"If you want my help, Iris, tell me why your blood smells like war."
Iris jerked awake. Pain shot through every muscle. For a moment, she didn't know where she was. Stone walls. Iron bars. A single window high above letting in pale morning light.
Prison.
She was in a cell.
Memory crashed back. The fire. Marcus dying in her arms. Running through the forest. The Alpha at the border.
She pushed herself upright, biting back a groan. Someone had cleaned her wounds and wrapped them in fresh bandages. Her torn clothes had been replaced with a simple gray shirt and pants. The fabric nothing like the rough cotton her pack wore.
Used to wear.
Her throat tightened. She forced the feeling down. There would be time to grieve later. Right now, she needed to survive.
"You're awake."
Iris spun toward the voice. A man stood outside her cell, watching her with eyes the color of old gold. The same man from the border. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, perfectly relaxed. Like she was no threat at all.
He was right. She wasn't.
In the daylight, she could finally see him properly. Tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair that fell just past his collar. Handsome in a way that felt almost cruel. Sharp jaw. High cheekbones. A mouth that looked like it rarely smiled. He wore black from head to toe, simple clothes that somehow made him look more dangerous, not less.
This was Liam. The Supreme Alpha. The legend.
He was real.
"You should have killed me." Her voice came out rough, damaged from smoke and screaming.
"I still might." He said it casually, like he was discussing the weather. "Depends on what you tell me."
"I already told you—"
"You told me nothing." He pushed off the wall and moved closer to the bars. Power rolled off him in waves. Her wolf whimpered and retreated to the back of her mind. "You collapsed at my border covered in blood and ash. You reek of death and smoke. And when my healers examined you, they found seventeen different scents on your clothes. Seventeen wolves had touched you recently. Fought near you. Died near you."
Iris's hands curled into fists. "My pack was attacked."
"By whom?"
"The Silverpine Pack. Our allies." The word tasted bitter. "They came at night. Pretended they wanted to talk about border disputes. My father welcomed them. He trusted them." She laughed, sharp and broken. "We all did."
Liam's expression didn't change. "And?"
"And they slaughtered us. Men, women, children. They burned everything. Killed everyone." Her voice cracked. She hated herself for it. "I'm the only one left."
"Not the only one." Liam tilted his head, studying her. "Your Alpha survived. I can smell him on you. Faint, but there. He lived long enough to touch you after the attack started."
Her father. Iris remembered his hands on her shoulders, pushing her toward her mother. His voice telling her to run. She'd thought he was right behind them.
"He's dead now," she whispered.
"Probably." Liam's tone held no sympathy. "The Silverpine Pack doesn't leave loose ends. Which brings me back to my original question." He stepped closer, until only the bars separated them. Up close, his eyes were even more unsettling. Ancient. Like he'd seen too much and forgotten how to care. "Why did they attack? Packs don't massacre their allies without reason."
"I don't know."
"Lies bore me, little wolf."
"I'm not lying!" Iris surged forward, gripping the bars. "I don't know why they did it. Maybe they wanted our territory. Maybe they were paid. Maybe they just wanted to watch us burn." Her voice broke again. "Does it matter? They're dead. All of them. And I'm going to make Silverpine pay."
Silence stretched between them. Liam studied her face like he was reading a book written in her skin. Looking for truth, or lies, or something else entirely.
Finally, he smiled. It was a terrible thing, that smile.
"Revenge," he said softly. "You want revenge."
"Yes."
"And you think I'll help you."
"You're the Supreme Alpha. The most powerful wolf in the territory. If anyone can stand against Silverpine, it's you."
"True." He turned away from the cell, walking toward the window. Light fell across his profile, highlighting the strong lines of his face. "But why would I? Your pack is gone. You have nothing to offer me. No army, no resources, no leverage. You're alone, little wolf. And the alone don't make demands."
Desperation clawed at her throat. "I'll give you anything."
That made him pause. He looked back at her, and something flickered in his eyes. Interest, maybe. Or amusement.
"Anything?" He moved back to the cell, slow and deliberate. A predator circling prey. "That's a dangerous promise."
"I mean it."
"Do you?" He gripped the bars, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his skin. Could smell him. "Because 'anything' could mean your service. Your loyalty. Your body. Your soul." His voice dropped lower. "Your life."
Iris lifted her chin. Met those ancient eyes without flinching. "If that's what it takes."
For a long moment, Liam just looked at her. The air between them felt charged, crackling with something she didn't understand. Something that made her pulse quicken and her wolf stir nervously.
Then he laughed. Soft and low, like she'd told him a private joke.
"We'll see." He straightened and called over his shoulder. "Dominic!"
A door opened behind him. Another man entered, almost as tall as Liam but leaner. Silver streaked his dark hair. He moved with the fluid grace of a born warrior.
"Alpha," the man said.
"Test her." Liam's eyes never left Iris's face. "I want to know what we're working with."
Understanding crashed through her. "Wait—"
"If you want my help, you'll prove you're worth the effort." Liam nodded to Dominic. "Take her to the ring."
Dominic opened the cell. Iris thought about fighting, but what was the point? She'd come here for help. If this was the price, she'd pay it.
She followed Dominic through winding stone corridors. They emerged into a courtyard where a crowd had already gathered. Word traveled fast here. Wolves lined the edges of a circular fighting ring, their eyes hungry and curious.
"Strip down to your training clothes," Dominic said quietly. "Shoes off. No weapons."
Iris did as he asked. The shirt and pants she wore turned out to be fighting gear. Someone had planned this. Probably Liam.
She stepped into the ring. The crowd murmured. She could smell their anticipation, sharp and eager.
Dominic entered from the opposite side. He didn't look angry or cruel. Just focused.
That almost made it worse.
"Begin," Liam's voice called from above. Iris looked up and saw him watching from a balcony, arms crossed. Waiting.
Dominic moved.
He was fast. Impossibly fast. His fist connected with her ribs before she could dodge. Air exploded from her lungs. She stumbled back, tried to shift, but her injuries were too fresh. Her wolf was still too weak.
She fought anyway. Blocked what she could. Landed a few hits that would have dropped a normal opponent. But Dominic wasn't normal. He was Beta to the Supreme Alpha. He'd probably forgotten more about combat than she'd ever learned.
He swept her legs. She went down hard. Tasted blood and sand.
Got up.
He hit her again. And again. Never cruel, never excessive. Just breaking her down piece by piece until she couldn't stand anymore.
When she collapsed the final time, Iris tried to rise and couldn't. Her body simply refused. She lay in the sand, chest heaving, blood dripping from her split lip.
The crowd was silent.
Footsteps approached.Then Liam was there, kneeling down until his face filled her vision.
He reached out with one hand. His thumb brushed across her bleeding lip, so gentle it made her throat ache. When he pulled his hand away, his thumb was red.
He studied the blood for a moment. Then looked at her.
"You fight like you have something to prove," he said quietly. "Like you're angry at yourself for surviving."
Iris said nothing. Couldn't.
"Good." Liam stood, towering over her. "Anger is useful. But undisciplined anger gets you killed."
He turned to walk away.
"Wait," Iris rasped. "Does this mean..."
Liam paused. Looked back over his shoulder.
"Very well," he whispered, and his smile was dark. "I'll train you myself."