LOGINVada Knox's father gambled her away to settle his debts. Silvercrest Pack sold her to Ryder Blackwood, the Rogue Alpha who killed his own fated mate. Vada expects cruelty. What she doesn't expect is the mate bond snapping into place when he touches her. Ryder bought her to humiliate Silvercrest, not claim a mate. But his wolf demands he keep her. Vada's terrified, yet the bond pulls her toward the monster who owns her. When Silvercrest discovers she's Ryder's mate, they want her back. But Ryder keeps what's his. Vada's caught between the pack that sold her and the rogue who won't let her go. But she carries Phantom Wolf blood, and Ryder hunts Phantom Wolves. Everyone wants control. No one may let her live. Vada must choose: the brutal rogue who might want her heart, or freedom that doesn't exist.
View MoreCHAPTER 16RYDER'S POVI didn't sleep.I'd tried, gone to my office and sat in the chair behind my desk and closed my eyes, but Cipher wouldn't settle, kept snarling and pacing and pushing at me to go back to her room, back to the girl I'd walked away from even though every instinct I had was screaming to stay.By the time the sun started rising I gave up and went to find Kade.He was in the armory checking weapons with three other rogues, all of them moving with the kind of quiet efficiency that meant they knew what was coming and were preparing for it."How many hours do we have left?" I asked.Kade looked up. "Maybe six, Cassius gave you until this afternoon, he'll be here when the deadline hits.""And the rogues?""Armed, ready, scared but staying." He set down the sword he'd been sharpening. "What about the girl?""She's learning control faster than she should, but I don't know if it's fast enough.""Then make it fast enough, you've got six hours to turn her into whatever she nee
The room felt different after Ryder left.I looked at my hands and thought about the claws, about the power humming under my skin waiting for me to figure out how to use it.I closed my eyes and reached for my wolf.She was right there, closer to the surface than she'd ever been, awake and aware.I thought about Cassius coming back, about the rogues who might die because Ryder chose to keep me.My eyes shifted.I felt the gold bleed in, felt my vision sharpen until I could see dust particles floating in the afternoon light.I held it for ten seconds, twenty, thirty, then let it fade.It was getting easier every time.I tried the claws next and watched silver claws extend from my fingertips without the bone-cracking pain from before.I retracted them smoothly.The power was responding to me now instead of just erupting when I got emotional.But I could also feel something else building under the surface, something bigger, something that felt like it was waiting.The command ability Cas
I walked to the window and stared out at the courtyard below while Cipher paced inside my chest, still snarling about the fact that I'd unchained her."Where do we start?" Vada asked behind me.I didn't turn around yet because I needed another second to get Cipher under control."With the truth," I said finally. "About what you are, about what Phantom Wolves can do that regular wolves can't.""Tell me.""Phantom Wolves are faster than regular wolves, stronger, harder to kill because your healing is accelerated." I started pacing. "Your senses are sharper, you can hear conversations from three floors away, smell blood from half a mile out, track someone through a forest in the dark.""I've noticed some of that.""That's just the baseline, the dangerous part is what develops after you bond with a fated mate.""The power Cassius mentioned.""Yes, bonding unlocks abilities that were dormant, and in bloodlines like yours where the wolf was suppressed for decades, those abilities come back
I stared at him."You're mine and I don't give back what's mine," I repeated slowly. "That's your reason?""Yes.""That's not a reason, that's ownership.""It's both."I stood up and the chain rattled. "You just chose me over your entire territory.""I know what I did.""Do you?" My voice was getting louder. "Because Cassius is coming back in twenty-four hours with an army and you're going to lose everything you built because you're too stubborn to make the smart choice.""The smart choice is giving you to a man who wants to use you as a weapon.""The smart choice is keeping your rogues alive." I took a step toward him. "I'm not worth a war, Ryder.""That's not your decision to make.""It should be, it's my life, my bloodline, my uncle coming to take me.""And you're my mate." He moved closer and his eyes flashed red. "Which means what happens to you is my decision.""No it's not.""Yes it is, and Cipher agrees with me."We were standing a few feet apart now, both breathing hard, the
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.