Prologue
One year post Collapse…
Varek Dain
I never used to think about endings.
Not the last breath of a quiet day or the final time someone’s hand touched mine. Not the slow unraveling of peace. Not the way things could go from calm to chaos in the span of a single heartbeat.
But that night? That fucking night? It taught me everything about endings. The kind that scar you for the rest of your life. The kind you never get over.
We were in the kitchen, or what passed for one. The stove rattled in protest, one of the burners limping to life as the scent of rosemary and roasted potatoes filled the tiny room. I stirred the pot, elbow-deep in steam, while Elena leaned over the counter, her face flushed with warmth and laughter. Her laughter. Fuck, that sound could break me even now.
“You’re burning it,” she said, nudging me with her hip.
“I am not,” I shot back. “I’m browning it. There’s a difference.”
She grinned, stealing a piece of potato straight from the pan and popping it into her mouth before I could swat her away. “You season like a wolf. All salt and rage.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“You’re right,” she said, tapping her chin dramatically. “You’re more of a tragic poet with a spoon.”
I laughed because she always had a way of coaxing it out of me, even when the world outside our walls felt like it was coming apart at the seams. And it was. We both knew that. The radio had been silent for days now. People had started vanishing from nearby settlements. For those few hours, though, with her standing beside me in my shirt as the firelight turned her hair into gold, I let myself believe we were still safe.
I turned the burner down, letting the potatoes crisp, and stepped behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. Her breath caught, just like it always did when I got close, like she couldn’t believe it was real. Her head tilted back against my shoulder, and I buried my nose in her neck, just breathing her in.
“After we eat,” I murmured, “let’s take the old radio out. Maybe we can catch something.”
She nodded, her fingers weaving through mine where they rested on her stomach. “Or maybe we just sit under the stars. Pretend we’re the last ones left.”
I didn’t answer. Not because I didn’t want to, but because the air had changed in that instant. It was like the warmth had been ripped from the room. The silence outside became too quiet, and the wind shifted. My instincts prickled, the hair on the back of my neck rising even though I hadn’t been a soldier in quite a long time.
Elena felt it too. She stiffened.
Then came the first sound, a low thump. Muffled. Distant.
“Varek?” she whispered.
I grabbed her arm and moved fast, crossing to the far wall where the shotgun hung in its makeshift rack. I shoved it into her hands, and the terrified look on her face made my heart throb in my chest.
The first howl split the night like a blade across my throat. My blood froze, every instinct screaming at me to do something before my mind could catch up.
“Elena.” My voice somehow sounded composed and calm even though my heart thundered against my ribs. “Run.”
She blinked at me, confusion etched across her face, her hand clutching the wooden spoon like it could ward off what was coming. “What? No—”
“Run.” I grabbed her shoulders and captured her eyes, forcing her to see me, to understand. “Out the back, straight to the ridge. Don’t stop. Don’t look back. I’ll find you.”
Her lips parted, trembling, but she nodded. She trusted me. She kissed me once, quick and desperate, and then she was gone, the fabric of my shirt swishing against her thighs as she slipped out the back door into the night.
The door splintered inward a second later.
They swarmed inside like shadows made flesh, eyes blazing amber, teeth bared, their snarls rattling the walls. I didn’t think. I just moved. The first wolf lunged, and I drove the butcher’s knife straight into its throat. Hot blood sprayed, iron-thick and steaming. The second hit me low, teeth snapping for my leg, and I kicked it off with a loud roar, sending it sprawling into the table. Bread, dishes, the pan—everything crashed to the floor.
My pulse hammered in my ears. My body was alive with fire, my arms and legs moving on instinct. This wasn’t a fight for survival. This was a fight for her.
“Come on!” I bellowed, dragging a chair into my grip and shoving it into the jaws of the next wolf. Its teeth splintered the wooden chair leg, snapping through it like kindling, but the opening gave me time to grab and swing the iron poker from the hearth. The metal rod cracked across its skull with a sickening crunch.
Another one lunged through the window, glass and wood exploding into the room as its claws tore into my shoulder.
I roared, not in fear, but fury. Grabbing the wolf’s fur, I slammed its head into the edge of the stone hearth repeatedly until bone cracked, until its body went limp.
I kicked the corpse aside, chest heaving, the room around me spinning in smoke, blood, and firelight. My arm throbbed at my side, blood pouring down it hot and sticky, but I could still hear Elena’s fleeing footsteps in my mind, still feel her lips pressed against mine.
As the remaining wolves circled me, snarling, their eyes gleaming with the hunger of predators who thought they’d already won, I planted my feet on the blood-soaked floor of my home and raised the poker again.
“Not tonight,” I growled. All I could think of was Elena running through the night, frightened and desperate, the fabric of my shirt catching the wind. If they wanted her, they’d have to go through me.
The first wolf lunged, and I met it halfway. My fist slammed into its jaw with a crunch, the poker in my other hand driving deep into its gut. It howled, thrashing, but I wrenched the bar upward, ripping it free in a spray of blood.
