la

exist in the su

p was a terrifying reminder of what I stood to lose. I lay curled on the damp

y. Please, pl

long I'd been th

nd. A metal

ppeared high up on the ir

unaccustomed to the light, watered. A face appeared

face that had once

es

. Hope, fragile and desperate, flared in

s, my voice a raw, broken croak. "Presto

yes I had loved, were glacial. They held no war

t open t

opening, his voice flat and

ugh the door and slapped me. I stared at him, my mind struggling to co

shaking my head. "It's not... Preston, I didn't betray y

y expect me to believe an excuse that pathetic? What m

ulnerable part of my soul. He paused, and I saw him searching for something-the memor

ersational. "That you felt broken. Incomplete." He let the silence stretch, let the memory curdle between

e most vulnerable confession I had ever made-whispered against his che

d. The cold from the floor seemed to s

eve me," I said. I

ear. "We're over, Kaela. My mate, the future Luna of my pack

's. The realization hit

anded, my voice gaining a raw edge

under a fresh layer of cold indifference. "Isabell simply helped me see the re

't chosen to believe a lie; he had chosen a mor

door, my back scraping against the rough metal, until I was sitti

n't fi

y father, Lord Montgomery, has already spoken with Alpha Jeffry. My engag

al, fat

ing me. He was repl

from my throat. I pushed myself up, my eyes burning, bloods

? A wolfless cripple, threatening me? What are you go

worse than his anger. "A piece of advice, for old times' sake. Cooperate

footsteps echoing down the stone corridor,

an

g slot sla

urned, absol

ent, tearing pain exploded in my abdomen, far worse than the

g warmth spread

pitch black. The thick, metallic scent of blood

orr

b

and more potent than an

he sound swallowed

unyielding iron with my fists. My voice wa

me! My baby! Please, s

re the only sound in