ВойтиADRIAN'S POVI've felt it for days but couldn't pinpoint what. Just a nagging sensation. Like being watched. Like someone knows things they shouldn't.Now I know why."Explain this to me again." I stare at Marcus across the war table. "Slowly. Because I must have misheard you.""The supply route we planned three days ago. The one only inner circle knew about. Asher's forces ambushed it. Killed two of our wolves. Took all the supplies." Marcus's jaw is tight. "They knew exactly where and when. Down to the minute.""And the safe house in the eastern territory?""Compromised. We evacuated just in time. Found evidence Asher's wolves had been watching it for days. Knew our rotation schedules. Knew when guards changed." He slams his fist on the table. "Someone told them Adrian. Someone from inside."A traitor. In my pack. Someone I trust. Someone who sits in these meetings. Someone who knows our plans.The thought makes my blood run cold."Who knows about the supply routes?" I keep my voice
FREYA'S POVI wake up to someone talking."—need to try again. Just small shifts. Don't force it. Let your wolf come forward gradually."Clara's voice. Patient. Encouraging. The kind of tone you'd use with a child learning to walk.I open my eyes. I'm not in the medical bay anymore. Some kind of training room. Padded walls. Open space. Clara sits cross-legged in front of me."Welcome back." She smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes. "How do you feel?""Like I got hit by a truck. Then the truck backed up and hit me again." I sit up slowly. Everything aches. "What are we doing here?""Training. You need to learn control. How to shift deliberately instead of having it forced on you." She stands. Offers me a hand. "Dr. Chen and Adrian agreed. You're stable enough to start practicing."Adrian. The memory of last night floods back. Him bringing me to orgasm. Multiple times. Then refusing to mark me. Again. Leaving me frustrated and desperate and dying."Where is he?""Pack business. Some dis
ADRIAN'S POVI haven't slept in three days.Every time I close my eyes I see her. Begging me to mark her. Crying because I won't. Looking at me like I'm breaking her heart when all I'm trying to do is protect her.It's torture.Worse than the silver chains. Worse than Asher's compound. Worse than anything I've ever endured.Because the solution is right there. So simple. So easy. Just one bite. One mark. One claiming and everything gets better.But I can't. Won't. Not while she's like this."You're being stupid." Kael's voice in my head. He's been arguing with me constantly. "Our mate is suffering. We can end it. Why won't you let me?""Because it's wrong. She's not in her right mind.""She's conscious. Aware. Begging for it. How much more consent do you need?""Consent given under duress isn't real consent." I've had this argument with him a hundred times. "She's dying Kael. She's desperate. She'd agree to anything if she thought it would save her.""And you'd rather let her die than
FREYA'S POVThree days.Three days since the ritual went wrong. Three days of being restrained. Three days of partial shifts I can't control. Three days of Adrian refusing to mark me even though it's the one thing that could fix this.I'm going insane.The silver burns constantly. My wolf thrashes inside me. Demanding freedom. Demanding her mate. Demanding everything I can't give her.And Adrian. He's here constantly. Watching me. Caring for me. Feeding me. Changing my bandages. But never touching me the way I need. Never giving me what would end this torture.It's killing me. Killing us both.Dr. Chen removed the restraints an hour ago. Said my wolf has stabilized enough that I won't immediately attack anyone. But I'm still dangerous. Still unpredictable. Still caught between human and animal.Adrian sits across the room. Far enough that I can't reach him easily. Close enough that the bond hums between us. Torture of a different kind."You should eat." He gestures to the tray of food
Chapter 70ADRIAN'S POVShe's magnificent and terrifying in equal measure.Freya crouches in the corner. Partially shifted. Gold eyes glowing. Claws extended. Fur patches across her skin. Caught between human and wolf in a way that shouldn't be possible.And it's killing her. I can see it. Feel it through the bond. Her body tearing itself apart trying to complete a shift it can't finish. Her wolf too powerful. Her human form too weak. Neither able to dominate. Both fighting for control."What the fuck were you thinking?" Anger bleeds into my voice despite trying to stay calm. "A ritual? Without telling me? Without anyone who could help if something went wrong?"She whimpers. Tries to speak. What comes out is garbled. Half-words. Half-growls. Nothing coherent.Kael surges forward in my mind. Demanding I help our mate. Demanding I fix this. But I don't know how. Have never seen a wolf stuck like this. Never heard of a partial shift that won't complete."Can you shift back? Back to human
FREYA'S POVPain.Everything is pain.My bones are breaking. Reforming. Breaking again. Skin stretching. Tearing. Fur trying to emerge but getting stuck halfway.I scream. Finally scream. Can't hold it back anymore.The wolf inside me is thrashing. Trying to take control. Trying to fully shift. But something is blocking her. Keeping her trapped between human and animal. Between conscious and feral."What's happening?" Chief Winters's voice. Panicked. "You said this was safe!""It should be! I've done this ritual dozens of times!" The witch backs away from the circle. "But her wolf... it's too strong. Too powerful. The binding didn't just suppress it. It twisted it. Changed it. And now it's emerging wrong."My hands claw at the floor. Nails lengthening into claws. Shredding the concrete. My vision shifts. Goes gold. Everything becomes sharper. Clearer. But wrong. Distorted. Like looking through broken glass.Sounds assault me. Every heartbeat in the building. Every breath. Every whispe







