Copper, wet ash, and rot. The smell of my daily poison. My heart is pounding. I stared at the cracked ceramic mug shaking in my hands, my stomach already rolling. The dark, sludgy liquid steamed in the chill of the packhouse kitchen. "Drink it," Helena ordered. No, I scream. She didn't yell. She never had to. My stepmother stood over me, immaculate in a silk morning gown that brushed the filthy linoleum. Her platinum hair was pinned back flawlessly, and her pale eyes tracked me with the casual disgust you'd reserve for a cockroach. I swallowed hard, my throat like sandpaper. "Please. I can barely stand today" "I didn't ask how you felt, keep your feelings to yourself. Sienna," she cut in, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "I told you to drink." Now drink it you bitch. Deep in the hollowed out corners of my mind, my wolf scratched weakly at the back of my skull. She was supposed to be a creature of the moon, proud and wild. h Instead, she was a mangled shadow, curled into a tight, shivering ball. For four years, this tea had beaten her into submission, stripping away my strength until I was nothing but a fragile, aching human shell. I closed my eyes, held my breath, and tipped the mug back. It was like swallowing liquid glass. It burned a violent path down my throat, hitting my empty stomach and turning to ice. I doubled over the kitchen island, gasping for air as a fresh wave of nausea hit me. My joints locked. My muscles turned to lead. I couldn't breathe. I felt my lungs burning. "Good," Helena murmured. The soft click of her heels approached. A manicured finger tapped my hollow cheek, her skin freezing cold. "Get a mop . Now she commands. The Alpha King returns today, and my packhouse will not look like a slum when my daughter greets him." My jaw locked, but I kept my head down, exposing my neck in the instinctive Omega submission she had beaten into me. "Yes, Luna." Helena scoffed. "And stay out of sight when the convoy arrives. You're an eyesore." The heavy kitchen doors swung shut. I clung to the counter, entirely alone, the bitter taste of wolfsbane and dark magic coating my tongue. I waited for the trembling in my legs to stop. Everything hurts. It always hurts. I cried. But beneath the ache, a tiny, desperate spark of adrenaline pushed through my sluggish blood. Today. I repeated the word like a prayer as I dragged the heavy mop bucket down the long, carpeted hallways. Today. The Red Dust estate was in a frenzy. Servants rushed past carrying crates of imported whiskey and massive bouquets of blood red roses. Pack enforcers barked orders out in the courtyard, hanging heavy gold banners from the balconies. Tonight was the coronation. Tonight, Ethan was coming home. Just his name made my chest ache. I stopped by a bay window, pressing my sweaty forehead against the cool glass, looking out at the sun baked dirt. Ethan Hayes. The pack heir. My childhood best friend. Before my father was murdered, before Helena stole my inheritance and shoved me into the servant's quarters, Ethan had been my entire world. He'd been gone for three hundred and four days, stationed at the brutal southern border for his final military training. Three hundred and four days of scrubbing floors, eating scraps, and swallowing poison everyday. I survived it for one reason. The promise he made me the night he left. "When I come back, Sienna," his voice echoed in my memory, a deep rumble that used to chase away my nightmares. He had wrapped his heavy jacket around my shivering shoulders, his amber eyes fierce. "I'm taking the throne. I'm getting you out of this house. You're going to be mine. Just wait for me." I will be back soon. I rubbed my chest, right over my wildly beating heart. I am eighteen now. Old enough to feel the first, frantic pulls of a true mate bond. The invisible tether between us hummed with a low, constant vibration. He was coming back. He was going to look at Helena, strip her of her stolen power, and pull me up to the dais beside him. A hard shoulder slammed into mine, sending me stumbling. My bare heel caught the bucket, sloshing dirty water over my shins. I managed to catch my balance and looked up. My stepsister, Chloe, glared down at me. She was already dressed for the evening in a skin tight crimson gown. Diamonds glittered at her throat. My mother's diamonds. "Watch where you're standing," Chloe sneered, stepping over the puddle. "God, you smell like damp earth and cheap soap. Go scrub yourself before Ethan gets here. Not that a bath will hide the stench of a crippled wolf." I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. I didn't say a word. I didn't need to. Let her wear the stolen dresses. Tonight, when Ethan stepped out of his