Page 3

Kassira

I wake up with a headache that feels like my brain’s boiling inside my skull.

And then — just as suddenly — it’s gone. Silence. Stillness. Huh. That’s good.

My eyes are closed, but my hand is already searching. The texture beneath me isn’t familiar — too soft, too smooth, too damn expensive. This isn’t the rough cot in my home in Kunou Forest. This isn’t exile.

Then it hits me all at once. The memories. What I’ve done. What I’ve unleashed.

My eyes snap open. I sit up too fast and nearly choke on a gasp.

The bed I’m in? It looks like it belongs to a royal. No, not even that. It looks like it belongs to a god. Rich, dark wood. Velvet sheets. Pillows made of clouds, probably stitched by angels or fae seamstresses or something. It’s disgustingly perfect.

I don’t get to enjoy it long.

A low snarl rumbles through the room.

My head jerks toward the sound, and my blood turns to ice.

A massive, winged lycan crouches in the corner, silver eyes glowing, teeth bared. His jaws are too big to fully close, drool pooling beneath him in thick, wet strings. His wings twitch like he’s trying not to pounce.

Oh, stars. This is fine. Everything’s fine. Except for the GIANT MONSTER watching me like I’m a walking steak.

I reach inside for Neris. Nothing. She’s still unconscious. I’m alone.

And alone, I’m useless.

Not that she could fight a lycan. Not even a tiny one. But still — her presence always made me feel braver. Now it’s just me. My fear. My heartbeat pounding in my ears.

I take a slow breath and move to slide out of the bed, my eyes locked on the beast.

The moment my foot touches the floor, he snarls — louder this time, guttural and sharp.

I scramble backward into the pillows, heart galloping.

“Do not snarl at me,” I hiss, my voice barely a whisper but laced with shaky defiance. “That’s rude.”

He huffs, big gusts of air shooting from his nostrils like warning flares. His ears flick. His tail lashes. He’s not amused.

Fantastic. I escaped a cursed bond only to become the personal chew toy of a deranged lycan.

I scan the room, taking it in properly now. Ornate. Opulent. Every inch screams royalty, from the gilded fireplace to the crystal decanter on the nightstand.

My stomach drops. Why didn’t I think of this when I was admiring the bed?

I narrow my eyes at the monster in front of me. “Is this your room?”

He blinks once. Slowly. Then — he rolls his eyes.

He rolls. His eyes. At me.

“I knew it!” I say, the horror crawling up my throat. “You brought me to your room! You — You had sex with her in this bed, didn’t you?!”

My voice cracks. I start breathing faster.

“I need to get out of here. I need to leave.”

I make the mistake of moving again.

He lunges — not to attack, but to stop me. One massive clawed hand lands on my shoulder. I freeze. His talons graze skin. A single flex, and I’m ribbons. Tiny ribbons.

He leans in. Close. Too close. His snout hovers in front of my nose. I can feel the heat of his breath. The weight of his gaze.

And then… he sniffs.

He gestures with his head. A small flick toward the room.

I frown. “You want me to… smell something?”

He growls.

“I swear, if you’re making me sniff your dirty secrets—”

But his claws are still on me, and my survival instinct says cooperate .

So I inhale.

And it’s clean. Just clean. And…also familiar. It smells like Draven. Like smoke and fire and the edge of something dark.

Nothing else.

I deflate slightly, my pulse slowing. The lycan pulls back. Just a little.

“Maaattte.”

I go completely still.

He speaks? HE SPEAKS?! No lycan or wolf can speak!

The sound is rough, broken. A growl laced with something deeper. Something that rumbles in my bones. My eyes widen. “You… what?”

He stares at me, unwavering.

“I am not your mate,” I snap, arms crossed over my chest.

He rolls his eyes. Again.

I gasp. “Stop doing that! It’s rude!”

He huffs again and brings his snout even closer.

“Maaaattteee,” he repeats, softer this time. Almost like… a plea.

Something shivers down my spine.

Okay. No. No, no. I’ve definitely snapped something loose in my brain.

I push at his snout. It takes both hands — his nose is bigger than my face.

He lets me.

