"Not a sound. If any of you snaps a twig, I will personally rip out your throat."
I pressed my palm against the damp earth. Cold seeped through the glove, but I didn't feel it. The wolf inside scratched at my ribs, demanding blood. She stood by the stream, in plain sight. Alina. Her thin grey dress looked like a dirty smudge against the lush spring moss. Her shoulders trembled. She looked pathetic—perfect bait for the hungry hounds of Silverclaw.
"Alpha, it's been three hours." Varro's voice sounded right by my ear. Quiet, like the rustle of leaves.
"Wait."
"The wind has shifted. If they were within a mile, we'd smell their stench."
"I said—wait," I turned, baring my teeth. Varro's eyes immediately darted to the ground. "They won't miss the chance to take her. She's their trump card. Or she was."
"The forest is too quiet, Cale. Even the birds…"
"Birds shut up when they smell a predator. Watch the stream."
We watched. Minutes stretched into eternity, turning into a thick, sticky fog. The water babbled over the stones—a sound that began to drill into my skull like a bit. Alina sank to her knees at the water's edge, scooped a handful, and splashed it onto her face. Her movements were slow, broken.
"She's going to faint," one of the guys behind me snickered.
"Let her. As long as she lures those bastards out."
The sun rose higher, piercing through the pine canopy. Golden spots danced in her hair, but the forest remained dead. No snap of a branch, no scent of intruders, no shadow in the bushes. Emptiness. A rusty, bitter emptiness.
"Pack it up," I stood up abruptly, no longer caring for stealth. "Move!"
"Are we waiting for reinforcements?" Varro jumped up after me, brushing pine needles off his armor.
"There are no reinforcements. We've been played."
"But the plan was…"
"The plan was perfect," I grabbed his collar, shaking him so hard his teeth rattled. "Unless someone whispered to Silverclaw exactly where we'd be parading her. Do you understand what that means?"
"A traitor... in the pack?" His eyes widened.
"Find him. Turn everything upside down. Every corner, every damn hole. If I find out you missed even one whisper, your hide will decorate my study."
"And the girl?"
"To the castle. Under heavy guard. In shackles, if necessary."
I didn't wait for them to take her. My legs carried me away from that stream. Rage boiled inside me like molten lead, searing my throat. Betrayal. In my own pack. Someone dared to sell information about my mate to those curs.
Bursting into my chambers, I punched the stone wall. Blood splattered against the grey granite, but the pain only egged the wolf on. The enemy was unreachable, hidden behind trees and lies, and this helplessness was suffocating.
"You want to play, bitch?" I rasped into the empty room. "Want to feel what it's like?"
I closed my eyes, summoning Alina's image. Our bond—a thin, pulsing thread stretched between us against our will. Right now, it was stretched to its limit. I gripped it mentally, like barbed wire.
Look what you've done, I sent the thought, dripping with venom.
I wasn't just thinking. I opened the floodgates. All my rage, all the bitterness of the failed ambush, all the physical pain from my shattered hand—I funneled it through that thread. It wasn't a cry; it was a battering ram.
The bond flared crimson. A second later, her response returned—not words, but pure, primal terror. A flash of pain that made my own vision go dark for a moment. I felt her fall. Felt her lungs seize in a spasm, making it impossible to breathe. Felt the cold stone of her room bite into her knees.
"Yes…" I bared my teeth, feeling the knot in my chest loosen slightly. "Drink it up. This is your fault."
I severed the contact as abruptly as I'd started it. The silence in my head felt deafening. Catching my breath, I headed for her wing.
The two guards at the door snapped to attention the moment they saw me.
"Is she inside?"
"Yes, Alpha. We just—"
"Get out."
I shoved the door open with my shoulder. It wasn't locked—there was no one in this house for her to lock herself away from.
Alina was lying on the rug in the center of the room. A fine tremor wracked her body, her fingers clutching convulsively at the pile. She looked as if she'd just been pulled from an ice hole.
"Get up," I slammed the door, and the sound of wood hitting the frame made her flinch.
She didn't answer. Only a quiet, shallow breath, more like a wheeze.
"I said—get up!" I stepped forward, grabbed her by the elbow, and jerked her to her feet.
Her head lolled, hair obscuring her face. I roughly gripped her chin, forcing her to look at me. Alina's eyes were wide, pupils blown across her irises. There was no protest in them. Only absolute, scorched emptiness.
"What, didn't like it?" I leaned close to her ear, inhaling the scent of her fear. It was sharp, sweet, soothing my wolf. "That was only a hundredth of what I feel."
"Why…" her voice barely vibrated. "I did... everything you..."
"You are useless. You couldn't even draw them out as a worm on a hook."
"I stood... there... for hours..."
"And they knew you were standing there. Knew and laughed at me," I shoved her against the wall. Her shoulder blades hit the stone, but she didn't even try to put her hands up. "Your friends from Silverclaw were well prepared."
"I didn't... I didn't see anyone..."
"Of course you didn't. You're too busy feeling sorry for yourself."
I pinned her with my body against the cold masonry, feeling her heart hammering frantically. She was so fragile—one move, and I'd break her neck.
"Listen to me carefully, you little bitch," I pressed my forearm against her throat, restricting her breath but not cutting it off entirely. "From now on, you are not human. You are not a guest. You are my property. Every breath you take, every tear, every movement—it all belongs to me."
"Kill me... just kill me..." she whispered, and a single tear rolled down her cheek, burning my skin.
"Too easy. You will live. And you will obey. If I want you to go back to the stream, you will go. If I want you to crawl on your knees, you will crawl."
I released her chin and ran my thumb over her lower lip. It was cold.
"Do you understand?"
She remained silent, looking through me.
"Answer me!"
"Yes..." she exhaled. "I understand."
"Your life is subject to my whims. Forget about your will. It no longer exists. There is only my bond, which will sear your brain every time I am displeased."
I pushed off her abruptly. Alina slid down the wall, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked so small in that vast, cold room.
"Tomorrow we start again," I headed for the exit without looking back. "Hopefully by then, you'll have learned to cry more convincingly."
"Cale..." her quiet sob caught me at the threshold.
I froze, my hand on the doorknob.
"What?"
"Why... me?"
I turned. She was sitting on the floor, hiding her face in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking slightly.
"Because fate is a bitch, Alina. And she chose you to be my curse. And I will make you my tool."
I walked out, slamming the door. The corridor still smelled of ozone from my fury.
"Varro!" I shouted, not looking at the guards.
He appeared from the shadows a second later.
"Yes, Alpha?"
"Gather all the elders. Ten minutes, in the throne room. We're finding the rat."
"And if we don't?"
I looked at my bruised knuckles. The blood had already begun to dry, tightening the skin into a black crust.
"Then the girl will suffer until the traitor decides her life is worth his confession. And believe me, I'll make sure he hears it. Even from the deepest dungeon."
I strode down the hall, feeling the bond inside tighten again. She was crying. I could taste the salt of her tears on my tongue. And it was the only thing that brought me any satisfaction on this godforsaken day. We would find the spy. In the meantime... I had a perfect target for all the hell smoldering inside me.