Riley’s POV

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    My chest ached with every breath, each word Selene Ashford spat sinking into me like poisoned ws.

    “Lucien…” I whispered, my voice trembling, desperate. “Tell me-

    -how is Lucien Duskgrave? What have you done to him?”

    Selene’s lips curled into a sneer, her eyes burning with madness. “How would I know-or care? A fool like him deserves death. Better gone than wasting his strength on a filthy thing like you.”

    Her words cut deeper than any de. My heart twisted, torn between fear and fury. I wanted to rise, to strike, to tear the smirk from her face with my own teeth -but the drugs still chained my body, leaving me weak and trembling in her grip.

    The elevator chimed, a hollow sound that echoed through the suffocating silence. Ding.

    The doors slid open to reveal the underground parking level, dim and cold, shadows crawling across the concrete like hungry wolves. The air was damp, reeking of oil and dust, and I knew-this was no ce for healing. This was a den of death.

    “Where are you taking me?” My voice cracked with panic as Selene shoved me forward. My wolf howled inside me, wing at the walls of my mind, demanding I fight, demanding I protect what was mine. I thrashed as much as my limp body allowed, the wheelchair rattling across the concrete. “Let me go! I need to see Lucien!”

    My defiance only enraged her. With a snarl, Selene raised her hand and struck me hard across the face. The sound cracked through the empty garage, and fire exploded along my jaw. Warmth spilled from the corner of my mouth-blood, sharp and metallic on my tongue.

    “Bitch,” she spat, eyes zing with hate. “Stop struggling. You fell into my hands- do you think you’ll ever escape?”

    She yanked my head back by the hair, forcing me to meet her wild gaze. My scalp burned, tears stung my eyes, but I refused to look away.

    8:28 pm

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    Her voice dripped with venom. “Do you know what he did to me, that Alpha you cling to? Six months ago, Lucien forced me to gorge on sweets, on cakes every damned day until my body broke. I grew heavier, bloated, my beauty ruined. I starved, I wed at myself, and still the weight clung to me. And then-diabetes. Pain. Shame.”

    Herugh was jagged, fraying at the edges of sanity. “He ruined me. So now, I’ll ruin him. I’ll make him suffer as I suffered-watching the only woman he loves vanish into the shadows.”

    I bared my teeth, every fiber of my being screaming to sink fangs into her throat. My voice came out a growl, raw and trembling: “You’re insane.”

    Selene’s grin widened, feral. “And Carmen-oh, sweet Carmen, your precious friend. When she learns you’re gone, she’ll unravel, won’t she? She’ll search until she breaks. I can already picture her scouring the Stormridge borders, screaming your name, her soul tearing apart piece by piece. And I’ll watch her despair, and I’llugh.”

    Herughter rang through the garage, sharp and unhinged. I fought against the chair, my wrists aching, my nails tearing skin, but my body refused me.

    Selene shoved me toward a waiting vehicle. Its door swung open with a groan, revealing a figure inside-familiar, despised.

    Maddox.

    The sight of him turned my stomach to ash. My blood boiled, rage searing through the helpless fog of drugs. My voice dropped to a low snarl. “You. Maddox. So this was your scheme all along with her?”

    –

    For a heartbeat, I saw hesitation in his eyes. Guilt. Fear. Then it was gone, reced by a polished mask, his lips twisting into that false, charming smile I’d once been too na?ve to see through.

    He leaned forward, his hand lifting as though to caress my face. I jerked away, revulsion ripping through me. His hand fell short.

    Still, he kept smiling. “Riley, you don’t understand. You and I-we’re fated. Star- crossed. Lucien? He’s a prince, a Stormridge Alpha heir. Do you truly believe he sees you as anything more than a fleeting amusement?”

    His voice softened, oily with false sincerity. “Come with me, Riley. Be mine, and

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    I’ll give you the happiness you deserve.”

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    Myugh was bitter, hollow. “Happiness? With you? Maddox, you are rot disguised as silk. You disgust me.”

    His eyes hardened, but he said nothing. Selene snarled, impatient. With cruel hands, she dragged me from the chair and shoved me into the car. My body sagged, numb and unresponsive, but inside my wolf raged, mming against the walls of my skin, demanding blood.

    I screamed, throat raw, the sound tearing from me like a wolf’s death-howl. “Help! Someone-help me! They’re trying to take me—!”

    Before I could finish, Maddox pressed a cloth to my mouth and nose.

    The scent hit me instantly-sweet, cloying, poisonous. My lungs convulsed, the world tilting. My wolf recoiled, thrashing, but the drug was stronger.

    No. Not again.

    Memories flooded me, sharp and cruel: the night I fled the Ebonw Pack, running for freedom. The Mooncrest station, the train almost in sight. And then- the hand, the cloth, the darkness. Theo Hale’s trap dragging me back into chains.

    And now-it was happening again. Maddox’s face loomed over me, blurred at the edges, his voice a venomous whisper.

    My chest heaved. My ws tried to tear free, my wolf howled, but my body failed me. The fog thickened, swallowing everything.

    “No…” My lips barely moved. The word vanished into the cloth. My vision flickered, stars bursting against the ck.

    Lucien’s face burned in my mind. His hands, his warmth, his vow. My Alpha. My

    storm.

    Darkness surged, drowning me.

    And I fell.

    8:28 pm GD