Two more hit me together, one high, one low. The weight of them drove me back, slamming me into the hearth so hard my lungs emptied in a single burst. Claws tore at my chest, teeth snapping for my throat, but I jammed the poker sideways into the first one’s mouth, holding it back by inches while its fetid breath poured over my face. The other clawed my legs, dragging me down.
I roared, kicked the lower wolf in the snout, then slammed my forehead into the first one’s muzzle. Bone cracking, it reeled back, and I jammed the jagged end of the poker through its throat. Hot blood gushed down my arm as it staggered, gurgled, and collapsed in a twitching heap.
The one at my legs lunged again. I seized its ears, twisted with everything I had, and drove my knee into the side of its head until it went limp.
That left one.
The last wolf stalked through the broken door, eyes glowing gold in the firelight, claws clicking against the wood as it sized me up. My chest heaved, every muscle burning, my arms shaking from blood loss and exhaustion, but I refused to drop the poker.
It leapt.
I rolled beneath it, grabbed a shard of glass from the shattered window, and jammed it up into its belly as it flew over me. It howled, spun on me, jaws wide. I surged to my feet and met it head-on, driving the poker down into its skull with every ounce of strength I had left.
The beast convulsed once, twice, and then went still, its weight dragging the poker from my grip as it slumped to the floor.
Silence.
The cabin burned around me, the smell of smoke thick in my nose. My breath came ragged, my body a mass of blood and claw marks, but I didn’t stop to count my wounds.
“Elena.”
I tugged the poker free and staggered to the back door, the cold night air slamming into me like a brick wall. The forest loomed dark and endless, branches whipping in the wind, and somewhere out there, she was running. Running because I told her to. Running because she trusted me to protect her.
I tightened my grip on the blood-slick poker, the muscles in my arms screaming, my chest heaving with every breath.
“I’m coming for you,” I swore into the night.
I ran after her.
Branches whipped at my face as I tore through the trees, my lungs on fire, my boots pounding the frozen ground. The night howled with more than wind—snarls, claws raking bark, wolves cutting through the forest like shadows given teeth.
“Elena!” My voice shredded my throat, shaking with panic. “Keep running! I’m coming!”
I followed the path she would have taken, up toward the ridge, my heart hammering in my ears, the scent of her perfume still faint on the cold air.
Then the smell changed.
Blood.
Iron and salt, sharp and heavy.
“No…” My chest caved in as I stumbled into a clearing.
She was there, crumpled at the base of a tree, my shirt torn, the snow beneath her painted red. Her eyes stared up at the stars, wide and glassy, her lips parted as if she’d tried to call my name. Her hand still reached outward, fingers curled in desperation, but there was no breath left in her chest.
I fell to my knees, dropping the poker on the ground, the world tilting. “Elena…”
My hands shook as I touched her cheek, still warm. I pulled her into my arms, gathering her broken body against me, rocking her the way you would a child who’d had a bad dream.
But this wasn’t a dream.
This was the end of everything.
“I told you I’d find you,” I whispered, my tears falling hot against her skin. “I’m so sorry, my love. I’m so damn sorry.”
The forest was silent for a moment, just me and her and the sound of my own ragged sobs. Then the silence broke.
A growl rolled low through the dark. Then another, and another, encircling me.
Shadows moved between the trees, yellow eyes catching moonlight, claws dragging through the dirt. A pack. A whole goddamn pack.
I laid Elena down gently, brushing her hair from her face one last time, and then I grabbed my weapon and stood. My fist clenched around the poker still slick with blood, my arms shaking but ready.
“Come on,” I snarled, my voice breaking on the words. “Come and finish it.”
They surged from the trees all at once.
I swung wildly, the poker cracking ribs, shattering jaws, the air exploding with snarls and the screech of metal on bone. One wolf slammed me into the dirt, claws tearing my back, and I rolled, driving the iron bar straight through its chest. Another leapt for me, teeth snapping, and I grabbed it by the throat, crushing until it stopped thrashing.
But there were too many.
Claws raked across my arms, my chest, opening my flesh in a dozen places. My blood painted the melting snow beneath my feet, hot steam rising in the frigid night. My muscles screamed, every breath tearing fire through my ribs, but I fought until I couldn’t lift the poker anymore.
Then one hit me from the side. He was massive and heavier than all the rest. We crashed to the ground, its jaws snapping. I jammed my forearm between its teeth, trying to hold it off, but my strength was gone. Its fangs sank deep, ripping through flesh and bone.
The scream that tore out of me was ragged and animalistic.
A vicious thing burned in my veins. Not just pain, but a building fire. A poison that spread fast, consuming me, twisting my insides until my vision went white. My heart raced out of control, my breath a desperate rasp as the wolf shook me, tearing me apart, claiming me as one of his own.
When it finally let go, I fell into the snow, clutching my arm as black veins spider-webbed across my skin. My blood boiled, my muscles spasmed, and my body was no longer my own.
