bChapter /bb146 /b

    bra’s /bbPOV /b

    bI /bcould feel the tension ripple through the room as Thorne’s roar filled the air, sending a shiver down my spine. Everyone baround /bbus /bbfroze/bb, /bexcept for one person.

    Dorian.

    He stood there, calm, almost eerily so, his voice cutting through the charged silence like a de.

    “You heard me,” he said, his tone smooth and deliberate. “I am her mat

    I didn’t need to look at Thorne to know the explosion that was brewing him. The heat from his re could’ve scorched the earth.

    “BULLSHIT!” Thorne’s voice thundered. “I am-”

    “Yeah, you were her mate. But not anymore.” Dorian’s sneer was almost too satisfying. “You rejected her for someone else, didn’t you? bEven /bba /brogue like me knew that. Does it surprise you that she finds her second chance mate now?”

    Thorne’s silence was deafening. His fists were clenched, his body shaking with a barely contained fury.

    After what seemed like an eternity, he finally turned his gaze to me, his eyes darker than a storm cloud.

    “Was it true?” The words came out one by one, like he was forcing himself to say them.

    My heart raced, fear crawling up my throat. I wanted to answer, to say something, anything, but I was terrified that whatever I said would only push him further into the abyss. My hands instinctively gripped Kimberly’s, who stood next to me, her fingers a lifeline.

    Before I could find my voice, Kimberly spoke up, her words sharp and biting.

    fas

    “It’s true,” she snapped. “ra found him today. You think you’re some saint all We saw you’with other women! If you’ve moved on, so can she.”

    That was all it took. The final straw.

    In a sh, Thorne was on Dorian, his fist colliding with Dorian’s jaw in a sickening crack. Dorian staggered back, but he didn’t go down. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his gaze never wavered.

    “Violence?” Dorian wiped his mouth, his voice low and dangerous. “Is that the best you can do, Thorne? Doesn’t matter if ra grows tired bof /b

    you.”

    I didn’t have time to process the words before Dorian charged, his fist aimed at Thorne. They collided like two storms in the night–grunts, curses, and the sickening sound of fists meeting flesh.

    I watched, helpless, as they fought, too absorbed in their rage to shift into their wolves. This wasn’t just a fight; this was something persor This was pride, jealousy, and anger thrown into the ring, with no regard for what it might destroy.

    “Damn it,” I cursed under my breath. I couldn’t do anything. Not without my wolf.

    “Let’s go,” Kimberly whispered, pulling me/away, urgency in her voice. “We can’t stay here. bLo /b

    Dorian handle it. bLet’s /bget out bwhile /bbwe /bcanb./bb” /b

    I didn’t have time to respond. We barely reached the entrance when we heard ba /bgrowl. Thorne had thrown Dorian baside /bband /bbwas /bbcharging /bat bus /bagainb, /bhis eyes wild.

    b1/4 /b

    bChapter /b146

    bBefore /bI bcould /beven react, he grabbed me by the wrist, yanking me back bto /bhim.

    bHis /bbface /bbwas /bba /bmask of fury, blood dripping down from his split lip. “Stay,” he hissed, half pleading, half demandingb. /bb“/bbYou /bbdon’t /bbhave /bban /bboption/bb./bb” /b

    I couldn’t help it. I red at him, the anger I’d been holding back bursting through. He wasn’t just a tyrant; he was ba /bmonster.

    Heavy footsteps echoed through the courtyard. Soldiers. We were trapped.

    Theni, /iwithout thinking, I pped him. Hard.

    “You’re a fucking jerk,” I spat, my palm stinging from the force.

    His jaw tightened, and for a moment, he looked like he might strike me back. But he didn’t. He stood there, silent, as the soldiers gathered around us.

    “Kimberly,” he said coldly, his eyes never leaving me. “What do you n to do?”

    Kimberly didn’t flinch. She stood firm, Dorian standing behind her, looking worse for wear but alive. “Dorian did nothing wrong. You can’t punish him for helping us.”

    “He tried to help you escape!” Thorne’s voice wasced with venom. “I wouldn’t call that nothing.”

    Kimberly raised her chin, defiant. “That order came from me. If anyone’s to be punished, it’s me.”

    Thorne’s eyes turned to ice, his face unreadable. Just as he moved to give the order to apprehend them, I spoke up, my voice thick with emotion.

