bChapter /bb186 /b

    JESSICA

    Where in the Moon Goddess name am I?

    b38 /b

    E55 vouchers

    My head swivels from left to right, the iron clinking as the chains bite into my wrists. bI /bbalways /bbknew /bbJack /bbis /bba /bfucking traitor, but I didn’t think he’d sink this low.

    b“/bJack,” I hiss into the dark, voice raw and trembling with fury. “When I get out of here, I’ll carve your name into the dirt myself.”

    A low chuckle answers me.

    My eyes strain against the dark until I catch the outline of broad shoulders slumped across from me. His arms are yanked high, the same iron biting into him that cuts into me.

    “Jessica,” Jack rasps, voice hoarse, threaded with pain. “If I were the traitor, do you think I’d be locked in here

    too?b” /b

    —

    My pulse stutters. For a second, the fury falters but only for a second. The coup is still howling outside, ws against steel, wolves tearing at wolves. And here we are, both chained, both useless.

    “Then who, Jack? Who had the strength to drag both of us down here while the pack rips itself apart?”

    His head lifts, slow, the chains grinding with the motion. “That’s the question, isn’t it?”

    My stomach knots, but I don’t let the fear show. “Don’t you dare y cryptic with me.”

    Thest thing I remember is trying to get out of Jack’s hold as I try to rescue Grayson.

    “Is this your n? Hand me over and y martyr beside me?”

    “Damn it, Jessica,” Jack growls, jerking at his restraints. His voice isn’t sly now–it’s desperate. “Shut up.” His head snaps toward the door, eyes wide, feral. “They’reing.”

    Coming who?

    Panic rises, slowly morphing into terror. Who ising? I’ll have to get out of this ce before whoever they are reach that door. Grayson, please.

    Footsteps echo closer. bHeavy/b, Slow. Whoever it is doesn’t need to hurry. We’re not going anywhere.

    Jack’s breath is ragged. “Whatever happens, don’t look them in the eyes.”

    Something about Jack’s warning sets my blood on fire. Before bI /bcan even ask what he means, the bcell /bdoor bcreaks /bopenb, /band ba /bcold wind slices bacross /bmy face.

    “bJessica /bWilkinson. Omega. Hybrid. And now, the mate of Alpha Grayson Westwood.”

    b15:48 /bbTue/bb, /bbSep /b16

    38

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    I spin, searching the shadows. The bcell /bis empty. Jack swears under his breath, jerking against his chains.

    “Don’t… don’t turn.”

    I want to. I need to. My wolf ws at my mind, straining, desperate. The whisperes again, closer this time, hot and dangerous, curling around my neck.

    “You’re clever, little wolf,” the voice murmurs, low and dangerous, brushing along my neck, circling me like a predator. “Clever, ambitious… and so hungry for more. Look at you, Omega. Chained, yet you burn with a fire that could level packs, topple alphas… even topple mates who think they can hold you.”

    I btwist/b, jerking against the chains, trying to find it, to see it, to face whoever speaks. “Who–who are you?”

    The voiceughs softly, a low, teasing sound that makes my stomach twist. “Ah, curious. That’s good. Ambition suits you. But careful… ambition can be deadly, little wolf. You’ve already cost so many for your rise, haven’t you?”

    I flinch, shivering, my hands straining at the irons.

    “You fascinate me, Omega. Not weak, not meek… dangerous. Ambition like yours… it’s rare. And deadly. Do you know that?”

    “Show yourself! Who are you?”

    The whisper drifts along my neck like fire. “I am… everything you crave and everything you fear, little wolf. And I am far from done with you.”

    Suddenly, my hair is yanked hard, jerking my head back. Pain shoots through my scalp and my body jolts against the chains. I feel the weight of someone pressing close, almost merging with me. A hot, sharp brush of air follows, and a nose grazes my neck, teasing, iming.

