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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

RIVER

R iver sat on her bed, staring at a random TV show and rubbing the fading bruises on her arms. Titan had gripped her hard, but that wasn't what unsettled her most; it was the look in his eyes when she'd defied him.

The push and pull of anger and longing, dominance and something dangerously similar to desperation.

She traced a fingertip over the marks, anger simmering beneath the surface.

He thought he could wear her down. That if he applied the right amount of pressure, she would fold.

Submit. But River wasn't raised to be anyone's captive queen.

As the anger rolled through her again, her stomach flopped, and she lurched for the bathroom just before throwing up soda.

She heaved again and again until she broke out in a sheen of sweat.

Damn, being pregnant was not all it was cracked up to be. No wonder her mom had only had one kid. This might be her only one, too.

She flushed the toilet and lay down on the cement floor, letting the coolness seep into her face.

Her wolf whined.

"I'm fine," she croaked. "After being bitten, shot, and kidnapped, I'm not about to let nausea take us out."

Her wolf whined again.

River pushed herself from the cool bathroom floor, her limbs trembling with exertion. She gripped the sink, staring at her pale reflection. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, a stark contrast to her silvery hair. Her skin held a waxy pallor, and she was sure her face was thinner.

Shit. Was she losing weight? That wasn't good, was it? But what did she expect when all she possibly managed to keep down daily was a couple of hundred calories of sugar? Just walking seemed to fatigue her. Not good. Not. Good. She needed to escape before she died or, worse, miscarried.

The thought made her wolf yowl.

"No. We're going to make it through this," she murmured. Her hand drifted to her abdomen. “I’ll get us out. I promise."

Her wolf stirred restlessly. River took a deep breath, trying to calm both herself and her agitated other half.

Stay strong. Keep your wits about you.

Titan grew more unstable by the day, and she couldn't afford to be off her game.

A soft knock at the door startled her from her thoughts. A knock? No one knocked.

River tensed, she rushed out of the bathroom, and her eyes darted to the fake window. It was too early for her usual meal delivery. The sun hadn't set yet.

"Who is it?" Her voice came out steadier than she felt as she shuffled to the bed and sat quickly, hoping her room didn't smell like vomit.

She popped a mint from the nightstand into her mouth and crunched it between her teeth as she tensed, ready for another confrontation with Titan. But when the door eased open, it wasn't him.

Kane entered, his face unreadable as he shut the door.

River turned off the TV. "Came to deliver another threat?"

Kane exhaled through his nose and crossed his arms. "No threats tonight."

River narrowed her eyes and finished chewing her mint. Silence was often more unnerving than words. His eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air and then looked at her.

He studied her for a long moment before leaning against the dresser. "You're driving him insane, you know."

"Good," she said flatly.

Kane huffed a quiet laugh but shook his head. "Not good for you." His gaze flickered to the bruises on her arms. "He's losing it."

River swallowed hard but kept her expression blank. "Then maybe you should talk some sense into your almighty Alpha before there's nothing left to salvage."

"You think I haven't tried?" Kane shot back, voice low and sharp. "I told him this would go sideways if he forced it. But he's ready to… do something I just cannot agree with."

"You created the monster but can no longer control him, huh?"

"Believe me when I say I didn’t create him. But that isn't the point. Look, I don't like you."

"Obviously."

"And you don't like me."

"Truth."

"But even I don't want to see you forced into something that will destroy you both."

She snorted. "You mean mating?"

"That's exactly what I mean."

River stared at him as his meaning sank in, making her gut twist.

"He wouldn't," she whispered. But even as she said it, she knew Kane wouldn't be there unless Titan would.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Kane muttered a curse under his breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I wanted to fix the system. I thought Titan would do that."

"As long as he listened to you."

"We had a goal. A plan. But you screwed the whole damn thing up."

"You do know I don't want this, right? I don't want any part of it. If you let me go-"

"Then he will kill me and get himself killed trying to get you back."

"Then help me," River said softly.

Kane looked away.

But she saw it, the flicker of doubt tightening his shoulders, the war waging inside him.

And for the first time since being taken, she saw a crack in Kane's armor. He cared for Titan and believed in what they were doing.

