The ride to the city was quiet, but not the uncomfortable kind.
Aiden sat in the passenger seat, elbow resting against the window, watching the early morning landscape blur by. Theron held the wheel with a relaxed confidence, glancing at Aiden every few minutes as if making sure he was really there.
"You're staring," Aiden muttered without looking at him.
"You look peaceful," Theron replied.
Aiden scoffed, but warmth crept into his cheeks.Peaceful.No one had ever called him that.
They were only ten minutes from the city when Aiden shifted, stretching his legs.
Theron opened his mouth—maybe to tease him, maybe to talk about the weird, gentle quiet between them—
But he never got the chance.
Because a car shot out from a side road.
Fast.Wrong angle.No attempt to brake.
"Aiden—!" Theron grabbed for him.
The impact tore through the world.
Metal screamed.Glass shattered.Their car spun violently, flipping once—twice—gravity ripping them in every direction.
Aiden's head slammed hard. Pain flashed white-hot. Something warm spilled down his forehead.
Theron roared his name—"AIDEN!"—but the sound distorted, fading into a dark tunnel.
The car crashed against a tree and finally stopped.
Smoke curled in the air.
Aiden's vision blurred as he tried to move. His seatbelt held him tight, biting into his shoulder.
"T-Th… Theron," he croaked, reaching for the alpha beside him. Theron hung half-slumped over the wheel, bleeding from the temple, chest still rising—but barely.
Aiden tried to unbuckle himself.
He couldn't.
His fingers slipped. His arms felt heavy. His sight darkened around the edges.
Footsteps crunched on broken glass.
Slow.Purposeful.
Aiden forced his head up, breath trembling—
—and froze.
A familiar perfume.Sweet. Artificial.Rotten with obsession.
A woman's face leaned into the broken window, lit by flashing hazard lights.
Evelyn.
Her smile was wrong—far too wide."Found you," she whispered.
Aiden's pulse surged. Panic clawed up his throat.
"G-get… away…"
"Oh, Aiden," she cooed, reaching in to cup his cheek, completely unfazed by the blood on her hands. "You shouldn't have left me. We were perfect."
His wolf snarled inside him, but his body wouldn't move.
Evelyn's smile sharpened.
"You don't need him. That wolf king… he's been poisoning your mind. But I'll fix you. I'll take you home."
"D… don't touch him…" Theron rasped, barely conscious, blood dripping into his eyes.
Evelyn didn't even look at him."Shh. You won't remember him soon."
She grabbed Aiden's chin and forced him to look at her. His head felt like it was filled with water. Everything blurred.
"You belong with me, Aiden."
"No…" Aiden's voice crumbled, weak and fading. "I don't…"
"You will."
A needle glinted in her hand.
Before Aiden could protest, she jammed it into his neck.
Cold rushed through his veins.
Theron roared, trying to break free—"AIDEN—!"—but his strength gave out. He collapsed against the broken dashboard.
Aiden's eyes fluttered, the world swimming.
Evelyn's voice echoed around him as everything went dark:
"I'll take you somewhere safe. Somewhere he can never reach you."
Aiden slipped into unconsciousness—
—and the last thing he heard was Theron's broken, enraged howl tearing through the wreckage.
Aiden woke with a gasp.
His body arched off the floor, a strangled sound ripping from his throat as fire tore through his veins—hot, throbbing, overwhelming.
Not heat.Not his heat.
Something wrong.
His back hit the ground again, breath shaking. He tried to sit up, but his muscles trembled too hard to hold him.
Where—Where was he?
The room was dim, lit by a single bare bulb swaying from the ceiling. Concrete walls. No windows. Heavy metal door.
A basement.
Aiden dragged in a shaky breath——and choked.
His own scent coated the room, thick and cloying. Too sweet. Too sharp. Too wrong.
His wolf writhed inside him, whining in pain.
False. Tainted. Not real.
Aiden's stomach twisted as he realized—
Someone had induced it.
His fingers dug into the cold floor. His skin was burning, every nerve screaming for contact—any contact—and he hated it. Heat shouldn't feel like this. Heat shouldn't feel like poison.
Then a voice floated through the haze.
"Oh good," Evelyn said softly. "You're awake."
Aiden snapped his head up, vision blurry but focused enough to see her standing at the bottom of a short staircase, hands clasped as if she were admiring a painting.
His breath turned to ice.
"You…" His voice cracked. "What… did you… do to me?"
Evelyn descended the last step, heels clicking sharply, smile too bright, too pleased.
"I helped you," she said simply. "You were confused. Lost. Torn between worlds. You needed clarity."
Aiden growled—his wolf voice raw and strangled—"That's not what this is."
"You're in heat," she said sweetly. "A strong one. Stronger than the first. It proves you were never meant to be with him."
His vision swam again, the room tilting. His nails dug into the concrete to ground himself."Th-this isn't real… this isn't natural…"
"Oh, Aiden." Evelyn crouched, tilting her head. "Why does it matter? A heat is a heat. And I need you to understand—"
A heavy thud sounded to the right.
Aiden's eyes widened.
A figure lurked in the corner.Big. Broad-shouldered.Watching him with hungry green eyes.
The rogue.
The one from the river.
Aiden's breath hitched as the scent hit him—not his, not Evelyn's, but alpha. Thick and aggressive.
Evelyn smiled as she noticed Aiden finally seeing him.
"He's here to help too."
Aiden's blood froze.
"No…" His voice shook. "No—stay away from me."
The rogue took one slow step forward, sniffing the air, pupils dilating."Smells… good," he rasped. "Stronger than before."
Aiden scrambled back, pain shooting through his body, vision flashing.
Evelyn didn't stop him.
Instead, she clasped her hands behind her back, smile serene.
"I made this for you," she whispered. "A special dose. A perfect heat. Something irresistible."
Aiden's heart hammered in terror.
Theron.
Theron would come for him.Theron would tear down the world to get him back.
He had to hold on.
He forced his shaking body upright, but his knees buckled and he collapsed again, palms burning on the floor.
Evelyn stepped closer, crouching just out of his reach.
"You see, Aiden… wolves don't think clearly in heat." She brushed a finger down his cheek, and he shoved her hand away with what little strength he had left. "And when an omega is drowning in it, they'll accept any alpha who comes."
The rogue growled low in his throat, stalking forward another step.
Aiden's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"I won't," he hissed, voice trembling with fury. "I'll die first."
Evelyn's smile sharpened, eyes glinting.
"Oh no… I won't let you die. Not until you understand how much better your life was with me."
Aiden's vision blurred again, body trembling violently.
He was burning.Drowning.Trapped.
He dug his claws into the floor and forced air into his lungs.
Theron…Come find me…
The rogue took another step, inhaling deeply.
And Evelyn whispered, almost lovingly:
"Let's see how long you last."