Chapter 2

Emily’s POV

I ran blindly through the corridor, my heart pounding.

“Stop her!” Beta Thomas’s furious roar echoed somewhere behind me, shaking the very walls of the packhouse.

My lungs burned. I turned sharply, nearly slipping. The guards' footsteps thundered closer. I dove behind a potted plant.

I squeezed into the narrow space, praying the thick, glossy leaves would shield me. I had hidden here as a child, and now, it was my only sanctuary.

Beta Thomas stormed right past my hiding spot without slowing down. I pressed both hands tightly over my mouth, tears stinging my eyes as I waited. One second. Two seconds. He missed me. He kept running.

A shaky breath escaped me, but the relief vanished in an instant. Muffled voices drifted from the door behind me.

“Everything’s ready?” a man whispered.

“They won’t even notice,” another replied with a sick laugh. “The coronation is almost over. Once it's done, that little omega bitch will be our toy every single night. I’m already imagining her moans when we break her…”

Horror completely consumed my mind. They were talking about me.

I stumbled backward, my chest hitching, and my shoulder clipped the heavy potted plant. It tilted and fell, shattering against the stone floor with a deafening crash.

“Who’s there?” a voice snapped from inside the room.

Screw it!

Footsteps thundered toward the door. I spun and bolted down the hallway.

“What were they talking about?” Nyx demanded in my mind, her voice trembling with rage.

“I don’t know!” I gasped internally, my legs pushing past their limit. “And right now, I don’t care! We have to get out of here!”

I rounded another corner and crashed into someone. Hands gripped my arms, trapping me.

I looked up, my eyes widening. Beatrice.

"Please," I begged, tears blurring my vision. "Let me go, Beatrice. We’re family. Remember our promise to protect each other?"

A flash of deep pain crossed Beatrice’s face. But then, her gaze hardened, and her hand moved protectively over her stomach.

My heart skipped a painful beat. She was pregnant.

“Emily…” Beatrice’s lip trembled, her voice cold and unforgiving. “Our parents died because of you. You're a curse to this pack.”

Before I could even plead, she screamed at the top of her lungs. “I FOUND HER! SHE’S HERE!”

The betrayal broke something deep inside me. How could my own sister do this?

I stumbled back, running as fast as my bruised feet could manage. I rushed through the kitchen and into the back hall. I pushed through the emergency exit, and the freezing night air hit my face. The sky was pitch black, hiding the stars. The metallic tang of ozone filled the air. A storm was coming.

I crouched low behind the big garbage bins, my body shaking from the cold. I looked toward the southern gate. Craig had been right.

Only one bored guard sat in the small security booth, distracted by the TV. No one was patrolling. This was my only chance to escape.

I crawled on my hands and knees under the booth windows, staying as low as I could. I reached the gate and pushed the stolen key into the rusty lock. Please work. Please, Moon Goddess, let me live.

The heavy iron gate groaned and opened only halfway before it jammed with a harsh metallic screech.

I didn't care. I squeezed through the narrow gap as fast as I could. First my shoulder, then my waist.

The guard looked up from his screen. Our eyes met through the glass. His face twisted with anger, and he slammed his hand on the red alarm button.

Sirens blared, loud and terrifying.

I panicked and jerked my body harder, but I got stuck. The iron bars pressed tightly against my ribs.

“Nyx!” I screamed in my mind, fear locking up my muscles. “I’m stuck! They’re coming!”

Guards rushed out of the packhouse behind me like a swarm of angry hornets. The guard scrambled out of his booth, his body already changing as he started to shift.

“Together, Emily!” Nyx growled in my mind. “Push!”

A sharp, blinding pain shot through my side. The jagged iron tore away the thin fabric of my white dress and cut into my skin.

I hit the dirt outside the gate, bleeding and raw, and ran toward the dark tree line.

Sharp branches tore at my bare skin, but I couldn't stop. Shouts thundered right behind me, getting closer and closer.

“She’s heading for the cliffs!”

“We’re gaining on her! Catch her!”

My legs were shaking violently, about to give out. I was starving. I hadn’t eaten a proper meal in over a week because the pack treated me like garbage.

