a
t me. It coated my tongue, thick and heavy like honeyai
y. Soft. Safe. Like a mother's h
jaw felt unhinged, too hea
I said
st the concrete walls. I blinked, the overhead lights searing i
y a deep, crusty crimson that bled into black. I looked down. A goat lay in a heap of shredded meat and
r. It tasted like life. It tasted
e voice ba
ard the sound, but a heavy jerk nearly snapped my neck. I looked back. A thick s
tra's voice crackled throug
m. A sharp, pathetic ba
in. Picture your bones
being a girl instead of a monster. I
e world
s being scorched off by a blowtorch. I screamed, but it was half-howl, half-
, si
itive, every inch of it pressed against the freezing concre
lanket over my shaking shoulders. She didn't say a word as she hauled me up and led
smell of clean sheets and Astra
, Kaia," sh
ore my head even
n my door, echoi
r father i
heat. My pajamas were soaked in sweat, clinging to my ski
t a d
lt heavier. I could hear the hum of the ceiling fan like it was a jet engine, and the s
Kaia
g," I
I walked down the hall, and for the first time, I felt the house watching me. I could sme
the massive Lykaois crest carved into the wall. No pho
look up from his desk. H
st my ribs. I tried to give him the fake, polite smile I'd s
finally looking up. His eyes were like two
a
inside, something that wasn't quite me growled in recogn
I tried to keep my voice
mb. I just wanted to se
voice was like a
to my lungs. The man who had kept me locked in this house for ye
dripping with sarcasm. "How am I supposed to
into each other's necks last week. The raw, animal hunger in thei
on the desk. Tap. Tap. Tap. "Don't be ridiculous, K
t. My dating pool ju
at
in my marrow. I looked down at his hands. His nails were jagged, his skin spott
el
es
art hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I dug my nails int
' I whispered into the
napping the thread of my thoughts, "I won't
ction. I felt a sick flicker of pride that he thought I wa
r, I d
ice rising to drown me out. "The future Alphas of the
p from sliding off. I was a prize. A piece
didn't even know I was
" he said, his face a mask of s
h him. I could feel Selah pacing inside me, her c
e life finally touched his eyes. "But you are like your mother. You aren't
. He never spoke
ed. "What does
e a judge passing a sentence. "You'll spend one month wi
e made my blood sing, but I kne
do
It wasn't a smile
ngth. Figure out which Alpha is powerf
been kinder. He was selling me
of heat flared in my belly.
ene and Cain were supposed to take you. But they're
cup
nnoyed, as if they were late for a meet
bleeding episode" from last week. The h
ought of the open world without a single p
I watched his spin
cracked, but I hardened it. "Cain is my trainer.
n their current state, they are unstab
my terms,
for seventeen years, and the idea of the road felt like peeling back a fresh scab. I didn't know Selene well, but she was the on
d. His voice was flat
I walked out with my heart thumping against my ribs, the t
g down on me. I pulled my laptop into bed, my fingers hovering over the keys
of hits. My eyes skimmed the titles, and a f
mus. 23 mi
ath caught as I r
en, how badly
cription of his scent, the way his muscles mov
but my body betrayed me.
whispered to
nds knotting in her hair, his teeth grazing the sensitive
e burning. I shut the tab
e cover was a guy with no shirt, hi
his hand crushed her t
ut her body like it was a piece of meat h
s Pet. The Alpha's Toy. It was all the same. Brutal men. Forced touches. Women who screamed 'no' u
ing, my heart a frantic bird beating against a cage. Was this what Cain was behind
like?" I whispere
didn't sleep. I just lay there in the silence, shivering, wondering if
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