SILASPain was the first thing I registered when my eyes fluttered open. My body jerked instinctively, muscles straining against the weight of something cold and tight. Chains.I groaned, dragging in ragged breaths, my hair falling into my face as I struggled to see where I was. The room was dim, the faint glow of a single bulb barely illuminating the rough concrete walls around me.I tugged at the restraints binding my wrists and ankles, teeth gritted as the metal cut into my skin. Useless. They weren’t budging.Swallowing hard, I slumped back against the wall, the rough stone biting into my shoulders. My heart thundered as memories flooded my mind.Him.The man I had been running from for nearly twenty years. The one who had ripped my family apart, who had marked me and made me his prey. After all this time, I’d walked straight into him.I closed my eyes, willing the panic clawing at my chest to subside. Riley’s face surfaced behind my lids, a calming tether. His warm smile from thi
RILEYSix hours ago...Three weeks and four days. That’s how long it took me to find him. Silas. I’d combed through every inch of this town and the next, chasing whispers and scents that barely lingered. And finally, they led me here. To a house buried so deep in the woods, it was practically a myth. But myths didn’t stop me. The moment I caught his scent, my heart thundered. Relief was short-lived, replaced by the ice-cold reality of what I’d have to do next. I bolted back to the car, paws digging into the snow as I shifted mid-stride. The icy air burned my lungs as I straightened, pulling my clothes on with shaking hands. My breaths formed clouds around me, but it wasn’t the cold making me tremble. It was adrenaline. I reached into the car and grabbed the bag—the one filled with everything I might need to kill someone like me. Blade soaked in wolfbane, silver-tipped bullets, enough to turn this place into a bloodbath if I had to. But that wasn’t the plan. Not yet. I slun
SILAS“Silas, meet your brother, Ronan.” I stared at Desmond with a flat expression. I raised a brow, unimpressed, and a quiet, bitter laugh escaped my lips. “I don’t have a brother,” I said, my tone flat, leaving no room for debate.Desmond’s brows lifted in mock surprise, his lips curling into that sick grin I’d come to hate. He rose to his feet, yanking the chain attached to the man he called Ronan. With a brutal shove, he forced Ronan forward, his face now inches from mine. “Look at him,” Desmond snarled, his voice thick with venom. “Tell me he doesn’t look like that bastard of a father you once had.” My gaze flicked to the man—no, the boy—that Desmond claimed was my blood. Every instinct in me screamed not to look, not to let this game crawl under my skin. But I did. Against my better judgment, I looked. And that was my first mistake. Ronan’s face was gaunt, his cheekbones hollow, his eyes sunken. But there was something hauntingly familiar in the sharp line of his ja
RILEYThe room felt like it was closing in on me, the walls pressing closer with every second. My chest burned, my ribs squeezing tight as though trying to crush the anger clawing at my insides. Hurt. Anger. Betrayal. They were all mixed together, each of them trying to find their way out.He lied.Silas fucking lied.I could still see his face, his eyes meeting mine with a kind of seriousness I’d mistaken for honesty. The memory of it twisted in my gut now, sour and bitter. He had lied to me—straight to my face, without so much as a crack in his voice.“Riley,” Silas said again, his voice soft, almost pleading.I refused to look at him. I couldn’t. Not without wanting to tear him apart.My throat burned as I swallowed back the scream I wanted to let loose, the words I wanted to fling in his face. But I couldn’t say them. Not yet. The anger wasn’t just in my chest—it was in my hands, my legs, my lungs. I felt like I might explode if I so much as turned my head.“Oh… oh no.” Desmond’s
SILASPain shot through my skull as I slammed back against the wall, the air leaving my lungs in a sharp gasp. My hands came up on instinct, palms clammy, trembling—greenish veins spidered across them like something out of a nightmare. My chest heaved as my gaze darted around.Ronan was curled in the corner, unrecognizable. A wolf. His massive frame was tucked tightly against the wall, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping—or pretending to.I turned my head, slowly, to find Riley sitted there. Silent. Still. His jaw set so tight I thought it might snap.“Riley,” I rasped, the sound barely audible. He didn’t move at first, didn’t even blink. Then, agonizingly slow, he turned his head, his gaze locking on mine.I flinched at the cold emptiness in his eyes.“I’m sorry,” I whispered, the words brittle as they left my throat.He laughed. A sharp, bitter sound that cut through the room.“You’re sorry?” His voice rose, his chest rising and falling with a fury I couldn’t meet. “You’re sorry,
SILASThe moon hung high in the sky, casting a cold, silver glow on the forest floor. My breath came out in sharp white puffs as Desmond dragged me out into the woods, his grip tight on my arm. Around us, the pack of wolves moved silently, their eyes glowing yellow with hunger. The veins in my body throbbed, each pulse like fire under my skin.“Look around you, Silas,” Desmond hissed in my ear, his voice sharp with anger. “These wolves are hungry, and tonight, the hunter becomes the hunted.”He moved in slow circles, and I clenched my jaw, refusing to look away.“And now what?” I asked, my lips curling into a bitter smirk. “You finally get your revenge after all these years? And then what?” I tilted my head, mockery dripping from my words. “It all ends tonight, doesn’t it? Nearly two decades, and it ends here.”I balled my fists, nails digging into my palms, but I didn’t let him see the pain. Desmond wasn’t the only one craving revenge. Even if I died tonight, I would make him pay for
