IVY
I had to get out.
Maxwell’s words slammed into my mind—your sacrifice will be made—and my chest tightened, making me use every ounce of strength I could muster as I hurled myself at the door of the room he had me kept in in preparation for my sacrifice tonight again, ignoring the ache in my shoulder.
The wood groaned, but it didn’t budge.
I know I tried to kill myself—but it had been my own terms. My decision.
This?
This was madness. I wasn’t about to pay for the sins of a man who brought this curse upon himself with his cruelty.
Mate or no mate.
I closed my eyes, reaching for my wolf. Please, I begged her. Push past the silver. Help me fight. But the haze in my veins was suffocating, and I could feel her struggling, just out of reach.
Frustrated, I turned to the door again, ready to slam my body against it one more time—when it swung open.
And I froze.
The first thing I saw were his eyes, glowing golden in the dim light, pinning me in place with their intensity. It hit me instantly, like a punch to the chest.
The Hybrid King. My mate.
The man whose curse was about to end my life. Literally.
The realization snapped something inside me, and I growled, “Look, I don’t care if you’re days—or hours—away from losing your mind and going absolutely mad. I’m not the reason you’re cursed, and I’ll be damned if I pay for your mistakes. I don’t even know you so tell your people to let me go.”
He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just stared at me, his presence suffocating.
Then, with a single step forward, the entire room seemed to shift, like it bowed to him.
My breath hitched.
He was nothing like I expected. The golden eyes, sharp and otherworldly, were framed by dark, unruly hair that fell across his face. His features were sharp yet striking, beautiful in a way that didn’t seem possible.
And he wasn’t centuries-old in appearance, either. He looked like he was barely in his late thirties, a man at his peak, though the weight of his age hung in the air around him like a storm cloud.
Still, he didn’t speak. My wolf stirred, growling softly in the back of my mind, repeating one word over and over.
Mate. Mate. Mate.
It only made me angrier. ‘He’s the reason we’re about to be slaughtered’ I reminded her, but it was no use. Her instincts were louder than my fury, pushing me towards him.
Finally, he spoke. His voice was low, rough, and colder than I expected, “You’re the solution to all of this?”
My mouth opened and closed, the insult hitting like a slap, but I pushed past the suffocating weight of his aura and stepped closer. “Excuse me? Did you just demean me? Did I ever tell you—or anyone—that I wanted to be a solution to anything?”
His eyes darkened instantly, the air around him shifting like a physical force. His aura slammed into me, and I stumbled back despite myself.
“I believe your tongue isn’t necessary for the sacrifice to work,” he said, voice low and cruel. “Watch it—or I’ll remove it myself.”
The words were so calm, so matter-of-fact, that I flinched.
He continued, his tone colder than before. “I came here to tell you to stop irritating me with your restlessness.”
What?
His eyes narrowed. “Since you and I are unfortunately connected, I can feel every pathetic attempt you make to escape. It’s agitating my wolves and, frankly, it’s irritating me.” He stepped closer, his presence suffocating. “So behave yourself, or I’ll bring the sacrifice forward to this very moment.”
His words hit like a punch to the gut, but my mind spun with a sudden realization. The bond. That’s why he could feel me. Why my essence could break the curse.
But what if it was severed?
I didn’t know if it would work, but I had to try.
His eyes sharpened, deadly, like he could sense my thoughts. He stepped back, warning lacing his voice as he growled, “Don’t.”
But I was faster.
“I, Ivy, reject you, Knox Thorne, as my mate.”
The bond snapped like a whip, and the pain was instant—raw and searing. My wolf howled in protest, and I doubled over, gasping as the connection shattered.
Knox froze, his expression flickering between shock and rage. Then his eyes changed. The golden hue turned feral, wild, like I’d seen when he was in his wolf form.
The crack of bones filled the room, and before I could process it, his wolf let out a savage snarl.
And then he lunged.