Through the haze, my eyes found Elena’s again, lifeless and perfect in the moonlight.
The world went dark, my screams ripping through the night as the merciless fire took me.
That was how it all began.
The night I lost her.
The night I became the very thing I swore to kill.
And I vowed that if I lived, I’d burn every last one of them for it.
[divider]
Chapter One
Present day…
Varek Dain
The air always smelled like blood and steel here.
The Outer Guard base wasn’t like the city strongholds. It didn’t have the marble floors or polished walls the Council liked to hide behind in Denver.
Out here, on the far edge of the city, the bones of the old world still showed. Cracked concrete threw up plumes of dust beneath my boots, fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, and the corridors were patched with steel plates salvaged from the ruins. The Council sent their scraps to the Outer Guard—old generators, salvaged steel, half-working tech from before the Collapse. We got the leftovers, but that was fine.
Out here, fancy didn’t matter.
Out here, only teeth and claws, speed and instinct kept you alive.
Perfect for me.
I walked the long hall with a trail of wolves behind me, the heavy cart wheels rattling over the uneven floor as we pushed the tarp-covered body of a Nyktos toward the research wing. The stench of it bled through the wrapping, all rot and rancid sulfur, worse than anything I’d ever smelled before. Even dead, it made the hair rise on the back of my neck.
A few of the younger guards gagged, one muttering a curse under his breath.
“Hold your damn breath,” I snapped, my voice echoing off the steel walls. “It’s dead. It won’t bite you now.”
They straightened up quick. Good. Fear kept them sharp, but weakness would get them killed out here. We walked a razor’s edge.
We reached the reinforced door, its keypad glowing red in the dark. I slapped my palm against the sensor. The locks clanked open, the door sliding back with a hiss to reveal the research lab. It was bright, sterile, and reeking of chemicals and antiseptic.
Two lab techs, both wolves that were thin and pale from too much time underground, stood waiting. They adjusted their masks, their eyes darting to the tarp-covered form as my men laid their gruesome delivery on a stainless-steel examination table.
“Commander Varek,” one said nervously. “Is this—?”
I ripped the tarp back before he finished. The Nyktos’s face glistened under the lights, its skin dark and stretched tight over bone, its mouth still open in a rictus of pointed teeth. Black blood clung to its chest where a set of claws had torn clean through.
Both techs recoiled.
“Do your job,” I growled. “Get it on ice before it rots any further. The Council wants results.”
They scrambled forward, fumbling with their instruments, and I turned away, already sick of the sight.
Behind me, my men waited.
Joren, my second in command, leaned casually against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. He was taller than me by a head, all lean muscle and a scar down one cheek he liked to tell rookies he’d gotten from a Resistance blade. In truth, it had been a pissed-off bear. He was loyal, though, and smart enough to keep his mouth shut when needed, so I liked him.
Beside him stood Rafe and Gareth, brothers who’d joined the Guard together. They were younger, brutal in a fight, but reckless. I was still hammering discipline into their thick skulls, and I knew it would be a while yet until they learned anything useful.
Then there was Brenna. Small, muscular, incredibly intelligent, and with a knife she was terrifyingly skilled with always within reach. She was the only female in my unit, and meaner than the lot of them combined. She’d cut a man’s throat just to make a point, but she followed orders like they were gospel.
They were all killers. Wolves forged for war. My soldiers.
They trusted me.
If only they knew.
I was taking my time, but eventually I was going to burn the wolves from the inside out.
And I’d start with the ones who killed my Elena.
It had taken years, but I’d followed the trail like an alluring scent. I noticed small things at first, the kind of loose threads that most men might ignore: a patrol rotation that didn’t add up, a ration manifest rerouted through the Council docks, a medic who’d been moved off-shift the week of the raid on my home. I pulled at those threads until names surfaced, until I found signatures, all approved by Darius Voss.
The commanding leader of the Council.
Tall, pale, with silver at his temples and a smile that practiced civility while his men murdered people in the street, he’d risen through the Council not by brute force, but by papers signed in clean rooms and promises whispered to men who wanted power. He’d built the human breeding program, sat in glassed boardrooms while others did the breaking, and convinced himself it was science and order, not cruelty.
He was going to die, and it would be by my hands.
I hadn’t loved anyone since her. I’d sworn away from it, vowing never to take a mate as long as I lived.
I’d lost too much to love again. There could never be anyone to replace Elena.
The wheels of the gurney squealed and broke my focus when the techs pushed it into place, muttering to each other like nervous carrion birds. The heavy door slammed shut behind them, sealing in the reek of rot.
I exhaled through my nose, rolling my shoulders. “Finally.”
“About damn time,” Joren muttered, pushing off the wall. He cracked his neck, eyeing the empty hallway like he’d just thrown a grenade down it. “That thing weighed a ton, Commander. My back’s going to be screaming for a week.”
Rafe snorted. “Falling apart already, old man? Maybe you’re softer than you look.”
“Say that again,” Joren shot back, narrowing his eyes.
