Chapter 4

The Winter Hunt hadn't even started when I collapsed.

Early morning. The temporary link between Kyle and Freya flared up out of nowhere. Their voices crashed into my head uninvited.

"Kyle, I'm so cold."

"Come closer."

"Will your wolf hate me?"

"No."

The next second, mate scent exploded through the link. The backlash hit me like a freight train.

I fell off the bed. Every bone in my body felt like it was being twisted apart by invisible hands.

Blood rose in my throat. I coughed it up onto the white carpet. The red was blinding.

Eve panicked.

She ran out to get the healer, but the guards stopped her at the door when she came back.

Freya stood at the end of the hallway, wrapped in Kyle's robe. The mark on her neck was blazing red.

"What's going on?"

Eve was crying, desperate.

"The Luna is coughing up blood! Let the healer through!"

Freya walked into my room and looked at the blood on the floor. No surprise on her face at all.

"What a coincidence."

I was slumped by the bed, too weak to even lift my head.

She crouched down and spoke, her voice low enough that only I could hear.

"You made Kyle promise to kick me out of the main house last night with those old letters, and now you're spitting blood? Sylvie. Nice act."

"Get out—"

"I will."

She stood up, smiling.

"But who Kyle believes—that's the real question."

The moment she stepped outside, she collapsed into someone's arms.

Kyle caught her, his face shifting.

"What happened?"

Freya clutched his shirt, shaking her head frantically.

"Don't ask. Sylvie's upset. I shouldn't have bothered her."

Kyle looked up at me.

I was lying in a pool of blood, the black marks on my wrist now crawling up to my shoulder.

Something flickered in his eyes. Doubt.

"Sylvie?"

I reached out with what strength I had.

"Get the healer—"

Freya started sobbing.

"She was fine just now. She only collapsed when she saw you."

"Kyle, maybe I made her angry."

Kyle stopped moving.

His brow lowered slowly. His voice carried exhaustion.

"Sylvie. Don't pull this on me."

My hand froze in midair.

"I'm not—"

"I already promised you last night. After the Winter Hunt, everything goes back to how it was."

He pulled Freya closer, his tone growing colder.

"Freya can't handle any more stress. How much longer are you going to keep this up?"

I wanted to tell him—I'm not acting. I'm dying.

But blood was clogging my throat. All that came out were broken gasps.

Freya buried her face in his chest.

"It's all my fault. Don't blame her."

Kyle closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the gold of the Alpha flickered in his pupils.

"Sylvie. Get up."

The Alpha command slammed down on me.

Every bone in my body locked up at once.

My body betrayed me, forcing itself up from the blood. My knees shook. My legs wouldn't hold.

I fell.

The command forced me back up.

Again. And again.

Eve threw herself forward, crying, but the guards held her down.

"Alpha—she's really hurt!"

Kyle's brow was tight.

He looked at me covered in blood. Hesitation flickered in his eyes.

Then Freya cried out in pain.

Kyle's attention snapped to her immediately.

In that moment, I fought through the pain. I straightened myself, inch by inch, on my own will.

I looked at Kyle across the bloodstained floor. No more begging in my eyes.

Kyle looked back at me, like he always did, waiting for me to break first.

But I just stood there in silence. Blood dripping from my fingertips.

The hesitation in his eyes faded. Anger at being defied took its place.

"Take her to the quiet room. She's not to come out without my permission."

The guards grabbed me.

I didn't fight back.

The quiet room was in the north tower. Coldest part of the stone fortress. The windows weren't sealed. Wind whistled through the cracks and gnawed at my bones.

No healer. No medicine.

Only Eve, who risked coming with a bowl of warm water.

She wiped the blood off me, crying.

"Luna—hold on. I'll go beg the Alpha."

"Don't."

"But you'll die!"

"No, I won't."

At least not here.

After dark, the Winter Hunt horn sounded from below.

The guards started leaving, just like I'd expected.

Then Freya's voice came through the temporary link again.

"Kyle. You scared me today."

"Sorry."

"Will Sylvie hate you?"

A long pause. Then Kyle's answer.

"She won't."

"You're that sure?"

"She's loved me since she was a kid. Once she calms down, I'll make it right."

Freya laughed.

"Then stay with me tonight, okay?"

The link pulsed. Pain seized my heart again.

I curled up on the cold floor, biting the back of my hand so I wouldn't scream.

So he thought I'd wait for him forever.

How ridiculous.

I stayed still until the link went quiet. Then I had Eve help me break the window lock.

"Luna—it's too high—"

"Give me the sheets."

We tied the fabric together.

I climbed out the window. My wounds split open again. My palms were raw and bleeding.

But I didn't stop.

I climbed down the north tower, slipped through the empty stables, and crawled out of the fortress through the frozen drainage ditch.

Behind me, a howl ripped through the night.

The guards had found I was gone.

I threw my blood-soaked cloak into the river and ran into the snow alone.

The north wind sliced my face.

With every step, more blood fell.

My wolf was too weak to shift. I had to go north on two legs.

My brother once said, as long as I could see the North Star, I'd find my way home.

But the snow kept falling. All I saw was white.

The howls behind me were getting closer.

I stumbled over a ridge and finally saw a black carriage in the distance.

A silver crescent moon was carved into the axle.

The crest of the Frost Pack.

I threw myself into the middle of the road with the last of my strength.

The carriage stopped instantly.

The door was thrown open.

A tall man stepped out into the snow. His silver-gray eyes changed completely the moment he saw me.

I reached out with my bloodied hand and grabbed the corner of his coat.

"Brother… Take me home…"