Page 42

He continues, voice dripping with dark resolve. “I’m not losing this opportunity, Bianca. I killed my own father for everything to come together, and I won’t let some council members ruin it because of this bitch. She just had to run to the king.”

He killed his father? Rhett’s ruthlessness knows no bounds. He’s willing to destroy anyone who stands in his way, even his own blood. And if he’s already proven he can do that, what would he be willing to do to my people—to the wolves of my father’s pack, my pack!

“You’re insane,” Bianca hisses, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and disgust. “This is too far, Rhett. Even for you.”

“Insane?” Rhett snarls. “I’m the only one seeing clearly here. This is our chance to take control, to reshape the pack into something stronger, to take the entire city. You knew this!”

Reshape the pack? The implications hit me hard. If Rhett gains control, he won’t just stop at my pack. He’ll expand his grip, he’d hold the largest pack in the country if he forces my father’s pack into his. The council, already a fragile balance of alliances and rivalries, will crumble under his manipulation if he continues taking pack after pack. The packs—once independent, proud—would be crushed into a single entity under his rule, obedient to his whims, stripped of their voices and freedoms. The idea makes my blood run cold.

And the ports… If he takes over, he’ll control the flow of goods, people, and information. The ports are a lifeline, connecting us to other packs, to alliances beyond our territory. Under his control, every transaction, every alliance, would be subject to his scrutiny, his greed. Trade would suffer. Packs would be cut off, isolated, forced into submission. Our community would be weakened, the bonds between packs severed as he drains every resource for his own gain. He’d strangle the heart of our territory until there was nothing left.

Chapter 20

• Aubrey •

The worst part is the council seat. If Rhett manages to worm his way onto the council, he’ll have the authority to enact laws, to shape policy. He’d rewrite the very rules that govern our kind, twisting them to his own purposes. Without my father, without my mother, who’s there to stop him from taking the pack if he does manage to mark me?

My chest tightens with a mix of fear and fury. My family worked their whole lives to protect our people, to ensure the safety and stability of our pack. And now, in one fell swoop, Rhett could erase all of that.

I redouble my efforts, twisting my wrists against the restraints until they burn. I can feel the skin breaking, raw and scraped, but I keep pushing, keep straining, ignoring the pain. I can’t let this be the end. I won’t.

“What if Soren finds all this out? He’ll come for her. He’ll hunt you down for this.”

My heart skips a beat at the mention of Soren’s name. A glimmer of hope flickers within me, fragile and fleeting. Soren—he wouldn’t let Rhett do this to me. But that hope is quickly extinguished by the realization Soren has no idea where I am. He probably doesn’t even know I’m missing yet, and by the time he does… Rhett’s words ring in my mind, cold and certain. Once I mark her, she’s mine. The bond would sever any chance I have of reaching out, of being saved. And even if Soren did find me, would he still want me if Rhett marked me? I could be lost to him, my loyalty warped, my will bound.

“Let him try,” Rhett says dismissively, the arrogance in his tone infuriating. “He won’t find her in time. Once I’m done with her, she’ll be a blood bag for the Vampire King, and I’ll be set for life.”

Blood bag? The words sink in, cold and poisonous. He doesn’t just want to claim me for his twisted ambitions—he wants to use me as currency, a bargaining chip to buy favor with the Vampire King. My stomach twists, a fresh wave of nausea surging up as the horror of it all hits me. Rhett doesn’t see me as a person, a leader, or even an enemy. To him, I’m just a means to an end, something to be used and discarded, drained of life and purpose until there’s nothing left.

I squeeze my eyes shut, swallowing hard, fighting back the tears that threaten to spill. I can’t afford to break down. Not here, not now. I force myself to focus and channel the rage and fear twisting inside me. If I’m going to get out of here, I need to keep it together. I am not a blood bag. I am not his possession.

Bianca’s voice cuts through my panic, sharp and skeptical. “And what makes you think the Vampire King will honor your deal? Vampires aren’t known for keeping promises, Rhett. You’re playing a dangerous game here.”

“Because he knows better than to cross me,” Rhett snarls, his tone filled with a twisted confidence. “I have leverage that even he can’t ignore.”

Leverage. The word hangs in the air, ominous and dark. I don’t know what kind of leverage Rhett thinks he has, but it’s enough to give him the confidence to gamble everything—enough to make him think he can control a Vampire King, the council, and the packs. His arrogance is terrifying, the kind of delusion that leaves destruction in its wake, and I realize with sickening clarity he truly believes he can pull this off.

Something shifts inside me. My desperation sharpens into resolve, hard and unbreakable. I’m going to get out of here, and I’m going to stop him, no matter the cost.

I take a deep breath, steadying myself, and in that moment, I feel it—the faintest prickling at the tips of my fingers, the familiar, comforting ache of my claws slipping free from my fingertips. For a second, I freeze, hardly daring to believe it. The wolfsbane is wearing off.

Without hesitation, I twist my hands, angling my claws against the thick leather straps binding my wrists. The movement scrapes my skin, opening the cuts that already sting with rawness, but I grit my teeth and keep going, sawing at the restraints with everything I have. My claws tear through flesh and leather alike, slicking my wrists with my own blood and making the metal table beneath me cold and slippery. The pain is sharp, searing, but I don’t stop—I can’t. This is my only chance.

“I know what I’m doing,” Rhett retorts, his voice rising, thick with impatience. “You need to stop questioning me!”

Bianca scoffs. “You think you’re in control, Rhett? You think you can just manipulate a council, an entire pack, a Vampire King? You’re delusional if you think this is going to end well for you.”

Rhett’s growl reverberates through the room, and I picture his eyes flashing with fury. “I didn’t kill my own father and orchestrate all of this just to have you question me now.”

I clench my teeth, sawing faster. The strap starts to give under the pressure. I don’t have time. The urgency pounds through me, each heartbeat a reminder that if Rhett succeeds, everything I know will be lost—my pack, my family’s legacy, everything my parents built. I can’t let him win. Not like this.

My fingers tremble as I work. Just a little more.

A soft metallic clink interrupts her words, barely audible over their argument. But to me, it’s deafening. My breath catches as I realize what it means. The leather finally snaps, and I yank my wrist free, ignoring the sting of torn skin and the slick warmth of blood coating my hand. I quickly reach over to tear at the restraint on my other wrist, breath coming faster as my movements grow frantic. They continue to argue, voices muffled but growing closer, and I know I only have a small window before Rhett decides to come in here, before he realizes I’m not as helpless as he thinks.

The second restraint falls away, and I move to my ankles, working as quickly as I can, barely feeling the pain now, only the pulse of adrenaline fueling me while my gaze is locked on the door.

“What was that?” Rhett’s voice suddenly sharpens, and I freeze.