Before I could cut in, Gareth grinned and jabbed his brother in the ribs. “Don’t bait him, idiot. You’ll lose some more of your teeth.”
“Yeah, wouldn’t be the first time,” Rafe muttered, rubbing at his jaw, and the others chuckled.
Brenna just shook her head, the corner of her mouth twitching like she might almost smile. “You all sound like pups. Be glad we’re rid of it. I was two minutes away from gutting myself just to escape the stench.”
I huffed a laugh. “You and me both. That thing stank worse than a sewer fire.”
Rafe gagged loudly, overdramatic, and waved his hand in front of his face. “I swear the stench is still on me. If I smell like that tomorrow, I’m shaving every inch of fur off of me when I shift.”
“Please do,” Brenna drawled. “Might improve your chances with the camp girls.”
The brothers groaned in unison.
I let them have their moment. They needed it. Out here on the outskirts, we didn’t get many victories.
I kept my face impassive, my tone casual. “You’ve all earned a night’s rest. Get food, get clean, and for the love of God, don’t bring that stink near the barracks. Dismissed.”
They gave quick nods and smirks before peeling off down the corridor, their voices fading into the hum of the base.
I stayed behind for a moment, staring down the corridor. It stretched long and sterile, overhead lights buzzing faintly, flickering in and out with age. With a sigh, I walked deeper into the base, my boots echoing against the cracked floor. The air was colder the farther down I went, recycled through vents that rattled like old bones.
Wolves moved through the halls, some in armor, others stripped down to their undershirts, sweat streaking their bodies from drills. They saluted or dipped their heads as I passed. Their eyes always flicked away quickly, respect mixed with the kind of fear I encouraged. A wolf who didn’t fear his commander wasn’t worth having in my unit.
I rounded a corner into the main thoroughfare, where I heard the sound of raised voices and the bark of orders ricocheting through the air. The mess hall opened to my left, the scent of roasted meat hitting me in the gut. Beyond it, the barracks lined up in squat rows of reinforced doors.
The base had once been a Cold War-era missile silo. The tunnels had collapsed in places, but the central chamber still stood, repurposed into a fortress. Rusted beams arched overhead like the ribs of some great beast, patched with steel plates and bracing. The shadows never left the corners, no matter how many floodlights we mounted.
A pack of rookies marched by with their armor hanging loose, their boots still too lean. One sneezed as he passed me, and his squad mate elbowed him in the ribs, hissing under his breath. They were pups, barely blooded, but they’d either improve quickly or die. That was the law out here.
At the far end of the chamber, a group of officers stood near the tactical board. It was covered with maps sprawled across the surface with lines of red ink marking the human Resistance patrols, known smuggler trails, and outpost perimeters.
Waiting for me with that familiar smug bastard’s smirk was Captain Haldor.
“Commander Varek,” he said, dragging out the title like it tasted sour. “I heard you brought the Nyktos beast down yourself. Quite a trophy.”
I stopped in front of him, leveling my gaze. “Not much of a trophy when it’s rotting on a slab.”
He chuckled, the sound dry. “Still, the Council will be pleased. Imagine what they’ll do with that carcass. Turn it into a weapon, perhaps. Or find a way to engineer that kind of savagery. Maybe even both.”
His words crawled under my skin, but I kept my jaw clenched tight. “If the Council wants monsters, they can find them in their own ranks. We don’t need to make more.”
That earned me a long look. His nostrils flared, his wolf scent ripe with challenge. Around us, the other officers went quiet, ears pricked. Wolves didn’t need raised voices to sense when two alphas were bristling at each other.
“You sound worried, Commander,” Haldor said, his lips curling faintly. “Or maybe… tired?”
The air between us shifted, a low growl vibrating in my chest before I could stop it. My claws itched to tear through him, to shut him up by choking him with his own blood. Instead, I took a slow step forward, closing the space between us until my breath stirred the hair at his temple.
“Careful, Captain,” I murmured. “A wolf who mistakes restraint for weakness doesn’t live long.”
For a beat, silence reigned. Then he smirked again, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He dipped his head a fraction, just enough to signal his retreat.
“Of course, Commander,” he said lightly.
I let him step back. The other officers shifted uneasily, muttering excuses to scatter. I stood alone in the middle of the chamber, my pulse still somehow even, though the wolf under my skin prowled restlessly.
Haldor thought he saw a crack. Let him. One day, I’d be the one to put him in the ground.
But not yet.
Not until I’d gutted Voss first.
Now though, I was going to head to my chambers. My quarters were deeper in the compound, down a narrow hallway most wolves didn’t bother with. I liked it that way. No soldiers barking orders, no rookies tripping over their own feet. Just pure, relaxing silence.
I walked the hall, the sound of my boots hollow against the shattered tile. Fluorescents buzzed overhead, one strobing faintly, throwing the corridor into a rhythm of light and shadow.
That was when the smell hit me.
Blood. Fresh blood.
I froze.
