Dying wasn’t part of my plan—not tonight, and especially not at Lorcan’s hands.

A wolf howled in the distance, and others answered. My heart pounded. I was close to freedom—I couldn’t give up now.

Pain tore through my leg as something latched on and dragged me backward. I landed face-first in the dirt, my wrist snapping as dust filled my mouth and made it hard to breathe.

“Oh, fuck!”

I rolled onto my back, clutching my wrist. Three wolves loomed over me, and when one drooled on my cheek, I wiped it away as pain shot through my arm. I tried to crawl back, but fire lit up my leg where the bite had torn into flesh.

“If you’re going to kill me, just do it,” I spat.

The largest wolf, a dark gray one, turned and ran off, leaving me with the other two.

“So he’s making you do it?” I spit at the one closest to me. “Attacking a girl who can’t even shift. You’re pathetic.”

It growled and lunged, sinking its teeth into my arm. I screamed and struggled, but the pain only deepened.

My vision blurred as rocks tore into my back and thorns scraped my skin. “Let me go, you asshole!” I gasped, choking on the pain.

My body was broken. The moon stared down, cold and silent, like it was watching me die. Trees, stars, dirt—I couldn’t tell what I was seeing. I didn’t know if I was dying… or just too stubborn to stop fighting.

When it finally let go, I hit the ground hard, and my body convulsed. Every nerve lit up like I’d been struck by lightning. My limbs blazed, muscles twitching with every movement. My skull throbbed like it might crack open.

Even if I survived, I knew I could still die from an infection.

I looked around, but nothing was familiar; the forest was too quiet, and the ground ahead dropped into darkness where sharp rocks waited—maybe a cliff.

Maybe we were near the edge of the pack lands.

“Are you dead yet?” Lorcan’s voice broke the silence.

I turned my head just enough to see them. Three figures stepped out of the shadows, naked in the moonlight. Lorcan walked ahead of the others, calm and smug, like everything was going exactly the way he planned. His friends followed a few steps behind.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “You’re the ones who did this to me.”

“Hurting you hurts me. I learned that early.”

“You’re a coward,” I said. “You don’t have to do this. What kind of man hurts someone who can’t fight back?”

“That fight in you used to be interesting,” he said. “Now it’s annoying.”

“Real brave—three of you against one half-dead girl.”

Talking made the pain worse, but as long as I kept him talking, he wasn’t hurting me.

Lorcan knelt beside me. “You forced my hand, Kireya. If you’d known your place, this wouldn’t be necessary.”

“You’re a monster,” I spat.

“Damian, kill her,” he said.

I looked toward Damian and Vaerin. Damian didn’t move. My brow furrowed. He was hesitating. He wasn’t following the order.

“I’ll do it, Lorcan,” Vaerin said.

“I asked Damian,” Lorcan replied.

“You said we were just scaring her,” Damian said, not moving.

“Are you defying me?” Lorcan snapped.

“You’re not Alpha yet,” I muttered. “No one ever saw the mark. You’re a fraud. And I hope someone knocks you and your father off that pedestal soon.”

Lorcan stood and kicked me hard in the stomach. I cried out and instinctively reached to protect myself, but the movement twisted my broken wrist. A scream tore from my throat as a flash of white heat raced up my arm, blinding and violent.

“That hurt me too, Kireya. Why do you make me do this?” Lorcan knelt beside me again. He brushed a strand of hair from my face like we were something soft and sweet. “If only you’d shifted tonight. Things could’ve been different for us.”

I spat in his face. “I’d never be with you.”

He groaned and wiped it off. Then he stood. “You bitch. Vaerin!”

Vaerin stepped forward, and started kicking me—again and again—until I couldn’t breathe. My ribs screamed, but I stayed silent. I wasn’t giving him that satisfaction.

By the time he stopped, I was barely conscious. Blood coated my tongue, and something deep inside me felt torn. My ribs, maybe worse. I rolled onto my side and told myself the pain wasn’t real. That my body could still move if I forced it.

