XANIYAH remained frozen on the cold floor, her arms wrapped around her trembling frame as if she could hold herself together by force alone. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably. Not from the night’s chill, not from the shock. But from the storm still rattling inside her.

From Alpha Xanthos Blackwood, who found joy in rendering pain to others. His name alone made her quivered in the dark.

The moon remained bright above her, shining down as if to witness every broken part of her. She squeezed ...