Another step and I rounded the corner.
Two wolves lay sprawled across the floor, their throats torn open, their blood smeared across the wall in jagged handprints. One still twitched faintly, his eyes glassy with shock. His weapon lay inches from his fingers, never fired.
Crouched just beyond them, barefoot in a torn hospital gown, was a woman.
Mariah.
The one I’d been searching for.
My deal with the Resistance had been simple. They’d help me destroy the Nyktos. In return, I’d find someone for them. A human woman named Mariah.
She’d been captured somewhere on the edge of the city by the wolves. The Resistance believed she was still alive, and they wanted her back. I told myself it didn’t matter why. That it was just a task, a mission like any other.
I had carried her face with me. A sketch, rough and fading, tucked into my back pocket. I’d unfolded it so many times the creases had started to tear. The paper was soft now, worn thin by my fingers. I’d memorized every line, every shadow of that girl’s face until I could see her when I closed my eyes.
And now she was here, standing in front of me.
Dark hair matted, lips slick with crimson, her chest rising and falling too fast, like she was running on pure rage. Her teeth gleamed in the stuttering light, her eyes wild. They look unnatural, rimmed with veins, and glowing faintly like something alive had crawled under her skin.
“What in the hell…” The words rasped out of me.
Her head snapped up.
Those green eyes locked on me, feral, unseeing, but they hit me like a spear to the gut all the same. My wolf surged, claws itching, instincts screaming mine even as my brain shouted monster.
Then she came for me.
She moved faster than any human should, a blur of pale limbs and bloody teeth. I barely had time to brace before she slammed into me, knocking me against the wall hard enough to rattle the steel paneling. Claws—no, her hands—scrabbled at my throat, her strength enhanced and unnatural.
“Easy,” I growled, shoving her arms wide, trying not to dislocate them. “I don’t want to hurt you—”
She hissed, a sound more beast than woman, and her teeth snapped for my jugular.
I twisted and spun us around, slamming her into the wall. She barely flinched. She came right back at me, nails raking my chest, hot lines of pain blooming under my shirt. I shoved her off, staggered back, and kept my stance wide.
Her breathing was uneven, her face an open snarl. She wasn’t seeing me. Hell, she wasn’t even hearing me.
“Damn it,” I muttered, raising my hands in a placating gesture she couldn’t possibly comprehend. “You’re not my enemy.”
She lunged again, too fast. I ducked, caught her around the waist, and spun her, driving her back into the wall. Her head cracked against it, but she only screamed, thrashing and snarling.
She was strong—too strong for her size. I could only guess that she was drugged and whatever they’d pumped into her veins had burned out the human weakness and left only hunger and rage.
“Hold still!” I snarled, slamming my forearm against her collarbone to pin her. Her skin burned hot under my touch, sweat and blood mixing slick against my grip. She writhed, teeth gnashing, her lips peeling back to show the wolf-slayer’s talent she’d just worked on my guard soldiers.
Her nails dug into my arm, deep enough that blood welled. My vision sparked white at the pain, my wolf roaring under my skin, begging to rise. I could end this. Break her neck. Tear out her throat. One move and the fight could be over.
But I didn’t.
A part of me refused.
Even like this—blood-soaked, drugged into madness—she was mine. I knew it in my marrow, in the way the bond clawed at me, how every instinct screamed to claim instead of kill.
She snarled and bucked, bringing her knee up between my legs. My vision went black for a second, my knees buckling. I shoved her away, stumbled back, and gasped for air.
She hit me again before I could recover, tackling me to the floor. Her teeth scraped my neck, so close I felt the puncture before I wrenched her head aside. I wrapped my arms around her, rolling her and using my weight to pin her down against the tile.
“Stop!” I barked, my voice rough, raw alpha command bleeding into every syllable. “That’s an order!”
For half a heartbeat, she froze. Her chest heaved, eyes wild, her lips parted against my throat. Her breath scorched hot against my skin.
Then she screamed—a ragged, broken sound—and thrashed harder.
My muscles trembled from holding her down, blood dripping down my arm, my chest heaving. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could last without breaking her in half, or without her tearing my throat out.
Her scream rattled through the corridor, high and wild, echoing off the steel until it felt like the walls themselves vibrated. My arms shook from holding her down, muscles quivering, her body thrashing beneath me with a strength no human should be even remotely capable of.
She snapped her head up, teeth grazing my cheek so close I felt the whisper of her lips on my skin.
“Damn it—” I grunted, wrenching her arms above her head, pinning her wrists with one hand. My claws slid out, digging into the tile around her skull just to keep control.
She bucked her hips, nearly throwing me. I slammed my weight down, chest to chest, legs braced around hers. Every soldier’s instinct screamed at me to end it, to just snap her neck, crush her ribs, and finish this before she tore me open.
But I couldn’t.
I wouldn’t.
Because there were stronger wolf instincts howling through me. My wolf knew that beneath the madness in her eyes, beneath the drug twisting through her veins, she was somewhere in there.
