r before the heavy oak door. The head slav

aits," she s

ke a rag doll. The clink of metal rang through the corridor as they

from her ankle. Le

it, not once in all t

wnership, a symbol of her enslavement. The iron was forged to sl

ay forgotten

have brought reli

shift in her fate, rough hands shove

he room. Steam rose from the bath, the water glimmering beneath the di

r of her tattered clothes. The f

he blood, the sweat, the years of filth. She sucked in a breath as ro

the hands hesitated a

hen stopped. They lingered,

in, broke the stillness. "

y. Her voice was quiet and f

this m

r voice sharp with warning. "H

d and looked away. The r

ade her kin to wolves? That mark, etched into her skin since her earliest days, had always b

s and wary glances. It made

stion it. She ha

had known in years. Her wounds were tended with silent efficiency. Cool balm eased the sting o

ame he

ushed pearl was smoothed into her skin. Her hair, once tangled and dull, was

ed back, she scarcely

er mirror that had been se

and definate

s something other. Clean, com

t preparing

was somet

hing

to Lena's hands, sloshing

guards ordered, voic

edicinal and wrong. Her stomach recoiled

s curling tighter around the cup

ws rose. "It wa

n. "I'm not swallowing anything you give me.

forward with a sneer.

zed her arms, pinning them behind her back, wh

ird pair of hands clamped over her nose.

choke," som

d. Liquid flo

e brew slipped down her throat. Bit

her knees, coughing, her chest heavin

ped, wiping her mouth w

e merely stepped forward

ut from the words that echoed in her mind

ormed in

? Why had she been summoned to se

ncovered the truth abo

were confus

miliar corridors, lined with ancient stonework and carvings she had never seen..

ath to the sl

closed, its iron hinges etched wi

one of the guards r

r creak

e weight of power pressing upon

, sharp and

of the Crims

her, assessing with

wed, her th

olly as he began to circle her, like a hunts

nto a thin smile of triu

dark as a moonless sky, remained fixed

not speak?" he asked at last. Thou

Lena's spine. What dark

"I have seen to that," she replied. "A witch has bound her tongue with spell

the gathered lords, but A

ker still. "What if the truth comes to light?" His eyes turned once more to Lena, piercing and unrel

ll over t

nd raced.

meant to stand in this place. Kar

could affo

rp with quiet defiance. "I give you my word, Lords of the Pack...

th could be drawn,

faces set with urgency. "Alpha Darius hath dispat

ures, tall and grim, entered the chamber. The

thundered wit

over Lena's shoulders. The thick fabric fell heavily upo

the Shadow Fang emissar

answered, her to

truce is

Lena. She was pulled back,

did not

oment she reached the Shadow Fang

free

mu