Page 22

22

EVE

W here in the name of the Shadow Moon Goddess is Grayson taking me?

Hooded and bound, I reached out with what senses I had left, straining to make sense of the world around me.

The steady growl of the engine filled the silence, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the sharp crunch of gravel beneath the tires or the occasional drunken curse from Grayson up front. My pulse hammered in my ears, the weight of the unknown worse than the ropes biting into my wrists.

I sniffed the air instinctively, a faint trace of wet earth and blackthorns cutting through the staleness. Familiar. Too familiar. My stomach twisted as recognition crept in.

Blackthorn Grove.

I shifted slightly, my fingers brushing the rough metal of the truck bed for balance as another bump jarred my knees. I bit back a cry, more from fear than pain .

Please, wake up , I said to my wolf . The plea whispered through my mind.

My wolf stirred faintly, a flicker of warmth in the dark. I clung to it, hoping, willing her to come alive, to rise and shield me as she was meant to. She stayed quiet, still. Not gone, but not there for me either.

Please, come out. I need you.

Tears pricked my eyes, hot and useless beneath the hood. I couldn’t give in to despair, but it was a battle to keep breathing.

The truck skidded to a halt, the tires crunching against loose gravel. A door slammed, heavy boots crunching across the ground. The scent of alcohol rolled off Grayson as he yanked open the tailgate.

“ Get out ,” he growled.

The tailgate creaked open, and rough hands seized my ankles, dragging me out into the night.

I bit back a cry as I landed on my knees, but the sting was nothing compared to the way his alpha command locked on to me like chains.

“ Walk ,” he snapped, and I had no choice. My legs moved on their own, and I got up and stumbled forward as the weight of his authority bore down on me.

The air outside was cold, crisp with the sharp bite of the coming midnight. Almost twenty-four hours I’d been waiting in a cell, the anticipation clawing at my insides. And now we were here.

My senses screamed that I was near the platform—the place he made me give my visions. Every step brought me closer to the memories of humiliation and pain. My legs hit stone, confirming it.

The hood was ripped away, and the sudden light of the moon stung my eyes.

“ Up ,” he barked.

Grayson’s rough grip clamped down on me, yanking me up onto the platform. My shoulder flared with pain as he nearly dislocated my arm.

I hesitated for half a second and his grip tightened. He pushed me forward with such force I nearly fell. The sharp tang of blood hit my tongue as I bit down hard to keep from crying out.

Grayson towered over me, his breath hot and rancid as he sneered down at me.

“Let’s see what your visions have to say tonight,” he spat. “You better speak that curse that you have thus far refused me.”

My wolf stirred faintly, a weak pulse in the back of my mind, and I clung to it desperately.

“Perhaps I can’t kill you, but I can make this as easy or as hard as you want it to be.”

Hold on , I told myself. Don’t let him snake words onto your tongue.

If I was going to survive this, I’d have to find a strength in myself that the Shadow Moon Goddess herself would have to deliver.

“ Don’t move. ” The weight of the alpha command bore down on me, locking my limbs in place as though I were a statue carved into the platform. Grayson stumbled back toward the truck, his footsteps uneven and dragging.

He mumbled to himself, low and slurred, the words half-lost to the wind. “Damian, you reckless, stupid boy. Couldn’t even hold on to what was yours. Shouldn’t curse the dead, should I? Even if he brought it all on himself…” His bitter laugh cut through the night.

My heart pounded against my ribs, faster and faster as I tracked his movements, desperate for any clue about what was coming. He reached the truck and disappeared into its bed, clattering and shifting tools and supplies. For one fleeting moment, I thought he might drive away, leave me here to freeze in the chill of Heraclid lands.

Then he emerged, a coiled rope in hand.

The blood drained from my face.

Grayson walked back toward the platform, dragging the length of rope behind him. He tossed it over a thick branch that jutted out above me, the fibers brushing against my arm as it dangled in front of my face.

A flash of panic shot through me.

He’s going to hang me.