car, the mate bond would snap into place. He would smell me, he would know, and Chloe's pathetic delusion of becoming his Luna would burn to ash. Just a few more hours, my wolf whispered in the dark. He's coming. coming to save us. By sunset, the courtyard was packed shoulder to shoulder. The air crackled with static energy, the loud chatter of the pack mingling with the distant, frantic howling of the border guards announcing the king's approach. I stood at the very back of the crowd, hidden in the deep shadows of a massive oak tree. I was freezing in my threadbare cotton dress, my bare feet numb against the dirt, but I didn't care. My heart was hammering relentlessly against my ribs. Then, the heavy iron gates groaned open. The crowd erupted into deafening cheers as four armored black SUVs rolled up the gravel driveway. The heavy thud of the tires sent tremors straight up through the soles of my feet. The vehicles stopped. The engines cut off. For a split second, the entire courtyard went dead silent. And then, the wind shifted, and his scent hit the air. My breath caught. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the familiar, comforting smell of rain and pine needles,rose and chocolate. The scent that always meant safety. But as the wind carried his aura over the crowd, a violent, bone rattling shudder ripped down my spine. It was him, but it was... wrong. something is wrong. I could smell it. The pine was there, but it was suffocated by something distinctly sour. It smelled like battery acid, rusted iron, and a sick, medicinal sweetness that coated the back of my throat. My weak wolf, who had been wagging her tail seconds ago, suddenly flattened her ears and whimpered in absolute, paralyzing terror. Danger, she screamed in my head, scratching desperately at the walls of my mind. Hide. Hide. HIDE. Run hide.RUN I gripped the rough bark of the tree, my knuckles turning bone-white. What was wrong with him? The door of the lead SUV opened. Heavy, steel-toed boots hit the gravel. Ethan stepped out. A collective gasp rippled through the pack. He was huge. The lanky boy I knew was gone, replaced by a towering wall of dense, scarred muscle. His blonde hair was shorn close to his scalp, and a jagged, angry scar tore through his left eyebrow. He radiated an aura so thick, so suffocatingly dominant, that several wolves in the front row were physically forced to their hands and knees, choking on his power. My chest heaved. I stepped out from the shadow of the oak tree, my body moving on pure, desperate instinct. The mate bond pulled at my navel, a frantic tug demanding I go to him. Look at me, I prayed, tears pricking my eyes. Please, Ethan. Look at me. As if he heard my silent plea, his head snapped up. Across the sea of bowing wolves, his eyes locked dead onto mine. The air vanished from my lungs. I took a step forward, a relieved, tearful smile breaking across my bruised face. He found me. He was finally home. But Ethan didn't smile back. His face twisted into a snarl so violent, so utterly devoid of humanity, that I froze mid-step. His eyes, the warm, amber eyes I had dreamt of every single night were completely gone. Instead, they were blown wide, bloodshot, and burning with a toxic, feverish madness. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his jaw clenching so hard I could hear his teeth grinding from fifty feet away. There was no recognition in his stare. No childhood promise. No love. I was a bit scared. He stared at me like I was a diseased animal. The brutal, feral malice in his gaze slammed into my chest with the force of a physical blow, stealing my breath. He cracked his knuckles, the sound like a gunshot in the quiet courtyard, and began to march directly toward me. My smile shattered. A new, paralyzing realization seized my throat. The boy who promised to save me hadn't come home. A monster had taken his place.

I ran. It was a cowardly thing to do, but as Ethan had marched toward me in the courtyard his amber eyes swallowed by a toxic, bloodshot rage my survival instinct violently kicked in. Before his heavy boots could close the distance between us, Helena had moved. My stepmother glided through the crowd with practiced grace, sliding her arm through his. She whispered something in his ear, redirecting the new Alpha King toward the bowing pack elders. The second his terrifying gaze snapped away from me, I turned and fled. Now, I was exactly where Helena wanted me to be. I was on my hands and knees in the grand foyer, scrubbing the white marble floor. My knuckles were cracked and bleeding. The harsh smell of industrial bleach burned the inside of my nose, mixing with the faint, metallic tang of my own blood seeping into the soapy