I ran… or I tried to.

My body was too weak and battered from three years of imprisonment. Every step sent pain shooting through my legs. My lungs burned like someone had poured acid down my throat. My vision kept blurring, and I couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or tears.

But they got closer.

Faster, I told myself desperately, even as my legs threatened to give out. Move faster or die.

The forest was a nightmare of twisted roots and branches that caught in my hair and tore at my ragged clothes. Thorns left bloody scratches across my skin.

I didn't care. I couldn't afford to care about anything except escape.

A root caught my foot, and I went down hard. The impact knocked the air from my lungs. Pain exploded through my body. I tasted dirt and copper.

For a moment, I just lay there gasping. Everything hurt, and every part of my body screamed at me to give up.

But something inside me whispered: Get up or your baby dies.

I pushed myself up, arms trembling at my sides as my blood dripped from my split lip onto dead leaves.

Move, Alessia.

I lurched forward and kept running. The howl came from directly behind me—so close I could almost feel hot breath on my neck.

Panic clawed up my throat. They were herding me like prey, drawing out the hunt because I was too weak to fight back.

The trees thinned ahead, as I stumbled into a clearing and my heart sank. The end of the road was a ravine, with water rushing below. I wouldn’t survive if I jumped in.

The realization dawned on me. There was no way out.

I spun around as they emerged from the tree line.

Five rogue wolves, massive and feral, their eyes gleaming yellow in the dim light. They moved with the casual confidence of predators who knew their prey was trapped.

The largest one—a male with matted brown fur and scars crisscrossing his muzzle—shifted to human form. The transformation was rough, bones cracking audibly as they reshaped. A sign of a wolf who'd been rogue too long, who was more animal than man now.

He stood naked and grinning, his teeth too sharp.

"Well, well," he drawled, his voice like gravel scraping stone. "What do we have here? A little lost pack wolf, all alone in the big bad woods."

I backed up until my heels hit the cliff's edge. Small rocks tumbled over the side, and I heard them hit water far below. One wrong step and I'd fall to my death. But maybe that would be better than what these rogues would do to me.

"Please," I heard myself say, hating how small my voice sounded. "I don't want trouble. Just let me pass."

He laughed, and the sound made my skin crawl. The other wolves joined in—a chorus of snarls that echoed off the trees.

"Let you pass?" He took a step closer, and I had nowhere to go. "Sweetheart, you're on our territory now. That's a death sentence."

"I didn't know." My voice cracked. "I was banished. I was just trying to—"

"Banished?" His eyes lit up with interest. "What did a pretty little thing like you do to get banished?"

Murder. They thought I murdered my own parents. But I couldn't say that.

"Please." I pressed my hand to my stomach, the gesture protective. "I'm pregnant. Whatever you're going to do to me—the baby didn't do anything wrong. Please."

His gaze dropped to where my hand rested, and his grin widened. "Pregnant? Even better. Two meals for the price of one."

The world tilted and my vision swam. He couldn't be serious.

"Although, I might've spared you, but..." he continued, tilting his head, "We got orders, you see. Very specific orders. We're supposed to make sure you don't leave these woods alive."

Orders? Someone had sent them?

"Who? Who sent you?" I demanded, but deep down in my mind, I had a feeling I already knew who.

His grin turned vicious. "Sienna sends her regards."

The words hit like a physical blow. Sienna, my own cousin.

"She wanted to make sure you wouldn't cause problems," the rogue continued, clearly enjoying himself. "Can't have you running around telling tales. Especially not carrying a bastard child. So we're going to have some fun with you."

No. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be how it ended.

But he was already shifting back to wolf form, bones cracking and reshaping. The other wolves spread out, surrounding me, cutting off any escape.

Not that there was any escape. I was trapped between rogues and a cliff, too weak to fight, unable to shift myself.

The lead rogue lunged.

I dove sideways on pure instinct, hitting the ground and rolling. His jaws snapped shut on empty air where my throat had been. I scrambled backward, but another wolf lunged at me, snarling.