And she was mine.
She thrashed again, and I caught her jaw in my free hand, forcing her head to the side. Her teeth snapped, blood smeared across her lips, her throat bared inches from my mouth. My wolf roared, claws of instinct ripping through me.
“No,” I snarled.
Her eyes flashed, green and gold, feral and broken. She let out a guttural growl, her body arching, fighting like a wild animal.
I bent low, my lips brushing the heat of her skin, and before I could think, before I could stop myself, my teeth sank into the cusp of her neck and shoulder.
Her blood hit my tongue, vivid and electric, and the world detonated around me. My wolf howled through me, every nerve lit with fire, every muscle locked as the bond snapped into place.
She went rigid beneath me.
The fight bled out of her in a single shudder, her scream dying in her throat. Her eyes widened, then flickered, her breath stalling as her body trembled beneath mine. Her claws—no, her nails—dug once more into my hand pinning hers, then fell slack.
I held her there, my mouth pressed to her skin, the taste of her blood anchoring me to her, tying us together in ways I couldn’t untangle if I tried.
Mine.
When I pulled back, panting, blood streaked my lips. She lay beneath me, chest heaving, her eyes still wild but softer now, like the drug’s grip had loosened. Confusion flickered there along with pain and anger.
Her body trembled, and I tightened my grip, pressing my forehead against hers.
“It’s done,” I rasped. My voice was hoarse, thick with an emotion I hadn’t let myself feel in years. “You belong to me now. No one will ever take you from me.”
Her lashes fluttered, her breath warm against my lips. She didn’t answer, maybe she couldn’t, but she didn’t fight me anymore either.
Her body was still trembling beneath me, every muscle quivering from the fight, her chest heaving against mine. I kept her wrists pinned above her head. Her scent was everywhere now, full of blood, sweat, and something else that was darker, spicier, hotter.
Desire.
It hit me like a blade to the gut.
I lifted my head and gazed at her, then froze, panting, my teeth still wet with her blood where I’d marked her. I hadn’t meant to notice it, hadn’t meant to breathe it in, but once it was there, it wrapped around me like smoke, coiling into my lungs, through my blood, until my cock was pressing hard against the seam of my pants.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath, dropping my forehead to hers again, trying to will it away. This wasn’t the time. She wasn’t herself.
Then she moved against me, hips bucking unconsciously, and the heat of her body seared through me. My grip on her wrists tightened, my restraint stretched thin as a wire.
Her eyes flickered open, still rimmed with gold and madness, but softer now than when she’d been trying to tear out my throat. Her lips parted, and a soft, broken sound escaped, halfway between a sob and a moan.
My wolf surged, snarling ‘mine’ so loud it nearly drowned out my reason.
“Easy,” I rasped, voice low, strained. “You don’t know what you’re doing. You’re not in your right mind.”
Her scent said otherwise. Her scent said she wanted me, even through the haze of whatever drug they’d injected into her, even through the rage. It wound around me like chains, dragging me closer. My body pressed harder into hers, every instinct begging me to take her, to claim her hard and rough.
Her thighs shifted beneath mine, spreading a fraction wider, and my pulse thundered in my ears.
Gods help me, I wanted to feel her, to taste every inch of her, to bury myself inside her until neither of us remembered this blood-soaked hallway and I forgot my own name.
“Not like this,” I growled, more to myself than her, forcing the words through clenched teeth. Even as I said it, my cock twitched, my body betraying every ounce of discipline I’d ever had.
Her scent only grew stronger.
Her body writhed beneath me, not with the same feral violence as before, but with a deeper, more primal instinct. Her hips rocked, just enough that I felt a whisper of her heat through the thin hospital gown, and my cock pulsed so hard it hurt.
I sucked in a quick breath, and that was a mistake.
Her scent hit me again, sweet, slick, and thick with need. It lanced straight to my gut, winding low and hot, coiling my muscles tight.
She tilted her head, baring her throat, and the sight nearly undid me. My wolf roared in my chest, demanding I sink my teeth into her again, deeper this time, claiming her until she screamed my name.
“Gods,” I snarled, dragging my teeth across the mark I’d just bitten into her skin. She gasped beneath me, the sound a little bit broken, and my cock jerked against her thigh like it was answering her.
I ground down harder, pinning her, my breath hot against her ear. “Do you feel that?” I growled, my voice low and rough with need. “What you’re doing to me?”
Her eyes fluttered, drugged, wild, but there was no mistaking the way her body arched against me, the soft whimper that slipped from her lips.
I wanted her.
I needed her.
Fuck, this girl was my mate.
My free hand slid down her side, fingers grazing the curve of her hip, pausing at the edge of the thin gown. Her skin burned under my touch, fever-hot, trembling, and I shuddered at the thought of pushing the fabric up, tearing it off, and burying myself deep inside her until the madness in both of us burned clean.
“Mine,” I rasped, the word tearing free before I could think. “You’re mine.”