water. I scrubbed harder, my breathing coming in short, shaky bursts. My arms started to ache, but I couldn't stop. I just wanted to get his face out of my head, to forget the way he'd looked at me. But no matter how hard I try, the memory won't go away. He's just tired, I kept telling myself. I pressed the brush harder against the stone, the rough bristles scraping beneath my fingers. He'd been fighting at the border for nearly a year. Anyone would come back different after that. War changed people. I knew that. At least, that was what I wanted to believe. The bloodshed, the stress... he just needs time to settle down. That was what I kept telling myself. My wolf whimpered in the back of my head. She wasn't buying a single word of my excuse. She was still shivering from the sour, chemical rot that had completely infected his natural scent. But I shoved her fear down. I had to. If I didn't hold onto the belief that my Ethan was still in there somewhere, I would shatter into a million pieces. The mate bond was real this year. I can smell chocolate and roses. He was my mate. He needs rest. I kept telling myself. I could feel it right now. It was a hot, heavy pulling sensation sitting just beneath my ribs. A physical, invisible string tied between us. He had to be feeling it too. Once the coronation crowds cleared, once the noise died down and it was just the two of us, the bond would cut through whatever trauma was clouding his mind. He would look at me. He would remember his promise. "I'm getting you out of this house. You're going to be mine." "Well, don't you look exactly like what you are." The sharp, haughty voice sliced through the quiet foyer. I froze. My bleeding hands sank to the bottom of the dirty mop bucket. I didn't need to look up to know who it was. The suffocating scent of expensive vanilla perfume clogged the air. I sat back on my bruised heels and wiped a line of cold sweat from my forehead with the back of my wrist. Chloe stood at the top of the grand staircase, looking down at me with a smirk that made my stomach turn. She looked breathtaking. I hated her for it, but it was true. My stepsister was poured into a custom-fitted crimson silk gown that hugged every single curve of her body. The bodice was encrusted with tiny black diamonds, and a heavy, dramatic train pooled on the stairs behind her. It was a dress designed for a queen. A dress meant for Luna. "You missed the grand arrival," Chloe purred, slowly walking down the stairs. The high slit in her dress exposed a perfectly tanned leg. "But I suppose someone had to clean up the mud the convoy tracked in. It's fitting, really. The dirt suits you." I stared at her satin heels. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. "The floor is wet, Chloe. Don't slip." Her smirk faltered. Her eyes narrowed into icy slits. She stepped off the bottom stair and walked directly toward me. Her heels clicked aggressively against the marble. She stopped inches from where I was kneeling, the heavy silk of her gown brushing against my wet, bruised knees. "Do you know what Ethan said when my mother introduced us outside?" Chloe asked. Her voice dropped into a mocking whisper. "He looked me up and down, and he told me I was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on." Not an omage. My chest tightened. A sharp, stinging pain radiated behind my ribs. "He didn't even ask where you were, Sienna," she whispered, leaning down. "He didn't even notice you were gone." so better stop thinking of him. He doesn't love you. I forced my face to remain entirely blank. I reached into the bucket, wrung out my rag, and started wiping down the baseboards "He's been gone a long time," I kept my voice flat. Empty. "He's just being polite to your mother. It's politics." Chloe laughed. The high, grating sound bounced off the chandeliers above us. "Polite? Oh, you stupid, delusional little mutt. Tonight is the coronation. He's going to announce his Luna. And it is certainly not going to be the pathetic, crippled servant girl scrubbing the floors in rags. Do you think he is going to marry a weak image as his luna" She kicked the side of my bucket. It wasn't hard enough to knock it over, but it was hard enough to send dirty, grey water sloshing over the rim. It soaked directly into the hem of my thin cotton dress, freezing against my skin. Something inside me finally snapped. I didn't stand up. I knew better than to physically challenge her in Helena's house but I stopped scrubbing. I lifted my chin and looked her dead in the eyes. "You can wear all the silk and diamonds in the world, Chloe," I said quietly. My voice was surprisingly steady. "You can stand next to him on the dais tonight. You can let your mother whisper