CHAPTER 5: BOUND BY FATE, BROKEN BY SILENCE

Zara’s POV

“I’m so glad you came back to me, Zara,” the man in front of me sneered, just before plunging a syringe filled with silver-laced wolfsbane into my abdomen.

Monster.

“And I hate that we’re even breathing the same air,” I spat.

The sharp crack of a slap followed, stinging my cheek—but it barely registered. My nerves had long since gone numb.

Pain? I’d learned to master it. I’d survived worse.

My fathers used to joke that I was half-zombie with how well I endured pain. But jokes aside, the truth was simple—my body might be immune, but my heart wasn’t.

And right now, it ached for someone whose name I couldn’t even say without trembling.

The wolfsbane burned, but not like it used to. Thanks to Dy’s training, I had slowly built resistance over ten years—small, daily doses making me nearly immune to its effects. Still, it dulled my senses, especially my scent, and left my limbs feeling like lead.

“I see your marks are fading fast,” the bastard grinned. “So, you have a true mate, huh? Let’s see how much pain he can take,” he smirked before raising the silver whip again.

The first lash sliced through my back with a hiss.

I bit down hard, tasting blood in my mouth as I clenched my teeth. If what I suspected was true—that I had a true mate—then he might be feeling everything I was right now. And that hurt more than the whip.

Suddenly, the strikes stopped.

He laughed—a low, cruel sound.

“What if I mark you right now and let your mate die from the rejection?” he said, voice thick with venomous delight.

“You wouldn’t dare,” I growled.

“Oh, but I would,” he whispered, leaning in, his foul breath against my skin. “Think of it as payback—for that little slap you gave me in front of the whole pack. Public humiliation has a price, darling.”

“You deserved that, you pervert.”

He smirked. “Maybe. But I’m the one holding the whip now.”

He circled me slowly, clearly enjoying every second of this sick performance. “You know what would be even better? Mating and marking you right here, in front of everyone… listening to your screams… before tossing your body into the fire.”

His words were acid. Twisted. Savage.

He raised the whip again. I sensed the shift in the air—the momentum of the strike meant to knock me unconscious.

I closed my eyes.

I was ready.

If I had a true mate, he would die with me. Because when one true mate died, the other followed.

I was going to cost someone their life. And that guilt would haunt me more than anything.

Then—

A voice.

A voice I would recognize anywhere.

“And what if I snap your neck before you even lay another finger on her?”

My heart stopped.

Jax.

Was it… really him?

Yells erupted around me. Screams. The clash of bodies. Gunfire.

The ground shook beneath me as chaos exploded. Though I couldn’t see, I could feel it—fury had entered the cave like a living storm, destroying everything in its path.

My hands were still bound in silver, eyes still blindfolded, but my ears told the story. One by one, the rogues fell. And they weren’t dying easy.

Then—silence.

Only the acrid stench of blood remained, thick and heavy in the air. The kind of silence that only comes after war.

Soft, trembling hands untied the chains around me.

As the blindfold slipped off, my eyes adjusted to the carnage.

Bodies lay scattered. The cave floor was soaked in blood. But all I could focus on were the bloodshot, tear-stained eyes staring into mine.

Jax.

Was this… all him?

Did he really come for me?

Was it possible… that he loved me?

No.

No—I’m done. I’ve given him enough power to hurt me. All I want now is to find my true mate after five days. That’s it. No more heartbreak.

He opened his mouth. “I compel you to forget what you just saw—”

The slap I gave him was immediate and loud.

He staggered back.

“How dare you try to compel me?” I hissed, voice shaking with fury—and something dangerously close to heartbreak.