. I’d love to see them bleed."
I struggled against the ropes, rage burning through my veins. "He’ll kill you."
"Oh, I hope he tries." The rogue leaned in one last ti, and his voice dropped to a breath. "But by the ti he finds you... you might not want to go back."
He turned and left, slamming the door behind him.
I was alone again.
Alone with my thoughts, my pain, and a fear that crept in like smoke under the door.
He knew sothing about .
Sothing I didn’t.
And if Zain didn’t co soon...
I didn’t know what they would do to .
But I was sure of one thing.
They didn’t just want to break .
They wanted to use .
And I’d die before I let that happen.
My head throbbed like a war drum, loud and pulsing behind my eyes as I stirred awake. The taste of blood clung to my tongue, dry and tallic, and for a mont I couldn’t rember where I was.
Then the mories rushed in—too fast and too sharp.
The woods. The trail. Wolf’s howl. The rogues.
Pain spiked in my temple as I tried to sit up. My wrists burned—tied tightly behind my back with coarse rope. My ankles, too. They’d bound like an animal, tossed into the corner of so makeshift cell built from wooden stakes and mud walls. There was barely any light, just a few slits between the crooked boards that let in the pale wash of moonlight.
I was cold. My cloak was gone. So were my boots.
And my pride.
"Fuck..." I whispered, shifting against the restraints. The ropes bit into my skin, but I welcod the sting. It kept present. Alert.
I wasn’t dead. Yet.
But I wasn’t safe, either.
A shadow moved outside the cell—soone pacing. I stopped moving imdiately, held my breath. From the glimpse I caught between the cracks, I could see him. Tall. Lean. Hair tied back in a harsh knot. He walked like a man who didn’t fear death.
The rogue leader.
I rembered that face. The sharp jawline, the cruel curve of his lips. The first ti I saw him was the night I arrived at the pack with Zain and Selene. He’d watched from the trees then—like prey. Now I was inside his den.
And he had .
I let my head fall back against the wall, heart hamring. Zain was going to lose it. If he even realized I was gone.
Would he?
Would he care?
A fresh sting blood in my chest, worse than the ropes.
"Hey," a voice hissed from the other side of the room. My eyes snapped up. Another cell—occupied. A girl, young, maybe sixteen, filthy and pale, with dark eyes watching warily.
"They got you too?" she asked.
I nodded slowly. "You?"
"Week ago. My village was attacked." Her voice cracked. "They left my brother behind. Dead."
My throat closed up. "I’m sorry."
She said nothing, just looked away.
I pulled against the ropes again, testing their strength. Nothing budged. Whoever tied knew what they were doing.
"You shouldn’t have co here," the girl said softly, like a warning. "They’re... not right. Especially him."
I didn’t need the reminder. The rogue leader gave off sothing that even wolves feared. It wasn’t just the violence—it was his silence. The kind of silence that followed you like a shadow, like a knife poised behind your back.
The wooden door creaked open and the leader himself stepped inside.
My pulse quickened.
He didn’t speak. Just stood there watching , arms folded over his chest. He was dressed in dark leathers, dust and blood staining the edges. His boots were worn. His skin was marked with old scars, faint but visible in the moonlight.
"Violet." He said my na like he’d been waiting to speak it aloud. "Zain’s mate."
I swallowed hard. "Not his mate."
He smirked. "No? Could’ve fooled . You reek of him."
My fists clenched behind my back. "What do you want?"
"You’re not here by accident," he said, stepping closer. His voice was deep, calm, too calm. "And neither am I. Everything’s moving, girl. And you—you’re at the center."
"You’re insane."
"Maybe." He crouched down to my eye level, his gaze sharp and unblinking. "But you’ll co to see the truth soon enough. About Zain. About your bloodline."
I stiffened. "What do you know about my bloodline?"
He tilted his head, considering . "Enough. Enough to know that your wolf isn’t asleep—it’s caged. That your ancestors made a mistake when they thought they could hide your legacy from the rest of us."
"Wolf? You don’t know anything about ."
His grin was slow and wicked. "Don’t I?"
Then he stood and turned to the girl in the other cell. "Bring her sothing to eat," he told a guard standing at the door. "We need her strong."
He didn’t look back at as he left, but his words lingered like smoke in my lungs.
They need strong—for what?
My mind raced through possibilities, none of them good.
I leaned my head against the wall again, breathing slowly through my nose, forcing myself not to panic. I had to survive this. Long enough for Zain to find . Or... for to find a way out.
Wolf... where are you?
As if summoned by thought alone, a distant howl echoed through the trees. My chest tightened. I didn’t know if it was him. I didn’t even know where I was. But it was a howl from one of our kind.
A flicker of hope sparked in my chest.
Then I heard it again—closer. More wolves.
Zain, please...
I bit my lip and closed my eyes.
If I was the center of sothing bigger—if my bloodline was the key—then I needed to hold on. No matter what they planned.
Because this ti, I wasn’t going down without a fight.
And when I got out...
Soone was going to pay.
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