Chapter 4

The cell wasn’t meant for someone like her.

Evie felt that the moment the iron door slammed shut behind her.

The sound echoed—final, hollow, suffocating.

She stood in the center of the small stone room, her pulse still racing from the chaos in the clearing. The air was damp, thick with the scent of metal and old earth. No windows. No escape.

A cage.

Built for rogues.

Built for threats.

Built for monsters.

Her jaw tightened.

“I’m not one of them,” she whispered, but the words felt fragile in a place like this.

The warriors who had escorted her didn’t respond. They avoided her gaze entirely as they stepped back from the bars.

Good.

Let them be afraid.

Because they were.

She had seen it.

Felt it.

The shift in the pack—the way their eyes changed when her power surged.

Not pity.

Not disgust.

Fear.

Evie exhaled slowly, pressing her hand against her chest again.

The bond pulsed.

Still there.

Still strong.

Still tying her to them.

A flicker of anger sparked.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered, pacing the small space. “You lock me in here like I’m dangerous, but they’re the ones who tried to reject me—”

The memory hit like a punch.

The pain.

The tearing.

The way something inside her had refused.

Her steps faltered.

That voice.

No.

Her breath hitched.

“What are you?” she whispered into the silence.

For a moment—

Nothing.

Then—

“Yours.”

Evie froze.

Her heart skipped.

That same presence stirred again—closer now, clearer.

Not distant.

Not faint.

Awake.

Watching.

“You stopped it,” Evie said slowly, her voice barely above a breath. “The rejection… you stopped it.”

A pause.

Then—

“They cannot break what is bound.”

A chill ran down her spine.

Evie swallowed hard.

“That’s not how bonds work,” she said, shaking her head. “They can be rejected.”

“Not this one.”

The certainty in the voice made her chest tighten.

Not fear.

Something else.

Something deeper.

“What makes this one different?” she asked, her voice quieter now.

Silence stretched.

Heavy.

Then—

“You will see.”

Evie exhaled shakily.

“Yeah,” she muttered. “That’s not ominous at all.”

She dragged a hand through her hair, frustration bubbling under her skin.

This was too much.

Too fast.

Three mates.

A bond that wouldn’t break.

Power she didn’t understand.

A wolf that wasn’t supposed to exist yet… but clearly did.

And now—

A cage.

A sharp knock against the metal bars snapped her attention up.

Evie turned.

And there he was.

Devin.

Alone.

Her chest tightened instinctively.

“Come to check on the dangerous prisoner?” she asked, her tone sharper than she felt.

He didn’t react to the bite in her voice.

Just stepped closer.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Like approaching something unpredictable.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Evie blinked.

The question caught her off guard.

She let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Seriously?”

His jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t look away.

“You collapsed,” he said. “That power—whatever it was—it could’ve hurt you.”

“Hurt me?” she repeated. “That’s what you’re worried about?”

His silence answered her.

Something twisted in her chest.

“Where were you?” she demanded suddenly, stepping closer to the bars. “All those years—where were you?”

Devin flinched.

Barely.

But she saw it.

“You watched,” she continued, her voice rising despite herself. “Every time they pushed, every time they humiliated me—you just stood there.”

Guilt flickered across his face.

Real.

Raw.

“I know,” he said quietly.

Evie’s breath hitched.

“I should’ve done something,” he added.

“But you didn’t.”

“No.”

The honesty of it hit harder than any excuse would have.

Evie’s fingers curled around the cold metal bars.

“Why are you here, Devin?” she asked, her voice dropping. “Because if this is about the bond—”

“It’s not.”

The answer came too quickly.

Too sharp.

Their eyes met.

And for a moment—

The bond between them pulsed differently.

Softer.

Quieter.

But still there.

Still undeniable.

“Then what is it?” she pressed.

Devin exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t think you’re what they think you are,” he said.

Evie frowned.

“And what exactly do they think I am?”

“A threat.”

She let out a bitter laugh.

“Well, at least they got something right.”

His gaze sharpened.

“No,” he said. “Not like that.”

Evie stilled.

“There’s something else,” he continued, his voice lower now. “Something… older.”

Her stomach dropped.

“You felt it too,” she whispered.

He nodded once.

Silence settled between them again.

Thick.

Heavy.

Charged.

Evie swallowed.

“Then why didn’t you stop him?” she asked softly. “Donovan. The rejection.”

Devin’s jaw clenched.

“Because I didn’t think it would fail.”

The words hung between them.

“I didn’t think you would survive it,” he added.

Evie’s breath caught.

For a second—

Just a second—

The anger faded.

Replaced by something else.

Something fragile.

Then it snapped back into place.

“Good to know my life was such a gamble to you,” she said coldly.

“It wasn’t like that.”

“It was exactly like that.”

The bond pulsed again—sharper this time, reacting to the tension.

Devin winced slightly.

“You feel that too, don’t you?” Evie said quietly.

He didn’t answer.

Didn’t need to.

She stepped closer to the bars, close enough now that only inches separated them.

“It doesn’t matter how much you all hate this,” she said. “It’s not going away.”

His eyes darkened.

“I don’t hate it.”

The words hit harder than she expected.

Evie searched his face.

“You should,” she said.

“Why?”

“Because I do.”

Silence.

A dangerous one.

Because neither of them fully believed that.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Heavy.

Confident.

Evie stiffened.

Devin stepped back instantly.

And then—

Donovan appeared.

His presence filled the space before he even spoke.

Cold. Controlled. Commanding.

His gaze flicked briefly to Devin, then locked onto Evie.

“Enough,” he said.

Devin’s posture straightened.

“I was just—”

“I said enough.”

The authority in Donovan’s voice left no room for argument.

Devin hesitated—just for a second—before stepping away.

But not before his eyes met Evie’s one last time.

A silent warning.

Or maybe a promise.

Evie couldn’t tell.

Then he was gone.

Leaving her alone.

With him.

Donovan stepped closer to the bars, his expression unreadable.

Evie forced herself not to step back.

Refused to show weakness.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said.

A faint smirk tugged at his lips.

“And yet,” he replied, “here I am.”

The bond pulsed violently between them.

Stronger than before.

Demanding.

Insistent.

Evie clenched her fists.

“What do you want?”

His gaze dropped briefly—to her chest, where the bond pulsed—before returning to her eyes.

“To understand,” he said.

“Then start by not locking me in a cage.”

His expression didn’t change.

“You’re unstable.”

Her anger flared instantly.

“I’m unstable?” she snapped. “You tried to break a mate bond in front of the entire pack!”

“And it didn’t work,” he said calmly.

That calmness made it worse.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice sharp. “Maybe that should tell you something.”

“It does.”

Evie stilled.

“And what’s that?” she asked.

His eyes darkened.

“That you’re more dangerous than we thought.”

The words should have hurt.

But instead—

Something inside her stirred.

Pleased.

“Yes.”

Evie’s breath caught.

Her gaze didn’t leave his.

“Then maybe,” she said slowly, “you should start treating me like it.”

For a split second—

Something flickered in his expression.

Not fear.

Not anger.

Something far more dangerous.

Interest.

The bond snapped tight between them.

And this time—

Neither of them looked away.