Her tone turns razor-sharp.They’ve cut us off.She lowers her head, ears flat, teeth bared.But we are not helpless.
I examine the wall, letting the chain pool at my feet. The stone is cool, smooth, and ancient. I search for cracks, loose mortar, anything that I might be able to use. Nothing gives.
The stone’s old but solid. No weak points. The chain’s silver-threaded and burns when I pull too hard.My wrists already bear the angry marks of failed attempts.
We wait.My wolf paces behind my ribs.
I close my eyes.We wait,I agree.
We endure. And when the moment comes, we bury our teeth in their throats.
The sound of approaching footsteps warns me a beat before the door to my cell swings open. I straighten my spine, determined to face them head-on.
The open door admits four figures—three guards in Thaddeus’s personal colors flanking a fourth wolf I recognize immediately despite never having met him officially. Xavier Drake, alpha of the Moonclaw Pack, regards me with clinical interest from the doorway.
He’s tall, lean, and immaculately dressed in a tailored slate-gray coat that gleams faintly under the torchlight. His silver-tipped hair is swept back from his angular face, not a strand out of place.
But it’s his eyes that pin me—pale, glacial blue. There’s nothing warm in them, just a predator’s stillness, with the kind of cruel intelligence that enjoys torture.
My wolf bares her teeth in warning.
“You’re awake,” he observes, his voice calm and precise, the syllables clipped like surgical incisions. “Good. I was hoping to speak with you before the next sedative.”
I remain silent, spine straight despite the chains. I won’t cower before him. I won’t give the bastard the satisfaction.
Xavier tilts his head slightly, studying me the way one might study a weapon on display—assessing for flaws, for weaknesses, for sharp edges worth respecting.
I meet his gaze steadily, refusing to respond to being discussed as if I were an interesting specimen rather than a person. The silence stretches until he finally dismisses me as a threat.
Good, let him underestimate me.
“Do you know where you are?” he asks, stepping fully into the chamber while the guards remain at the threshold.
“In a cell,” I reply evenly. “Presumably within Moonclaw territory, given your presence.”
A small smile touches his lips, neither kind nor cruel but merely acknowledging my reasoning. “Not quite, You’re in the holding chambers beneath the Grand Alpha’s central den. These rooms were designed specifically to contain seers and other wolves with gifts who might be useful to our cause.”
The information is offered freely, suggesting either confidence that I cannot use it or an attempt to establish rapport. I decide to test which.
“Why are you here rather than Thaddeus?”
Xavier clasps his hands behind his back. “The Grand Alpha is busy dealing with your mutt of a mate. My pack has been entrusted with your care until his return.”
“You’re my guard.”
His expression doesn’t change. “I prefer carer. Seers require particular care—their gifts can be unpredictable, they are a danger to themselves and others if not properly managed.”
I hold up my hands, shaking the chains. “I’m sorry a little sight has you so spooked.”
There’s a look in his eyes—not guilt, exactly, but perhaps recognition of the moral ambiguity in his position. “Times are changing,” he says after a moment. “We’ll take good care of you here, don’t worry. The crude extraction techniques used by packs like Silvercrest to harness your gift will be replaced with more humane approaches.”
“Humane.” I repeat the word with all the contempt it deserves. “Like keeping me in silver chains? Drugging me? Planning to breed me for more seers to exploit?”
“You misunderstand the Grand Alpha’s intentions,” Xavier replies. “You’ll be treated with the respect your gift deserves. The silver is merely a precaution during initial transition, and the sedation was necessary for safe transport.”
“And what of separating me from my mate?”
Xavier’s jaw ticks. “That is not my concern, nor should it be yours any longer. The claiming will be officially severed once the ceremony can be arranged.”
