Mag-log inMadeleine's POV The clang of metal on metal echoed from the garage, a constant reminder of the new locks and reinforced gates. It had been like this for days, ever since Silas got hurt. Jax, Dare, and Rook were everywhere, their faces grim, their voices low as they issued orders to the other club members. Every time I saw them, I felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over me. Silas was still confined to his bed, his arm in a sling, and it was all my fault. I was a magnet for trouble, a weakness they hadn’t needed.I watched Jax from the kitchen, stirring my coffee far too vigorously. He leaned against the doorframe, still shirtless even in the cool morning air, his gaze sweeping over the yard. He radiated a protective energy that made me feel both safe and ridiculously burdensome.“Morning, angel,” he rumbled, stepping inside. He grabbed a mug and poured himself some coffee, his eyes softening as they met mine. “Sleep well?”I shrugged. “As well as I could.” I didn't want to bring up the n
Madeleine's POVThe roar of Dare’s engine filled my ears, a brutal counterpoint to the thudding in my chest. Silas was draped across the back of the bike, Dare’s strong arm clamped around him, holding him secure against the wind. I clung to Dare’s waist, my cheek pressed against his leather vest, my eyes fixed on Silas’s pale face. He looked so vulnerable, so still. My fault. All my fault.The compound gates swung open the moment we approached, the familiar iron screech like a warning cry. Jax and Rook were already there, their faces grim, waiting. Dare cut the engine, the sudden silence deafening after the ride. He dismounted carefully, easing Silas’s weight into Rook and Jax’s arms.“Doc!” Dare bellowed, his voice raw. “Get the fuck over here!”A small, wiry man with spectacles perched on his nose scurried out from one of the buildings, a bag slung over his shoulder. He took one look at Silas and his eyes widened. “Bring him inside, boys. To the infirmary.”They carried him, a dead
Madeleine's POV The roar of the crowd died, a sudden, collective gasp that echoed in my chest. One second, Silas was gaining, a blur of black leather and chrome, the next, his bike was skidding, throwing up a shower of sparks that seemed to hang in the air like burning embers. My stomach dropped. He missed the cable. He missed the goddamn cable. His bike careened into the safety barrier, a sickening thud, and then silence. No, not silence, just the rushing sound of my own blood in my ears, and the distant, muffled shouts.“Silas!” My voice tore from my throat, a ragged scream. I was running before my brain caught up, pushing through the stunned spectators, my eyes fixed on the twisted metal and the still figure beside it. Every step was a prayer and a curse rolled into one. My lungs burned, my knees threatened to buckle, but I kept going. He had to be okay. He *had* to be.I reached him, skidding to a halt. He lay motionless, half-pinned under the mangled bike. A gasp escaped me. His
Madeleine's POV The noise of the crowd was a living thing, a roar that vibrated through my bones. Dare and Jax stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their vests like a wall.“You sure about this, Maddie?” Jax asked, his voice low, a hint of something like disappointment in it.I met his gaze, then Dare’s. They were both good, I knew that. But this race, the stakes…“Yeah,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Silas and Rook.”Dare sighed, a sound that disappeared instantly into the din. “Expected that, I guess. He put in more time on the track than any of us this week.”“He knows every inch of this course,” I added, though it felt like I was trying to convince myself as much as them.A snort cut through the air. I turned, recognizing the sneer of Razor, the leader of the HellBound Saints. He was flanked by his own riders, their colors a stark, ugly contrast to ours.“Smart choice, little bird,” Razor jeered, his eyes flicking over me with an insultingly slow appraisal. “Picking the pretty
Madeleine's POV My eyebrows shot up. “Prepared for what, Rook?”He gestured for me to sit on the edge of the bed. “Look, if things go sideways, and you’re alone, you need to know how to defend yourself enough to get away. Basic blocks, strikes. Nothing fancy, just enough to buy you a few seconds.”My heart hammered. *If things go sideways.* It wasn't 'if', it was 'when'. I took the stick from him, my fingers wrapping around the smooth wood. It felt surprisingly solid.“Okay,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “Show me.”For the next hour, Rook patiently went through defensive maneuvers, his movements swift and economical. Each jab, each parry, each instruction was delivered with a quiet intensity that left no doubt about the seriousness of the lesson. Dare remained outside the door, his silent presence a constant reminder of the invisible threat that loomed over us. My muscles ached, but the rhythmic movements, the focus required, momentarily pushed the fear to the back of my mind.
The leader of the HellBound, a burly man with a tattoo snaking up his neck, finally broke the silence. His gaze, sharp and assessing, landed on me, making my skin crawl. “My terms are simple, Alpha,” he rumbled, his voice like gravel. “We take the girl.”A strangled sound escaped Silas’s throat. My breath hitched. I felt the brothers tense around me, a ripple of controlled fury passing through them. Before Silas could even formulate a response, before any of them could, a fiery indignation surged through me. This wasn’t a negotiation for territory; it was a transaction, and I was the commodity.I pushed past the solid wall of Silas and Jax, my own body trembling with a mixture of fear and rage, and stepped into the open space between the two packs. “I am not a prize,” I announced, my voice trembling slightly but firm. “And I refuse to be one.”A stunned silence followed my declaration. Then, a low murmur snaked through the HellBound crowd, growing louder, turning into a buzzed discuss
Madeleine POV The soft mattress barely registered beneath me. My eyes were wide open, fixed on the ceiling, a canvas for the replay of yesterday’s humiliation. Every word, every sneer, every disgusted glance from the pack elders flashed behind my eyelids. I was worthless. Unmated. A broken echo of
Madeleine's POV The walls of this place felt like they were shrinking, inch by inch, every time I took a breath. I spent the morning counting exits. Kitchen door, back mudroom, the heavy reinforced front entrance—three ways out, all of them locked. My pulse hummed in my throat, a rhythmic, frantic
Madeleine's POV The second time I woke, it wasn’t to the damp chill of the forest floor, nor the metallic tang of my own blood. This time, a warm, savory scent filled my nostrils – something cooked, something real. My stomach grumbled, a deep, hollow ache reminding me of the cold, scavenged scraps
“Are you finally awake?”The voice came before my eyes even fully opened, but I did not answer immediately because my mind was still negotiating with the fact that I was lying on something that felt like real comfort, something that did not resemble the ground, the road, or the endless strain of ru







