Veyra POVDagon storms away, but he didn’t take the plate of food. I guess that’s a win for me.Walking back to the mats, Riven and Sera are staring at me. “Do you want to die?” Sera asks quietly.“No, but I also won’t be told what to do.” I pick up the plate and hand them food again. Sitting, we eat quietly, but we don’t speak. I can see them, they are trying to hide that they are eating.If Dagen didn’t want me to feed them, he should have taken the food with him.When we finished eating, we lay down.I watch Riven and Sera fall asleep, but I can’t sleep now. I shouldn’t have slept today. Instead, I begin to pace the small cell and when that doesn’t help. I begin to exercise.What else do I have to do? Exercising is a bonus right now because I need to keep my strength up. I do anything I can within my limited space—press-ups, sit-ups, and every type of exercise there is. When my arms are dead, I begin with squats.Eventually, I become too tired to stand, fall onto the mat, and pass
Veyra POV“Right, up.” More guards come, and I sigh. Another trial already? It’s either that or we are all being punished for my behaviour. I hope not, though.We’re guided out and into a large room, the walls of which are stone and bare. We walk in and are pushed towards the other Omegas. There must be at least sixty others here, maybe more. Just looking around, I can tell who has a place in the main dorms and who are like us, in cells and such.Standing at the front, I wait. Riven and Sera push closer to me, and I now notice the Alphas seated close by as well. So is this going to be a public display of beating me for not following orders? I feel like it is.“Today’s trial begins now. You will be in groups of three. Only one person can win in the groups of three.”One? Riven and Sera sob behind me. So I can’t save them?“Today’s trial, you will stand between the Alphas. They will give you commands. If you refuse to do them, you will be punished. If you refuse to submit and follow ord
Maddox POVWatching Dagen punish Veyra is hard. She deserves it for refusing to follow orders, but that’s not what makes it hard. I’m not sure if Vane and Rael have realised, but the way Dagen is acting isn’t him. He’s trying to prove a point, maybe that he doesn’t care for her?After his wolf failed to kill her and then defended her against the cats, everyone watched him closely.We agreed last night to feed her, but Dagen made us aware that she had tried sharing it with her cell mates. She was willing to take the punishment this morning for sharing it.What she wasn’t willing to do, however, was let them be punished for her behaviour. So, I have a plan to destroy her little team.When Dagen steps back, I look at Riven. I want to do something extreme, something that pushes her and makes her turn on Veyra. The fact that Veyra took her punishment means Riven and Sera will see her as a way out.“On your knees, here.” I point down and she follows the orders. I don’t say anything, I just
Vane POVI watch Veyra, I think we’re all a little drawn in by her. We are eager to see how well she does without carrying others who wouldn’t help her. Which is proven right now.For a moment, Veyra says nothing, then she nods, accepting the punishment that should be Riven’s is not hers.See, now I don’t want to give it to her. Sure, it’s the rules, and I have to, but it feels wrong. Stepping toward her, she keeps her chin raised, and my head shakes. “Had you not made an alliance with these people, you would be far stronger right now.”The blade cuts across her arm, and she hisses but doesn’t make any other sound. Sitting back down, I look to Rael. He rubs his hand across his jaw, his expression is unreadable as his gaze settles on Sera.He doesn’t speak right away; instead, he watches her. His silence is far more suffocating than any command that could be given. Sera is already trembling. Her hands are clenched at her sides; it’s like she’s holding herself together by sheer will alo
Dagen POVI admire Veyra. She doesn’t like the idea of others getting hurt or being punished. She wants to help her two little friends, but they aren’t.Right now, I think she realises that. I think she’s noticed how she is just a shield for them; if they can put her in front of them for every task, they will.Tomorrow, I will have her fight one of them, or maybe both? You see, they think giving her their punishment is better than the shame they would feel by doing what they are ordered.It’s not, why would I want to claim and use one of them? They are weak. They can’t even carry their own punishments. Had they been more like Veyra and fought for their chance to survive, fine, but they aren’t.They are merely leeches, sucking Veyra dry at every opportunity they have. She gave them her food, and they can’t even carry the weight of their own orders, or their own punishments.This is why this trial is here. An alpha wouldn’t do this. They would fight to live, and they would play the game