    “Freshly marked,” the voice murmurs, low and yful, almost satisfied. “Hmm.”

    I gag, trying to twist away, but it’s useless. Cold, sharp fangs press against my neck, grazing the tender skin over the mark, mocking it, daring me to react. My stomach twists violently, a shiver of revulsion and fear crawling over me. The predator’s hot breath brushes my ear, the whisper teasing, “Already trembling… and so very aware of iit/i.”

    Tears slip down my cheeks, unbidden, as shame, rage, and disgust twist together.

    “Pleasei,/i” I choke out, voice breaking. “Whoever you are… just let us go.”

    A soft, cruelugh drifts along my neck, brushing my ear. “Go? Oh, little wolf… I could, I suppose. But where’s the fun in that? You’re far too interesting to simply release.”

    Jack thrashes violently against his chainsb, /braw desperation in his voice. “Don’t touch her!” he roars, straining against the iron. “I swear–if youy a finger on her, I’ll-”

    “Shut up!” Themand is sharp, cold, final. A swift, brutal strike catches Jack across the temple. His head snaps back. His body slumps against the chains, limp. Silence crashes down, leaving only my ragged breathing.

    b15:48 /bbTue/bb, /bbSep /b16

    …

    “Jaaaack! What did you do? Is he…”

    “Dead?” the voice murmurs, low, amused, almost intimate. “What do you think?”

    b38 /b

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    Rage burns through my veins, sharp and raw. I won’t break. I have met more evil than this person right here, and I’ve survived. My bfists /bcurl into tight balls, knuckles whitening, as I strain against the chains.

    “Listen carefully,” I growl, voice shaking but fierce. “I don’t care who you are. You think you can intimidate me, y your games, threaten my mate… but I am not weak. I am not yours to toy with.”

    The predator hums, almost approving. “Ah… such fire. I like that. But don’t worry about him,” it murmurs, ncing toward Jack’s slumped form. “He’s just passed out. Nothing permanent… yet.”

    My stomach twists, half relieved, half furious. Relief that Jack will live, fury that this person thinks they can

    scare me.

    “What do you want with me?” bI /bspit.

    b“/bYou.”

    I can’t help the chuckle that escapes, sharp and defiant. “Too bad I already belong to my mate.”

    “Such a mistake, bJess/b,” he said. “You could’ve done much better than him. Far better. Stronger. Wiser. More… dangerous.”

    Far better? Is he hearing himself? There’s no better mate out there than Grayson Westwood. We’re fated for each other.

    “Stronger, wiser, more dangerous?” I spit, voice trembling with controlled rage. “You clearly don’t know him. There’s no one like Grayson. And whatever it is, I am not interested.”

    “Join the Triad.”

    I gulp, my throat dry, heart hammering.

    Power. Ambition. Fire…that’s what the Triad is.

    I’m an Omega,” I whisper, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice.

    “And a hybrid.” Fuck.” “You have the potential to be one of us. Far more than you allow yourself to see. Far more than your mate can ever make you.”

    I twist against the chains, straining, trying to create distance. “I am not… I am mine. I don’t need your power. I don’t want yourb… /bTriad. I belong to Grayson.”

    A soft, darkugh slides over my shoulder, warm and dangerous. “Is that what he told you, Jess? Remember… we’reing back. Join the Triad. Or…”

    The words hang, unfinished, a de of threat in the cold air. Then, just as suddenly as the presence appeared, it’s gone. The shadows retreat, leaving only the echo of that low, darkugh.

    b38 /b

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    I slump against the chains, trembling, heart hammering, every nerve screaming. Rage, fear, and the sting of helplessness swirl inside me. My wolf snarls in frustration, ws scraping at my mind, but all I can do is wait. Wait–and hope Jack wakes.

    The cell feels impossibly cold now, silent but for the distant chaos outside, and the promise that this isn’t

    overb. /b

    b15:48 /bTueb, /bbSep /bb16 /b

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