RILEYI couldn’t do it. Walk away. Leave him behind.I kept telling myself over and over—he deserved whatever hell was coming for him. But even through the blaze of anger burning hot in my chest, I knew the truth, I couldn’t let it happen.“Ronan, right?” I muttered, my voice low as my eyes tracked to the corner where he sat—naked as the day he was born, like shame wasn’t a thing that existed in his world.He tilted his head, those sharp, glacial-blue eyes locking on mine. I swallowed hard, closing my own eyes for a moment before forcing out a sharp breath.“You know Silas is your brother, right?” I said, even though I’d already heard every word they’d shared just hours ago.His head tilted a fraction, brown hair falling against his face like some careless afterthought. “Yeah,” he said, voice as hollow as his expression.“And you’d just let that man kill him?” I snapped, heat rising in my voice. “Just like that?”“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “I don’t know him. Don’t remember
RILEYI was wrong. It wasn’t simple.The man sensed me before I could get within ten feet of him. In an instant, he was gone, leaping to the side like I was nothing more than a passing breeze.“Are you fucking out of your mind?” Desmond spat, brushing snow from his dark shirt with infuriating calmness, like I wasn’t standing there with knives in hand.My grip on the blades tightened. My chest burned, every labored breath steaming in the cold. I kept my eyes locked on him, refusing to glance at Silas, even though the sound of his pain—bones cracking and grinding—filled the air.“I shouldn’t be the one you’re trying to hurt,” Desmond said as his lips curling into a smug smirk. “You should be trying to kill the hunter, hell I could let you in on the fun..”“You’re hurting him,” I growled through gritted teeth, inching closer, sweat trickling down the back of my neck despite the biting cold.Desmond’s smirk grew wider. His glowing yellow eyes gleamed in the low light, like a predator toyi
SILAS“Do you think he’s coming?” Ronan asked as I paced back and forth across the living room.“He’ll come,” I muttered for what had to be the hundredth time.Two days. It had been two days since Riley’s heat had passed, and we finally left the house to find Ronan missing. His scent lingered faintly in the pack’s territory, but I’d scoured every inch, every crack, every shadow, and there was no sign of him.And that was when the worry began to creep in.I couldn’t stop thinking about Liam—about how I’d caught him watching us that night. About the way he watched me. I’d wanted to prove him wrong, show him I didn’t need him or his mate bond. Not when I had Riley.But now, regret curled in my gut. What if I’d pushed him too far? What if my pettiness, my anger, had driven him to do something to hurt me? What if he had hurt Ronan?The sound of footsteps on the porch dragged me out of my thoughts. I rushed to the door and yanked it open, relief flooding me for a split second when I saw Ron
UNKNOWN POVI could’ve left. Should’ve, honestly. But I stayed. Watched them. Watched him.My wolf clawed beneath my skin, restless and desperate, demanding something I refused to give it. Silas. That man—a thorn in my side, a stain on my existence. A goddamn inconvenience.And yet, I couldn’t stop watching him. The tension, the chaos. It pulled me in like a sickness I didn’t want cured.“I want to reject you as my mate,” Riley said, and my brows shot up, surprised despite myself.It was unexpected. Beautiful, even. Riley, the ever-loyal shadow, the one who clung to Marcus like a parasite, willing to endure anything just to remain by his side. For him to say something like that? It was unthinkable.Marcus didn’t take it well. The shift was immediate—anger rippling through the air so thick it could suffocate. Anyone within reach of him could feel it, taste it, choke on it.The fight came fast as expected. Words sharp as claws, tearing into each other until there was nothing left but wo
SILASThe full moon hung high in the sky, bathing the forest in silver light. Tonight was the pack run, and while everyone else seemed eager, all I could think about was Ronan. Since I’d found him, he’d been calm to the point of indifference—aloof, even—but lately, cracks had started to show. When I asked him if something was wrong, he’d brush it off with a curt *I’m fine,* but I wasn’t so sure. “Silas,” Riley’s voice cut through the hum of chatter. He pushed past the gathered wolves,m until he stopped in front of me. I straightened, pushing off the tree I’d been leaning against. “Where’s Ronan?” Riley asked, glancing around the clearing. I clenched my jaw, feeling slightly frustrated. I’d asked him over and over to join the run, but his answer never changed. No. He hated how he looked when he shifted, and no matter what I said, he wouldn’t budge. Eventually, I’d had to respect his decision. I clenched my jaw and shook my head. “He’s not coming,” I said, trying to keep my