Rael POVI lean forward, keeping my elbows on my knees and just watch. I’m more interested now, this wasn’t how today’s trial was meant to go, but I’m not about to complain. Dagen’s sudden twist adds exactly the sort of tension we need.Fear.Betrayal.Blood.And it is all neatly wrapped up in one moment. Tomorrow's group combat trial is going to be good, but this? This is the kind of preview that makes it better.Sera hesitates, and I can see the panic. She’s trembling, her eyes dart to Dagen as if she is waiting for him to say it’s a joke. He won’t, and she knows it. That’s why she charges.Her scream is shrill and too high-pitched to be convincing. It wouldn’t even scare a cub with her battle cry, and it doesn’t even get a reaction from Veyra.I’m glad, it shouldn’t, not when she’s already bloodied and humiliated and hasn’t dropped from our crap.At first, Veyra doesn’t move. I can see it, the calculating, Sera stumbles forward with the grace of a newborn pup. The moment Sera gets
Rael POVHer back is a mess. It’s covered in lashes and bruising. The blood is dried thick, especially where the whip had split her skin. The silver has left burns that will ache for days. So the ointment is needed as it will heal her quicker.She’s too proud to admit there’s pain. Even now, pressed against the cold wall, she’s hissing through her teeth like she’s not willing to show weakness.She doesn’t scream, she just trembles, staying silent, stubborn and likely seething.I press the ointment deeper into the worst areas across her lower back, and her muscles tighten under my touch. The scent of her hits me again, it’s raw and a mixture of sweat, blood, and something else. It’s that same pull I felt in the arena that coils tight in my gut.I shouldn’t be this close to her, but I don’t stop either.Her body is warm against mine, tense but alive beneath my grip. I don’t even realise what’s happening. I’m so focused on the feel of her that I don’t notice until I’m too far gone. My he
Veyra POVOnce he leaves, I don’t move. I hear the door click behind me, but I stand still. The sound echoes loudly despite how quiet it is. My body is frozen, I stand just inside the threshold and take in the space. It’s too clean, too still.Everything looks untouched. The bed is perfectly made, the lighting is dim but warm, and the air smells faintly of cedar and something else, maybe cloves.Nothing about this place belongs to me, and yet they have given me the room. For how long, though?My fingers twitch at my sides. I slowly walk deeper into the room. Each step across the thick rug feels wrong, like a mistake. I pass the bed and barely glance at the silken sheets. My gaze sweeps around and takes in the rest of the space.The room is lavish and far more beautiful than my own room at the pack. That room was fit for an alpha; this room is like it’s made for royalty. There’s a vanity near the window and a small chair beside the fireplace. A door is cracked open slightly and leads t
MADDOX POV She’s lying, she has to be.She says it so easily though, spitting the words through cracked lips like they don’t cost her anything. Like she's speaking the truth.Let me burn. I’d rather that than have you touch me.My jaw tightens. My grip on her sharpens. Her skin is scorching against mine, her body limp and shaking, but her voice, her voice cuts through everything.“You’ll fuck them,” I growl, “Dagen, Rael, and Vane. But not me?”She doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t blink. Her eyes are glassy but steady.“I’d rather die clean,” she whispers, “than let you leave your mark on me and my soul.”Every word is like a slap across the face. My wolf snarls, furious and loud, clawing at my chest like he wants to rip through me and show her what happens to those who reject us. I try to shove it down. I try to ignore it. She’s baiting me, trying to provoke a reaction. She wants to goad me into breaking the line I swore I wouldn't cross, and it’s working.“You’re trying to make me lose cont
MADDOX POVI keep my eyes on the screen, watching the final trial contestants crawl through the mud and pain we designed for them. This is how it’s meant to be. Unforgiving, distant and clean. The second we interfere, the trial loses its purpose.She should’ve died in the pit. Then with the rogue. She should’ve died after that. Every time she survived, it chipped away at the foundation of what we built. And now the cracks are showing.They brought her back. Saved her. And now they are trying to hold her together like she’s worth something. I feel her through the bond, whether I want to or not. Her heat claws at me like fire under my ribs. There’s agony in it. Chaos. Her wolf is tearing apart inside her, and even from here, I can feel it unraveling.She’s dying, and it’s slow and ugly.Worse than that, I keep feeling it. Pleasure. Sharp and too real. They’re mating her. One after the other. They’ve each claimed her, and still she burns. Every knot, every bond, none of it has worked. Th