I tried to run anyway. I already managed three steps before teeth sank into my calf, piercing through my skin like knives.

The scream tore from my throat before I could stop it.

Pain exploded up my leg. I felt a muscle tear, felt blood pour fast and hot. The wolf shook its head viciously, and I felt something else rip inside me.

I fell hard. The wolf released me, and I crawled forward, leaving a trail of blood on the floor.

Get up, I thought desperately. Get up—

Another wolf attacked, going for my arm. I threw my hand up defensively, and teeth clamped down on my forearm, biting down so hard that I felt my bone.

Another scream tore from my throat. Pain layered on pain until I couldn't think or even breathe.

There was so much blood everywhere. My blood.

I'm going to die here.

The thought was strangely calm. It was almost a relief. At least, I wouldn’t have to feel pain anymore.

I'm sorry, I thought, pressing my free hand to my stomach. I'm so sorry, little one. I tried.

Suddenly, the world shifted.

The wolf attacking me was suddenly gone—ripped away by something massive that moved like black lightning. It hit a tree with a sickening crack and didn't move again.

I blinked through the haze of pain and blood loss, trying to understand what I was seeing.

A wolf. But not like any I'd ever seen.

It was enormous—twice the size of the rogues, maybe three times a normal wolf. Its fur was black as midnight, so dark it seemed to swallow light. And its eyes glowed molten gold, like flames.

The Alpha King. It had to be. No other wolf could be that size, and that powerful.

The remaining rogues seemed to realize they were outmatched. They scattered, breaking formation and bolting for the tree line in a panic. But the black wolf was unnaturally faster.

It cut off two rogues before they'd made it five steps. Its jaws closed around one's throat, and there was a wet, crunching sound that made my stomach turn. The rogue went limp, dead before it hit the ground.

The second rogue tried to fight back—launched itself at the black wolf's throat in a desperate attack. The black wolf caught it mid-lunge, like it weighed nothin,g and threw it. The rogue's body hit a boulder with enough force that I heard its spine break.

The last two rogues—including the brown one who'd taunted me—tried to fight, but the Black wolf killed them instantly.

Suddenly, those burning golden eyes turned to me, and the intensity of that gaze made my breath catch in my throat.

For a moment, we just stared at each other. Me on the ground in a pool of my own blood, too weak to even sit up, and him standing over the bodies of the rogues he'd killed. He was massive and terrifying, but there was something in his eyes that didn’t hold the mindless violence I'd just witnessed.

Then he shifted.

The transformation was fluid, almost beautiful. Fur became skin, muscle reshaping itself with a grace that seemed impossible for something so large. In seconds, a man stood where the wolf had been.

"You're safe now," he said, and his voice was deep.

He took a step toward me, and the world shifted.

The mate bond hit me like a tidal wave. One second, I was empty, that hollow space inside me where Artemis should be, where Kael's rejected bond had left a gaping wound. The next, something roared to life with enough force to make me gasp.

MATE! a voice screamed in my head. My wolf, Artemis had awoken. MATE! OURS!

The man froze mid-step, his eyes going impossibly wide. His whole body went rigid.

He felt it too.

I watched as his pupils dilated, and the gold in his eyes turned almost black. His chest heaved like he couldn't get enough air.

"You!" he growled, wonder and disbelief in his voice. "You're..."

But I didn't hear the rest. My vision was blurred out at the edges, as darkness crept in. I'd lost too much blood, and I could feel my body starting to give up.

The Alpha King moved fast, dropping to his knees beside me. His hands pressed against my wounds.

"Stay with me," he commanded, while trying to stop the bleeding. "Don't you dare—"

"I'm sorry," I whispered, not even sure what I was apologizing for anymore.

"Don't apologize. Just stay awake.”

But I couldn't. The darkness pulled me under. The last thing I felt was his arms lifting me, and the last thing I heard was his voice, whispering to me.

"I've got you. You're safe now."

Then nothing.