Courage rises like a tide inside me. “You won’t hurt me,” I whisper. “If you wanted to, you would’ve done it already.”

He doesn’t move. Just watches.

I narrow my eyes. “How well can you speak? Can you do sentences?”

He tilts his head. Shakes it slightly.

“Of course not,” I mutter. “Because that would be too convenient.”

I look closer into his eyes, and that’s when it clicks.

“He’s not home, is he?” I whisper. “Draven. He’s not… in there. You’re not connected right now.”

The lycan nods once, slowly.

“Shit.”

A lycan unanchored from its human side? That’s the stuff of nightmares. Dangerous. Unpredictable. One wrong move and I’m a stain on these very expensive sheets.

I’m about to really panic when I feel her, flickering like a soft spark in the back of my mind. Neris.

“Ask him his name,” she yawns, like we’re not currently locked in a room with a feral apex predator.

“Neris.” My voice softens. “You okay?”

“Never been better. No bond to pull at me until everything hurts, no pain with every heartbeat.” She sounds lighter. Brighter. “We’re free, Kass. We’re finally free.”

Something in my chest warms. I smile. It’s brief, but real.

My gaze shifts back to the monster in front of me. My hand is still on his snout. He hasn’t moved. Just stares at me like he’s waiting for me to do something. Say something.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

He rumbles low in his throat, then speaks, voice thick and broken: “Drrraaaxissss.”

A hiss and a snarl wrapped into one. Rough, but clear enough.

“Okay. Draxis.” I nod. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

He watches me expectantly. Eager. Still too close.

“I need to get out of here.”

He doesn’t move. Just shakes his head once. “Maaattteee.”

That damn word again.

“No, Draxis. No.” I cross my arms. “I am not your mate. You’re just glitching right now. You need to get on the same page with your other half.”

He growls low — not angry. Just… stubborn.

“Bring Draven forward,” I command, lifting my chin. “I want to speak to him. Now.”

Another shake of his massive head. Again with the defiance.

“I swear to the gods, I’ll scream.”

He puffs a breath into my face — hot and unimpressed. My threat means nothing to him.

Because he knows no one would come for me. Who would take on a huge beast for little ol’ me?

“Let me at him,” Neris growls inside me. “He can’t keep us here like this. We broke the bond. He has no right.”

Before I can say anything else, Draxis whines.

A high, soft sound. Pitiful. Like a puppy.

He leans closer, slowly stretching his massive neck toward me. His eyes are pleading. Another whine. Then — he lifts a talon and scratches at his neck.

He wants something.

“What — what is it? Do you want me to scratch you?” I blink. “Seriously?”

But then I see it. A flicker. A shimmer beneath the fur.

My breath catches. My hand moves on instinct.

I brush aside the thick, black hair at the side of his neck, and my stomach drops.

A collar.

Deep red. Almost molten. Etched with strange markings. So tightly latched I never saw it through the fur. It pulses faintly with magic. Faint… but old. Dangerous.

I reach out, just one finger. The moment I touch it — zap!

Pain bites through me like lightning. I yank my hand back.

“What is this thing?” I whisper, staring at him.

Draxis whines again, scraping at his neck with growing desperation.

“I don’t know how to help you.” My voice wavers. “You need to bring Draven forward. Maybe he knows what this is. Maybe you two can fix it. Together.”

He stares at me like I’ve gutted him. Like I’ve betrayed him. Big, googly, full-on puppy eyes. And stars, it goes straight to my heart — this is why I never got a dog.

“I’m not your magic solution, Draxis. I can’t break this, I don’t have that kind of power.”

He growls, frustrated this time. Angry. But not at me.

I straighten, steel sliding into my spine.

“You need Draven,” I say firmly. “Let him in. Now.”

His silver eyes narrow, defiant.

We lock stares. Neither of us blinking. Neither of us willing to budge.

But I don’t back down. I keep staring.

Finally, he huffs. His body shudders. And then his eyes flicker. Molten silver fades to cold steel blue. And the shift begins.

Bones snap. Fur recedes. Wings collapse inward. He drops to his knees, trembling.

In a matter of seconds, he’s here.

Draven.

Completely human. Completely naked. On the floor at my feet.