She moaned softly, her thighs shifting wider under me, her body opening. My restraint cracked, the last threads fraying as my hand slipped lower, fingertips brushing the inside of her thigh.
The heat there was molten.
I swore under my breath, my head spinning, my cock throbbing with every heartbeat. One more breath of her scent, one more brush of her skin, and I wouldn’t stop. I’d take her right here, in blood and ruin, and claim every inch of her like my wolf demanded.
I brought my lips to her ear. “Say the word,” I whispered hoarsely. “Give me anything—just one word—and I’ll make you mine completely, here and now.”
She whimpered again, her scent flooding stronger, and my claws ground shallow divots into the tile under us as I fought not to tear the rest of her gown away.
I was spiraling, caught between reason and the mate bond, between my promise to protect and the need to fuck her into the floor until neither of us remembered who we were or where we came from.
And Gods help me, I didn’t know if I could stop.
Her body arched beneath me, trembling, her thighs shifting wider, and that was it. The last thread of restraint snapped.
A snarl tore out of my chest as I reared up and my hands fisted in the thin hospital gown, ripping it apart right down the middle. The fabric shredded under my claws, baring her skin to the stuttering light above us. She gasped, but it wasn’t fear; it was arousal, feral enough to match my own.
Her scent hit me full force, sweet and slick, coating the back of my throat until I was dizzy with it. My cock ached, straining against my pants, desperate to be inside her.
I shifted my hips, grinding hard against her core, and she bucked up to meet me, heat soaking through the fabric between us. The drug still burned in her veins, I could see it in her eyes, wild and glowing, but her body knew me. Her body wanted me.
“Say it,” I demanded, my voice breaking. “Say you’re mine.”
She trembled, her breath panting in and out of her parted, blood-smeared lips. No words came, just another sound, soft and desperate.
That was enough for me though.
More than enough.
I yanked my pants open, freeing my cock, hard and dripping, and pressed it against her entrance. She gasped, twisting beneath me, but her hips tilted, her body welcoming me in the oldest, most primal way there was.
I slammed forward, burying myself inside her in one brutal thrust.
The world exploded.
Her cry ripped through the corridor, half scream, half moan, as the walls of her cunt clenched tight around me, hot and wet and perfect. My own roar followed, echoing off the steel panels, as pleasure and bond and blood fire detonated through my veins.
I moved instantly, thrusting hard, fast, unable to hold back. Every drive of my cock was a claim, every slap of skin to skin a vow no one could break. She writhed, nails clawing my shoulders, her cries bouncing off the walls.
I bent low, biting her again at the cusp of her neck, marking her deeper this time, sinking my teeth until even more blood welled. She convulsed around me, screaming, her body seizing as the mate bond sealed, her climax tearing through her so violently I almost lost myself inside her.
“Mine,” I growled against her skin, pounding her savagely now, desperate to complete my claim. “You’ll never run. Never be taken. Never leave me.”
Her body trembled under me, her cries breaking against my shoulder, and for a heartbeat I thought the madness was spent. Thought the drug had burned out of her veins.
Then her eyes snapped open.
Clear. Intelligent. And utterly furious.
The wild haze in her eyes was gone, and in its place was a woman’s fire, green irises burning like molten emeralds, locked on mine with a hatred that made my breath catch.
Her nails bit into my arms, not mindless now, but deliberate. Her lips curled back from her teeth.
“You bastard,” she hissed, her voice raw, shredded, but unmistakably her own.
I stayed braced over her, still inside her, my pulse hammering and my balls pulled up tight, demanding release. Her fury burned hot enough to sear away what little control I had left.
Her voice cracked, ragged but strong. “Get. Off. Me.”
I leaned down, brushing my lips against her ear and took a deep breath in, surrounding me with her scent and her pussy fluttered around my cock.
“No.”
She struggled, but I thrust into her once more, and then again, as if I was proving a point. My cock pulsed inside her, hard and heavy, the heat of her body searing through me like wildfire.
She was mine now.
No one could take her from me.
No one would dare to try.
Not even her.
My blood burned at the thought of it, and my hips drove forward harder.
She twisted in my grasp, hissing curses under her breath, but she couldn’t escape. I had her pinned, trapped in my arms, legs, and on my cock.
She shuddered at a particularly brutal thrust, and a broken moan slipped from her throat. Her nails dug deeper into my skin, drawing blood, but I barely felt the sting.
I bent low, brushing my lips against her ear as she shuddered again. “I don’t care how much you fight,” I growled, squeezing my eyes shut. “I don’t care how much you hate me. You’re still mine.”
Her breath caught in her throat, her body tightening around me, and I knew she was close to coming. I could feel it in the way she trembled, the way her breath hitched, the way her walls fluttered and clenched.
“You’re my mate,” I repeated, driving into her with every word. “And I’m going to prove it to you, over and over again.”
Her body arched beneath me, her head thrown back in ecstasy, and her screams echoed down the corridor as she came. Her walls clamped down around my cock like a fucking vise. I thrust once more, twice, as deep as I could go, and then my knot swelled, locking us together as I buried myself inside her.
