"I want you to watch the preparations," Brandon says, as he looks at me. "As my mate, you'll help host all sorts of these celebrations eventually. I want you to be a vital part in celebrating your pack's destruction. Lily will be doing the work alongside the others, and you will oversee her."I want you to watch as all sorts of wild game are prepared. I want you to watch as all of my pack feasts and gets drunk."Watch them as they let loose and give into the wild. Watch them as they revel in the power they have over others. Watch them as they celebrate their victory. Our victory.”I don't say anything. I bury my anger. I can't let him see any emotions. It will give him too much pleasure."I've brought you here to be my mate,” Brandon says. “But I also brought you here so I can show you who I am and how I'm going to shape the pack. I'm going to shape you as well."You'll come around. You'll learn to love me. You'll learn to love the power that comes with being a mate to a pack lead
"I can't," I say, desperately trying to come up with a good excuse even though I doubt I can find one. "My stomach is hurting.""Just take one sip,” Brandon urges me.I shake my head."Don't disobey me,” he warns. “Don't make me make you drink it.""I'm not thirsty, Brandon. Please. I really don't feel well.""I said one sip!"I'm frozen in place, staring at him. Brandon reaches down, puts his hand on my chest, and forces me to take the wine."Either drink the wine or explain why you won't," Brandon says.By now everyone is staring at us with amusement. No one but Brandon and I know exactly what's going on. But it isn't difficult to tell that it isn't anything good."I will after you do," I say. I'll die, but it'll be worth it to stop Brandon and get my revenge. "I'll try your wine after you do. We can even try it together if you’d like.”"Is that so?" he asks. I nod and he takes the goblet back. I hold my breath as he brings the goblet up to his lips.Then he stops."You
I run through the woods back to my own pack, finally free. Free.I didn't realize how beautiful freedom was until I lost it. Joy returns as my old den comes into sight and...Then, I see them. All the dead bodies.My pack has been slaughtered.Brandon killed them all.I feel my heart freeze up. My soul freezes up. It's my fault.I run to my parents' den. They can't be dead, I don't want to find them…No. My mother's hands are tied with silver rope. My father's body is wrapped in silver chains.All my brothers and sisters are dead.Brandon has taken everyone from me. I'll never be happy again.I won’t rest until I've taken his life.I run outside and that’s when I see Lily on the ground. Foam is coming from her mouth. She gasps and shudders. I run to save her. By the time I get there, her eyes are glazed, wide open. She’s not breathing and I know this is all my fault.I sob and scream and...Wake up in a jail cell.I'm back in the cave. I never left it. It was all
For now, I have no choice. I follow Brandon out of the cell and through the cave. Torches light the walls. Our footsteps echo in the most eerie way. It feels like we’re in our own world, locked away from everything else. No one can hear my screams."We can't go to the mating chamber tonight," I protest. "I just got here. It's not supposed to happen that quickly."Brandon laughs. "You’re a funny one, Katia. You're not in a position to make demands."You poisoned me. You tried to kill me. I'm not about to lose you or give you another chance to escape. We’re getting married tonight.“This is all your fault because you did it in front of my pack. You humiliated me. They'll doubt my choice of mate. So, I must do this to show them and you who's in charge."An image of Brandon and me mating fills my mind. No! No! No! I pushed the image away. "I refuse to mate with you," I said. "Don't think I will. You have nothing to hold over me anymore."Brandon laughs. "Are you sure about that
"You will be mine," Brandon says, pulling me to my feet. "We're going back into the chamber and now that you see you can't escape me, maybe you'll finally accept your fate."I won't, of course. I won't ever. "Help!" I scream, shocking myself with the sound. I hope someone in the woods will hear me, though I know the only people near us are those from his pack. They would delight in my torture."Help!" I scream again.Brandon laughs, but then I notice something he doesn't see. There's someone watching us from the shadows.He's looking at Brandon like he's trying to gauge something. Is he trying to figure out if he can take him down?Then, the stranger looks at me. Like he's trying to figure out if he can help me. If I'm worth helping."Help me!" I scream, and his eyes meet mine. There’s hope there. Like maybe he could be my hero. "Help!" I scream. "Help!""Quiet!" Brandon yells, and then I feel the knife at the back of my neck. "I told you I'm not going to kill you right now,
I’ve been traveling through the woods for a full day, yet I’m no closer to home than I was when I first started this journey. But this is the life I'm going to have to get used to. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it though. I doubt I’ll have the luxury of living like this for long anyway. Not once the rest of the pack learns about what happened to Brandon.I’m terrified of Brandon and his pack. I know they’ll find me and I don’t even want to think about what they’ll do to me once they do. I'm not sure what to do. I'm not sure what direction to go in. I'm not sure how to escape them.A stranger gave up his life for me though. I’ve made it this far, so I can’t give up now. I have to at least try.The sounds of the forest become my companion as I listen carefully to any random shifts. I scan the shadows for any sign of Brandon or the rest of his pack, still unsure if he’s dead or not.And I try to figure out where to go. With my whole pack demolished, there's no home for me to
When I wake up, it's still dark but I'm alive.I'm alive. That's what's most important. They didn't find me. There's still a chance for me. I just have to find my way out of this cave.I search for another opening, but there's nothing. I can't hear anything either. I'm alone here. But I'm alive. I can escape this. I can survive.I walk around the cave until I find another passageway. And though it’s dark and a little terrifying, I don’t give up. I try to think clearly as I go through passageway after passageway until I find an opening.The sun is coming up.It's the first light I've seen in over a day. And its warmth is beautiful as the rays kiss my skin. The sun is stunning. For so long, I thought I'd never see it again.I take a deep breath. I'm alive. So, I'll try to survive.I walk through the forest, looking for food. I'm starving, so I find a small animal and kill it. I eat it raw. I don't want to waste time. I eat it quickly and then get up and move on.I don't know wh
At first, I'm scared of him. I haven’t had great luck with guys so far. But after a while, I relax. He has no intention of hurting me. And even considering everything else I’ve gone through, I already trust him to a strange degree. There's relief as we start walking away from those who want to hurt me. But I'm still afraid. What if the distance I put between us won't be enough?After walking in silence for a little while, I turn to him."Don't you want to know my name?" I ask. He shrugs."Only if you want to tell me," he says. "I don't care what your name is to be fair. I'd try to protect anyone like this. It’s just the kind of person I am."It hurts a little. I want to feel like I'm special to him. I don't know why. It’s also nice to know though. It’s sweet that he’s the kind of person who cares about other people."My name is Katia," I say. "Katia." He works over my name, despite not wanting to hear it. He seems to like the way it sounds. "I'm Kaleb."Kaleb. I like t