I shifted my gaze to Lorcan. He was watching the others, not me. Distracted. If I was going to run, this was my chance.

Holding my breath, I pushed myself up. Pain roared through me, but I forced myself to my feet. My legs trembled beneath me. Still, I ran.

Each step felt like I was walking through broken glass—but I kept going. Under the full moon, I dodged rocks and roots, praying someone—anyone—might see me. I wasn’t hoping to escape anymore. I was hoping to be seen. As far as I knew, it was still against pack law to kill a packmate. Maybe that would be enough.

But then my foot caught on a root and I hit the ground hard. The pain came rushing back all at once—biting, crushing, unstoppable. My body refused to move.

I lay there, gasping, heart pounding in my ears. “Fuck me,” I breathed.

“No, I don’t think I will,” Lorcan’s voice answered from the darkness. “If I did, the bond would solidify—and then I’d spend my life missing you. Who wants that?”

“Just let me go,” I whispered. “You can’t mate with an absconded wolf.”

“You don’t get it,” he said. “The pack can never find out I was mated to you in the first place.”

“Like I want to be bonded to a piece of shit like you,” I hissed.

“Pick her up,” Lorcan ordered.

Shadowed figures moved in the darkness. Hands grabbed me and dragged me through the dirt as rocks tore my skin, thorns ripped at my legs, and I screamed when one of them yanked my hair. My heart pounded as I stared death in the face, knowing there was no way out.

When they finally stopped, I didn’t know where I was. My body was limp. The only thing I could see was the edge of a cliff just a few feet ahead.

My breath caught. What the hell were they planning?

Vaerin’s face hovered above mine. “Time for you to die, bitch.”

“Fuck you,” I spat at him. Just because I’d accepted I was going to die didn’t mean I had to be polite about it.

He wiped the spit off his face, then stood to his full height. Without hesitation, he kicked me—first in the shoulder, then the back, and finally the stomach—each blow worse than the last.

My head spun. The world tilted around me, even more than it should have considering I was already down.

Lorcan stepped toward me. I forced myself upright, every muscle screaming—but I wouldn’t cower.

“I’m going to be overjoyed when I feel our bond snap,” he said. “You think I’ll spare you?” he said. “I’m just finishing what should’ve been done years ago.”

I glared at him. There was only one thing I could think of that might hurt him.

I grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss.

Mating bond or not, physical contact would make it stronger. If a kiss could strengthen the bond, then maybe—just maybe—he’d suffer when I died. I wanted him to hurt. To mourn. Even if I didn’t make it.

To my surprise, he kissed me back. His hands gripped my hips, dragging me closer. His lips moved with mine, rough and hungry. Heat surged in my chest, sparks shooting through my body. His hand traveled up my back, his tongue pushing into my mouth, fingers curling in my hair as he deepened the kiss.

It was angry. Violent. Too much. And for one wild moment, it felt like I was pouring all the rage and defiance I’d buried into him with that kiss.

I was the one who pulled away. I wiped my mouth, trying not to gag—the taste of him lingered like poison.

My breath hitched as I met his eyes, bracing for the usual cold fury.

But there was no hate.

There was lust.

And that scared me more than anything.

“You think I’ll spare you?” he asked, voice low and thick with need.

“No,” I said. “I think now you’ll be forced to mourn me… even while you still hate me.”

He shoved me backward, knocking me to the ground. “Fuck you.”

“You do realize I’m coming for all of you if I get out of this,” I said.

Lorcan and Vaerin laughed. Damian didn’t. He stayed silent, guilt written across his face. He knew this was wrong—but silence made him just as complicit.

Lorcan turned to me, smiling. “Goodbye, Kireya.”

He reached forward and gave me a push.

I was falling.

Then the ground rushed up.

And all I could think was—please, let this hurt him more than it hurt me.

Then nothing.