COLD HEART

Minutes later the door opened.

Brian stepped inside, closing it behind him with a soft click that sounded like a trap snapping shut.

“Poor little Catherine,” he said softly, voice dripping fake sympathy. “Rejected right after being claimed. That must sting worse than the bite itself. To be honest I didn't think Ben had it in him. Such cruelty.”

I didn’t look up. “Get out.”

He chuckled and sat on the edge of the mattress. His hand landed on my bare thigh, fingers sliding up under the torn gown. “Ben was always impulsive. But me? I know how to appreciate a fine piece like you. I’ve waited six long months.”

His touch crawled higher. I slapped his hand away and sat up despite the fire tearing through my ribs. “Touch me again and I’ll find a way to kill you in your sleep.”

Brian grabbed my throat, squeezing just enough to make stars burst behind my eyes. “Still so much fire left. I love it. That’s exactly why I’m going to enjoy breaking you slowly. You’ll beg me to fuck you. You’ll call me Alpha while I fill you every single night.”

He leaned closer, breath hot against my ear. “But first I have a better idea. Red River Pack is next on my list. Their alpha is a monster, but even monsters can be hunted. You’re going to walk in as my treaty envoy. Use that pretty face and that broken body to get close. Bring me every secret. When you return, I’ll reward you by making you my personal whore instead of the pack’s.”

The rejection heat was already building under the pain. I felt it spreading and I shoved his hand off my throat and met his eyes.

“No.”

Brian blinked, then laughed low. “No?”

“I said no. I won’t spy for you. I won’t walk into another monster’s den so you can sit here and laugh while I bleed for your war. I’d rather die right here on this mattress than give you one more thing.”

His smile turned cruel and slow. “Oh, dear. Look at you trying to be brave. But that heat I smell on you right now? The one the rejection is feeding? It’s only going to get worse. It’ll burn you alive from the inside until you can’t think straight. You’ll be dripping and desperate, begging any male who walks past this door to ease it.”

He stood up and straightened his shirt like we had just finished a pleasant chat. “Come find me when it becomes unbearable. I’m sure you will if you want to survive the night. And if any of my guards catch you first while you’re like this, well… I promise to be gentler than they will. Much gentler. They like to share.”

His mocking tone wrapped around the words like barbed wire. He turned toward the door but not before releasing me from the chains that still clung to me.

“Think about it, but you don't have too long, little pet.”

He left without locking the door behind him. The click of the latch sounded almost like an invitation.

I curled tighter on the mattress, pressing my forehead to my knees. The mark on my neck throbbed in time with the heat now flooding my veins. My thighs pressed together on instinct, but the ache only grew.

I will not give them anything else.

The heat climbed higher. Sweat formed beads on my forehead. I bit my lip until it bled again, trying to focus on the copper taste instead of the fire licking between my legs. My mind flashed to the stranger across the bonfire, the way his eyes had burned into mine like he saw the real me. That memory only made the heat spike harder.

I whispered through clenched teeth, “Stay dead. Stay numb. Do not feel this.”

Male laughter drifted through the thin wall from the corridor outside. They sounded familiar.

Then I heard the guard’s voice, the same one who had kicked my bucket every morning for six months and laughed while I cleaned his mess. “You smell that? That wolfless bitch is in heat. Rejection does it every time.”

Another guard answered, voice thick with lust. “Bet she’s already wet and waiting. Let’s see how loud the alpha’s daughter screams when we all take a turn.”

Boots scraped closer.

The heat flared so violently I gasped out loud. My body betrayed me, clenching with need I hated more than the pain itself.

I forced myself off the mattress on shaky legs and cracked the door open just enough to see the corridor empty and then I ran.

Bare feet slapped cold stone. The torn gown clung to my sweat-slick skin. The mark on my neck pulsed like a second heartbeat of shame. Behind me the laughter grew louder, the guards turning the corner.

“There she is! Stop running bitch. You are only making this more interesting!”

I didn’t look back. I ran faster with chest burning and heat clawing at me with every stride.

I hated that Brian had been right. The heat was unbearable. It was dragging me under.

But I would not go to him begging.

I turned the corner toward the packhouse stairs and my vision blurred. The guards’ footsteps pounded closer. Their voices carried promises that made my stomach twist with fresh rage.

“Catch her quickly. I want the first taste of that alpha blood while she’s dripping for it.”