Kane stared at the wall, visibly wrestling with himself. When he looked back at River, his eyes held a storm of conflicting emotions.

"I can't betray him," he said. "He's like a brother to me. We've been through hell together."

River took a cautious step toward him. "Then don't betray him. Save him. You know what he's planning will destroy him in the end."

"You don't understand what's at stake," Kane growled. "This is bigger than just you and Titan. It's about changing our entire society."

"By drugging innocent wolves? By tearing apart families?" River challenged. "Is that the change you want to see? Help me understand. What is all this for? The drugs, the rogues, kidnapping me... what's the endgame?"

Kane exhaled slowly. "Freedom," he said simply. "Freedom for our kind to live as we're meant to, not hiding in the shadows, not bowing to ancient traditions that keep us weak."

"And you think forcing me to be Titan's mate will accomplish that?"

Kane shook his head. "It was never supposed to go this far. You were meant to be a symbol- the Luna who would stand beside the true Alpha King. Together, you would usher in a new era for wolves everywhere."

"But I'm not his true mate," River said. "My wolf rejected him from the beginning."

"He doesn't believe that. He thinks the bond needs time, that your connection to the twins is what's blocking it."

A chill ran through River. "What do you think?"

Kane's expression darkened. "Our system is defective. The Council and the royal family have all failed us. Do you have any idea what it's like for rogues? For those who don't fit into your perfect little hierarchy?"

River's eyes flashed. "And your solution is what? More violence? More control? How does that make you any different from the system you're trying to overthrow?"

Kane fell silent, his gaze drifting to the fake window where the faint glow of lights still flickered in the distance.

"We were going to build something better.

His mom had a vision, a world where wolves lived without shame, without hiding.

Where strength and love were valued over heritage. I believed in that vision. I still do."

"What changed?"

Kane's eyes hardened. "The Council rejected Titan's petition for recognition as a legitimate son of the king. And then... His father died."

"You mean he killed his father."

Kane looked at her and shook his head. "No. He didn't."

Ares and Apollo had said he'd killed their parents. They wouldn't lie about that.

"Who did then?"

She didn't think he would answer.

"His mother," he finally said.

River shook her head. "You're lying."

"I was there. I saw what happened. Titan had nothing to do with it."

"Then why did he take the blame?"

"Because he loved his mother. He felt she'd suffered enough, and he didn't want her name tarnished as well."

River's mind reeled. Titan hadn't killed his father or the twins' mother.

"We had to go underground after that. We'd gone to the States for a while and tried to make a new life, but then Titan's mom killed herself, and it sent Titan into a tailspin. He'd been out of control for a year and then-"

"And then he found me," she finished for him.

"It became... personal after that. His goal shifted from changing the system to conquering it. To prove he deserved you, deserved everything they said he couldn't have."

River sank onto the bed, absorbing this information. "And now?"

"Now he's lost in his obsession," Kane said. "With you, with power, with revenge. I don't recognize him anymore."

"Help me, Kane," River said. "Not just for my sake, but for his too. This path he's on will destroy him."

Kane's eyes met hers. "What would you have me do? I can't just let you go."

"Then help me reach him," River said, a plan forming in her mind. "The real him, not this twisted version consumed by vengeance and obsession. You said it yourself, he wasn't always like this."

Kane ran a hand over his face, looking suddenly exhausted. "Even if I wanted to help you, it might be too late. He's not listening to reason anymore."

"There has to be something. Some way to get through to him."

A thick silence fell between them, marred only by the distant howl of a wolf somewhere in the forest surrounding the compound. The sound sent a shiver down River's spine, a reminder of her mates, still searching for her.

Kane paced the room. "Even if I wanted to help you, what could I do? There are cameras everywhere. Patrols. Dozens of rogues. Not to mention the fences. Titan would know immediately you were missing."

"There must be something. A way out, a way to contact Ares and Apollo..."

"And then what?" Kane challenged. "They'll come storming in here, and people will die. Good people, who believe they're fighting for a better world."

River stood, her eyes flashing with determination. "Then help me talk to him."

Kane laughed bitterly. "You think you can reason with him? After everything?"

River struggled for something to say. Something that would convince Kane to act.

No. Not that. She couldn't…