“Let me take control,” Nyx demanded, her mental voice booming. “Now, Emily!”

“No! I can't!”

“Emily, you’re going to die!”

“My mother made me promise never to show you to anyone!” I screamed back.

“I see her!” a guard roared from just a few feet away. I could hear them. They were going to catch me. They were going to turn me into their toy.

I finally broke. “Fine! Take it!”

Agony exploded through my body. My human bones cracked and snapped violently, forcing me to my knees. My spine shifted, stretching and reshaping in a brutal second. A raw scream ripped from my throat as my skin tore open to let the fur through.

Then, the world changed. I was a wolf. A pure, snow-white wolf. And we ran.

Thunder rumbled dangerously above the cliffs. Cold rain crashed through the canopy, instantly soaking my white coat. Mud exploded beneath our paws as we tore through the brush, but my starved body was running on empty.

The pack guards were gaining. My vision started to blur, a sharp, burning ache twisting through my empty stomach.

We stumbled, hitting the wet ground hard.

When I forced my heavy head up, glowing red eyes stared back at me from the depths of the tree line. Dozens of them.

Rogues.

The pack guards skidded to a stop behind me, trapping me directly in the middle. The heavy rain poured around us, and for one tense, terrifying second, nobody moved. Then, the rogues lunged.

Absolute chaos exploded around me. Snarls, tearing flesh, and snapping teeth ripped through the storm.

One savage rogue tore his teeth deep into my side. Another clamped his jaws around my back leg. The pain was blinding, blocking out the rest of the world. I tried to fight back, but Nyx and I were too young, too weak from starvation.

Then, a massive gray rogue lunged straight for my exposed throat. He was going to rip my head off.

No.

A scream tore out of me before I could control it. It wasn’t a human scream, and it wasn’t a normal wolf’s howl. It was raw, furious, and wild—a sound that shook the cliffs.

It felt like my roar split the earth open. But that was impossible. Tremors don't just happen because a weak omega screams. Right?

Yet, the heavy gray wolf suddenly flew sideways in mid-air, crashing hard into the dirt as if he had been hit by a massive, invisible wall. Several other rogues stumbled to the side, losing their balance. Even the pack guards slipped.

Then, the wet ground beneath my paws gave out.

The cliffside crumbled. I tumbled down the steep slope, rolling helplessly through mud, sharp rocks, and tangled roots. My bones throbbed in agony as I hit the hillside again and again, until my broken wolf body finally landed hard on the wet asphalt of a road below.

Everything hurt. My beautiful white fur was stained a horrific crimson, the fresh blood washing away in the rain pounding the pavement.

The forced shift slammed into me, cracking my bones back into my fragile human form. My bare knees scraped the rough asphalt, and I felt every sharp piece of gravel dig into my palms.

If these were my last moments, I refused to die bound to my abuser. I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.

“I, Emily Leyly…” I whispered into the wet gravel, my teeth chattering violently from the freezing cold, “…accept your rejection, Ryan Whitmoor. You are no longer my mate.”

A sharp pain hit my chest as my bond with Ryan snapped. The heavy, golden chain tying me to him shattered into dust.

Suddenly, bright headlights cut through the stormy darkness.

A huge, black SUV roared around the corner, speeding straight toward my helpless body. The harsh glare came closer. Closer. Until everything turned a blinding white.

The screeching sound of tires skidding across wet asphalt echoed through the night. The massive SUV stopped just inches from my face.

Rain continued to pound my broken body. My vision blurred when the heavy car doors opened.

Two tall figures stepped out into the storm. One of them radiated such power it made the air vibrate.

Through the scent of wet dirt and my blood, a scent drifted from where they stood.

Cedar. Pine needles.

Suddenly, Ryan didn't matter. Heartbreak faded, replaced by an electric pull. A weak laugh slipped out. I was dying, and the Moon Goddess was toying with me.

The figures stopped.

One stepped forward, his combat boots moving slowly through puddles. The other stayed by the vehicle.

I forced my eyelids open, trying to see a face through the rain, to glimpse the men controlling the storm.

A large, warm hand reached down toward my face.

Then, darkness took over.