Chapter 3

Sienna's POV

I heard the lock on the door click. It was him again. I braced myself, but instead of Ronan, a different figure stepped through. Taller and leaner, he looked less intimidating.

"Hey there," he said lightly, his voice kind. "I'm Lucien. Ronan asked me to show you around."

I was still skeptical, unsure how to act around him.

"Show me around? Why? I don't even know where I am."

"You're in our pack territory," he said, leaning casually against the doorframe. "It’s tradition for us to make our guests feel at home... even when they stumble in uninvited."

I stared at him, trying to hide my disbelief and panic.

Was this a cult?

This HAD to be a cult.

I’d been kidnapped by a cult.

Oh my God, what if they sacrifice me? I don’t want to die.

"Take it easy," he said, raising his hands in surrender, as if noticing my panic. "I'm here to help you, not interrogate you like Ronan. I just want to help you get comfortable."

He seemed nicer. At least he wasn’t threatening to kill me. Not yet, anyway.

I needed to figure a way out, and staying in my room wasn’t going to help. I needed as much information as I could get.

“I’ll come with you,” I said, pulling the blanket off and stepping down from the bed.

Wait a minute. These weren’t the clothes I’d been wearing during the accident. They’d changed my clothes.

Rage bubbled up inside me.

“Which one of you motherfuckers changed my clothes?” I growled.

“None of us. We had a woman from the pack help you. We’re not monsters, you know,” he shrugged.

How was I supposed to know that when they’d kidnapped me?

“Let’s go,” I snapped, and he nodded, leading me out of the room.

Once outside, I followed tentatively, scanning the area and mentally marking exits. Not that it was hard, everything was easy to locate. Lucien walked beside me at a slow pace, giving me time to take everything in.

"And this," he said, gesturing to the grand corridors we were walking through, "is the Silver Ridge Pack's main house. The Alpha, Betas, and some pack members live here. The rest live in homes scattered throughout the territory."

“You’re serious about this pack nonsense,” I muttered, unable to hide the disbelief in my voice.

"You don’t believe me?” Lucien looked at me as if my skepticism surprised him.

How deep into this cult were they?

“You know what, let me show you,” he said, starting to strip.

“Wait, what the hell are you doing?” I turned away, trying to avert my gaze.

“This,” he said, letting out a loud growl.

I looked back to see him bending and contorting, hair sprouting from his body as his face morphed into that of a… wolf.

Right in front of me stood a wolf.

I shook my head, stumbling back. He? it? I didn’t know!, kept advancing toward me.

“You’re real,” I mumbled, pointing at the wolf.

“Where the fuck am I?” I continued to stumble back as he moved closer.

“Am I dead? Is that it?” I pinched myself to make sure.

Before my eyes, he morphed back into a human, picked up his clothes, and put them back on.

I could only stare in shock and horror.

“See? Now you believe,” Lucien grinned, while I stood there, speechless.

“We exist, you know. Shape-shifters, in different forms and packs. You can find bears, tigers, you name it. But here, we’re wolf shifters. It defines who we are.”

I stared at him, waiting for him to tell me this was a prank or that I was high on drugs.

“This is real,” I managed to mumble.

“Yes, we’re real,” he said. “And to answer your next question, no, we didn’t send the wolves that attacked you last night. Those were rogues,” he added proudly.

What the ever-living fuck.

First of all, I wasn’t even thinking about last night. I hadn’t even processed what I’d just seen.

Second, what the hell are rogues?

As if reading my mind, he went on.

“Wolves live in packs. They can’t survive outside of one. They go crazy, or, as we call it, rogue.”

I nodded, pursing my lips as if it all made sense.

News flash: it didn’t.

“So why the fuck was I being attacked by mad rogues?” I raised a brow.

“You have a connection to us. Wolves. That’s why you have that mark. It’s why Ronan was able to save you. It called to him,” he explained.

“Explained” was an exaggeration because my brain was more confused than ever. But then it hit me.

The gray wolf. The image flashed in my mind. The gray wolf was Ronan.

“Ronan… he saved my life?” I mumbled.

“Yes, he did.”

I tried to ignore the information and stayed silent as we walked back to my room.

Once inside, I paced for a while. This was all too much, but more importantly, I didn’t feel safe here. I needed to get out as soon as possible.

If Ronan had saved me, maybe he wasn’t entirely bad. Maybe he was just a grumpy asshole.

I’d ask him to let me go.

I reached for the door handle and found it unlocked. Stepping out, I saw Lucien sitting nearby, reading a book.

“Jesus Christ! How long have you been sitting there?” I exclaimed, jumping back.

“Oh, I’m supposed to watch you for now,” he smiled, removing his reading glasses and closing the book.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I need to see Ronan. I have something important to discuss with him,” I said.

“Well, what is it? I can relay your message,” he offered enthusiastically.

“I want to talk to him myself. Thanks, though,” I replied.

“He’s in his study at his house. Do you want me to come with you?”

“Nah, I’m fine,” I said, walking past him.

I found Ronan at his desk, just as Lucien had said. He was hunched over a pile of papers, barely glancing up as I entered.

“We need to talk,” I said, folding my arms defensively.

He sighed, putting down his pen. “What is it?”

“I want to go home,” I demanded.

Ronan reclined in his chair, his expression unreadable.

“You can’t leave,” he said matter-of-factly, pissing me off.

I’d come to talk calmly, but my resolve slipped.

“Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what to do? You don’t fucking own me!” I snapped.

“Well, actually, I do,” he tilted his head, smirking.

He looked so infuriatingly hot it made me angrier.

“What do you mean? You can’t keep me prisoner. People will notice I’m missing!” I shouted.

“I’m not keeping you prisoner, Sienna. There are rules. Packless shifters who’ve never been claimed by a pack must be registered into one, or they’re listed as rogues,” he said, his smile devilish.

I opened my mouth to scream but shut it. He seemed to enjoy my anger.

“I’m not a shifter,” I gritted through my teeth.

“The mark on your thigh says otherwise,” he shrugged, pointing at my leg.

“It’s not a mark, for fuck’s sake! It’s a birthmark, and I don’t know anything about it. I’ve always had it!” I nearly screamed.

“If you say so. But until we know the truth, you’ll stay here. For our safety and yours,” he said, still flipping through documents, not sparing me a glance.

My hands balled into fists. “I’d sooner die than let you hold me hostage.”

He looked up, finally acknowledging me with a smile.

“Impressive. You know what? For that, I’ll give you what you want. I don’t want you dying on me.”

“Wait, what?” I hadn’t expected him to agree after insisting I couldn’t leave.

“Of course, on one condition, I’ll have someone keep tabs on you. I’ll know your every move. Wherever you go, someone will be watching. That’s the only way. Do we have a deal?”

He smirked, clearly expecting me to refuse. Too bad for him, I didn’t care about being watched.

“Deal. Knock yourself out,” I said, storming out of his office to reclaim my life.