a's

would not savor this victory. He would not have this moment. Fury pr

er a root. His lips parted, and a look of surp

AC

rock, knockin

n's

given up hope of

ed for a fight. Her emerald eyes, once filled with the spirit of

ng before me. This was a battle I couldn't win with brute forc

her like sh

r father kept me in... starved me in... beat me in whe

jagged stone at my back, the ever-present grime and filth. The st

out it was al

warm plate into my hands. I hadn't been fed in days and the aroma of the meal ma

d every time she came to visit. During those moments, the outside world

is?" I asked, my voic

"Because what they're doing to you is wrong." She worried her lowe

to. I clung to his name like a lifeline, hoping it would give me the strength to survive, to one day become a wolf as fearless as him. It was a lie, yes, but a necessary one t

y voice, fear in my h

ords were edged with hurt, but there was a flicker of reluctance in her expression. She didn't like the lie, but she grasped

slowly, meeting my gaze. "They would have hurt you far worse than what they are doing now if they knew the truth.

s. She understood why I had lied, even if she didn't like

"Thank you," I rasped, meeting Lyra's eyes. Something flickered across

you get in trouble?" The question hung b

tears. "I can't just stand by

streated me. Tha

le full grown, body deliciously pressed agai

n longer, terror-filled nights. I had loved her – blindly, foolishly – with the desperat

en, be

in my chest, a guttural echo of the hatred I harbored for her all these years. Yet, beneath it all... a diff

. That tantalizing spot called to me, begging to be claimed, marked as mi

ste her essence on my tongue. My wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin, a hair's b

ed that burned through my veins like molten lava. My resolve teetered on a razo

aid, her voice a seductive purr that

round my heart and soul. I'd happily let that happen for one more taste of her lips,

gainst hers. She

moaned, I g

ng backwards, arms pi

und with a si

hopped ribbons of

ly, everythin