in his ear. But you and I both know the truth." Chloe's pale face flushed a furious, ugly red. "You don't have the bond," I continued, the words tasting like a lifeline. "The moon goddess tied my soul to his. You can't buy that. You can't steal it. When his Alpha blood demands a mate tonight, it's not going to be you he's looking for." "Shut your mouth!" Chloe hissed. Her composure broke completely. She took a step forward and raised her hand, aiming a hard slap right for my cheek. But her hand never fell. The heavy oak double doors at the end of the foyer were violently shoved open. They hit the stone walls with a deafening crash that made both of us jump. The air in the room instantly vanished. It wasn't just a drop in temperature. It was a physical shift in gravity. A crushing, suffocating weight rolled into the foyer, pressing down on my shoulders so hard I physically slumped forward. My hands slapped flat against the wet marble just to keep my face from hitting the floor. My ears popped. My lungs seized. It was the raw, unrestrained aura of a dominant Alpha King. I gasped for air, forcing my head up. Ethan stood in the doorway. He had taken off his suit jacket. His white button down shirt was rolled up to the elbows, clinging to the thick, sweat slicked muscle of his chest. That awful, sickening blend of battery acid, rusted iron, and rotting sweetness flooded the foyer, completely swallowing Chloe's vanilla perfume. My heart hammered wildly. He's here. He found me. Finally he came for me. "Ethan!" Chloe immediately dropped her raised hand. In the blink of an eye, her furious sneer vanished. She replaced it with a trembling lower lip and wide, tear filled eyes. She practically threw herself across the foyer toward him. "Thank the goddess you're here!" she cried out, her voice dripping with fake panic. "She was just threatening me! She said she was going to ruin the coronation!" I froze, my bleeding hands stinging in the soapy water. It was a blatant, pathetic lie. But I didn't even look at Chloe. I kept my eyes locked solely on Ethan. He didn't look at Chloe either. He stepped around her as if she were a piece of furniture. His heavy combat boots echoed like gunshots on the marble as he walked slowly, deliberately, stopping right in front of me. I stayed on the floor, craning my neck to look up at him. The mate bond inside my chest was screaming. It pulled violently at my ribs, begging me to reach out and touch him. I could see the muscles in his jaw ticking. A thick vein bulged in his neck. Feel it, I prayed, tears burning the back of my eyes. Please, Ethan. Break through the dark. Feel me. I prayed to the moon goddess. For a split second, his massive hand twitched. He pressed his palm flat against his chest right over his heart, exactly where our bond anchored. A flash of agonizing confusion crossed his scarred face. His breathing hitched. "Ethan," I whispered, my voice breaking. I slowly lifted one wet, shaking hand toward his boot. "It's me. I waited for you." But the moment my voice hit the air, the confusion in his eyes was violently erased. It was swallowed whole by that toxic, bloodshot madness. The muscles in his massive arms tightened until the fabric of his shirt strained. The sour smell of the chemical rage potion spiked so hard it made my eyes water. He didn't see his childhood friend. He didn't see his fated mate. Tears drop from my eyes. He looked down at me with a level of pure, feral disgust that made my blood run freezing cold. "Did I give you permission to speak to me, Omega?" My heart stopped for a moment. His voice didn't sound like Ethan. It was a deep, gravelly, demonic scrape that rattled the glass in the chandeliers above us. The sheer force of his Alpha command wrapped around my throat like an invisible iron chain. My jaw clamped shut against my will. My raised hand was forced down, dropping back into the dirty water with a splash. Chloe stood behind him, a wicked, triumphant smile spreading across her face. I stared up at the man I had loved my entire life, waiting for the punchline. Waiting for him to blink, shake his head, and pull me up off the cold, wet floor. Instead, Ethan leaned down. His face stopped inches from mine. His breath smelled like metal and decay. His amber eyes were dead, hollow pits of hatred. "Did I tell you that you could look at me?" he snapped. The weight of his Alpha power pressed down on me, forcing my back to bend despite my desperate attempt to stand straight. "Get your face in the dirt," he growled. "That's where you belong." Omage.

