a

t me. It coated my tongue, thick and heavy like honey

ai

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