LOGINEryx POVI unlock the cell just after sunrise.The lock clicks loud in the quiet hall. Eran is already on his feet, leaning against the bars like he knew I was coming. His face is calm. Too calm. That same smug look sits on his mouth, like he’s been entertained all night.“Get out,” I say.He steps forward, slow, chains dragging behind him. I undo them one by one. He watches my hands and not my face.“You’re free,” I tell him. “For now. You behave, or you’re right back here.”His lips twitch. A smirk. Of course.“And stay away from the females,” I add. My voice stays flat. “All of them.”That smirk widens like I’ve amused him. He straightens, rolls his shoulders once, then walks past me.He doesn’t say a word.I watch his back disappear down the corridor, my jaw tight. Lincoln is waiting outside the cell block. He takes one look at my face and doesn’t ask questions.The pack is already gathering in the yard when we step out. Wolves, shifters, all of them forming loose lines. The air f
Lincoln povThe scream cut through the hallway and I was already moving before my mind caught up.I took off down the corridor, boots hitting the floor hard. Behind me, I heard footsteps. Maya. Athena. Rachael. They didn’t slow down, didn’t ask questions. They just followed.I slammed into the door and burst inside.Two guards were in the room.They froze when they saw me. One stood too close to the bed. The other had his back half turned, like he’d been caught mid step.“What the hell are you doing here?” My voice came out loud, sharp, filling the room.Neither answered right away. Their wolves stirred, thick in the air. I could feel it pushing against mine.One of them swallowed. “We… we couldn’t resist,” he said. “The females—”“Get out,” I said.They didn’t move.I felt their wolves press forward, ugly and hungry. It pushed at them, at the door, at everything. They weren’t leaving on their own.I crossed the room in three strides and grabbed the nearest guard by the neck. My finge
Athena POVI walked back toward the room slowly, every step measured as though the wrong sound might draw attention I could not survive. The corridor felt longer than it had before. My skin still crawled, nerves buzzing as if I had escaped something that had left its imprint beneath my flesh.I was almost there.“Athena.”Lincoln’s voice cut through the quiet night.I stopped so abruptly my body forgot how to move. My heart slammed once. For a moment, I couldn’t even turn. I stood frozen, my back to him, the memory of rough hands and hot breath rising up so violently it made my vision blur.“Where are you coming from?” he asked.It was late. Too late for wandering. Too late for excuses.I forced myself to face him. My limbs felt wrong, heavy, as if they belonged to someone else. The image flashed through my mind without permission, Eran’s friend or guard blocking my path, his low growl vibrating against my spine as he circled me like prey. The way he’d leaned in, inhaling deeply, his
Rachael POVI jumped to my feet so fast my knees nearly gave out beneath me.Lincoln was already hauling Eryx upright, his grip firm but careful, as if any wrong movement might shatter what little control Eryx had left. Eryx’s weight sagged between his arms, a low, broken sound clawing its way out of his throat. It wasn’t a scream. It was worse. It was pain stripped bare.“Rachael,” Lincoln said sharply, not looking at me. “Rope and Cuff. Now.”The command cut through the fog in my head. I turned, heart hammering, and rushed to Eryx’s dresser. My hands shook as I yanked open the drawer, the wood scraping too loudly in the tense room. I knew exactly where he kept them. I hated that I knew.My fingers closed around the rope first, rough and familiar, then the metal cuff beside it.When I turned back, Maya stood frozen near the doorway, her face drained of color, eyes darting between Eryx and Lincoln like she couldn’t decide where the danger was coming from. I wanted to tell her somethin
Lincoln POVI shut the door to my room with more force than necessary and leaned my forehead against the door for a brief second, letting the day finally catch up with me. Everything ached in that quiet way that came from being on edge for too long. Too many thoughts. Too many things left unsaid.I crossed the room and pulled my shirt over my head, tossing it onto the chair by the window. The mirror caught me before I could look away. I barely recognized the man staring back, jaw tight, shoulders drawn, eyes shadowed with things I hadn’t slept away in years. I exhaled slowly and reached for the light, clicking it off.Moonlight spilled in instantly in my room, stretching across the floor and climbing the walls. It softened the room. I lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, listening to the quiet hum of the pack house settling for the night.The knock came hard, Not hesitant or polite.I was off the bed in a heartbeat.I yanked the door open, irritation already on my tongue, an
Eryx POVThe females didn’t settle all at once.It happened in stages, murmurs softening, footsteps thinning, doors closing one by one as the night finally began to claim the packhouse. The tension lingered in the air long after the corridors emptied, like the echo of a storm that had passed too close to leave no damage behind.I waited until the last voice faded before I reached for Rachael’s hand.She let me take it, her fingers cool against my palm, her steps quiet as I guided her down the hall and into our room. The door shut behind us with a muted click, sealing us away from the rest of the world. Light flickered along the walls, throwing warm light across the space, but something between us felt dimmer than it had earlier.I turned to face her.She’d changed. Not in any bad way tho, no sadness, nor trembling but I could feel it in the way her shoulders were drawn just slightly inward, the way her eyes avoided mine as she moved toward the window.“Are you alright?” I asked.She







