Chapter 2 Chains of Betrayal

"Wake up, Luna. You`re now no longer useless yet." Kaelen`s voice becomes a chilly blade, slicing through the fog in her mind.

Luna`s eyes fluttered open, her frame screaming in ache. Her wrists burned, certain through chains that seared her pores and skin with each movement. The air becomes damp and heavy with the heady fragrance of earth and blood. She becomes in a cave, its partitions complex and jagged, lit best through flickering torches. Her arm throbbed from the sooner fight, and her shoulder ached in which the wolves had clawed her.

"Kaelen?" Her voice ends up hoarse, barely a whisper. She squinted, her vision clearing truly enough to see him famous a few feet away, flanked by three exclusive werewolves. Their eyes glinted with malice, their postures tense, like predators circling prey.

He crouched in front of her, his face inches from hers. "Surprised? You shouldn`t be. You were continuously too trusting."

Her coronary heart twisted. "Why are you doing this? What occurred to you?" She tugged on the chains, wincing because the silver burned deeper into her wrists. The ache became sharp and relentless; however, she compelled herself to satisfy his gaze. "We`re soulbound. You swore you`d defend me."

Kaelen`s lips curled right into a sneer. "Soulbound? That`s only a fairy story for weaklings like you." He grabbed her chin, forcing her to take and observe him. His grip became bruising, his eyes without the warm temperature she as soon as knew. "You`re not anything to me now."

"You don`t imply that. This isn`t you. Tell me what`s going on-please."

He laughed a harsh sound that echoed off the cave partitions. "You need answers? Fine. You`re right here because you`re useful. Or at least, you'll be while we`re executed with you."

"Useful?" Luna`s voice trembled; however, she clung to the spark of defiance in her chest. "What are you speaking about?"

Kaelen stood, towering over her. "There`s a ritual. Old magic, older than our percent. It wishes a sacrifice, soul-bound mate. Your blood will make us unstoppable. The percent will rise, more potent than ever."

Her belly churned. "You`re going to kill me? For a few rituals?" She shook her head, disbelief warring with fear. "Kaelen, concentrate on yourself! You cherished me. You promised we`d face the whole thing together."

"Love?" He spat the phrase, finding it irresistible, and turned it poisonous. "You have been only a method to an end. A tool." He stepped closer, his claws extending. "And gear get used."

Before she may want to respond, his fist slammed into her jaw. Pain exploded throughout her face, her imaginative and prescient swimming. She tasted blood, her head lolling to the side. The different werewolves snickered, their voices a low hum of approval.

"Stop it!" Luna gasped, her voice ragged. "Kaelen, please bear in mind who you are. Remember us."

He hit her again, this time inside the belly. The air rushed out of her lungs, and she doubled over, the chains yanking at her wrists. Her pores and skin blistered beneathneath the silver, the ache a constant, gnawing fire.

"Don`t beg," he snarled. "It`s pathetic."

Luna coughed, blood dripping from her lip. Her frame screamed for her to present up. However, her thoughts clung to an unmarried thought: this wasn`t Kaelen. Not her Kaelen. She pressured her eyes up, looking at his face for any signal of the person she cherished. She noticed a faint mark on his neck, simply above his collar. A tattoo, jagged and black, like a rune carved into his pores and skin. It hadn`t been there before. Not ever.

"What`s that to your neck?" she whispered, her voice slightly audible.

Kaelen`s hand shot to his neck, his eyes narrowing. "What?"

"That mark. It`s new." She swallowed, her throat dry. "Who did that to you?"

For a cut-up second, something flickered in his eyes-confusion, perhaps fear. But it turned into long gone as fast as it came. "You don`t get to invite questions. You don`t get to do whatever besides bleed."

Luna cried out, the ache in her scalp sharp and immediate. "Someone`s controlling you!" she said, her voice desperate. "That mark`s now no longer yours. Kaelen, combat it!"

"Shut up!" he roared. "You don`t recognize whatever!"

One of the opposite werewolves, a lean male with a scar on his face, stepped forward. "She`s stalling, Alpha. Finish her, or I will."

Kaelen shot him a glare. "Back off, Ryk. She`s mine to deal with."

Ryk smirked but stepped back, his eyes in no way leaving Luna. "Just don`t take too long. The ritual`s tonight."

Luna`s coronary heart pounded. Tonight. She had hours, perhaps less. Her frame turned battered, her energy fading; however, she couldn`t surrender. Not yet. "Kaelen," she said, her voice softer now, pleading. "I understand you`re nevertheless in there. I understand you don`t need this. That mark`s doing something to you. Please, combat it."

But then he lunged, his claws slashing through her chest. Pain tore through her, and they screamed, the sound uncooked and broken.

"You`re wrong," he hissed, his face inches from hers. "This is me; this is who I`ve constantly been."

Luna sobbed, her frame shaking. Blood seeped from the clean wounds, pooling under her. "I cherished you," she whispered. "I nevertheless do."

Then he grew to become away, his voice bloodless. "Love doesn`t matter. Not anymore."

She watched him stroll closer to the alternative werewolves, her imaginative and prescient blurring. Her frame turned heavy, her thoughts foggy with pain. But that tattoo-it turned into the key. It needed to be. Whoever had marked him had modified him and grew to become him into this monster. If she wants to live alive, she wants to discover a way to shop for him. To shop them both.

"Kaelen," she called, her voice weak. "I won`t surrender on you."

He didn`t flip returned. Instead, he gestured to Ryk and the others. "Watch her. Make sure she doesn`t attempt anything."

Ryk grinned, cracking his knuckles. "With pleasure."

Luna`s head throbbed, her frame screaming with each breath. She tugged on the chains again, ignoring the searing pain. She needed to get out. Had to discover answers. But the silver became too strong, and her electricity was too depleted.

Ryk crouched in front of her, his scarred face twisted with amusement. "You, without a doubt, suppose he`s coming back for you? That`s sad."

"Shut up," Luna snapped, her voice shaking however defiant. "You don`t recognize him."

"Oh, I recognize him higher than you suppose." Ryk leaned closer, his breath warm in opposition to her face. "He`s been making plans for this for weeks. You had been too unaware to see it."

"Weeks?" Luna`s voice faltered. "You`re lying."

"Am I?" Ryk chuckled. "Ask yourself, did he begin pulling away? When did he begin coming returned with blood on his hands?"