CHAPTER 54: PREDATOR AND PREY

Even if I shifted, even if my wolf tore free from inside me at this very moment, I knew it would be useless.

Rion stood mere steps away, his presence looming like a wall. His two Betas flanked him like shadows that had learned how to breathe.

And beyond them, more than a dozen of Arjan’s wolves waited, claws ready, golden eyes gleaming through the swirling cold.

I could almost picture it... me darting across the snow, desperate for freedom.

I wouldn’t make it ten steps. Perhaps not even three.

The shadows that curled from Rion’s will would catch me first, wrapping me in darkness until the air left my lungs. And if by some miracle I slipped through them, I’d meet the teeth of his wolf.

Just the thought of it made my stomach tighten. I’d never seen his wolf up close, but I had seen it.

A beast larger than any wolf alive, pelt blacker than night, and eyes red as blood—eyes that could burn fear straight into your bones.

If I ever came face to face with that creature, I doubted I’d be able to stop myself from trembling to death.

"She’s quite a beauty, isn’t she?"

The words drew me sharply back. Arjan stood with the Millow Shade in his hand, his scarred face twisting into a grin that made me want to spit.

His eyes swept over me like I was prey on display. "No wonder Finn wants her back so badly."

Heat rose in my throat, but he wasn’t done.

"How did you have the nerve to run away from an Alpha during such an important rite?" His voice carried easily across the snow.

"Ah, I imagine you didn’t want to be his breeder, you wanted to be his mate. But he wouldn’t allow it. So you turned rebellious instead."

The laughter that ripped out of me was bitter, sharp enough to sting my own ears.

"I’d rather slit my own throat than be his mate."

When I glanced sideways, Rion was smirking.

A spark flickered in his eyes, something that looked dangerously like pride. Or maybe I was imagining it, twisting his expression into something less cruel than it was.

Arjan chuckled. "Oh, a feisty one. You’d fare well as my mate, I think." His scar deepened with the grin. "But I don’t make a habit of stealing another man’s woman."

Rion’s laugh was low, wicked. "Why not? It’s entertaining."

Arjan shook his head. "I am not like you, Alpha. I still keep some principles."

"Ah," Rion drawled, tilting his head slightly. "And you claim those principles are more dignified than mine?"

Arjan’s smirk widened. "Didn’t say that."

"Perhaps it is that you simply lack the imagination to enjoy it."

The exchange made the hair on my arms rise. They sounded like two predators circling, each trying to bite without bleeding.

"Enough talk," Rion said at last, his tone dropping like a blade. "Show me the relic."

The air changed immediately.

From behind Rion, shadows spilled forth, wisps of dark mist that curled and twisted through the frigid air.

They slithered across the snow toward Arjan, moving with a will of their own, like hunting serpents.

The rogues shifted uneasily, some baring their teeth, but none dared lunge.

The shadows swirled around the Millow Shade, curling close, touching it without touching, as if testing the object for truth.

I held my breath. The artifact gleamed faintly in Arjan’s hand, gold catching the weak light of the gray sky.

The mirrored center rippled as though it were water stirred by an unseen hand. For a moment, I swore the shadows themselves bent toward it, whispering against its surface.

Arjan lifted his chin. "I told you, Rion. I wouldn’t dare lie. Give me the girl, and it’s yours."

The shadows retreated, sliding back into the air as if they had never been there at all.

Then Rion turned to me.

His eyes locked on mine. Dark, unblinking, sharp enough to strip me bare.

My stomach knotted so violently it hurt, and I felt every ounce of blood in my body rush to the surface of my skin, hot and suffocating, as if I’d been caught in a snare with no escape.

"Tell me," he said, voice low and velvety, laced with the kind of softness that was more dangerous than a roar, "do you still plan to refuse my proposal?"

My jaw clenched. The pressure was so sharp it sent pain shooting into my temples.

My teeth ached from how tightly I pressed them together. I wanted to spit in his face, to tell him to rot, to hurl every curse I knew until his smugness shattered.

But the words wouldn’t come. They tangled in my throat like barbed wire, choking me, scorching me as I swallowed them down.

And he knew it.

Rion tilted his head, his mouth twitching faintly, almost like a smile.

But it wasn’t kind, wasn’t warm. No, it was the expression of a man who savored my fury, who found delight in every drop of venom I tried and failed to spit.

"If you tell me your decision now," he murmured, his gaze drilling into me, never wavering, never giving me the space to breathe, "I might change my mind... and keep you."

My chest constricted painfully. It was like invisible claws pressed into my ribs, squeezing until the air scraped in and out in ragged shreds.

Keep me. He spoke as though I were something to claim or discard at will—a possession, a trophy, a caged thing he could lift and set down wherever he pleased.

"Woah, woah!" Arjan’s laughter interrupted. "What’s this, Alpha? I thought the deal was made already."

But Rion didn’t look away. He didn’t even blink. His attention stayed fixed on me, heavy as chains. His eyes were expectant and wicked.

I swallowed, my throat raw.

"So this is what it’s all about then?" My voice trembled, though not with fear, but with fury that threatened to spill from every seam. "You want to pressure me into accepting you?"

The smirk he gave me in response made my blood boil.

It was the kind of smile wolves wore when they already knew their prey had nowhere left to run.