LOGINIt’s like I can feel the mark tattooed into my skin. Something that I haven't noticed in however long suddenly feels hot and heavy on my body. I run my hand over it painfully, as if doing that enough times will eventually rub it off my skin. Maybe by the time the door opens I'll look down at my ankle and see there was nothing there after all. “Ryker,” Hunter says soothingly, “Calm down.” How can I calm down? I'm in the dark. I'm chained to my brothers, and apparently I've been marked by Nester. “No no no no no.” I panic, rubbing harder, faster, trying to get this evil thing off my skin.Fingers snap around my moving hand, and from the slenderness of their touch, I know it's Talon. “Rye, it's okay,” he says gently, but he must think I'm stupid not to hear the tension in his voice. “It's okay for you.” I don't keep the panic out of my tone. “You're not the one with Nester Rist’s mark on your skin.” “Rubbing it isn't going to change anything,” he tries to keep his voice steady. F
The sack over my head comes off, and I stare up at Nester’s hulking frame.Every blood cell in my body freezes. “Miss Blackwood,” he says, “it’s such an honour to have you here.” He’s here. He’s actually in front of me. My brain falters as it tries to think of words to say, but Axel’s low growl beats me to it. Nester doesn't even acknowledge him. “You’ll have to forgive my… methods of getting you here.” Nester raises the sack. “I didn’t know how else to have a formal meeting with you. I’d insisted Everest try to convince you to come, but I guess that was an error on my end. He isn’t always… amicable.” A million responses come to mind, but I can’t get any of them past my lips. This is the man who murdered my mother. This is the reason all the humans other than me are dead. This is my greatest enemy. My biggest threat. And he’s so… polite? “Um,” I start, finally managing to put words together. “Hello.” Nester smiles at me, a full set of white teeth gleaming in the darkness.
As Alex drives down the barren road, one thought loops in my mind: I can’t get warm. It doesn’t matter how many times she turns off the air conditioner, or how thick my jacket is, I’ve been shivering for hours. No, scratch that. I’ve been shivering for days. Since John attacked me. I try hard not to think about that fact, because if those two are connected, then it’s clear that something is very wrong, too wrong for me to handle. “Here,” Alex announces, parking the car by that damn Penwood barrier. The intimidating rock juts out of the stones, practically warning us against entry. For a second, none of us moves. I look to my pack brothers and Liana, each sporting gleaming handcuffs that match mine. They bite. Hard. Digging into my skin in a way that’s sure to leave a mark. Liana lets out a shaky breath. “No turning back now, is there?” “Nope,” the boys and I chorus. Even if there were, I’m not leaving here without Axel and my girl. “Well,” Liana starts, puffing out her ches
“Where are they now?” Axel questions, the first thing he’s asked me in the single hour we’ve been locked up here. I turn to him, as if a sack isn’t covering my head and stopping me from seeing him, “Alex went to get them 45 minutes ago. They should be here any minute from now. Once they arrive, it’ll be easier for all of us to break out with Alex’s help.” At least, I hope that’s what’s going to happen. The longer I stay locked in here, the more I’m convinced Alex may not truly be on our side. What joined her to us? Was it really Axel, or could that just be a convenient excuse to kidnap us? I set my hands aflame just to make myself feel better. If her knife doesn’t work, I’ll light someone up and send them to hell. “These cuffs hurt like a bitch,” I bemoan, trying to take my mind off what Alex may or may not be up to. Axel just huffs in response. His chains rattle against whatever we’re tied to as he strains to set himself free. I know this isn’t the time to antagonize him, but
I hate this Alpha bond thrumming in me. Or… I should. It feels so foreign, but at the same time so right. Am I evil for thinking it suits me? In another time, in another life, I think I would make a pretty good Alpha. But even if I could begin to enjoy it, I can't help thinking about what I've stolen from my actual Alpha, and what that theft made him do. I pace my room, feet echoing against the wooden floorboards, and try hard to put myself together. Olivia is fine. Alex is on our side. Once this is all over, I can give Axel back what rightfully belongs to him. I run a hand through my hair, shocked by how knotted it is. I can't remember the last time I combed it out. Old Hunter would have died to know that, but old Hunter didn't really have any problems, did he? “What the fuck do I do?” I grumble, face-palming before flopping heavily onto my bed. I contemplate calling Dad, but talking to him will only make me feel worse. I must be such a disappointment to him right now. Alpha
I feel like I’m going to die here. I dare to look at my stomach, and I resist the urge to throw up: what was once a small scratch has now enlarged, purpled, and hollowed; if I move the wrong way, I feel like I could see inside my stomach. “Well, fuck,” I wheeze. Fucking Roanna. Fucking Everest. Fucking Nester, whom I haven’t even laid my eyes on yet, continues to ruin my life. “I need to get out of here,” I groan to myself, but I don’t even think I could stand. Beads of sweat dot my forehead, worsening the heat. If there is a chance I’m frying from the inside out, I wouldn’t even doubt it. The door creaks open, and I barely arch a brow at it. If this is how I die, then someone needs to speed up this unnecessarily excruciating execution process. “Brother?” A warbled voice calls out to me, but right now everything is warbled. I try to crook my head and see clearly who I think just walked in, Alex, when a familiar scent slaps me awake. Cinnamon. Strawberry. Everything addictive le
Things have fallen apart before, but this is different… this feels like the height of how far things can truly shatter. I place a hand on my chest, as if by doing so I could reach through my ribcage and touch our new bond. I feel all of us thrumming there: Ryker, Axel, and Hunter… Hunter in a new
The house is just like I remember: Cozy living room with Rick’s blankets draped over the couch, moonlight and breeze pushing through the window, that comforting smell of the forest. Home. But nothing feels like home right now. “Do you need anything?” Alpha Rick asks. “Tea? Water? For me to kill
“They’re back!” Talon yells, standing at attention. Axel hurdles over the barrier, and I don’t know if he jumps wrong or the exhaustion from what just happened to him catches up, but he falls. Rather than taking me down with him, he expertly flips on his back, holding me to his body. Our chests h
It’s easy to forget just how terrifying Axel is when you’re on his good side. But now he’s looking at me with a level of betrayal that has me backing away, crunching gravel beneath my boots as I take step after step back. “You were going to kill me?” he mumbles, quietly, as if he’s still proces







