Ava POV:
Pain.
That was the first sensation to register.
It wasn’t the sharp, clarifying sting of a fracture, but the hollow, throbbing ache of absence.
I forced my eyes open.
I wasn't in the pristine white of the Pack hospital. This room was dark, heavy with the stale scent of dust and rotting wood.
"She's awake," a voice whispered.
Ben.
I turned my head slowly, fighting the stiffness in my neck. Ben was sitting in a chair, his face buried in his hands. He looked shattered, as if he hadn't slept in days.
"Ben?"
He looked up. His eyes were red and swollen.
"Ava," he choked out. "Oh, Goddess. Ava."
"Where are we?" I tried to sit up, but a sharp, searing fire ripped through my side, forcing a gasp from my lips.
I reached down, my fingers brushing against thick gauze. There was a bandage wrapped tightly around my waist.
My hand hovered over the spot. The wrong spot.
"My kidney?" I asked, my mind reeling in confusion.
Ben burst into tears.
"They took it," he sobbed, his voice cracking. "After you passed out... Chloe... she ordered the surgery. She said she needed it to sustain the pregnancy. Ethan... he authorized it before he left for the battle."
I stared at the ceiling. A crack ran through the plaster, looking like a lightning bolt frozen in time.
"And the baby?" I asked. My voice sounded like dead leaves scraping together.
Ben didn't answer. He just shook his head.
I didn't cry. I couldn't. The grief was a stone in my chest, too heavy to lift.
Ethan had authorized them to cut me open. To steal my organ for his mistress. And in doing so, he had killed his own child.
"I am going to kill him," I said. It wasn't a threat. It was a promise.
"We have bigger problems," Ben said, frantically wiping his face. "We aren't safe. This is an abandoned safe house on the border, but..."
CRASH.
The front door downstairs splintered with a deafening sound.
"Found her!" a rough voice shouted.
Rogues.
"Hide!" Ben hissed, trying to push me under the bed.
"No," I said. Adrenaline spiked through my veins, momentarily dulling the agony. I grabbed a scalpel from Ben’s medical bag on the nightstand.
Three men burst into the room. They were filthy, their eyes yellow with madness. Rogues.
"Well, well," the leader sneered. He was a massive wolf, missing an ear, his grin revealing rotting teeth. "The Alpha's reject."
"Ethan sent you?" I asked, tightening my grip on the small blade.
"Ethan?" The leader laughed, a harsh, barking sound. "Ethan is busy chasing his tail. No, sweetheart. We're just here to clean up the mess. Chloe pays better than the Alpha."
He lunged.
I slashed with the scalpel, aiming for his eyes, but I was too weak. He backhanded me, sending me flying into the wall.
Impact. Agony exploded in my side as my stitches strained.
The pain was blinding. The leader grabbed me by the throat and pinned me to the wall. He raised a silver knife.
"Say hello to the Moon Goddess for me," he grinned.
I looked at the silver blade. I didn't close my eyes. I wanted to see my death coming.
*Ethan,* I thought. *I hope you rot.*
The knife came down.
ROAR.
A blur of silver fur crashed through the window, shattering the glass into a thousand diamonds.
It was massive. Bigger than any wolf I had ever seen.
The silver wolf slammed into the Rogue leader, tearing his throat out in one savage bite. Hot blood sprayed across the room.
The other two Rogues froze.
The silver wolf shifted. Bones cracked and reformed with a sickening crunch until a man stood in the beast's place.
He was tall, with shoulders broad enough to carry the world. His hair was dark, but his eyes... his eyes were the color of molten silver.
Noah Hayes. The Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack. The strongest Alpha in the region.
He looked at the Rogues.
"You touched her," Noah growled. His voice was low, vibrating with a power that made the floorboards shake.
"Alpha Hayes," one Rogue stammered, taking a step back. "This is Moonstone business—"
"She is mine," Noah roared.
He moved faster than sight. In two heartbeats, the remaining Rogues were dead on the floor.
Noah turned to me.
I slid down the wall, the scalpel falling from my numb hand.
He rushed over, catching me before I hit the floor. His skin was hot, his scent overwhelming—like cedar and deep, cool water.
My Inner Wolf, who had been dying, suddenly lifted her head.
*Safe,* she whispered. *Safe.*
"I've got you," Noah whispered, lifting me into his arms as if I weighed nothing. "I've got you, Ava. I won't let them hurt you again."
I looked up at him, my vision blurring. "Why?"
"Because," he said, looking down at me with an intensity that burned. "I have been looking for you for a very long time, White Wolf."