    “Thorne. Don’t make me hate you even more.”

    He stopped. His breath hitched in his chest. His gaze flickered to me, the battle waging in his eyes.

    “Fine,” he muttered, the words bitter on his tongue. “Back to the pce.”

    His hand reached for mine, but I pulled away, the chill between us colder than any night.

    “I’ll walk on my own,” I said, my voice sharp as I pushed past him, not sparing him a second nced.

    I thought for sure he’d drag me back to the dungeon. But to my surprise, he took me to our suite–the one we’d shared when we first arrived

    at the Grace Ruin.

    The door mmed shut behind me as I stepped into the room, and a wave of memories hit me. This was where we had once shared everything–our ns, our closeness, our hearts intertwined amidst all the chaos.

    But now… now it felt like a prison.

    “Leave us,” Thorne ordered the soldiers, his voice cold and dismissive.

    I turned to face him, sarcasm dripping from my lips. “They really treat you like royalty. Seems you’ve got Lance wrapped baround /bbyour /bbfinger/b. Congrats.”

    “I have my reasons,” Thorne shot back, his words empty, but I could hear the ice beneath them.

    I rolled my eyes, the exhaustion settling in. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”

    Before I could even process my frustration, he was on me, his hand gripping my chin, bforcing /bbme /bto look bup /bbat /bbhim/b.

    b214 /b

    S7146

    b“/bbYou /bbnever /bbgive /bme a chance bto /bexin,” he growled.

    bI /bbsnorted/b. b“/bI’ve been locked in a dungeon for days, and when I finally saw you, you were groping some bstripper/bb. /bbSo/bb, /bbif /bbyou /bthink bI /bbhaven’t /bgiven byou /ba chanceb, /bgo ahead, exin.”

    Thorne’s eyes darkened. “Lance said something to me in the forest. Before I kill him.”

    I blinked, confusion flickering across my face. “You mean your new boss?”

    Ignoring my sarcasm, he pressed on. “Killing him won’t solve anything. Even if he dies, another Rogue King will rise up. Someone worse. The war won’t stop.”

    I felt the anger rise in my chest. “But you don’t know that! Maybe someone better will take over. Someone decent… like Kimberly, or Jory!”

    “The rogues will never follow someone soft. The Rogue King is always cold, ruthless, and ambitious.”

    “Like you?” I shot back, my voice cutting through the tension. Thorne’s face twisted with rage.

    “You’re bing the very monster you said you hated,” I said, my voice full of disgust.

    He snarled. “Is that what you think of me? A monster?”

    “You almost killed that girl in the nightclub!” I shouted.

    “A necessary sacrifice,” he spat.

    The words hit me like a p. The chill that spread through me was worse than the p itself. A necessary sacrifice. That’s what he believed. That anyone who stood in his way was expendable.

    A pause stretched between us. My voice was hoarse when I finally spoke.

    “Did Lance say how to make you King?”

    “Not yet,” Thorne replied. “But he hinted at a special ritual. I’m going to find out.”

    I nodded, a sick feeling rising in my stomach. “Fine. Go ahead./Do what you have to do. Be the monster.”

    His anger red. “Then who do you care about, huh? Your new mate? Dorian?”

    I didn’t have any ns for Dorian. But now? Now I was going to say whatever would get under Thorne’s skin.

    “Yes,” I said defiantly, “I’m going to recognize him as my mate. We’ll fall in love. Have sex. And live happily ever after.”

    I didn’t even get a chance to finish before Thorne was on me, his lips crashing into mine, silencing me.

    His kiss was rough, desperate, and full of rage. I bit down hard on his tongue, tasting blood, but he didn’t pull away. He kissed me like he wanted to possess me, like he thought he could/control me through it.

    When he finally pulled away, I gasped for air, my chest heaving.

    “You’re not going anywhere,” he growled, his voice low and menacing. “You won’t see Dorian. No one else. From now onb, /bbyou /bbstay /bbin /bbthis /broom.”

    I recoiled, shock washing over me. Was he really going to lock me bin/b?

    Before I could protest, Thorne turned, striding out of the room like he owned it. The door mmed shut with ba /bbfinality /bbthat /bbshook /bbme /bbto /bbmy /b

    b3/4 /b

    bcore/bb. /b

    bAnd /b

    just like

    that… 1

    was

    trapped.

    1