My forehead struck the cold, wet marble. I tried to fight it, but my body wouldn't listen. Ethan's Alpha command forced me down until my face was pressed against the dirty water I'd been using to scrub the floor. The sharp smell of bleach stung my eyes, and I struggled to hold my breath. I wanted to lift my head, even just a little, but I couldn't move. I was completely trapped beneath the weight of his command. Above me, Ethan didn't say another word. He didn't offer a single sign of mercy. I heard the heavy, dull thud of his combat boots as he simply stepped around my trembling body. "Pathetic," Chloe whispered from somewhere above me. Her satin heels clicked against the floor as she happily followed him out of the foyer. The heavy oak doors slammed shut. The moment the door clicked shut, the pressure holding me down disappeared. I lifted my head from the puddle and sucked in a breath, coughing as I tried to fill my lungs. My chest hurt, and my hands wouldn't stop shaking. I pushed myself away from the filthy water, but my arms were so weak I nearly fell back down. My teeth began to chatter. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stop the trembling, but it was no use. I was terrified. Even though Ethan was gone, I could still feel the fear he'd left behind. I stared at the closed door, fighting the tears burning behind my eyes. What had I done to deserve this? "Get up, you weak omega!" someone barked. Before I could even catch my breath, two pack enforcers grabbed me by the arms and yanked me to my feet. Their fingers dug painfully into my biceps, and I winced, biting back a cry. My legs were still shaking, and I struggled to keep myself upright. I wanted to pull away, but I knew better than to try. They'd only make things worse for me. I lowered my head, swallowing the lump in my throat as I fought to keep the tears from falling. I was tired, sore, and sick of being treated like I wasn't even worth a little kindness. But around here, showing weakness only gave them another reason to hurt me. Helena stepped out from the hallway shadows. She didn't look angry. She looked utterly, terrifyingly bored. "Lock her in the servant's quarters," Now she ordered, adjusting a diamond earring. "And do not open that door until the coronation is over. I don't want her ruining my daughter's night." Go now. They dragged me up the back staircase. I was too stunned, too completely shattered to fight back. They threw me into my tiny, windowless bedroom and slammed the door. The heavy deadbolt slid into place with a sickening clack. I fell to my knees in the dark. Hours passed, but I barely not iced. I sat on the rough wooden floor, hugging my stomach as hunger gnawed at me. My eyes stayed fixed on the wall, but I wasn't really seeing it. I was too tired to think, too hungry to care about anything else. My stomach growled again, and I pressed my arms tighter around it, hoping the ache would go away. I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten a proper meal. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I was too exhausted to even cry. I just wanted to close my eyes and forget, even for a little while, that this was my life now. The floor beneath me began to shake as the party downstairs got louder. Music pounded through the packhouse, mixed with the clinking of glasses, bursts of laughter, and the wild howls of the Red-Dust pack. The coronation banquet had begun. I sat there on the cold floor, listening to them celebrate while my stomach twisted with hunger. Everyone was happy. Everyone was downstairs, drinking, dancing, and cheering for their new Alpha King. Ethan. And tonight, they were celebrating his chosen Luna, too. I swallowed hard, my chest aching as I imagined them standing side by side, surrounded by people who adored them. She would be wearing a beautiful dress, probably smiling as he held her close, while I sat alone in a filthy room with an empty stomach. A bitter laugh escaped my lips, but it quickly died in my throat. He had everything. Power, respect, a pack that would do anything for him, and a woman he had chosen to stand beside him. And what did I have? Nothing but an empty stomach, aching arms, and the painful reminder that I was the one person he never wanted. Outside my tiny window, the mating moon was rising. The moon hung huge in the sky, its silver light shining through the dirty window. For most wolves, the mating moon was a blessing. It was the night when the pull between fated mates grew stronger, making it almost impossible to ignore the person the Moon Goddess had chosen for them. For them, it was a night of love and happiness. For me, it was just another painful reminder of what I could never have. For me, it was pure torture. The bond between Ethan and me pulled so hard it took my breath away. It felt like something was tugging at my chest, dragging me toward the main wing of the house. Every breath hurt, and I pressed a hand against my ribs, trying to ease the pain. My wolf was restless inside me. I could feel her pacing back and forth, whining and scratching at the back of my mind. She wanted Ethan. She wanted to be near our mate, no matter how badly he'd treated us. I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting back tears. Even my own wolf seemed to have forgotten how much he'd hurt me. He's hurting, she whimpered, pacing in circles. Go to him. He needs us. My wolf screamed at me Tears falling from my face. