bChapter /bb71 /b

The door to the deepest cell creaks open, and I step inside. The air here is damp and chokes like smoke, thick with the stench of rot and old blood. Torches flicker on the jagged stone walls, casting dancing shadows that twist like demons. Iron chains hang from the ceiling, some stained with dried blood, others still slick from recent use. Screams have been swallowed here, too many to count. No onees out the same from this ce–not even ollime. /li/ol

The coldness in my bones grows sharper as I walk toward the center of the cell. There he is–Khoas–tied to a rusted metal chair bolted into the ground. He’s no longer smirking. His head hangs low, his skin pale, sweat clinging to him like dew. He’s shaking. The effects of the broken mate bond are finally catching up with him, gnawing into his mind like worms in a carcass. Good.

I stop in front of him and tilt my head, ba /bslow smile crawling onto my face.

“Wee to hell, Khoas.”

His head jerks up. His eyes are bloodshot, filled with rage–and something else. me?

“This is all your fault,” he spits, his voice hoarse but venomous. b“/bbYou /bgave men power over their mates. You made thew. You built this system. Don’t bact /blike you’re innocent, Alpha. You made me–us–monsters.”

My jaw clenches.

He keeps going, trembling, but reckless. b“/bYou think if you get rid of me, this is over? There are worse men in the pack doing the sameb–/bworse to their mates, and you turned a blind eye. You only cared when it happened to your sister. It took her pain for you to finally see the truth.”

I stare at him.

His words hit deeper than I want to admit. The truth, as bitter and sharp as any de. If I hadn’t created that damnw… if I hadn’t granted that powerb… /bJasmine wouldn’t have suffered. Wouldn’t have chosen death over being his mate. It was me. I handed the knife that slit her soul.

Rage burns behind my eyes.

I grab the metal bucket of acid from the metal table nearby. His eyes widen with recognition, and before he can speak, ssh–the acid hits his face.

His scream tears through the stone walls. It’s raw. Animalistic. His skin blisters and peels as he thrashes, trying to wrench free from the chair, but there’s no escaping.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, ALPHA?!” he shrieks, sobbing uncontrobly. “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! PLEASE, SPARE ME! I SWEAR I’LL DISAPPEAR -I’LL GO FAR AWAY–YOU’LL NEVER SEE ME AGAIN!”

I chuckle. But there’s no humor in it–just pure, unfiltered rage.

“I’m your Alpha, Khoas. And you, as my Beta, should have known how much I loved bmy /bsister. That alone should have made you too afraid to every ba /bhand on her.”

bI /bcrouch in front of himb, /bclose enough to watch his flesh bubble.

“Even if I gave males power over their mates, Jasmine should have been the exception. But you beat her. Humiliated her. Tormented herb. /bbAnd /bbnow /bbyou /bthink disappearing will make up for that?”

My voice lowers to a menacing snarl as rise to my feet. “But that’s not why I’m here, Khoas. Your punishment for her willeter. Like they sayb… /bbsave /bthe best forst.”

He whimpersi, /ihis breathing uneven and desperate.

“For now, you better talk, Where bis /bmy mate? I know you bwere /bthest one seen with her. Her scent was in your house earlierb./bb” /b

Khoas’s swollen lips tremble. “I… I haven’t seen her–I swear–I don’t-”

Wrong answer.

1 pick up a serrated de from the rack and let the metal gleam under the firelight. It’s sharp enough to tear flesh from bone. Khoas sees it, and his terror spikes, eyes bulging.

“WAIT! OKAY—OKAY!” he cries. “She was in my house—but she left! She couldn’t hurt me because of the mate bond with Jasmine, I swear!”

Liarb. /b

Before I respond, Fury’s voice cuts through the mind, mind–linking me with grim urgency.

“Alpha, I sent two of our best trackers to trace Khoas’s movements in thest eight hours. Just got the report. He wasst seen leaving the territory bin /bba /bcarriage. But here’s the thing–the carriage only had his scent. No trace of the Luna.b” /b

b“/bWhat…?”

b“/bWhich means one of two things: either she wasn’t with him, or he masked her scent. He’s a trained beta–he knows how to cover his tracks.”

I grind my jaw, gripping the de tighter. Fury… “Thank you. Stay with Jasmine. Don’t leave her side. You’re the only one I trust right now.”

“Of course, Alpha.”

The link cuts.

I stare at Khoasb, /bconfused but growing more furious by the second. Something’s inot /iadding up. If he’s lying, I can’t afford to waste another moment. Kali might be in danger right now–every second matters.

Then, for the first time in what feels like forever, my wolf stirs. His voice is weak, broken, but clear.

“Khoas is lying,” he growls, voice frayed with pain. “I can sniff his nervousnessb… /bCut his limb and get the truth out of himb… /bbefore bit’s /btoote… mateb… /b

she’s…”

Thest word is a whisper. A plea. My heart clenches.

I raise the de, breathing sharp. “How dare you lie to meb, /bKhoas? You were seen leaving pack territory in ba /bcarriage. Don’t even think about denying it because “I m my boot into the leg of the chair, making him flinch violently, “-my mate’s body was in there, wasn’t it?”

Khoas stammers, mouth agape. “No, I–okay, I’ll talk–I’ll confess–JUST DON’T-!”

“Talk.” My voice is hollow. The de kisses his shoulder.

“It’s true. I carried her out of the territory. In a carriage.”

“Then how the hell did you mask iher /iscent?”

Khoas swallows. “I… I injected her. She didn’t see iting.”

“What did you use?” I hiss, already fearing the answer

“Neruthium Veil,” he says quietly.

My blood turns to bfire/b.

That sick bastard.

Neruthium Veil–one of the most dangerous poisons ever created. It erases scentpletely. Even ba /bmother wouldn’t brecognise /bher bchild /bbif /bbthey’d /bbnever /bseen them before. Worse, inrge dosesb, /bit can sever the bond between soul and wolf. It’s only ever used during execution rituals.

b“/bbYou /binjected that into her?!b” /bI roarb, /bmming the de through the armrest just inches bfrom /bhis ribs. “bYou /bbastard!”

“It was the only way to get her past the borders unnoticed! I had to get her to my master–I didn’t think–”

“Where is she?! And who the hell is your master?!”

bKhoas /bshakes his head frantically, “I swear I don’t know! I’ve never seen him. I only) nothing! But…”

I grab his cor, yanking him forward. “Then who the hell did you hand her over to?!”

got instructions through letters. I don’t know his nameb–/bbhis /bface

“I don’t know! There was a man… wearing a mask. I couldn’t see his face either. But I heard something–just before bI /bgave him the carriage.

“What did you hear?”

“A voice. Deep. Calm. It said… she was being taken to the Alpha King’s pce. bTo /breceive her judgement.”

My body stills. My ears ring.

“She’s probably already dead, Jack,” Khoas whispers. “By the time you get there… it’ll be toote.”

My hands shake.

No.