Chapter 2

Rowan’s POV

I come to with a blinding light above me, sharp and unforgiving. My head pounds like a drum in my skull, and I groan, raising a hand to shield my eyes.

“Sorry, dear.” Dr. Bradley’s voice is gentle, but the brightness vanishes as she switches off the light.

Her smiling face comes into view, framed by glasses perched on her nose in an almost cartoonish way.

“How do you feel, Rowan?” she asks, settling onto a stool beside the bed.

“What happened?” My voice is hoarse, and the throbbing in my head intensifies.

“You fainted, dear.”

I try to sit up, but the pain in my skull spikes. Dr. Bradley places a firm yet comforting hand on my shoulder, urging me to stay down.

"Don't stress yourself. I imagine you feel weak."

“Not weak, just… my head is killing me. Can I get something for it?”

She hesitates. “I don’t have any painkillers safe for you right now, but I sent someone to get Tylenol.” Her hand moves to pat my hair,a gesture meant to soothe,but all it does is make the pounding in my skull worse.

I frown. “Why can’t I take Advil or something?”

She hesitates again. That’s when I know something is wrong.

My memory is a haze, but I remember Luna Chelsea’s birthday. The gift presentation. Then… nothing.

I push myself upright again, and that’s when I feel it,something heavy clamped around my ankle.

Heart pounding, I rip the covers off.

A chain. A chain binding me to the bed.

Panic and confusion hit me at once.

I whip my head toward Dr. Bradley, but she’s already looking away, guilt written all over her face.

"Dr. Bradley," I demand, my voice sharp, "why am I chained to the bed?"

She clears her throat but still won’t meet my gaze. “That’s not a question I’m allowed to answer… for now. But I have a few questions of my own, and I implore you to answer them—for your own safety.”

What the hell is going on? One moment, I was being hugged by the Luna, and now I’m restrained like a prisoner?

I reach out through the pack’s mental link—silence. I can’t feel anyone.

I’ve been shut out.

I’ve been nothing but respectful. Rule-abiding. The perfect pleasure servant.

So why am I being treated like a damn traitor?

A growl rumbles deep in my chest. My wolf stirs, a low, warning whine vibrating through me. She feels the betrayal as keenly as I do.

“Rowan?” Dr. Bradley’s voice is cautious, but I barely hear her.

I clench my fists and close my eyes claws digging into my palm until the scent of blood fills the air.

My wolf likes that, she purrs at the smell and the anger coursing through me. I try to calm down, to calm her down.

I open my eyes.

Dr. Bradley is no longer sitting down, she's standing in front of me, a cautious look on her face.

I see her eyes go to my own eyes and shes seen the color change, she takes an instinctive step back.

“Rowan, calm down,” she says, inching toward the door.

Too late, I feel alive, I feel every blood flowing through my veins.

The chain rattles as I lunge, claws out, fangs bared.

She shrieks and stumbles back, barely avoiding my strike.

The only thing keeping me from ripping her apart is the chain around my ankle. But I don’t let that stop me.

With a snarl, I yank my leg forward.