Chapter 4

They didn’t let me hide.

That was the first thing I learned.

By morning, the entire pack knew exactly where I was being kept. I could feel it in the way the air shifted outside the Alpha’s quarters, the steady movement of bodies that lingered just long enough to be noticed before moving on.

I wasn’t a secret.

I was a spectacle.

A guard knocked once before entering, not waiting for permission. “You’re coming.”

“Where?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

“Training grounds.”

My stomach twisted. “Why?”

He didn’t answer. He just stepped aside and gestured for me to move.

I hesitated.

The bond tightened in warning.

I swallowed and stood.

They escorted me through the compound in broad daylight, not taking back paths or quieter corridors. Wolves stopped what they were doing as we passed. Some stared openly. Some whispered. Others looked away like I was something uncomfortable they didn’t want to acknowledge.

Human.

Marked.

Problem.

The training grounds were already crowded when we arrived. Wolves stood in loose clusters, some in human form, some half-shifted, all of them alert. This wasn’t routine sparring. This was intentional.

At the center stood the Alpha.

He was watching the pack, not me, his posture relaxed but his presence unmistakable. The moment I stepped onto the packed dirt, the bond reacted sharply, a pull so strong I stumbled.

Every head turned.

So this was what he wanted.

Visibility.

I straightened slowly, ignoring the way my chest ached. If they were going to look, I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me cower.

A tall wolf stepped forward from the crowd. He was older, scarred, his gaze sharp with something close to contempt.

“Is this wise?” he asked, not bothering to hide his tone. “Parading her like this.”

The Alpha finally turned toward us. “You have a concern, Garrick?”

Garrick’s eyes flicked to me, then back. “She’s human. The bond is unstable. The pack feels it.”

A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd.

My pulse spiked. So they could feel it too.

“That’s because she’s resisting,” the Alpha said calmly.

“And if she keeps resisting?” Garrick pressed. “You risk weakening yourself.”

Silence fell.

That was the real accusation.

I looked at the Alpha then, searching his face for any sign of doubt.

There was none.

“She is under my control,” he said. “The bond will settle.”

“When?” another wolf called out. Younger. Reckless. “Because it’s flaring now.”

Pain lanced through my chest without warning, sharp enough to steal my breath. I gasped, hand flying to my sternum as my knees buckled.

The ground rushed up too fast.

Strong hands caught me before I hit the dirt.

The Alpha.

The contact made everything worse and better all at once. The pain eased slightly, replaced by heat and awareness that left me shaking.

The pack went dead silent.

“Enough,” he said quietly.

The bond steadied under his grip, the pressure easing like a storm pulling back. I hated how immediate the relief was.

Hated that he could do that.

Hated that my body responded.

He didn’t help me stand right away. He waited until my breathing evened out, until the pack had seen exactly what his presence did to me.

Then he released me.

I swayed but stayed upright.

“This is why she’s here,” he said to the pack. “So you understand the reality. Resistance has consequences. Control has benefits.”

I clenched my jaw, humiliation burning hot and deep.

Garrick folded his arms. “Or this proves the bond is flawed.”

The Alpha’s eyes sharpened. “Careful.”

“You marked a human during a dispute,” Garrick said. “The council won’t see that as strength.”

“They will see a bond formed under Alpha authority,” he replied. “They will see stability enforced.”

“And if she refuses to cooperate?” Garrick asked, gaze flicking to me again. “If she becomes leverage?”

That word again.

Leverage.

Something cold settled in my gut.

The Alpha stepped closer to Garrick, lowering his voice just enough that only those nearest could hear. “Then anyone who tries to use her will answer to me.”

A challenge hung heavy in the air.

Garrick held his gaze for a long moment, then inclined his head slightly. Submission. Not agreement.

“Very well,” he said. “But don’t say you weren’t warned.”

He stepped back into the crowd.

The Alpha turned to me then. “You’re staying.”

“I didn’t try to leave,” I said quietly.

“You will,” he replied. “Eventually.”

I met his eyes. “You don’t know that.”

A corner of his mouth twitched. “I do.”

He gestured to the guards. “Walk her.”

As they moved me away, I felt it again — the subtle shift in the pack. Not hostility. Not sympathy.

Calculation.

They were watching me now not as a curiosity, but as a factor.

And factors could be removed.

Back in the quarters, the door shut behind us with finality.

“You embarrassed me,” I said before I could stop myself.

His gaze snapped to mine. “You embarrassed yourself by collapsing.”

“It wasn’t on purpose,” I shot back. “The bond—”

“—reacted because you were agitated,” he cut in. “And because the pack was pressing.”

“So you used me,” I said. “To prove a point.”

“Yes,” he said.

The honesty stunned me again.

“You don’t care what this does to me,” I whispered.

He studied me for a long moment, something unreadable passing through his expression.

“I care about control,” he said finally. “Yours included.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

“No,” he agreed. “It isn’t.”

He turned away, already done with the conversation.

“The council arrives sooner than expected,” he added. “Three days.”

My heart dropped. “That’s not a lot of time.”

“It’s enough,” he said. “Decide how you want to be seen.”

The door opened.

“And understand this,” he finished. “From this moment on, every reaction you have reflects on me.”

The door closed.

I stood there alone, the bond humming low and watchful, and realized the truth settling heavy in my chest.

I wasn’t just fighting him anymore.

I was standing in the middle of a pack that hadn’t decided yet whether I was worth keeping alive.