Chapter 3 The Chain Breaks

The house was silent - too silent.

Kael's boots barely made a sound as he crossed the threshold, his muscles tense, every sense honed. The place reeked of damp rot and unwashed bodies. His wolf raged beneath his skin, clawing to get out, to tear whoever had touched her.

She was here. He felt her like a storm behind his ribs. Jarek and two enforcers flanked him, blades drawn, eyes sharp.

"Basement," Kael said. "She's underground."

Jarek nodded, heading toward the hallway. Kael stopped, nostrils flaring again. Blood. Faint - not fresh, but not old either.

His rage simmered dangerously close to the surface.

He moved toward the kitchen, toward a half-rotted pantry. He reached behind a shelf and found it - a trapdoor, cleverly masked by a rug and years of dust. He didn't wait for backup.

He ripped it open.

Below...

Ember heard the floorboards creak above her. Not the heavy, slow gait of Caleb or the cruel laugh of his packmates. This was different - fast, purposeful. Her pulse quickened.

Something inside her - the wolf, the dream, the mate - started to burn. The door to the basement exploded inward.

Wood splinters flew.

A dark figure filled the space, backlit by moonlight - huge, muscular, dressed in black, with eyes glowing like molten gold. His scent crashed into her like a wave of heat and instinct.

Mate.

Ember's breath hitched.

He stared at her - chained, filthy, bruised - and let out a low, guttural growl that wasn't fully human.

She shrank instinctively, expecting pain. A blow. A slap.

Instead, he dropped to his knees in front of her like a man who'd found a sacred thing.

"Goddess..." His voice was hoarse. "What have they done to you?"

His hand reached out - large, warm - and brushed her cheek with reverent care. She flinched, but his touch didn't hurt. It healed.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't dare cry.

"Don't touch me," she whispered. "They'll hear you. They'll kill you."

Kael's gaze sharpened.

"No one's killing anyone tonight. Except them."

With a snarl, he reached for the chain and ripped it from the wall like it was paper. Ember gasped, falling forward - into his arms.

His body was warm. Safe. And it terrified her.

He held her like she mattered.

Like she was his.

And that was when the door behind them slammed shut.