Chapter 3

Ember’s pov

He took a slow, threatening step forward, snarling down at me. The air between us crackled with tension, spreading heat all over my skin.

Is this how I die?

Killed by my mate, who is also the same man that murdered my father.

The memory of that day flickered at the edge of my mind, but there was no time for grief now.

’Alpha, we need to move,’ a voice sounded urgently, dragging me out of my reverie. I thought I heard his name just now, Darius, he is Thorne's beta.

‘There are rogues in the area. We can’t stay here.’ His voice was strained as his eyes scanned the dark tree line where the leaves rustled unnaturally, branches snapped underfoot, and distant growls echoed ever closer.

The rogues were closing in fast.

Thorne ignored him, still glaring down at me with a mix of rage and disgust, his nostrils flaring, a low growl vibrating in his throat.

His voice boomed into my head through the link. ‘How dare you, a slave, speak to me like that?’

‘I just… it’s not fair. I…’ I stammered desperately, avoiding his gaze.

‘You do not speak to your Alpha that way. Not now, not ever. Do you understand me?’ His voice was cold as ice, demanding obedience. I shivered, nodding in agreement.

‘Do You Understand?’ He insisted, his proximity bearing down on me.

‘Yes, Alpha.’ I choked out, my heart beating so loudly it drowned out everything else.

I watched the wheels turn in his head as he fought the pull of the mate bond, deeming me unworthy. Just because I’m a slave.

Still standing over the body of the pup, I held my ground.

He couldn’t be more than 17. His breathing was shallow, blood soaking through the dirt beneath him. I’d taken the responsibility of protecting him, seeing how bloodied he was, having been bullied and injured by rogues.

He reminded me of my brother—Caden. I couldn’t afford to fail them both, even if it meant defying Alpha Thorne.

The mate bond thrummed steadily between us, the hate in his eyes the only thing preventing my wolf from launching herself at him. When I dared to look him in the eyes, I could almost see him fighting it too.

I was tempted to reveal my identity to him just to see how he would react, but at the expense of my life no doubt. I was tired of being treated like something disposable. First as a rogue, then as a servant, now this—a mate to a man who would chain me if he knew the truth.

As long as I could remember, Thorne and my father were business partners. The news of their fallout and imminent war against each other was as shocking as receiving news of my father’s death.

Before we could even absorb the loss, my mother had us flee Bloodveil along with a few pack members still loyal to us, and we holed up in the forest just out of reach of Thorne’s forces. There we lived, surviving in constant fear and on stolen supplies, until we were separated again.

A rogue’s howl pierced the air, and I flinched.

I’d just turned for the first time. I wasn’t in any position to fight. But I was on my own. The man who stood before me loathed my existence, and I had no idea what I had walked into.

And still, the bond clung to me like thorns under my skin. I dared to raise my eyes to his, instantly getting lost in his golden orbs. His glare was unyielding like a predator sizing up his prey.

‘Alpha,‘ Darius urged, his tone tense. ‘What’s the call?’

Another howl, closer this time. The movement around us quickened, and branches snapped, followed by the sound of heavy paws on the earth.

‘Can you walk?’ Alpha Thorne asked me, his tone cutting and sharp.

Just as I parted my lips to respond, a large furred shadow moving so fast it blurred, lunged directly at me from my right.

The air exploded with a growl, the rogue crashing toward me like a living nightmare. I saw only teeth, claws, and the flash of eyes wild with hunger.

I jerked back, too slow, and at that exact moment, Thorne’s large form lunged forward—the rogue striking him first, then me. Pain exploded in my side, then everything went black.

How… how could he protect me?

A searing pain tore through me, and darkness swallowed my vision.