로그인Lucian’s POV “Raith,” I repeated, the name tasting like ash and blood on my tongue. The rogue on the floor laughed, choking on his own blood. His severed arm still twitched a few feet away, fingers curling uselessly. The second one whimpered, cradling his shattered knee. “Where is Raith?” I asked, standing over the rogue whose arm now lay severed on the floor in a spreading pool of red. He tried crawling away from me, nails scraping desperately against the concrete. I heard the drag of his body, the panicked hitch in his breathing. I stepped forward and grabbed his leg, dragging him back face-first across the floor. There was a particular stink to men faced with the consequences of their actions. They reek of fear because they know they are going to die. “Where is Raith?” I asked again, my voice cold and devoid of emotion. I heard his breath hitch, the way his throat bobbed as he worked to swallow. “F-fuck you, Nightfall. You think Raith’s just going to hand her over?” I smi
Lucian’s POV “Vance,” I called out, my voice low and rough. My cane struck the ground once, steadying me. “Has the location been confirmed?” Vance stiffened somewhere to my right. I heard the shift in his boots, the slight catch in his breathing. “Yes, Alpha. Two rogues are in the old storehouse.” The three workers, the ones who had begged and pissed themselves while claiming they were “just cleaning the cells,” were already dead. The last one's body still swayed gently from the ceiling, like a broken puppet dripping slowly onto the stone floor. But before I ended him, he had talked. He had spilled everything in broken, sobbing words. The rogues who had kidnapped and sold Avery at the auction were operating from an old storehouse three miles west of the black river near the abandoned mill. He had given me names, routes, and even a rough description of the place. It sounded real. Detailed enough to chase. I had listened to every desperate syllable while the bond screamed in
Avery’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.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.The moment my father’s gaze met mine, I froze in place. My father… here. Why is he here? Did Lucian invite him? I swallowed hard. The questions tumbled over each other in my mind. Was he coming to mock me? To claim I was still his? Or… was he here for me?I couldn’t move. Couldn’t spe







