JAX'S POV
The cell smelled of rust, sweat, and the faint copper tang of old blood. It was the same every day—every hour, every breath. I'd stopped counting time when the torches stopped burning regularly. Now it was just dark, punctuated by the scrape of boots on stone and the occasional drip of brown rusted from the ceiling that never quite reached my mouth.
They'd chained me to the wall again today. With Silver links, thin enough to look harmless, thick enough to burn where they touched skin. I couldn't shift, I might never shift.
Not since the first time Kain's father broke something inside me during one of his "training" sessions. My wolf was still there, curled up deep, whimpering, but the change wouldn't come. The pain was too sharp, the memory too deep. Ive stayed human since then.
Kain's orders were clear: To keep me alive. Hurt me enough to Start talking, Keeping me alive to suffer at all costs.
They followed his orders well.