The thought hit like a hammer, shattering whatever composure I’d been clinging to.

“No! You can’t do this!” The words burst from me, frantic and breathless. My voice cracked as I fought against the command’s invisible chains. “The Shadow Moon Goddess, she’ll never forgive you! You’ll bring her wrath on the entire pack! You’ll never get what you want, and you’ll condemn the Heraclids to misery?—”

“Shut the fuck up!” Grayson bellowed over my desperate plea.

He yanked the rope down, his movements rough and forceful as he stood in front of me and grabbed my trembling hands. The coarse fibers bit into my skin as he tied the rope tightly around my wrists.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he muttered, his tone filled with bitterness as he pulled the knot taut. His breath reeked of alcohol, burning my nose. “But by the time I’m done with you, you might wish I had.”

Grayson wiped a hand across his mouth, sniffing loudly as he stepped onto the edge of the platform. He stood there, as if basking in the pale moonlight that filtered through the branches above. Then he turned back to me.

“Even as a little girl,” he began, “you had a beauty about you. A special way.” I hated the way he was looking at me. I could sense I wasn’t just an oracle to him anymore. I was transforming into something else to him. And that thought made my stomach turn. “I always thought it was because of your oracle abilities. Your mother sold me well on that, didn’t she? Told me I had to preserve you, make you one of us. Protect you.”

He wiped at his chin, his fingers twitching like he couldn’t keep still.

“But now that you’re a woman…” the sound that emerged from him was more wolf than man, “I see you differently.”

His eyes flashed gold, his wolf surfacing, and my chest tightened. My wolf stirred, weak and panicked, and there was no strength to draw from, nothing to help me fight whatever was coming.

Grayson suddenly commanded, “ Speak the curse on Orion .”

The alpha command slammed into me, and my body jerked forward, straining against the ropes that held me in place. Every fiber of my being screamed to obey, to let the words spill from my lips. I clamped my jaw shut, digging my nails into my palms to anchor myself .

No. I won’t do it.

Speaking my visions was my power. The one thing he couldn’t control, the one thing I could resist. Even if it meant he’d end me for it.

His growl rumbled through the night, low and threatening. “ Speak it ,” he commanded again, the force like a wall caving in.

I shook my head, my breaths shallow and ragged. “I won’t.”

Grayson’s eyes darkened, his hand shifting. Claws extended, catching the moonlight as he stepped closer. His anger simmered like boiling water.

In one swift motion, he swiped downward, tearing the fabric of my dress from my hip to my thighs. The sound of ripping cloth echoed through the silence, and I flinched as the sharp edge of his claws grazed my skin, leaving a thin scratch that burned but didn’t bleed.

I gasped, my body yanking against the ropes. His smirk only deepened.

“That’s just the beginning.”

He was relentless, the command sharp and unyielding as he circled me like a predator closing in on its prey. “ Speak the curse ,” he growled again and again, with fury and a twisted patience.

Every time I refused, he raised his arm, claws slicing through the fabric of my dress like I was a cat’s plaything. Each pass he made around me felt closer, more invasive, the tips of his claws going deeper into my skin with every strike.

Grayson paced around me like a predator savoring the kill, but his rhythm faltered as someone called from the tree line .

“Alpha Grayson.”

Two figures emerged from the shadows and into the faint light of the moon. Alaric, tall and imposing, stood alongside another enforcer. Both halted, taking in my torn dress and bound wrists. Their heads dipped low, a gesture of respect for the alpha—or perhaps shame.

Grayson straightened, his claws retracting as he shifted his focus to them. “This better be good.”

Alaric cleared his throat. “We have reason to believe the Orion alpha has entered Heraclid lands.”

Grayson’s lips curled into a slow, vulture-like smile. “Do you now?”

“Yes,” Alaric continued. “I can still sense him through the Orion pack bond.” He winced. “At least, I think that’s what it is, because we haven’t been able to track him. He could be masking his scent. Orions excel at that.”

“And you expect me to believe you, the betraying enforcer of Orion?”

