Chapter 6

Zenaya pov 

I shifted back in amusement, watching him closely. A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips, and I almost burst out laughing. He must have thought I was some kind of joke, because I honestly didn't understand him.

Who did he think he was? What did he think he was?

Telling me I could be what? His personal slut?

He must be joking.

My amusement slowly faded, replaced by a cold look as I stared at him. His brother had used me all these years, and now, no one was going to be able to use me again. Not him. Not anyone.

I lifted my lips into a mocking smile, holding his gaze without flinching.

“You must be joking. I want to leave this pack,” I said, my voice calm but firm.

I expected him to lash out. I expected anger, perhaps even rage, to flash across his face.

Instead, he smiled.

It wasn't a warm smile. It was cold, unsettling, and somehow more threatening than anger could ever be.

His eyes darkened as he looked at me, and the amusement in them sent an uncomfortable chill down my spine.

“You don't have a choice,” he said calmly. “It's either you leave dead or stay alive. So, you choose. Do you choose death, or do you want to still stay?”

Hearing this, I paused.

My smile slowly disappeared.

As much as I wanted to leave this pack so badly, I didn't want to die. Not yet.

My fingers curled slightly at my sides as my thoughts raced. I wanted to make sure Ronan regretted everything. I wanted to make sure he paid for every single thing he had done to me. I wanted to make sure I burned down Ronan's world and watched everything he cared about crumble.

I wanted to make sure his life became a living hell.

That thought alone made my heart harden.

So I wasn't going to let death stop my path.

I could have died in the process of trying to escape, but I chose to live.

Maybe there was a reason I was still alive. Maybe there was a path I needed to follow, a purpose I hadn't discovered yet.

Whatever it was, I was going to follow that path.

I slowly lifted my head, determination settling in my eyes.

“You and your brother have a way of manipulating someone. But I don't have a choice,” I continued, my voice calm despite the anger simmering beneath my words.

“Somehow, I fell into your territory, so I'm going to stick with it. I'm going to stay, but don't expect it to be temporary,” I said, holding his gaze firmly.

His eyes slowly darkened.

The faint amusement that had been lingering on his face disappeared, replaced by a cold, unreadable expression.

“Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?” he asked, his voice low.

I leaned back slightly from where I sat on the ground, refusing to let his intimidating presence make me back down.

“If you think the way I'm speaking to you is very rude, you can as well finish me off. I didn't beg any man to let me live. I didn't beg any man to take me in. You brought me into your pack of your own accord. You could have left me dying,” I said nonchalantly.

I watched his expression carefully, but he only squinted his eyes at me, irritation flashing across his face.

“You bumped into my horse, and I hit you. What do you want me to do? Leave you dying on the floor?” he asked, raising his brows.

I scoffed softly.

“I am not part of your pack. So, it is acceptable for you to leave me dying. So why did you keep me alive?” I challenged, my voice becoming sharper.

The air between us grew thick with tension.

Neither of us looked away.

I could feel the weight of his gaze on me, but I refused to back down. If he wanted to intimidate me, he was going to have to try harder.

Then, suddenly, he reached forward and gripped my jaw.

My eyes widened slightly as he pulled me closer, his fingers tightening around my jaw.

His face was only inches away from mine now.

“I kept you alive because you are going to pay for your sister's sins,” he said coldly.

The moment he mentioned my sister, my fist clenched.

A wave of irritation surged through me. Once again, I was being dragged into something I had nothing to do with.

I pulled my jaw away from his grip, glaring at him.

“My sister wronged you. Your brother wronged me. If I have to pay for my sister's sins, you will also pay for your brother's sins,” I said, my voice firm.

I didn't look away.

My sister had betrayed me, and his brother had also betrayed me. The both of them were off-limits. 

He couldn't use either of them to threaten me. In as much as he hated my sister and his brother, I hated his brother and my sister just as much. Whatever had happened between them had nothing to do with me.

“You've got some nerve. You are quite smarter than your sister,” he said, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he studied me.

“Stop comparing me with her. In as much as you hate her, I hate her too. You are insulting my dignity if you keep comparing the both of us. If you want to take revenge, then take revenge on her. Do not take it out on me. I already have a lot of things to deal with,” I said coldly, meeting his gaze without the slightest intention of backing down.

Yes. Ronan's betrayal had unlocked a colder version of me, a stricter and more ruthless version of me. I wasn't going to let anyone intimidate me anymore. I had spent too long allowing people to hurt me, and I was done with it. I had lost my wolf.

 I had lost everything. But now, I was going to fight back, become stronger, and refuse to be intimidated by anyone ever again. If I had nothing left to lose, then perhaps that was exactly what made me fearless.

He slowly leaned forward, his expression hardening as hatred filled his eyes. “My pack is not a charity, like I said before. If you want to live, you need to earn it. This pack of mine is a military-zone pack. And if you want to live here, you need to survive like a soldier.”

I stared at him silently, my eyes narrowing slightly as his words sank in. A military-zone pack. Of all the places I could have ended up, somehow, I had found myself here. 

But if surviving in this pack meant becoming stronger, then I would survive. I had already lost almost everything once. I wasn't going to lose myself too.