Vane POVPushing back my own doubts and worries, I sink into her slowly, guiding her down onto me with careful hands, but her body moves faster than I do. She's too hot, too slick, too desperate. Her breath catches the moment I fill her, and I swear I feel her wolf stir before I’ve even started to thrust.She buries her face in my neck, shaking. Her fingers dig into my shoulders like she’s clinging to the last piece of herself.I hold her and wrap my arms around her back to keep her chest against mine as I move inside her, deep, slow, and steady. I don’t want to hurt her, don’t want to add pain to what she’s already drowning in. Her body’s exhausted, worn down from too much agony and not enough time.But go, she still feels perfect. Every part of her fits me like we’ve done this a thousand times before. My hips roll, lifting to meet her, and her body clenches down around me with a soft, broken moan.“I didn’t want it like this,” I murmur against her temple. I was just getting to the p
VANE POVThis isn’t right, none of it at all. She's curled in Rael's lap, limp and burning. Her skin is flushed and her breathing is coming in shallow gasps. Her wolf has gone again, entirely. The bond failed, and his knot barely deflated before she was writhing and crying out, worse than before.Now though, they're looking at me. Like I’m the next fucking solution.“No,” I snap, stepping back. “We need to stop this.”“She’s dying,” Dagen growls. “We stop and she dies for sure.”“She’s dying anyway!” I shoot back. “All you’re doing, what you already did... is dragging it out. She gets a moment of peace, maybe even hope, and then the fire comes back stronger. You’re not saving her. You’re thrusting her closer to death.”Rael looks like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t. He’s still holding her, staring at nothing, as if he’s trying to understand what he just felt leave him.“She begged me,” he says softly. “She begged me to claim her.”“And it didn’t work,” I spit. “What makes you think
Rael POVShe’s still limp in my arms, barely conscious, but she still moves with me. Still rises and falls with the rhythm of my hips. Her body knows what it needs, even if she can’t speak it clearly. I hold her steady, trying to stay in control, but I can already feel my restraint fraying.“Rael,” she whispers, so faint I almost miss it. Something about her voice has my wolf surging forward more, clinging onto her.I look down. Her eyes are open, barely, but she’s looking right at me.“Don’t speak,” I murmur. “Just breathe. Save your energy”Her fingers claw weakly at my chest. “Please. You have to claim me.”I go still.
RAEL POVNo one’s happy about this. Not about Dagen fucking her. Not about him biting her. Not about the way he’s clinging to her like she’s the last thing keeping him breathing.And definitely not about what comes next.She’s delirious with pain. Driven purely by heat, desperation, and the instinct to survive. That doesn’t mean she wants this. That doesn’t mean she can consent to it. Her wolf is barely present. Her body is in agony. But Dagen’s right about one thing, if we don’t try, she dies. Then we're just monsters who watched her burn from the inside out.There’s a chance she dies anyway. Even if we agree, she could still die, th
Dagen POVShe’s barely holding on, but she still nods. Still gives me that final, broken little whisper of permission “Make it stop.”That’s all I need. I strip fast, my jaw tight, breath short, barely hanging on as my wolf surges beneath my skin. The scent of her is everywhere, sweet and wild and burning through me like a drug I can’t fight. It hits me the moment I pull my shirt over my head, the moment I shove my pants to the floor and crawl back onto the bed where she lies stretched out, weak and trembling, her legs already parted for me like she’s waiting for salvation.I grab her thighs, drag her down to the edge of the bed, and settle between them. My cock is painfully hard, slick already, throbbing with the pressure building in me. When I press the head against her entrance and feel her heat, slic
Veyra POVSomething shifts in him.The careful movements give way to something deeper, firmer. Each thrust grows more deliberate, more insistent, like instinct is pulling him out of the restraint he's clung to. I feel it in the tension of his muscles, in the way his fingers press harder against my hips, holding me in place like he’s afraid I’ll vanish.I know I should be afraid. I know what rogues are... what they become when instinct takes over, but I don’t pull away.Instead, I arch into him.My breath comes faster, not from panic but from need, sharp and staggering. The pain that once consumed me has been replaced with something I didn’t expect. Pleasure. Rich and overwhelming, like it’s blooming through every nerve ending. My wolf leans into his without hesitation, drawn to the strength he’s offering, to the rare and careful way he’s giving it.He groans low in his chest as he sinks deeper, filling me completely with each thrust. The rhythm isn’t brutal, he never becomes careless,