RILEY“I can’t believe Liam fucking escaped,” Marcus said, pacing across the room. His voice was loud, his movements jerky, but I stayed where I was—leaning against the wall, arms folded. Watching. He turned, his expression softening as his eyes landed on me. “You must be scared,” he murmured, stepping closer and resting a hand on my arm. But I wasn’t scared. Not about that, anyway. Liam’s escape was the least of my worries. The real problem was standing in front of me. I didn’t know how to tell him. How to make him understand that things weren’t the same anymore, that my heart didn’t belong to him now—it belonged to Silas. Marcus sighed, his jaw tightening. “I even asked him to stay, but he fucking refused. He’d rather risk being hunted than join a pack that could protect him.” I frowned, pulling away slightly. “Who?” “Silas,” Marcus said, his voice quiet but hard, his hand gripping my shoulder like he could pin me in place. “Make him stay, Riley. Him and Ronan. They ca
SILAS“Talk,” Marcus growled, his voice low and sharp. I stayed where I was, leaning back in my seat in a tree, arms folded as I kept my glare locked on the man tied to the tree. “I’d be dead either way,” the man said with a twisted grin, blood smearing his teeth. His words only seemed to irritate Marcus further. Marcus crouched, his massive frame closing the distance between them until their faces were inches apart. “You will m be dead either way if you don’t talk,” he said, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. “And it’ll be the worst fucking way imaginable.” His hand shot out, gripping the man’s hair, yanking his head back hard enough to make him wince. “Why the fuck are you in my mountains? Why are you attacking us?” The man hesitated, his eyes darting between us like a cornered animal, before a weary sigh escaped his lips. “We were looking for you,” he said. The words had my entire body locking up. My muscles tensed as I straightened in my seat, my attention fully focus
RILEY“Riley, sleep. I’ll keep watch.” I shook my head, my focus locked on the stretch of darkness beyond the fire. My back stayed pressed to the tree, every muscle tense as I listened for the faintest sound. There was no way I was letting my guard down. Not with those rogues out there. “I’m good,” I said, dragging a hand over my face. Marcus didn’t say anything at first. Then I heard him move. He stepped closer, and before I could stop him, he draped a thick blanket over my shoulders. He didn’t stop there—he settled beside me, his body warm against mine. I didn’t push him away. But maybe I should have. Because when I glanced up, I saw them—Silas, sitting just beyond the fire. His blue eyes locked on us, watching, jaw clenched. His gaze was like a punch to my chest, and no matter how hard I tried to look away, I couldn’t. Marcus shifted closer, pressing his nose against my neck. His breath was warm on my skin, and sparks flickered to life under his touch. They used to
RILEYThe scream ripped from my throat before I could stop it, the sound tearing through the cold air. The wolf lunged toward me in a blur of brow fur.I’d been too focused on Silas—on checking to make sure he wasn’t hurt—to notice the other wolf stalking me.It came fast, too fast, and I barely managed to jump to the side in time. My boots sank into the snow, the ground dragging me down. I cursed as I stumbled back, a sharp pain shot through my ribs when I hit the frozen earth.Before I could recover, it charged again. But this time, I was ready. My claws shot out, deadly, and a low, guttural growl rolled from my chest as the wolf leapt at me. From where I lay, I thrust my arm upward, slamming my clawed hand into its neck. Warm blood spilled over my fingers, staining me and the snow red as the massive creature collapsed beside me.“Fuck,” I muttered, rolling its heavy body off me with a groan. My chest heaved as I laid flat on my back, the icy cold seeping through my clothes.For a m
SILAS“Can I at least put on my pants?” Riley asked, his brows knitting together as he reached for the jeans on the floor.I tightened my grip around his ankle, pulling him closer by the good leg, refusing to let him escape. “No. Let’s talk first.” My voice was stronger than I felt, even as my pulse hammered like a drum. Because somehow, as fucked up as this was—being stuck here, in this cave, with no one but him—I was grateful. Grateful for the fall, the attack, all of it. Grateful to finally have him. Alone.Our faces were so close now that I could feel the heat of his breath against my lips. His heart pounded fast and wild, mirroring mine, and for one brief second, I swore I saw the words forming in his mind.We can’t.But I didn’t want that. Christ, I didn’t want that. What I wanted—what I needed—was for him to look at me the way he used to. Like I was everything. Like I wasn’t just… there. Like Marcus had never come back to from the dead.But instead of meeting my gaze, his eyes
RILEYThe sun hadn’t even thought about rising when we were moving again, and just like yesterday, the tension hung between us like a loaded gun waiting for someone to pull the trigger. “I can’t smell anything. Are you sure this isn’t a dead lead?” Ronan’s voice cut through the quiet, low and gravelly, and it was the first time I’d heard him talk since we started the hunt. I bit the inside of my cheek because he wasn’t wrong. There was nothing. Just the faint scent of fox and deer buried under layers of snow, and even the occasional wild wolf wasn’t enough to set me on edge. If the rogues had passed through here, we would’ve known. Their foul stench should’ve been clinging to every frozen surface, lingering in the air like a warning. But there was nothing. “Two pack members were hit. They saw them,” Marcus said, his words clipped as he pushed forward, his shoulders tense and I could tell even he was feeling frustrated already. The snow only got deeper, more unforgiving, but he d