Chapter eight

Christina’s POV

“Get me out! Please! I can’t”

I bolted upright, screaming.

My hands clawed at my throat. Dirt. Darkness. Buried. Can’t breathe.

“Christina, stop!”

Kyros’ voice snapped me back. I gasped, lungs burning. The room came into focus. Bed. Window. Moonlight.

Not underground.

Not dead.

“Just a dream,” I choked out.

“A memory,” Kyros corrected. “And we have a problem.”

My chest burned. The mate bond pulsed hot beneath my ribs.

“He felt you last night,” Kyros said. “He knows you’re alive.”

“Shit.”

“He’s coming.”

I threw off the blanket. “How long?”

“Days. Maybe less. We need to move fast.”

Breakfast was a nightmare.

The dining hall buzzed with conversation until I walked in. Then silence. Stares. Whispers.

“That’s the wolfless girl.”

“Why is she even here?”

I kept my head down and moved toward the food line.

A tall red-haired girl stepped in front of me. Sharp green eyes. Dominant wolf energy.

“You’re in my spot,” she said.

I dropped my gaze. “Sorry.”

“Of course you are. You’re nothing.” She grabbed a coffee cup. “Oops.”

She dumped it on my chest.

Scalding liquid soaked through my shirt. I gasped and stumbled back.

Laughter erupted around us.

Kyros snarled. *Let me rip her apart.*

*No. We can’t.*

“Clumsy me,” the girl said sweetly.

“What’s going on?”

The room went dead silent.

A man stood in the doorway. Late fifties. Silver hair. Cold gray eyes. Expensive suit.

Beta Vax.

Every wolf straightened immediately.

His gaze landed on me. Studied me like prey

“Who is this?”

Caleb appeared beside him. “Christina Black. Rogue survivor. I gave her asylum.”

Vax raised an eyebrow. “Did you.”

“Yes.”

Vax’s eyes never left me. “What does a wolfless stray offer my pack?”

Caleb’s jaw tightened. “That’s not your concern.”

“Everything here is my concern.” Vax stepped closer. “Can you fight?”

“No.”

“Hunt?”

“No.”

“Shift?”

My throat tightened. “No.”

He smiled. It was cold. “Then what can you do?”

“Work. Whatever you need.”

“How useful.” He turned away. “Kitchen duty. Let’s see if you earn your keep.”

He left without waiting for an answer.

I looked down at my soaked shirt, hands shaking.

*That’s him,* Kyros growled. *That’s the man who murdered my host.*

*I know. Soon.*

Hours in the kitchen. Scrubbing. Hauling. Ignored.

By nightfall, my hands were raw.

A knock on my door.

“Me,” Caleb said quietly.

I let him in. He checked the hall before closing the door.

“Vax is leading the border patrol tonight. Three hours. We are searching his office now.”

I stood. “What are we looking for?”

“Proof he killed my father.”

“Let’s go.”

The packhouse was silent.

We moved fast. Kyros tracked footsteps before they got close. Twice we hid from guards.

Caleb picked Vax’s office lock in seconds.

Inside, everything was perfect. Too clean. Too organized.

“Desk,” Caleb whispered.

I opened drawers. Files. Reports. Nothing.

Then a locked drawer.

“Here.”

Caleb forced it open.

Financial records. Coded transactions. Money disappearing offshore.

“He’s stealing,” Caleb.

I found letters. All coded. All dated three months ago.

My fingers touched metal.

I pulled out a dagger.

Kyros roared. *That blade. I smell blood. My host’s blood.*

Silver handle. Runes carved in. Dark stains on the metal.

“This is what killed him,” I whispered.

Caleb took it, trembling. “We’ve got him.”

Footsteps outside.

We froze.

The steps stopped at the door.

Too late.

Vax walked in.

His cold eyes found us instantly.

He smiled.

“Unfortunate,” he said calmly.

Caleb stepped in front of me, gripping the dagger. “It’s over. We know what you did.”

“Do you?” Vax closed the door behind him. “Prove it.”

“You murdered my father.”

“With that?” Vax nodded at the dagger. “Covered in rogue blood from three months ago?” He pulled out his phone. “Or should I call the guards? Tell them I caught the young alpha breaking into my office? Planting evidence?”

“No one will believe you,” Caleb said.

“Won’t they? Desperate son. Dead father. Loyal beta.” Vax’s smile widened. “Who sounds more believable?”

My pulse was hammered.

Vax looked at me. Really looked.

“You’re interesting,” he said softly. “Not wolfless at all, are you?”

Ice shot through my veins.

“Something special about you,” Vax continued. “Something hidden.”

Kyros stirred. *He suspects.*

Vax pulled a knife. “Let’s find out.”

He lunged.

Caleb shoved me aside and caught his wrist. They slammed into the desk.

“Run!” Caleb shouted.

I tried to move.

Pain exploded in my chest.

The mate bond. Burning. Pulling so hard I collapsed.

“No,” I gasped. “Not now.”

*He’s here,* Kyros said urgently. *At the border.

“Who?” Vax demanded, wrestling with Caleb.

The bond ripped through me again.

Alarms shrieked.

A voice boomed over speakers: “Alpha Rhodes to the border immediately. The Alpha of Riverstone requests entry.

Everything stopped.

Caleb stared at me. “What?”

I clutched my chest. “Kael. He found me.”

Vax’s eyes lit up with understanding.

“Well,” he said slowly. “This changes everything.“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​