MasukCHRISTINAI woke up to soft afternoon light filtering through the curtains.For a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, my head pounding with a dull ache thatseemed to pulse with every heartbeat.Then the memories came flooding back.Maxwell's confession, his plan for revenge, the way he'd laughed when he told me he'd killedhis own mate.The bottle of whiskey I'd drunk trying to silence the thoughts screaming in my head.I sat up slowly, wincing as the movement made my headache worse, and looked around theroom.I was in Marcel's bed, tucked under the blankets like someone had carefully placed methere.But there was no sign of the whiskey bottle, no stain on the carpet where I remembered itspilling, no evidence at all that I'd spent half the night drinking myself into oblivion.Marcel must have cleaned it up.Must have found me passed out on the floor and put me back to bed.Shame burned hot in my chest.I pushed the blankets aside and stood up, my legs unsteady beneat
MARCEL POVGabriel's voice droned on, detailing the latest reports from the four packs under my authority,but I was only half listening."The southern pack reported another rogue attack last night," Gabriel was saying, flippingthrough the papers in his hands."Three pack members were injured, one seriously, the eastern pack has had two attacks thisweek alone and the northern pack….""How bad?" I interrupted, forcing myself to focus.Gabriel looked up from his papers and sighed."Bad enough that they're questioning your leadership, Marcel. The rogue attacks areincreasing, and the people are becoming more and more unhappy with you, they're sayingyou're too distracted to protect them properly."I should have been concerned about that, should have been worried about my authorityslipping, about the packs losing faith in me.But all I could think about was Christina.The way I'd found her this morning.***I'd woken up alone, which was the first sign something was wrong.Christina
CHRISTINAI pushed open the door to Marcel's room with trembling hands.He was pacing.Back and forth, back and forth, his hands running through his hair, his face tight with worry.The moment he saw me, relief flooded his features so completely that it made somethinginside my chest crack even wider."Christina," he breathed, and then he was crossing the room in three long strides, pulling meinto his arms."Thank God. Thank God you're safe."He held me tight, so tight I could barely breathe, and I just stood there in his embrace, numband quiet and completely hollow."I'm sorry," Marcel said against my hair, his voice rough with emotion."I'm so sorry, Christina. I shouldn't have yelled at you, I shouldn't have doubted you, I'msorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."He kept saying it, over and over, like if he said it enough times it would fix what had beenbroken.But I couldn't find my voice to respond.All I could think about was Maxwel, his confession, the way he'd looked at me when
CHRISTINAI ran.I didn't wait for Marcel to say anything else, I didn't give him the chance to confirm what hissilence had already told me.I just turned and ran out of his office, my feet carrying me as fast as they could, tearsstreaming down my face."Christina!" Marcel's voice called after me."Christina, wait!"I ran down the hallway, down the stairs, through the pack house doors and out into the coolevening air.My chest was burning, my lungs screaming for oxygen, but I didn't stop.I couldn't stop.Because if I stopped, I would have to face the truth, that Marcel didn't believe me.That my own mate, the person who was supposed to trust me above everyone else, thoughtI was lying or crazy, or even both.I ran past the training grounds, past the gardens, past the last of the pack houses until therewas nothing but forest ahead of me.And I kept running.The trees blurred around me as I pushed deeper into the woods, branches catching at myclothes, roots trying to trip my feet.
CHRISTINA"No. No, Priscilla, you can't….""I have to," she said firmly."I've already made up my mind and I've been planning it for a week now.""But where will you go? What will you do? Running away from a pack is dangerous you're anomega, Priscilla, you'll be vulnerable out there alone.""I'll figure it out," she said."I have to. Because if I stay here, I'll just keep waiting, keep hoping, keep letting Gabrielbreak my heart over and over again." She took my hands in hers, squeezing tight."I need to do this, Christina, I need to save myself because no one else is going to."I stared at her, my mind racing, my heart breaking for her."Please don't leave," I begged, my voice breaking as tears streamed down my face"Priscilla, please. You can't go. You can't leave me here alone.""Christina….""I need you," I sobbed, clutching her hands tighter."You're the only person who believes me, the only person who understands, If you leave, I'llhave no one."Priscilla's own eye
Chapter 52I slammed the door shut the moment Maxwell walked away.My hands were shaking so badly I could barely turn the lock and the duvet slipped from myshoulders and pooled around my feet, but I didn't care.I just stood there, pressed against the door, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in myears.He was right outside Marcel's door, waiting and watching.*Patricia was snarling inside my mind, her fear mixing with mine until I couldn't tell where hersended and mine began.*We need to tell Marcel*, she insisted.*We need to tell him right now.*But what would I say? That Maxwell had been standing outside the door? That he'd lookedat me? That he'd said we should talk privately sometime?Marcel would just say Maxwell was being polite, that he was probably coming to speak withMarcel about pack business, that I was reading too much into innocent words.Just like he'd said about everything else.I forced myself to move away from the door, my legs unsteady beneath me, pick
CHAPTER 23It kept replaying in my mind, I slammed the pen on the table and pushed my chair back andstood to my feet.“Alpha, are you okay?” Gabriel, my beta asked, confusion creased into his face.I walked to the bar stand and took out a whiskey, poured some and took a large gulp.I don't know wh
CHAPTER 22I turned to face Patricia, I walked back to her and stood right in front of her.“Look at me, I'm eighteen, I'm not a leader, not a Luna and definitely not a hero” tears rolleddown my cheeks.“What about me? Who's going to save me?” I asked.“Did you see it? In her eyes? When she looked
CHAPTER 21I'm pushed outside of the cell and I fall to the ground, I pick up Priscilla's scent andimmediately she's by my side.“You shouldn't have done that, now look at what she's done to you” Priscilla cries and I holdonto her.“I'm so sorry” she cries and moves my hair away from my face. She
CHAPTER 20“I said, never touch my things, didn't I?” He asks, and I try prying open his hand that waswrapped around my throat.He grabs both my hands and places it above my head, releasing my throat enough for me tobreathe.“I hate disobedience, Christina” he whispers in my ear, his hoarse voice







