Nyx

The moonlight knifed through the cell bars, sharp enough to cut hope in half. I hadn't slept, not even a blink. My nerves were wired too tight, my wolf pacing inside my mind like a caged hellhound, and my instincts were whispering not yet... don't break yet... dawn isn't here.

Bootsteps scraped the stone again—soft, but furious. Someone else couldn't sleep either.

Dante.

Of course.

He appeared at the bars, shadows clinging to him like he wanted them for a cloak. "Still alive? I suppose I do admire your strength."

"Admire away." I stretched lazily on the cot like a cat preparing to scratch. "You'll be the second-last audience I get."

His jaw clicked. "You must think you're so clever. You aren't being smart here—it's just stubbornness!"

"That what people who say 'no' to you look like?" I tilted my head. "Must be a rare sight."

"You're lucky I'm even here, you know. After you threw the beta's family into chaos? No one else would bother trying to save you."

"Save me? Sweetheart, right now you sound like someone bragging about getting to kill me." I sat up. "Not exactly heroic."

He inhaled through his nose the way people do right before they punch walls. "Listen. I'm offering you a chance. I can stop the execution. All you have to do is stop fighting me."

"Stop fighting you?" I snorted. "You mean roll over, ass up, and let you slap your leash on me? I'll pass."

"I care about you!"

"Right," I said brightly. "You care so much you ordered my execution. You care so much you rejected me as a mate, called me a dirty rag, then propositioned me as your side-piece. And because I said no, you sped up the execution date." I shrugged. "Wow. I've never felt so cherished in my life."

"You think I'd risk my reputation over my pride?"

"Yes."

That one hit him. Hard. He blinked like the truth was a slap.

Then he reached into his coat.

Pulled out a small bottle of cloudy liquid.

"Then let me prove you wrong," he said quietly. "Drink this."

My brows climbed. "You brought poison instead of food. How romantic."

"It's not poison! It'll just put you in a deep sleep—deep enough you'll seem dead. We'll swap you with a body double, smuggle you out now. You'll be free after that."

I stared at the bottle. Then at him. Then back at the bottle.

Freedom. Right. And I'm the Goddess of Trusting Idiots.

Even if it wasn't poison, I'd wake up chained in some hidden room with his creepy ass watching me breathe.

"You actually expect me to believe that?" I asked.

"It's your last chance. I'm giving you a way out—but you have to trust me."

"Trust you?" I laughed. "Didn't you drug all my meals with wolfsbane potions? You've been trying to put me to sleep since the moment you met me."

"That's not—this is different!"

"Mm-hm. Different lie, same lying mouth."

Before he could speak, I leaned down, picked up the potion, and—as dramatically as possible—hurled it against the stone wall.

Glass shattered. The air filled with the bitterness of crushed herbs.

"You IDIOT!" Dante snapped. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?!"

"Yeah," I said, dusting off my hands. "I killed your fantasy of locking me in some secret love-nest as your side piece."

"You ungrateful— I AM TRYING TO SAVE YOU!"

"By controlling how I live, breathe, and die?" I arched a brow. "No thanks. I'd rather be burned to death."

"You're heartless," he hissed.

"Heartless? Because I won't be your dog like Kori?"

"FINE!" he exploded, voice cracking like a whip. "Just DIE! I'll make sure they don't waste time later! That'll shut your arrogant mouth forever!"

I tilted my head, smirking. "If my mouth bothers you that much, why were you trying so hard to save it? Unless"—I gestured to the shattered glass—"that really was poison?"

He stared at me, trembling with rage, like he wanted to throw something—or throw me. But even he wasn't stupid enough to do it in front of witnesses.

He spun on his heel and stormed up the hall so fast his boots scraped sparks.

Good.

Let him run.

Let him panic.

Let him believe dawn would break over my corpse.

He wasn't going to stop my escape.

No one would.

Once I died, every secret they buried with me would claw its way back to the surface.

And the pack would burn.

***

The villagers were already frothing at the mouth before the carriage even stopped—bloodlust thick enough to choke on. Their voices flooded through the wooden panels in one long, ugly roar:

"The one being excited today was hiding a rogue with them!"

"Isn't that treason?"

"Beheading isn't enough—tear the whole body apart!"

"If they were with rogues they were no good to begin with!"

So much for subtlety. They sounded eager enough to rip me apart with their bare hands, no guillotine required.

The guard swung open the carriage door and grabbed the chains on my wrists and ankles. He yanked hard enough that I pitched forward and slammed into the dirt. The crowd cheered louder at that—nothing like public suffering to start their morning off right.

I pushed myself up, dust and gravel sticking to my palms, and followed the guard up the platform steps. Good posture, steady gait, eyes cold. If they were going to kill me, at least I'd make them uncomfortable about it.

Dante sat on the raised stage like a prince pretending to be a judge instead of a coward. Guilt flickered across his face—brief, sharp, ugly.

Father read the charges with all the warmth of a corpse. "The accused has conspired with rogues and colluded with other packs to betray Red Fang."

He was alone. No Kori's mom, no Kori. Good. Let them rot in their separate shame.

Dante cleared his throat and looked at me. "Anything to say?"

I smiled sweetly—the kind of smile that made grown men check their pockets for missing knives. "Yeah. I know a lot about the beta."

Father jerked forward. "You can't trust a word she says. This girl isn't any good."

Dante lifted a hand. "Well, I trust the beta's judgment. You've been kind enough to shelter a burden for all these years."

Ah. So this was the performance. My last moments, and I wasn't even granted the amusement of a final speech. Fine. The Moon Goddess could give me a better audience anyway.

At least I didn't have to sleep with Dante. Silver linings.

Father raised his voice. "Proceed and prepare for the execution."

The crowd roared their approval. Wolves banging on the rails, chanting for blood.

"Bring the prisoner forward!"

The guard grabbed me again, dragging me toward the guillotine. The device was monstrous—high wooden frame dark with old stains, the blade gleaming like it had been polished just for me. The rope trembled slightly in the wind.

And yet...

Euphoria rolled up my spine. One more walk. One last breath. And then—freedom. The Moon Goddess would unchain me from everything.

From the attic.

From that house.

From him.

"TRAITOR!"

"KILL HER!"

"I KNEW THAT DIRTY RAG WAS NO GOOD!"

I scanned the crowd, slowly, purposely. Memorizing every face screaming for my bones. Should I curse them all? A droit on their land? A plague in their lungs? Something poetic? As a half witch I can do that it all.

Decisions, decisions.

The guard shoved me to my knees. Cold wood beneath them. My neck pressed into the crescent opening of the stocks. The scent of metal and old blood thickened around me.

Soon they'd know the truth. Soon this pack would drown in its own bullshit and it'd be the alphas fault.

And the best part?

Nothing.

Could.

Stop.

It—

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!"

A voice thundered across the clearing like the sky itself cracked open—commanding, furious, impossible to ignore.

Every head snapped toward the forest line.

My heart stilled.

Oh no.

Oh yes.

I don't know.