Her eyes fluttered shut, her lips parted in a soft gasp as I filled her with my seed, the head of my cock pressed tightly against her. She shuddered, her thighs trembling, her body gripping me tight.
I stayed buried in her for a long moment, panting, our bodies still joined. Her scent was everywhere now, mixed with mine, thick and heady, and I breathed it in, savoring it.
Slowly, she opened her eyes again, and the fury was back, blazing brighter than ever. Her hands slid down to my hips, and I felt the sharp pinch of her nails as she dug them into my skin.
Her jaw clenched, her eyes flashing with rage. “I will never be yours.” She spat the words like a curse, her voice raw and hoarse. “I’ll kill you first.”
A dark chuckle rumbled in my chest.
“You can try.”
She twisted under me, trying to dislodge my knot, but I held her firm, keeping her pinned against the floor. I bent low, brushing my lips over the mark I’d left on her skin. “But if you do, it won’t change anything.”
Her body tensed, her breath catching as I laved my tongue over her bite, claiming her all over again. She shuddered, a soft whimper escaping her throat, and I felt a surge of delicious triumph.
I shifted my hips, letting my knot deflate the slightest bit and drove deeper into her, and she cried out, her walls clamping down around me in another orgasm. I kept going, grinding into her, again and again, until her body went limp.
Finally, I pulled back, staring down at her. Her eyes were glazed, her lips parted in a soft moan. “You’re mine,” I told her, my voice and eyes joining to convey my arousal and my ownership. “Whether you like it or not.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she turned her head away, refusing to look at me.
I smirked. “That’s what I thought.”
I pulled out of her slowly, relishing the sight of my seed dripping from her delectable little entrance.
I stood, tucking my cock back into my pants, and looked down at her.
She was covered in blood and bruises and my cum, her body marked with the evidence of our mating.
My mate.
My blood roared at the thought, and I had to fight to keep from taking her again, right there on the cold floor.
I reached down, offering her my hand. She stared up at me for a moment, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
After a beat, she finally took it, and I helped her to her feet, only for her to come at me, fury alight in her eyes once again.
I grabbed her arm, spinning her, and shoved her against the wall, pinning her there with my body. Her back was against my chest, and I could feel the heat of her skin, the curve of her hips, the swell of her ass.
“Don’t test me, little girl,” I growled in her ear, my cock stirring again despite the fact that I had just been inside her.
She struggled in my grip, but I held her firm, my hands wrapped around her wrist and waist, my body pressed tight against hers. She was still virtually naked, with just the ragged scraps of her gown hanging from her shoulders. Her skin was slick with sweat and seed, and the scent of her arousal was thick in the air.
“I hate you,” she snarled, her voice seething with fury.
I grabbed what was left of the hospital gown and lifted it, exposing her ass as she thrashed against me.
“I know,” I said, my voice a dark purr. “And I don’t care. You’re mine, and you’ll do as I say.”
I slid my fingertips over her bare cheeks and when she nearly bucked away from me, I secured her in place by pinning both of her wrists over her head with only one of mine and swung my free hand down hard, spanking her naked ass. A shocked cry escaped her lips, and she twisted in my grasp, but I held her firm.
“Stop it!” she hissed, her voice hoarse with anger and barely perceptible desire.
Then I really started spanking her. She squirmed and kicked and swore at me, but I didn’t stop, not even when her ass was bright pink and she was gasping with each blow. I only paused to slide my fingers between her thighs, dipping them into her wetness, making her moan and arch against me.
“You want this,” I growled, pressing my cock against her ass, making her feel how hard I was. “You need it.”
She shook her head, her hair wild and tangled around her face. “No. I don’t want you. I don’t need you. I hate you, you fucking animal!”
I slapped her ass again, harder this time, and she cried out, her body tensing against mine. I did it again and again, and each time, her cries grew louder and her breath came faster. I didn’t stop until her ass was a deep, dark red and likely very, very sore.
Despite the pain, though, I could see her arousal dripping down her inner thighs.
I slid my fingers into her soaking wet cunt, and she gasped, bucking against me. I stroked her clit, fast and rough, and she moaned, her hips jerking. I kept going, working her hard and fast, until she was keening, her body shaking with need.
“Come for me,” I ordered, deep and rough. “Come for me, or I’ll keep going until you do.”
She shook her head, her teeth clenched, but I didn’t let up, not even when she started to whimper, not even when her thighs were trembling and slick with her juices. I kept going, driving her higher and higher, until she finally screamed, her body convulsing as she came, her pussy clamping down around my fingers. I didn’t stop, not even when she was spent and limp, her breath coming in frantic gasps. I just kept going, working her clit until she was writhing and moaning again, her body desperate for more.
I smacked her ass hard a few more times for good measure, truly punishing her with every swat until she was moaning and crying for mercy.
“Now, be a good mate, and take your breeding like a good girl unless you need me to take off my belt.”
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