Chapter 8

In the chill dark of the night, the servants lit spaced, controlled fires and sat around them in cliques, speaking in hushed tones.

Kaya, Raphael, and Ember sat around a small fire of their own.

Ember stared off into the night, deep in thought, conflicted about the turn of events. Finding a mate had once been the least of her worries, now it was at the forefront. And of all people, it had to be Alpha Thorne, a ruthless, evil man. She knew little about his connection to her family, only that her father had died by his hands during an altercation over pack territory.

Her mother never spoke much about it, but the resentment she harbored for Thorne ran deep. She had planned her revenge through her children, Caden and Ember. Except Ember didn’t care for revenge, she just wanted to live far away from all the politics and power plays. Caden was still too young, but she saw how their mother groomed him, feeding him stories to stoke and increase his hatred for Thorne. What would she think now? Her own daughter, mated to her enemy.

“Earth to Ember… hellooo.” Kaya waved a hand in Ember’s face. “You’ve been quiet. What’s wrong?”

Ember stared into Kaya’s eyes and wished she had her playful innocence. Raphael watched her too, lifting a questioning brow. He had told them he was an orphan from a western pack that had fallen to Alpha Thorne. Unlike most, he hadn’t been trafficked, he had surrendered, along with a handful of his packmates, while their Alpha and Luna fled to escape Thorne’s wrath.

“I’m alright. Just thinking about stuff,” Ember said.

“Raphael told me about what happened in the woods tonight. He says you guys met… Alpha Thorne.” Kaya’s voice dropped to a whisper as she glanced sideways.

“That’s all it was. We met him, he sent us off. No big deal.” Ember looked away, stoking the fire.

“No big deal?!” Kaya sat forward, her eyes wide with disbelief. “You met the Alpha Thorne, and you’re saying it’s not a big deal?”

“Ask Raphael,” she muttered, rising to her feet.

“But he was basically unconscious!” Kaya shot back as she leaned forward, exasperated.

Raphael, who had been watching silently, crossed his arms. “I wouldn’t say basically unconscious. I was still aware… just not entirely in control.”

Kaya turned to him, intrigued. “What do you mean?”

Raphael hesitated. “I could sense things,” he admitted. “Even when my body wasn’t responding, my wolf could still feel everything happening around me.” He ran a hand through his blond hair, his jaw tightening. “I knew she was there. That she saved me.” His gaze flickered toward Ember, unreadable.

Kaya’s brows lifted. “So, what was it like?”

“Cold,” Raphael said after a moment. “When he showed up, it felt like everything shifted. Like the air itself was heavier. It was…” He paused, searching for the right word. “…suffocating.”

Ember scoffed. “Sounds about right.” She bent down, stoking the fire, watching as the flames licked at the dry wood.

“But why did he let you go?” Kaya pressed, eyes darting between them. “That’s what I don’t understand. Alpha Thorne doesn’t just let people go.”

Ember stiffened. She had been asking herself the same question. He had looked at her, like he had just uncovered something unexpected.

“I don’t know,” she lied. “Maybe he wasn’t in the mood to kill today.”

Kaya huffed. “That’s not exactly comforting.”

Ember stayed quiet, her fingers curling around a stick, gripping it too tightly.

Raphael, still watching her, narrowed his eyes. “You do know something, don’t you?”

Suddenly, Ember clutched her chest and collapsed, curling in on herself with a choked gasp. Pain tore through her body, sharp and hot, as though something inside her was being twisted and squeezed out.

“Oh my God! Ember!” Kaya screamed, rushing to her side. She crouched over her, hands hovering as Ember writhed on the ground, her face contorted in agony, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Tell me what’s wrong!” Kaya shook her, panicked.

Raphael hurried over and turned Ember onto her back, but she only sobbed harder, mumbling, pleading with something unseen.

“It hurts so much… please, stop,” she gasped, her body tensing with every fresh wave of pain. “Please stop. I can’t take it.”

A small crowd of servants gathered around, murmuring in concern. A middle-aged woman stepped forward and knelt beside Ember. She placed a hand on her forehead and then looked up at Kaya and Raphael.

“Where is her mate?” the woman asked.

“M-Mate?” Kaya stammered. “She doesn’t have a mate.”

The woman shook her head, her expression grim. “Carry her inside. She needs rest away from the crowd.”

Kaya and Raphael lifted Ember and brought her to the servant’s quarters. As they laid her down, the woman spoke again.

“Her mate is desecrating the bond as we speak.”

Kaya frowned. “But she doesn’t have a mate. I met her when we were bought together, she never mentioned one, and I’m the only person she knows here.”

“Well, she does have a mate,” the woman said simply. “And the only way she’ll get better is when he’s finished.”

She turned to leave but paused at the doorway, her gaze heavy. “Keep an eye on her. She’s feeling everything, his betrayal, his pleasure. But for her, it translates to pain.”

“Wait, what’s your name?” Kaya called after her.

“You can call me Gertrude. I live at the western end of the fifth quarter.” And with that, she disappeared into the night.

Kaya and Raphael sat beside Ember, watching helplessly as she whimpered and thrashed. Her body would still in brief moments before she would suddenly cry out, as though she’d been struck.

Kaya’s heart ached for her friend. She was also confused, what was all that talk about a mate? If Ember had one, wouldn’t she know?

She turned to Raphael. “You’re a wolf. What do you know? What really happened tonight?”

Raphael hesitated, caught off guard. “I really don’t know. I was attacked by rogues and went unconscious. Ember found me, protected me, and brought me back.” He ran a hand through his blond hair, his gaze flickering to Ember’s trembling form. “I only know the Alpha was there because my wolf sensed him while I was unconscious. She saved my life.”

Kaya’s eyes lingered on Raphael as he spoke, his voice steady but edged with something she couldn’t quite place. His blond hair was messy from running his hands through it, and in the dim firelight, his sharp features cast deep shadows. She had never noticed before, but he was… handsome.

She tore her gaze away, refocusing on Ember, who was still trembling, sweat beading on her forehead. The sight made her chest tighten. She reached out, brushing damp strands of hair from Ember’s face. “She looks like she’s burning up,” she whispered.

Raphael exhaled sharply. “She’s fighting it. That’s why it’s worse for her.”

“Fighting what?” Kaya looked at him, her heart drumming faster than it should.

“The bond,” he said simply. His golden eyes flicked to hers, holding her there. “She’s trying to reject it, but it doesn’t work that way.”

A chill ran down Kaya’s spine. “So, she’ll just keep…”

A loud gasp tore through the room.

Ember shot upright, her body stiff as if something unseen had just taken hold of her. Her eyes were wild, dilated. She wasn’t looking at them… she was looking past them, at something neither Kaya nor Raphael could see.

And then she whispered, her voice trembling with something between fear and rage.

“He’s coming.”