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my dirty hands over my ears. "He looked at me like he wanted to kill me," I whispered out loud, my voice cracking in the empty, freezing room. "He didn't even know me." But my wolf wouldn't listen. And the longer the moon hung in the sky, the more my own logic began to crumble. I couldn't just sit here in the dark. I couldn't let Helena win without a fight. I can't, I cried. Something had changed in Ethan. Maybe it was the things he'd seen at the border, or maybe Helena had been filling his head with lies. I didn't know anymore. All I knew was that the man who once cared about me was gone, and I couldn't understand why. But I held on to one thing: our mate bond. It had to mean something. The Moon Goddess wouldn't have chosen us for each other by mistake. She couldn't have. I cried. If I could just get him alone, away from Chloe and away from my stepmother's influence, I could reach him. I could remind him of who he was before he turned into this monster. I have to make him remember. He is my mate, he has to remember me. I pushed myself off the floor, my bruised muscles screaming in protest. The door was locked from the outside, but I wasn't staying in that room for another minute. My window was on the second floor, right above the sloping kitchen roof. It was risky, but I didn't care anymore. I pushed the stubborn window open, wincing when the freezing night air hit my wet dress. My whole body shivered, but I climbed out anyway, gripping the window frame tightly as I eased myself onto the roof. My heart pounded as I looked down into the darkness. I was scared, but staying meant spending another night trapped in that room. And I couldn't take it anymore. I crawled across the sloping roof, trying not to slip on the wet tiles. My bare feet were freezing, and my heart pounded as I glanced down at the courtyard. One wrong move, and I'd land right in front of the guards patrolling below. I pressed myself against the cold brick wall, barely daring to breathe. My hands trembled as I slowly made my way toward the Alpha's private wing. I was terrified someone would spot me, but I couldn't turn back now. I'd come too far, and this was my only chance to get to Ethan. The loud music from the banquet hall masked the sound of my scraping footsteps. Why wasn't Ethan down there?. The Alpha was supposed to be the center of the party. As I reached the stone balcony of his private study, I got my answer. The heavy glass doors were cracked open. The smell pouring out of the room hit me so hard I actually gagged, nearly losing my grip on the iron railing. It was that same sickening, toxic scent from the foyer. Rotted fruit, rusted metal, and burning chemicals. I pulled myself over the stone ledge, dropping silently onto the balcony. I crept toward the cracked doors and peered through the glass. The study was completely destroyed. Heavy mahogany bookshelves had been ripped from the walls, splintered into pieces. Books and shredded paper littered the expensive rug. The glass liquor cabinet was shattered, brown whiskey pooling into the hardwood floor. Ethan stood in the middle of the wrecked room, pacing back and forth like a wild animal trapped in a cage. His shirt was torn off, leaving his scarred chest bare. Each breath came hard and fast, his chest rising and falling as sweat covered his skin. The veins in his neck and arms stood out, looking almost black in the faint moonlight. Something was terribly wrong with him. He dug his thick fingers into the center of his own chest, scratching violently at the skin right over his heart right where the mate bond connected us. He was bleeding from his own claws, letting out low, guttural groans of pure agony. My breath hitched. He was feeling it.The mate bond u could feel it. The mating moon was forcing the bond to the surface, and his soul was fighting a violent war against whatever dark drugs were in his system. I think so. I didn't think so. I just pushed the glass door open and stepped into the room. The sound of broken glass crunching under my bare feet made him freeze. His massive back stiffened. The heavy muscles of his shoulders locked