3

ALARIC

The door shut behind me with a dull click. The air was stale, thick with age, cheap alcohol, and something weaker beneath it. Fear clung to the walls.

My gaze drifted over the building as I walked, cracked paint, broken railings, a staircase that groaned under the slightest pressure. Everything about this place was falling apart. A man who lived like this had no business borrowing money from me. And yet, Magnus had.

The first time he came, I had already known.

I remembered the way he stood in front of me, nervous and sweating, trying too hard to appear confident. The smell of desperation had given him away long before his words did.

I had taken one look at him and known he wouldn’t be able to pay it back. Still, I gave him half of what he asked for. Not out of kindness, but out of curiosity.

The second time he returned, asking for more, I almost laughed. A man who couldn’t repay his first debt was asking for another. My wolf had stirred then, amused, circling beneath my skin like it had found something entertaining. This one will break, it had seemed to say, and I let it. I gave him the rest.

Not because I believed in him, but because I wanted to see how far he would fall.

The first missed payment, I ignored it. The second, I allowed. By the third… My patience had run out.

A low chuckle left my throat as I stepped outside, the night air brushing against my skin. It was cooler here, cleaner, but not enough to wash away the stench of that place. Or the memory of the offer he made. His daughter. I hadn’t expected that. My wolf stirred again, more alert this time. Interested.

I exhaled slowly, rolling my shoulders as I walked toward the car. The faint sound of her heartbeat reached me before I even got close, fast, uneven, and frantic. Fragile and human, easy to break.

The door opened, and I paused for a second before getting in, my gaze settling on her. Aria.

She had pushed herself into the far corner of the seat, her body practically folding in on itself like she could disappear if she tried hard enough. Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap, her breathing shallow, eyes wide with fear. She looked weaker now, but not unpleasant.

I slid into the car, and the effect was immediate.

“Please” Her voice cracked as she scrambled back even further, though there was nowhere left to go. “Please, just let me go. I didn’t do anything to you.”

I said nothing.

Her scent filled the space, fear, sharp and overwhelming, mixed with something softer beneath it. Something human.

“I’ll find a way to get your money back, I promise. Just… don’t do this.”

I leaned back slightly, watching her. Her pulse pounded visibly at her throat. I could hear it. Feel it. Every beat echoed too loudly in the confined space. My wolf shifted again.

She’s afraid of you. Of course she was. She should be.

“Please,” she whispered again, tears slipping down her cheeks now. “I’m begging you…”

Her voice grew quieter with each word, like she was starting to understand that this wasn’t something she could talk her way out of.

I tilted my head slightly, my gaze never leaving her.

If she knew what I was… what I truly was, she wouldn’t be begging. She would be trying to escape.The faintest hint of a smile touched my lips at the thought.

It was too late for that. The driver started the car.

ARIA

I tried not to look at him, I really did. But my eyes kept drifting back anyway. Quick glances at first, like if he noticed, something bad would happen. He sat silent beside me. I couldn’t read him, couldn’t even see him properly.

The car was too dark, the windows were tinted, the only light came from the passing streetlamps that flickered across his face for half a second before disappearing again.

What do they want from me? The thought kept circling in my head, over and over again, refusing to settle. My fingers curled tightly into my lap as I leaned back against the seat, trying to steady my breathing.

I started praying silently, the words tumbling over themselves in my head. Please, let this just be something small. Let it be something I can get out of.

Too much time had passed, and I didn’t know how long we had been driving, minutes, maybe an hour, maybe more, but the longer it went on, the heavier the silence became. The city lights disappeared, and the roads grew darker and emptier.

A knot formed in my stomach, twisting tighter with every passing second.What if they hurt me? The thought came suddenly, sharp and terrifying.

I swallowed hard, my eyes stinging. I hadn’t lived. Not really.

My life had been nothing but long shifts, cheap meals, leftover food, and exhaustion. I had never had the chance to enjoy anything, never had the time to want more. And now, was this how it ended?