Before I could react, Alpha Adrian’s claws closed around my wrists with punishing strength, his grip like iron shackles as he dragged me through the moonlit courtyard. The stones under my feet were slick with dew, and every step echoed with the weight of his fury. The air was sharp with frost and dominance, thick with the kind of rage only an Alpha could summon. Beneath it all, I could still smell his scent, cedar, rain, and the faint trace of silver that marked him as my mate, my Alpha. Once that scent had calmed my wolf. Now it made her whimper in fear.
Panic surged through me as I struggled against his strength, but it was useless. His power pressed against me like a wall, forcing my wolf to cower deep inside. My pulse raced, and my claws half-extended, useless against the authority that rolled off him in waves. He hauled me toward the rusted death trap on the edge of the training grounds, the old roller coaster that no wolf dared to approach. It stood there like a corpse of the old world, metal bones creaking in the cold wind, soaked with the echoes of human screams long forgotten. Even the forest spirits whispered warnings when the wind passed through its twisted frame.
“Once, I saved you from rogues, saved you from the same men who harmed Zara tonight.” Adrian’s voice thundered, his eyes glowing faint gold, his wolf brushing the surface. “Who knew you’d use that same savage instinct to harm others, to drug another she-wolf and force her into bearing a child!”
I froze, my breath catching, the accusation slicing deeper than any claw could. “That’s not true! Adrian, please-” My voice broke, and my wolf whimpered, pressing against the bond that still tethered her to his.
But my protests meant nothing. His expression was carved from stone, his Alpha command sealing the air between us like a cage. He forced me into the cold metal seat, claws grazing my arms as he bound me with silver-threaded restraints. The instant the forged silver touched my skin, it screamed against my flesh, burning, biting, eating its way into me as if it wanted to taste my bones. Smoke curled from the wounds, thick and acrid, the scent of scorched skin mingling with the copper tang of blood. Pain ripped through my veins like molten fire, tearing my wolf from her howl and shoving her into silence.
I gasped, choking back a cry as the silver pulsed with Alpha energy, feeding on my pain. The scent of scorched flesh mingled with the metallic tang of the machinery. Above us, the full moon glared down like a witness, bright and unmerciful.
“Adrian, please,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes as my voice broke into a low, trembling growl. “You’re my mate.”
His jaw tightened, and for a flicker of a heartbeat, I thought I saw the man I once loved beneath the beast. But the Alpha won. His eyes glowed brighter, gold bleeding into black.
“Then you should’ve remembered what it means to betray one.”
His cold eyes glowed with the faint gold of his wolf. He didn’t look at me as a mate, not even as a woman, just as prey awaiting punishment. His hand hovered over the control lever like a judge preparing to deliver his verdict.
I turned to the edge of the platform, where the pups, the children I had raised, stood watching. My throat constricted, my wolf clawing inside me, desperate to reach them. I opened my mouth to scream for truth, for mercy, but the Alpha’s dominance crushed the sound in my throat. His power had already declared me guilty.
The ride screeched to life, the air filling with the metallic roar of chains. My stomach plummeted as the world tilted into chaos. The wind tore at my hair, my tears freezing before they could fall.
“This,” Adrian’s voice boomed through the storm, “is what betrayal feels like. Every bruise, every breath you take, you’ve earned them!”
Time lost all meaning. I felt the silver biting deeper, the bruises blooming like cursed flowers beneath my skin. Blood seeped down my arm, mingling with the scent of iron and fur. The world blurred into pain, my wolf howling inside me, but trapped, bound by the mate bond that refused to sever.
From a distance, I heard their voices, small, trembling, uncertain.
“Caden, Mom looks so sad… are we doing something wrong?”
“N-No. Aunt Zara said this would help Dad. And Mom loves us, right? She’ll forgive us.”
Adrian never moved from the control panel. His expression was carved from stone. He didn’t curse or rage. He simply watched as the woman who once shared his soul unraveled before his eyes, limb by limb, howl by howl.
When I was on the verge of losing consciousness, he stopped the ride. My body hung limp, my wolf silent and broken. The man who once painted my likeness under moonlight, the one who had saved me, claimed me, marked me, was gone.
“All your debts,” I whispered through cracked lips, tasting blood and bitterness, “are repaid now.” And darkness claimed me.
**
Three nights later, I woke beneath the dim light of dawn, the scent of herbs and moonflower salve heavy in the air. My body ached, every bone humming with dull pain. Adrian sat beside me, his eyes bloodshot, exhaustion painted across his features.
When he saw me stir, he reached out as if desperate to grasp something already lost. “Dawn,” he breathed, voice breaking. “You’re awake.”
A doctor entered, murmuring something about trauma and my weakened condition, mentioning words like terminal and miraculous recovery. I silenced him with a single look. “It’s nothing,” I rasped. “Just exhaustion.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. Without a word, he lifted a spoon of soup to my lips, his touch trembling. “Eat,” he said softly, as though gentleness could erase what he’d done. “Tell me how you feel.”
I stared through him, past the room, past the bond that once chained our souls. I felt nothing. Not love, not rage, just emptiness.
Then the door opened, and Zara stepped inside, suitcase in hand, smelling of lilac and deceit. Her gaze flicked toward me, her lips quivering in false remorse. “Dawn… I’m sorry. It was my fault. But Adrian, you promised I could stay-”
“I see,” I murmured, my voice barely a whisper. “She’s already moved in. Then I suppose I should move out.”
Adrian’s tone was flat, his aura cold. “Now isn’t the time, Zara. Dawn needs rest. Wait outside.”
Her mask cracked for an instant, hatred glimmering in her eyes before she turned and left.
Only we remained. The silence between us was heavier than any bond.
He spoke at last, low and measured. “Whatever happened that day, Dawn… if you apologize to Zara sincerely, I’ll let it go.”
I turned to him slowly, my gaze locked with him. My wolf stirred weakly, baring her fangs.
“Alpha,” I said, voice hoarse yet steady,“The only thing I’ll ever apologize for… is mistaking a monster for my mate.”
