Avyaane's POV
I was still there, breath still coming in heavy gulps, body still sore with the pursuit and the failure burning in my chest.
The night sky towered over me, vast and indifferent. What Chad said felt heavy, like another prison stuck to my skin.
"You belong to us."
No.
I wouldn't allow those words to linger.
I turned my head to look back at him; he was still looking — eyes unreadable, a mixture of satisfaction and something darker.
Amusement? Expectation?
I said I wanted to take that smirk off his face.
Instead I countered the urge to open my mouth, and reverted my face to something neutral.
"So what now?" I asked, my voice icy, though there burned a fire in my blood.
That was too soon, too close, too much, Chad bloggled. "That depends."
I narrowed my eyes. "On what?"
He smirked. "On if you're done fighting."
I laughed. A high, bitter sound rang from tree to tree.
"Ever seen a guy who's done fighting?
His smirk didn't fade. If anything, it deepened.
"Good," he murmured.
And then suddenly, he leapt off me, standing with this unforced elegance as if any of this had been a game to him. A distraction.
I pushed my palms into the ground and stood up that way too." My legs quaked a touch, but I wanted to present just power.
Chad stared at me for a second, then turned. "Let's go."
I frowned. "Go where?"
He didn't look back. "Home."
There was something deep inside that twisted raw and painful at that word.
This would never be home.
But for the moment there was no way but to follow.
For now.
The Castle – The East Wing
When we returned, the torches that had lined the hallways had burned down, their long flickering shadows trembling along the stone walls.
I lifted my back and kept my chin up, one crucifying step after another.
Chad was out in front, feet certain, unhurried.
I hated that he walks around like he owns the world. Like he owned me.
As soon as we got to my room, I thought he'd take off.
He didn't.
He stood with his arms crossed in the door frame, staring at me like a lion calculating its kill.
I scowled. "What now?"
His lips twitched. "You tell me."
I hissed, refusing to play into his games. "I'm going to sleep."
His gaze flitted down and across my body as if my skin were prickly.
"You'll definitely be sore after this."
I lifted my chin. "I'm fine."
Chad leaned closer, speaking softly. "Are you sure about that?"
I swallowed, not going to back down.
This was what he wanted.
For me to bend.
To submit.
I wouldn't.
"I'm going to be fine," I told her from far away.
Chad chuckled, low and dark. "We'll see."
Then finally, he turned away and left, closing the door behind him.
I breathed out, the tension leaking out of my muscles.
This isn't over.
Not by a long shot.
Chad's POV
The moment I shut Avyaane's door behind me, Logan appeared in the hallway, with arms crossed, golden eyes prickly.
"You let her run."
It wasn't a question.
I met his gaze evenly. "I just wanted to see if she could make it."
Logan ached his head a bit. "And?"
"She didn't make it far."
Logan smirked. "She's not going to stop."
I shrugged. "I know."
And I wanted her to continue to fight.
I wanted to see her wrestle, how long she could fight before she had to face the truth.
That she was already ours.
That she could run away as far as she needed but would always come home.
Or we would bring her back.
One way or another.
THE NEXT MORNING — THE TRAINING GROUNDS
There was a loud knock on my door, and I woke up.
I groaned, hoisting myself up, my muscles still crying out from yesterday.
"Get up," said Logan's voice outside.
I scowled. "I'm up."
A pause. Then
"Good. You're training today."
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
Logan didn't repeat himself. The sound of his footsteps retreating made it clear to me that there wasn't going to be a choice involved.
I clenched my jaw.
Fine.
I would let them train me if they wanted to.
But I wouldn't just learn.
I'd get stronger.
And when the time came, I would use that strength to dismantle them.
The Training Grounds
My first thought was maybe it was Killian again.
But when I stepped in the clearing, it was Logan there waiting instead.
My pulse kicked up.
He was stronger than Killian.
More controlled.
More dangerous.
He looked up at me with a slow lazy smile. "Nervous?"
I shrugged, my face request. "Disappointed."
His brow lifted slightly. "Oh?"
"I thought it would be challenging."
Logan's smirk widened. "Careful, little wolf. I don't go easy."
I didn't answer. I just raised my fists.
He circled slowly around me, assessing with his golden-brown eyes.
Then—he struck.
I barely pulled away in time, squirming out of the way just as his fist scraped my ribs. He was fast. Faster than I expected.
I had no respite before he was on me again.
This time I blocked, but it was enough to notice his hit to my side.
He grunted, but the smile did not leave his face. "Not bad."
Then, with a swirl of motion, he grabbed my wrist and spun me.
The air was knocked out of my lungs from hitting the ground, Logan's weight crushing me.
My pulse roared in my ears and I fought it.
His grip tightened.
"You're getting better," he said under his breath. "But not good enough."
I clenched my teeth. "Get off me."
Logan's lips twitched. "Make me."
I hated how they beat me so effortlessly.
I hated that even all the knuckle-bloodening lacerations I fought hungering to be enslaved by could never make me stronger.
But not forever.
One day, I'd win.
And when that day came?
That I'd be the one lying in the dirt.
That Night The East Wing
My body was on fire, but my mind wouldn't rest.
I was near a window and staring at moon; my heart was racing.
I had failed to escape. Again.
Logan was a guy I had lost to during training.
But I wasn't broken.
I was learning.
The more I struggled against them, the more I learned about them. Their strengths. Their weaknesses.
I could still win.
I just had to be patient.
I sat there, lost in thought, when my office door suddenly swung open.
Chad.
Again.
I braced myself, already psyching myself up for whatever twisted game of his he was about to start.
But he did not speak out immediately.
He just watched me and I die.
Then
"Put your clothes on," he said gently.
I frowned. "For what?"
His blue eyes weren't readable.
"We're going somewhere."
It was something in his tone that sent a chill down my spine.
This wasn't a command.
It was something else.
And finally, after a long, long time …
I wasn't sure if I was ready.