Alaric winced. “I have been loyal since I arrived here, and you know my reasons, Alpha.”

“You insist the Orion pack has dwindled, and yet I—as alpha—still sense them, strong and numerous.” Grayson pursed his lips, awaiting Alaric’s response. “Do you think I am flawed in my assessment?

Alaric began sweating. A lot. “It’s not—it’s not that,” he stuttered. “I understand your reticence. It’s just I know Orion’s tricks, and that is their greatest one. Hunter skills were long instilled in Orion wolves. But I assure you, Orion is not what it was. And Logan is coming here.” He cleared his throat again. “I think.”

Grayson chuckled, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. “This news pleases me, Alaric. Let him come.” He waved a dismissive hand, his attention only half on them. “While you’re out playing hide and seek, fetch something more appropriate for our precious oracle to wear. Something dignified.”

The two enforcers hesitated, then bowed their heads in unison and disappeared back into the darkness.

As their footsteps faded, Grayson stepped closer to me and spoke in a dangerous whisper. “We’re about to find out if what that old witch wolf said is true,” he murmured, his hot breath against my ear. “And if I’ll finally be rid of my troubles with you.”

My pulse pounded as he drew back slightly.

“I’ll give you one last chance,” he said with a sinister calm. “Curse the Orion alpha. Ensure his demise. Or,” he simply smiled, “let your fate play out.”

My legs trembled beneath me, and my wrists were raw from pulling against the ropes as I fought to stay upright. I hadn’t slept since I woke in the cell and fear was taking its toll on my body. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision, and the familiar haze of exhaustion threatened to drag me under. I couldn’t give in, but I was worried I wouldn’t last much longer against his command.

“I’ll never curse him.” The effort it took to push the words out felt monumental, like dragging my soul through shards of glass.

Grayson’s eyes flashed with fury. “Stubborn little wolf,” he hissed, circling me. “You’ll hang there and learn what real consequences feel like.”

The world tilted, my vision tunneling as the pain and exhaustion overwhelmed me. The ropes bit into my wrists as the last shreds of strength left my body.

My head lolled forward, and darkness swallowed me whole.

Voices cut through the black void, faint and faraway. Hands gripped my arms, rough, and they sliced through the bindings, the pressure of the ropes disappearing. My body crumpled, barely caught by someone, who yanked me upright again.

“Get the dress on her,” came Alaric’s sharp command. Fabric slid over my skin, the scratchy threads scraping against raw welts as they tugged it into place.

“She’s out cold,” muttered one of the enforcers.

Grayson’s growl cut through the air like a whip. “Tie her hands up again. We’ll leave Logan a gift with a bow on it.”

A heavy weight pressed against my chest as I tried to force my eyes open, but they wouldn’t obey. The vibrations of Grayson’s boots hitting the platform echoed in my skull.

Various hands were on me, manipulating me like a rag doll. Even the pain of my arms being wrenched over my head wasn’t enough to make me react. I was hovering in and out of consciousness, in and out of my body.

The sound of their footsteps faded, as if they’d retreated from the platform, and I heard muttered curses under his breath. The truck’s engine roared to life, and I caught the rumble of Alaric’s voice as they sped away into the night.

Time was meaningless as it passed—minutes, hours, maybe longer. When I finally blinked my eyes open, the world was still cloaked in darkness, the faint glow of the moon casting eerie shadows across the empty platform.

And then I saw him .

At first, I thought I was dreaming, the edges of my vision still blurred and hazy. His figure moved toward me with purpose, streaking through the night like lightning. His shoulders were broad, his stride confident. My heart clenched with recognition.

A vision coming to life.

It’s him.

Him. The one who had fought for me, who brought freedom and protection in every vision I’d ever had. He was here. He’d come back for me.

Except…

As he stepped closer, the light caught his face, and the expression he wore wasn’t one of salvation. It wasn’t kind, or soft, or filled with the promises my visions whispered to me.

It was hardened. Cold. Furious.

Logan wasn’t here to save me.

He had come to kill me.