CHAPTER 06

Madeleine’s POV

The first thing I felt was pain. A deep ache spread through my side, reminding me of the arrow that had almost taken my life. My body felt heavy, and for a few seconds, I couldn’t remember where I was. Then everything came rushing back. The forest. The hunters. The motorcycle. The rogues. My eyes opened immediately.

I stared at the ceiling above me, my breathing becoming uneven as I tried to understand my surroundings. This wasn’t the forest. I was lying on a bed. Not the kind of bed I was used to. The blankets beneath me were so soft that my fingers moved over the fabric without thinking. I had never slept on anything like this before. Even when I was given a place to rest in the servant quarters, it was always a thin mattress that barely protected me from the cold floor. I pulled my hand back quickly. I didn’t belong here.

Slowly, I sat up. Pain shot through my side, forcing me to stop. I pressed my hand against the wound and waited until the pain settled before looking around the room. There was a window. A door. A small table. A chair. My eyes moved over every corner carefully. If I needed to leave, where would I go? Could I open the window? Would I be able to climb out? Could I use the chair if someone tried to stop me? Old habits were difficult to forget. I had spent years learning how to survive.

A soft sound came from the door. My body immediately tensed. The handle turned. I prepared myself. The door opened, and the man from the motorcycle walked inside. Jax. His blue eyes looked the same as I remembered. Calm. Careful. Like he was always thinking about something he wasn’t saying. Behind him came three other men.

The first one was tall, with silver-grey eyes that immediately caught my attention. There was something about him that made me feel like he noticed everything around him. The second man had dark red hair and green eyes. Unlike the others, he smiled when he saw me awake. The last man didn’t say anything. He simply walked inside and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. I watched them carefully. None of them looked like they came here to hurt me. That didn’t mean anything. I had learned not to trust appearances.

“You’re awake,” Jax said. My eyes stayed on him.

“Where am I?”

“Safe.”

I frowned. That wasn’t an answer. “That doesn’t tell me where I am.”

The red-haired man looked at Jax. “She has a point.”

Jax glanced at him. “Rook.”

“What?” The man shrugged. “She woke up in a strange place surrounded by strangers. I think she’s allowed to ask questions.”

I looked between them. They were talking like I wasn’t someone they had captured. Like I was just… A person.

The silver-eyed man stepped closer. “How are you feeling?”

I ignored the question. “Why did you bring me here?”

The room went quiet. I noticed the way they looked at each other. Like there was something they weren’t telling me.

Jax looked away first. “You were injured.”

“I know that.”

“You needed help.”

“I could have found somewhere else.”

The man against the wall finally spoke. “No, you couldn’t.” His voice was low.

I turned toward him. “Why?”

He didn’t answer.

The red-haired man sighed. “Dare.”

“What?” the man said.

“You could at least pretend to be less intimidating.”

Dare’s expression didn’t change. “I wasn’t trying to be.” That answer almost confused me more.

I looked back at Jax. “You said I could leave.”

“You can.”

“Then why am I still here?”

Jax opened his mouth, but before he could answer, the silver-eyed man spoke. “Because you need time to recover.”

“So you decided that for me?”

His expression remained calm. “No.”

“Then what?”

The silence returned. I hated that silence. It was the same kind of silence people used when they knew something I didn’t. The same silence that came before bad news.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered.

The red-haired man looked at me, and the smile disappeared from his face. For the first time, he looked serious. “You’re confused.”

“Of course I am.” My voice cracked slightly. “I ran away from my pack. I was hunted through the forest. I almost died. Then a stranger brings me here, and everyone keeps looking at me like they know something I don’t.” Nobody spoke. I looked at each of them. “Why?”

Jax looked down. The silver-eyed man remained quiet. Dare stared at the floor. Only Rook looked like he wanted to answer. But he didn’t. That bothered me more.

“What are you hiding?”

“We aren’t hiding anything,” Jax said.

I gave him a look. “You are.”

His jaw tightened slightly. The silver-eyed man stepped forward. “You need rest.”

I almost laughed. “That’s what everyone says when they don’t want to answer me.”

His eyes softened slightly. “You’ve been through a lot.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t deserve answers.”

For a moment, nobody said anything. Then Jax moved toward the door. “We’ll talk when you’re stronger.”

My hands tightened around the blanket. “No.” He stopped. “Please.” The word came out quieter than I wanted. I hated how weak I sounded. “I just want to know why.”

Jax looked back at me. There was something in his expression that I couldn’t understand. Something almost like guilt. But he still didn’t answer.

Silas, the silver-eyed man, finally spoke. “You are safe here, Madeleine.”

Hearing my name from him made me freeze. I hadn’t told him my name. My eyes narrowed. “How do you know my name?”

Nobody answered. The silence told me enough. They knew more than they were saying. Jax opened the door. “We’ll come back later.”

The four men began leaving. I watched them carefully, my mind racing. Just before the door closed, I heard Rook’s voice. “She still doesn’t know the truth.” My heart stopped. Truth? The door closed before I could ask what he meant.

I stared at the empty room. The same question repeated in my mind. What truth? And why did everyone here already know it except me?