로그인Avery’s POV “Get in and wash yourself. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.” Lilith paused at the doorway and pointed at me. “Don’t do anything stupid, or you’ll regret it.” She left, locking the door behind her. For a moment, I just stood there, stunned she was actually giving me privacy. I stripped off the filthy gown with trembling fingers and lowered myself into the hot water. I scrubbed as quickly as I could, hissing when the soap hit the wounds on my back. Tears mixed with the bathwater, but I wiped them away angrily. I had just finished drying myself with the towel when the door unlocked. Lilith returned with an armful of dresses, laying them across the bed one by one like she had all the time in the world. “Stand up,” she said, crossing her arms. I didn't move. Her smile thinned. “I said stand.” Something in her tone made it clear she wasn’t asking anymore. Slowly, I rose. Lilith lifted a red dress and held it against me, tilting her head as she assessed me like an o
Avery’s POV “Come to me, Avery.” Raith’s mangled voice hit me as Seth dragged me out of the wagon, my bare feet sinking into the freezing mud. I lifted my head, pain shooting through my body, and froze. Raith stood at the top of the stairs. But it wasn’t just him. The woman beside him… her face. I knew that face. Where had I seen her before? The soft features, the gentle curve of her lips, those wide eyes that once looked at me with fake pity in the garden. My mind scrambled, heart pounding harder as the memory slammed into me. Lilith. “You…” The word came out broken. Lilith descended the steps gracefully, that same soft smile now twisted with cruel satisfaction. She stopped right in front of me, tilting her head as if we were old friends. “Hello again, Avery,” she said sweetly. “Took you long enough to recognize me.” Raith let out a gurgling laugh beside her. “My little hired whore has always been talented at playing the innocent girl.” Everything clicked into place at o
Lucian’s POV Little wolf... what have they done to you? My mother’s voice slithered through the back of my mind again. Control is the only thing that separates us from the beasts, Lucian. I snarled low in my throat, shoving it down. Control? I had let her walk out of the manor. I had permitted this. The stench of old blood clung to the air like a second skin, thick enough to choke on. I stood in the center of the room, the tip of my cane pressed into the congealed pool beneath the dead rogue’s ruined skull. Destruction hovered right at my fingertips. One command, and I'd watch this entire forsaken rat’s nest burn until nothing but ash remained to mock me. “Alpha,” Vance called out carefully from the doorway. “You need to see this. There's another room. A holding cell.” I turned toward his voice and followed him down the narrow corridor. Four girls huddled against the far wall in filthy, transparent rags. Bruises covered their bodies. Their eyes were hollow. Avery had been here
Lucian’s POV The door to my chambers slammed open with enough force for the doorknob to create a hole in the wall. "Alpha," Vance said, stepping in, having just gotten back from the continued search. I put him in charge of the hunt since I had been losing control. Four days since I let Avery walk into the lower sector and the mate bond thrashing against my ribcage. "We have the location of the rogues who took her." "How did you find them?" "One of the trackers caught Avery’s scent on them, and their cargo matched the one that was previously abandoned." “Walk and talk,” I ordered, already on my heel and heading out. “What’s the address?” He quickly gave me the address of a tavern. The Black Boar tavern as he hurried to keep up behind me. Servants scattered as we descended into the courtyard, their heartbeats spiking. I climbed into an open carriage, my injured palm gripping the wooden sides. Vance jumped onto the driver's seat, snapped the reins, and the horses surged forwar
Avery’s POV By the time we reached the end of the stairs, I was breathing harder than I should have been. Seth unlocked a door and shoved it open.The room was small with a narrow bed against one wall and a basin of water on a rickety table. It felt like a cell disguised as a shelter.But after spending hours chained inside a wagon and being displayed like livestock at an auction, it almost looked merciful.Seth didn’t waste words. He pointed at the bed, signaling for me to sit. Apprehensively, I walked to the bed and sat, my weight compressing the edge of the lumpy mattress. He moved to the basin, dipped a clean rag into the water, and then approached without asking.I tensed as he lifted the hem of my gown just enough to expose the worst of the wounds on my side and back. The rag was cold against my skin as he started wiping away dried blood and dirt.I faced him, shooting him a nasty look. “What are you doing?” I asked.“Cleaning your wounds,” he answered, giving me a glance fill
Avery’s POV.The wagon jolted and rattled over every uneven patch of ground. I stayed silent, at least verbally. My teeth chattered the entire way as the freezing night air leaked through the wooden slats. The thin gown the rogues had forced on me after the inspection did nothing to keep out the cold, leaving me shivering uncontrollably.One of the guards riding in the back finally grunted in irritation. "Shut that noise up. You're driving me mad.” He tossed a coarse, filthy blanket over me. It smelled of sweat and mold, but I pulled it tighter anyway, trying to trap what little warmth I could.I shot him a cold glare instead of thanking him. Then, I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders and focused on breathing through the pain. Every second that passed took me farther from Lucian and closer to whatever fresh hell Raith had prepared.The wagon finally slowed. Dread settled deep in my gut. I steeled my spine and waited as both men climbed out of the wagon, the doors slamming
Avery's POV.I didn’t wait for her to answer. I pushed past her, hips swaying as I made my way into the kitchen. The clatter of trays and the scent of early firewood filled the room, but my mind was elsewhere.Marla stood at the center, issuing orders.“Thalia,” she called. I lifted my head and met
Avery's POV He gripped a fistful of my hair and pushed my head down, hard. Pain shot through my scalp, and I swallowed back a sharp cry, trying not to let my fear show. Oh god… this is really happening. “Open your mouth. Now.” I opened just barely as he rammed his cock deep into my throat. I ch
Lena's POV.Avery stared at me as if she were trying to decide whether I was lying. Then suddenly she stood.“I need to get dressed.”“Of course.” But I didn’t move.She hesitated for a moment, fingers tightening around the edge of the towel wrapped around her body. Then she pulled it loose.The fa
Avery's POV My heart slammed against my ribs. “You wouldn’t dare.” Lucian didn’t respond. The silence stretched, thick and suffocating. “Five,” he said calmly. The word dropped into the room like a stone into water. “Four.” “Lucian—” “Three.” Panic flared in my chest. “I said I won’







