Avyaane's POV
The bathwater burned when I slipped into it, the heat seeping into my skin as soon as I touched its surface, but I didn't care. I embraced the sting and let it seep into my bones as I scrubbed the filth of the … dungeon?
It wasn't only the grime I wished to scrub off. It was them. Their touch. Their scent. Their control.
But no matter how I scrubbed, I couldn't wipe away the invisible chains tying me to them.
I gasped, descending further into the water. I had won a minor battle by evading the dungeon, but the war was far from over. They had set me free, but I remained a prisoner. The castle was nothing more than a bigger cage.
There was a knock at the bathroom door.
I stiffened.
"Having an easy bath, little wolf?"
Blair.
Of course it was him.
I clenched my jaw. "Go away."
He chuckled. "No 'thank you' even for arranging the bath?
I ignored him.
He didn't need a response. Blair reveled in attention, good, bad or ugly. The only way to defeat him was to concede him nothing.
I heard the door creak just a bit, my pulse spiking. Had he just
"Relax," he drawled. "I'm not coming in. Yet."
I gritted my teeth. "You wouldn't dare."
Another laugh. "Wouldn't I?"
I hated the way his voice ran chills down my spine. Not out of attraction—from rage.
I wanted to rip his smarm face off.
I knew he had finally absented himself when I heard footsteps moving away.
Good.
I was not going to let him or any of them run my emotions.
Not anymore.
I lingered in the bath longer than was necessary, letting the heat dull my thoughts. But after a while, I had no choice but to walk out.
I did, and the cold air closed around me, making my skin tingle.
A gown lay on the stool next to the tub. Soft, expensive fabric. White.
I snorted. They were mocking me.
White. The color of purity, of surrender. Because dressing me in some obedient spouse way is going to make a lick of difference.
I nearly refused to wear it — nearly. But I couldn't go walking around in a towel, so I pulled it over my head and let the fabric settle against my skin.
He was waiting for me the minute I exited the bathroom.
Chad.
He was standing against the wall across from my bedroom door, arms crossed, watching me as if he'd been there for some time.
I made myself meet his eyes.
"What now?" I asked, voice sharp.
His lips twitched slightly. "You look good."
I scoffed. "You expect me to care?"
"No," he admitted. "But I thought it was something you should hear."
I narrowed my eyes. What was his game?
"You're having meals with us," he told her. "It's not up for discussion."
My stomach clenched. That my first reflex was to refuse disgusted me, but refusal meant hunger. And I needed my strength.
I waited only a moment and then nodded sharply, once.
Chad smirked, pushing himself off the wall. "Good girl."
I clenched my fists. I will kill him.
The Dining Hall
I had not expected luxury to feel like such an insult.
The dining hall was magnificent high ceilings, gold chandeliers, a long polished table that could have seated 20, though only five of us did.
Logan. Killian. Blair. Chad.
And me.
This was a table I had never sat at, despite growing up in a pack house of wolves. My father thought he had fed me by tossing me scraps when he was done eating.
Now, there were plates of food before me, more than I had ever experienced at once. Meat, bread, fruit. An overindulgence.
I didn't touch it.
I felt their eyes on me. Watching. Waiting.
"She's not eating," Logan said, flat.
"She's being a pain," Killian mothered, cutting into his steak as if he was picturing it was me.
Blair leaned in, his chin on his hand. "Do you think she thinks we poisoned it?"
I wasn't.
That would have been too kind.
I took the fork and cut into a piece of meat, chewing slowly. I pretended to be indifferent. Like I wasn't still playing into their hand by breaking bread with them.
But I was.
And they knew it.
Chad took a breath and drank from his glass. "You'll get used to it."
I wouldn't.
Don't get used to any of this.
But I had to be smart.
I had to play their game until I could get out of it."
After Dinner – The East Wing
The room they'd assigned me was overkill.
Too big. Too elegant. Too… suffocating.
Silk sheets. A massive bed. A closet of expensive clothes I didn't plan on wearing.
I was still a prisoner.
Just in a prettier cage.
I went to the window, putting my fingers on the glass. The forest lay before the castle, dark and infinite.
And freedom was out there somewhere.
I just had to reach it.
A knock sounded. I didn't turn.
"You're not sleeping?"
Chad.
I exhaled sharply. "What do you want?"
He entered without invitation and shut the door. "You tell me."
I turned then, squinting my eyes. "What the hell does that even mean?"
Chad stepped in a little closer, a foot away from her. Too close.
His gaze darted to my neck, the spot where a mate's mark would be. Unclaimed.
"What we have going on," he said smoothly. "It's going to happen. Whether you like it or not."
My blood ran cold.
I shook my head. They would never brand me.
I lifted my chin. "I'd rather die."
A shadow creased his eyes, in a way.
"Then you better find a way to kill yourself," he said gently. "Because the bond remains, Avyaane."
I swallowed, my throat tight.
"I don't belong to you."
Chad smirked. "Then why can't you stop staring at me?"
I averted my eyes, rage simmering under my skin.
He tilted his head. "You feel it, don't you?" His voice was silk and steel. "The pull?"
Yes.
And I hated it.
He let out a slow breath. "You can struggle against it as much as you like." He leaned forward a bit, his scent enveloping me. Cedar and fire. "But it's not going to change a damn thing."
I clenched my fists. "Get out."
His lips twitched. "Make me."
My pulse spiked.
Damn him.
Damn his hubris, his certainty his strength.
I refused to play his game.
So I turned my back on him and walked toward the bed. "I'm going
to sleep."
Silence stretched between us.
Then
"Sweet dreams, little wolf."
The door clicked shut behind him.
I took an exhale, my body shaking with anger.
I had to get out.
Before it was too late.