chapter 17

I woke up gasping.

For a moment, I thought it had all been a nightmare.

The gunshots. The wolves. The glowing eyes. The blood.

But then I looked down at my hands.

Dried blood stained my fingertips. Not mine. The coppery scent still clung to my skin, the memory of warm, wet crimson covering Alaric’s hands flashing in my mind.

It was real.

I scrambled backward, my breath ragged as I realized where I was. My bedroom. But something was wrong. I shot to my feet and ran for the door. I twisted the knob—locked.

No.

I banged on it, panic clawing at my throat. “Let me out!”

Silence.

I pressed my forehead against the door, my pulse thundering in my ears. I felt like I was suffocating.

I had to get out of here. I had to—

The lock clicked.

I stumbled back just as the door swung open.

Alaric stepped inside.

I froze.

His shirt was different from last night, clean, but his presence alone reeked of what I had seen. His silver eyes locked onto me, his expression unreadable, and I couldn’t stop the shudder that ran down my spine.

Murderer.

He was a murderer.

I could still see him—his bloodstained hands, the brutal way he had ripped that man apart like he was nothing. Like it was effortless.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” he said, voice calm.

I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Really? Because you looked pretty comfortable tearing a man’s heart out with your bare hands last night.”

Alaric exhaled, running a hand down his face. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“Oh, I wasn’t?” My voice cracked, hysteria creeping in. “What exactly wasn’t I supposed to see? The gunfight? The giant wolves? You fighting like you’re something out of a goddamn horror movie?”

He stayed quiet.

The silence only made me angrier.

“What the hell are you?” I demanded.

Alaric met my gaze, something flickering in his silver eyes.

Then, he said it.

“I’m a werewolf.”

A hollow laugh left my lips. “Right. Right, of course. That makes perfect sense. You’re a werewolf. And what am I? In a goddamn dream? A coma?”

“This is real, Vanessa,” he said, voice firm. “I am half-man, half-beast. My kind have walked this earth long before humans understood what we were. The creatures you saw last night, the ones my men were fighting? They’re rogues—wolves without a pack, without control. They are a threat, and I am the only thing keeping them from tearing this world apart.”

I shook my head.

No.

No, this couldn’t be real.

But the way he looked at me—the way his silver eyes burned into mine—made it feel like every single thing I had ever known was a lie.

My heart pounded violently in my chest. “You’re lying.”

Alaric took a step forward.

I bolted.

I didn’t care where I was running, I just needed to get away.

But he was faster.

The second I reached the door, his arm shot out, catching me around the waist. I screamed, struggling, thrashing against him with everything I had. I clawed at his arms, shoved at his chest, but it was like hitting a wall of stone. He didn’t budge.

“Let me go!” I shouted, twisting violently in his grip.

He didn’t even flinch.

I swung my fists against him, trying to hurt him, but it was like I wasn’t even doing anything.

Then, suddenly—

He grabbed both my wrists and yanked me back against him.

His chest was solid against my back, his grip strong, unyielding. I thrashed harder, but then—

Sparks.

A wave of heat rippled through me, electric and undeniable. It shot down my spine, curling into my stomach like a flame that refused to burn out.

My breath hitched.

What was that?

His grip didn’t tighten, but my body suddenly felt weak, unsteady, as if something inside me was responding to him. To his touch.

I could hear his breath, feel the slow, controlled rise and fall of his chest against my back.

And then—

A growl.

Low. Deep. Right at my ear.

A shudder ran through me.

The sound wasn’t meant to be threatening. It was something else. Something primal.

My body tensed.

I felt his nose graze the side of my neck, his breath warm against my skin.

My head tilted, as if drawn by some invisible force.

And for a second—just a second—I felt safe.

No.

I snapped back to reality, twisting sharply in his grip. “Get off me!”

Alaric let me go.

I stumbled away from him, my skin still tingling, my body still betraying me.

What the hell was that?

His silver eyes darkened, watching me carefully, like he had felt it too.

“Why do I feel like this?” I demanded, breathing hard.

His jaw tightened. “Because you’re my mate.”

I stared at him.

Mate.

The word felt foreign, unreal.

He took a step toward me. I took a step back.

“I don’t belong to you,” I spat.

His expression was unreadable. “That’s not how it works.”

My nails dug into my palms. “I don’t give a damn how it works! I don’t care what you are, I just want to leave!”

Alaric’s gaze darkened. “You still have a contract.”

I shook my head rapidly. “I don’t give a damn about your stupid contract—”

“Emma is still human,” he said, cutting me off.

That name made my blood boil.

Emma.

She was the reason I was here in the first place. The reason I was locked in this nightmare.

Alaric’s voice was calm, but there was no room for argument. “You’re not going anywhere until she no longer needs your blood.”

A cold chill ran down my spine.

I felt trapped.

Like a bird in a golden cage, forced to stay, to bleed for a woman I wanted nothing to do with.

I clenched my fists. “And if I refuse?”

His expression didn’t change. “Then you die.”

My heart pounded.

He wasn’t lying.

I could see it in his eyes—if I tried to leave, he wouldn’t let me.

I took a step back, my mind racing.

This wasn’t over.

I would find a way out.

Even if it killed me.

Then—

she walked in.

I turned just as Emma walked into the room, dressed in one of her silk robes, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders.

She took one look at me, then at Alaric, and tilted her head.

“So,” she murmured. “you explained and she is freaking out even more”

Alaric didn’t answer.

Emma’s lips curled into something that almost resembled a smile. “And here I thought she’d last a little longer before losing her mind.”

I clenched my jaw.

She gave me one final look, then turned to Alaric. “Come on, darling. You shouldn’t waste your time on her.”

Alaric’s eyes lingered on me for a second longer before he finally stepped away.

And just like that, they were gone.

I stood there, my body still trembling, my skin still tingling from something I didn’t understand.

Something I didn’t want to understand.

But one thing was certain.

I needed to get the hell out of here.