Avyaane's POV
I barely slept.
After Chad left, his words stuck to me like poison, coursing through my veins, settling in my bones.
"This thing that we have between us… it's going to happen. Whether you like it or not."
I rolled onto my side, potatoes and silk sheets pinched between my fingers. My body was tired, but my brain wouldn't shut up.
I hated him.
Hated all of them.
But the mate bond that cursed, unshakable chain had my body betraying me in ways I hated.
When Chad got too close, the way my heart picked up.
How my skin prickled when he talked.
The way my body knew him before my mind did.
I clenched my fists.
I had to get out of here.
It was still deep in the night, and the moon was casting long shadows through the curtains. It was now or never.
I got up, creeping around the room silently. I approached the door, my bare feet hardly making a sound on the smooth marble floor. I put my ear to it, hoping to hear movement on the other side.
Silence.
I exhaled and slowly turned the handle. Unlocked.
A mistake.
A dumb, negligent error on their end.
I crept into the corridor, the air cold on my skin. The castle had fallen quiet, hallways illuminated in silver light from the torches lining the stone walls.
I moved fast, my heart beat loud in my ears.
The front gates. If I could just touch them, I could—
"Going somewhere?"
A voice cut the silence like a knife and froze me in my tracks.
My breath hitched. My blood ran cold.
I turned my head slowly, already knowing who I'd be seeing.
Logan.
He leaned casually against the stone wall, his arms crossed and his golden-brown eyes glinting with amusement.
I took a step back. He was in the way of me moving forward.
I could run and run, but to where?
I was trapped.
Again.
I got my voice to remain even. "Move."
Logan smirked. "You are bold, I tell you that." He levered off the wall, stalked closer, his very being rife with dominance. "But not very smart."
I braced myself. He was going to stop me.
I had no other choice.
I ran.
Logan's POV
Damn, she was fast.
Her toes barely brushed the surface as she sped down the hallway, her golden locks streaming behind her like a glittering trace of moonlight.
However, she didn't run faster than me.
I picked up well behind her, giving her a two-second head start before I shoved my way through, catching her up easily.
She was desperate. I could tell by how she moved, how she didn't hesitate when making a sharp turn down the eastern hallway.
She didn't know the castle.
But I did.
And she had just erred.
Then I picked up speed, bridging the gap between us. One second. Two seconds.
Then I grabbed her.
She snarled angrily, thrashing against me as I held her pinned against the wall, her body wedged between the cold stone and my chest.
She was a feral creature, raking my arms, choking and breathing violently from her anger.
"Let me go!" she hissed.
I laughed. "And I thought it would take you longer to get caught."
She pushed at me, but I didn't move.
"You're quick, I'll give you that," I said, tilting my head a little. "But you are not faster than I am."
Her green eyes burned with rage.
I expected her to fight.
I didn't expect her to take a chunk out of me.
I felt pain in my shoulder and her teeth in my skin.
For a brief moment, the vicarious shock kept me frozen.
Then—pleasure.
Shit.
A low growl rumbled in my chest as I wrenched her off me, my breath coming quicker than I wanted to admit.
Her lips were ringed with my blood, her breathing ragged.
She seemed like she wanted to do it again."
I exhaled sharply. This little wolf…
I held her wrists above her head.
"Biting?" I said, smiling in spite of myself. "Kinky."
Her snarl was feral. "I will rip your throat out."
I grinned. "You can try, little wolf."
Then—footsteps.
Someone else had heard us.
Chad.
I caught his piercing blue eyes as he strode toward us, turning my head slightly. His face was inscrutable but after all of these years I could read the storm brewing behind the calm surface.
Logan did not share.
But neither did Chad.
And I had simply gotten too close.
Chad's POV
I had woken with chest pain.
Not from an injury.
Not from exhaustion.
From her.
And the mate bond thrummed in my chest, hot and restless as a beast caught in a net, tugging on me even in sleep.
And when I opened my eyes, I experienced it.
Avyaane was gone.
The anger came before I could think of anything else.
She was running.
Again.
I ran lightly, my feet knowing no sound on the floor, and followed the scent of her.
I wasn't the only one.
Logan had found her first.
And now he was standing over her, hands on her.
She was pinned under him, her wrists smashing over her head, breath threading like a saw.
A hollow, deep growl erupted from my chest.
Logan turned his head just slightly, daring.
I forced myself to stay calm.
She ran," he said simply. "I caught her."
His grip didn't loosen.
My fingers twitched.
"Let. Her. Go."
There was a long pause.
Then, hesitantly, Logan let go of her wrists and stepped back.
Avyaane tore away, taking deep breaths.
She didn't look at me.
She knew she had fucked up.
"Return her to the east wing," I said icily.
Logan cracked a little smirk, tilting his head. "Not the dungeon?"
"No." I met Avyaane's gaze. "She's already learned the consequences of disobedience.
She gave a minor gasp, surprise flickering in her expression.
She expected punishment.
She didn't expect mercy.
But this wasn't mercy.
This was strategy.
She thought she could play this game with me.
She had no clue who she was fucking with.
Avyaane's POV
They did not lock me in the dungeon.
They allowed me to go back to my room.
It didn't seem like a victory.
It felt like a trap.
I sat on the edge
of my bed, my fingers balled into the fabric of my dress.
Chad had spared me.
And that scared me more than any punishment."
Because now?
I owed him.
I clenched my fists.
I will get out of here.
Even if it kills me.