Chapter 4: Hunger

Raiden’s Pov

I can’t sleep.

My cabin feels too quiet. The bed feels too big and empty. Every time I close my eyes, I feel her. I feel the silver burning her skin. I feel the cold floor under her. I feel how angry she is. She sits up straight even when she is tired and hurting.

She ate the food I left. I could smell it from far away. She ate the bread and meat. That felt like a small win. Then I smelled tears. She cried alone under the moon. The bond sent every tear into my heart like fire.

I deserve that pain.

When the sun comes up, the pack meets again. They always meet when something is wrong. Everyone now knows: the Alpha has a human mate. She is an assassin. She says we burned her village, Greyhaven.

Kael stands in front. His arms are crossed. His eyes are angry.

“She should already be dead,” he says loudly. “You are breaking our law for a woman, Raiden. That is all.”

Some wolves agree. Others stay quiet and watch me.

I walk into the middle of them. My voice is calm.

“Say that word about her again, and I will rip your tongue out.”

Kael does not look away. “Then prove you are still Alpha. Kill her tonight.”

The bond burns inside me. Everything goes red. For one second I almost turn into a wolf and attack my best friend.

I breathe hard. “Full moon. Twenty-seven days. That is the law when a mate is claimed.”

“She is human,” Kael says. “She cannot be your mate.”

“She already is.” My voice is low and dangerous. “Touch her, and you die.”

Some wolves look down. Others look at Kael.

He says nothing more. Not now.

I walk away before I lose control.

The Moon Cell is pink from the sunrise. Nyssa has not slept. She sits in the same place. The chains lie around her like snakes. There is a new bruise on her face from Thorne last night. Her wrist is red and raw from the silver.

She looks up when she sees me.

“Hungry?” I ask.

She picks up the empty plate and throws it at the glass. It falls with a loud noise.

“Let me starve,” she says. “It will be quicker.”

I open the door a little and push in a water bag and some food: cheese, dried meat, bread. Then I sit down outside the door, with my back against the glass. She can reach the food if she wants.

We are both quiet for a long time.

Then she speaks, her voice rough. “Why haven’t you forced yourself on me yet?”

The words hurt like a punch. My body freezes.

“I am not that kind of monster,” I say.

“You are a wolf. Same thing.”

I turn so I can see her face through the small opening. “If I ever touch you when you don’t want it, you can kill me. I give you permission.”

She laughs. It sounds angry and sad. “You think I will ever want you?”

“No,” I say. “I think you will hate me until one of us is dead. But I will not hurt you that way. I will not give you one more reason to hate me.”

She looks at me for a long time.

Then she moves forward slowly. The chains make noise. She opens the food with her teeth and eats. She eats like she is waiting for poison. Her eyes never leave mine.

I do not move. I let her watch me.

When she finishes, she wipes her mouth.

“Twenty-six days,” she says.

“Twenty-six,” I answer.

She rests her head against the glass, right where my back is. The magic stops our skin from touching, but I feel her warmth anyway.

The bond is strong and angry between us.

I close my eyes. I listen to our hearts. They beat at the same time.

She hates me.

I hate myself.

But on different sides of the glass, we breathe together, like one person.