tight. Slowly, he turned around, his chest rising and falling with jagged, wet breaths. His amber eyes were completely dilated, swallowed by pitch black pupils. Sweat dripped from his square jaw. He looked terrifying. He looked completely unhinged. But I forced myself to stand tall. I took a slow step forward into the dim light. "Ethan," I whispered. He didn't attack right away. He just stared at me, his massive chest heaving. The sheer size of him in the enclosed room was suffocating. "Get out," he rasped. His voice sounded like grinding stones. He clutched his chest harder, his claws digging deeper into his own flesh. "Get out of here." Now. "I'm not leaving you." I took another step closer, my bare feet stepping on the torn pages of his books. My heart was beating so fast I was sure he could hear it. "I know you're hurting. I can feel it too. The moon is trying to bring us together. Please, Ethan, fight it. Don't let whatever this is take you away from me." His whole body suddenly shook. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head hard, as though he were trying to escape something only he could see. "Ethan, please." My voice broke, and tears slipped down my cheeks. I slowly raised my hands to show him I wasn't going to hurt him. "It's me. Sienna. Look at me." He opened his eyes, and the wildness in them made my heart ache. He still looked dangerous, but for a brief moment, I saw something else beneath the madness. Confusion. Fear. A tiny sign that some part of him might still recognize me. I had to reach him. I can't give up now. I won't give up, not at all, not when I have gotten this far. "Do you remember the night before you left for the border?" I asked, fighting to keep my voice steady. "We sat by the river behind the training grounds. I was freezing, so you gave me your jacket." I swallowed hard, searching his face for any sign that he remembered. "You promised me something that night, Ethan." He took one slow step toward me, and I held my breath. "You promised you would take the throne," I cried, taking a step toward him in return. The gap between us was closing. The heat radiating off his body was intense, burning my cold skin. "You promised you would get me out of the servant's quarters. You told me to wait for you. I waited, Ethan. For three hundred and four days, I waited for you to come home." He stopped directly in front of me. He was so close I had to crane my neck all the way back just to look at his face. The tension in the room was so thick I could barely drag air into my lungs. My wolf was doing flips in my chest, whining eagerly. We were finally alone. He was right here. Ethan slowly lowered his hands from his bleeding chest. He leaned down, his massive frame caging me in. He brought his face down to my neck. I closed my eyes. I tilted my head to the side, exposing my pulse point to him. I waited for the feeling of his lips. I waited for the sudden, explosive relief of the mate bond clicking into place, washing away the dark magic and the poison. He took a deep, dragging inhale against my collarbone. I felt his massive body go completely rigid. The moment of silence stretched, tight and terrifying. Then, a low, vibrating growl ripped from his throat. It wasn't a growl of recognition. It wasn't a desire. It was a growl of absolute, feral disgust. My eyes flew open. I barely had time to react before his hand shot out and closed around my throat. A terrified gasp escaped me. His fingers tightened, and suddenly, I couldn't breathe. I grabbed his wrist with both hands, desperately trying to pull him off me, but he was too strong. No matter how hard I tugged, his grip wouldn't loosen. Then he lifted me off the floor. My heart slammed against my ribs. I kicked wildly, my bare feet searching for the ground, but there was nothing beneath me. The torn books scattered across the floor as I struggled, panic rising with every passing second. I clung to his wrist, my fingers trembling as I fought to free myself. Tears stung my eyes, and I tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak, broken sound. He didn't let go. I couldn't understand how someone could look at me so coldly while I struggled in his grasp. I was terrified, and he could see it. He could see how desperately I was fighting, yet there wasn't even a flicker of mercy in his eyes. The flicker of confusion in his eyes was dead. The boy by the river was gone forever. He stared at me as I struggled to breathe, dark spots dancing across my vision. The bitter smell of the rage potion clung to him. Helena's daily wolfsbane tea had buried my natural scent, so he couldn't recognize me as his fated mate. "You stink of dirt and weakness, omega," he snarled, baring his sharp teeth.