Chapter 7 Seventh

"Maddy." My eyes snap open as my name echoes through the air.

I'm back in the packhouse.

Blood stains the wooden floors. The scent of iron clings to the air, thick and suffocating. My father's lifeless eyes stare at nothing, his body motionless where it fell. My mother's scream rips through the air-raw, broken-before it's abruptly silenced. A sickening crack follows, echoing in my ears.

I can't move. I can't breathe.

I watch helplessly as my brother fights, his fury unmatched-but it's not enough. Luther intercepts him effortlessly, shoving him back like he's nothing.

Nothing.

That's what I am to him. "Maddy. There you are. I've been looking all over for you."

I turn toward the voice and freeze.

Kira.

Her blonde hair is half-ripped from her head, and a deep claw mark mars her throat where blood won't stop rushing from. She smiles, but it's wrong-her once bright, lively eyes are vacant, dull.

I take a step back, my stomach twisting.

"We've got to go. C'mon," she urges, reaching for me.

A tear slips from my eye as I pull back.

"What's wrong? You don't want to play with us anymore?"

She tilts her head, and more blood spills down her neck, seeping into the tattered remains of her dress.

"I... I can't come with you," I whisper, shaking my head.

I stumble backward-right into something solid. No, not something. Someone.

Ken.

His lifeless body sprawled beneath me, his glassy eyes fixed in eternal shock.

Then comes Maggie's voice, desperate and trembling as she pulls me from the blood-soaked floor and shoves me into a dark storeroom.

"Stay here. Don't make a sound."

The door slams shut.

A heartbeat later, it swings open again.

Luther stands there, blood dripping from his hands. His brown eyes gleam with cold detachment.

"There you are, mate," he murmurs, his voice smooth, almost gentle-but the cruelty lingers beneath.

I blink, and suddenly, I'm outside.

The ruins of my home burn behind me, smoke curling into the sky.

Rain soaks my skin.

Luther stands before me, his face twisted with fury.

"I, Luther Maxwell of the Shadow Moon Pack, reject you, Madeline Dexter of the Red Dawn Pack, as my mate."

The words strike like a blade to the chest-sharp, unforgiving. The bond snaps, the severance a searing pain through my very soul. My wolf howls in agony. My knees buckle. The world shatters. I scream. I wake with a violent gasp, my lungs desperate for air.

My body jerks upright, but something holds me down. Panic flares, my limbs tangled in thick, warm furs. My pulse hammers against my ribs, my breath ragged and uneven.

Where am I? I freeze, fingers curling into the soft bedding, grounding myself as reality starts to seep in. I am not in the burning wreckage of my home.

I am not in chains.

am somewhere else.

The room is dimly lit, the glow of a fire casting flickering shadows across the walls. The air smells of damp earth, mingled with something else-something unique. My wolf stirs, still seeming far but close.

A presence shifts nearby.

I tense immediately, my muscles coiling, ready to fight. My gaze snaps to the figure seated a few feet away, half-hidden in the shadows.

He is, without a doubt, the most handsome man I've ever seen. And in my twenty-two years of life, I've seen my fair share of handsome men.

His rich brown eyes glow unnaturally, burning with an intensity that makes my pulse stutter. His raven-dark hair is tousled, sticking out in different directions. His sharp jawline is defined, marred only by the faint crook of a once-broken nose. A fighter. Power radiates from him in waves, brushing against my senses like a warning.

Who is this man?

A guard?

A really powerful one.

My gaze flickers over his broad shoulders, his muscular arms-gods, his arms. It's unfair that someone so lethal should look this good.

Why would anyone keep a guard this handsome? To seduce their prisoners or something? And of course, he just had to be wearing an armless top, showcasing every inch of his sculpted physique.

My eyes trail back to his face just in time to catch the glint of amusement in his gaze.

He's watching me.

His lips twitch. "You're done checking me out?"

Heat floods my face. Thank the Moon Goddess it's dark in here.

I swallow hard, forcing my voice to work. "Where am I?" My words are hoarse, my throat dry and aching. He doesn't answer immediately. His gaze flickers over me, assessing, calculating.

"Safe," he finally says. Safe. The word should bring relief, but it doesn't. Because I don't know what safety is anymore.

I start to panic.

Maggie thought I'd be safe in the storeroom. I wasn't. Mom thought she'd be safe with Dad. She wasn't.

The pack thought they'd be safe in their territory. They weren't. There is no such thing as safety.

My breathing quickens. My chest tightens. The man moves toward me, his expression shifting to concern. He reaches out, his voice a low murmur. "Hey, are you-" No.

I don't want him near me. I don't want his hands on me. I don't want him to promise me safety.

Because safety killed my family.

Safety killed my pack.

Luther promised me safety.

And then Luther killed them.

"Stay back!"

The command leaves my lips before I can stop it.

For a split second, the air crackles with something ancient and powerful.

Usually, when I unknowingly use the Alpha command, it only works on lower-class wolves. I'd tried using it on a few pack warriors, Damien, the Beta. Even on my father. It never worked.

But this time, something is different.

My wolf surges forward, her power intertwining with mine, and I feel it-the shift, the pulse of energy rippling through the space between us.

Lucian, unwilling, takes a step back.

And then he falls to his knees.

Bowing.

A sharp wave of exhaustion crashes over me, and I slump back against the bed. Whatever energy I just used-whatever that was-has taken its toll. Lucian stiffens. Realization flickers in his eyes, and he rises swiftly to his feet, his movements sharp, almost rattled. He takes an instinctive step back, knocking over the glass of liquor on the table.

His gaze snaps to mine, shock evident in his expression.

"What the fuck did you just do to me?"

"Is everything good there?"

The voice is deep, casual, but laced with curiosity. A man walks into the room, stopping beside Lucian. His forest-green eyes flick between us, his expression shifting to mild confusion.

"What happened, Lucian?"

Lucian is still staring at me, his shock evident. His voice, though steady, betrays his disbelief. "She used the Alpha Command on me."

Silence stretches between them.

The other man-Elisha-narrows his eyes. "Is that even possible? Only Alphas can use the Alpha Command, and even if, by some miracle, she is one, it shouldn't work on you. You have Alpha blood, Lucian. The command doesn't affect other Alphas."

Lucian rubs the back of his head, clearly unsettled. "I don't know what's going on, Elisha, but we need to move her. She should have her own space. Somewhere secluded. Maybe the east wing."

I scowl. I'm right here.

Too exhausted to speak, I glare at them instead.

Elisha smirks as if hearing my unspoken frustration. He taps Lucian's chest lightly. "You sure you're okay with that? Aren't you two supposed to be together, you know, inseparable and shit like that?"

Lucian's jaw tightens. "That's how it's supposed to be. But I don't think she can feel it." His gaze flickers toward me, unreadable. "She doesn't look at me the way a mate should. When I touch her, she recoils. It's like... It's only my wolf and I who feel the bond."

Elisha exhales, shaking his head. "That's some deep shit. Too many impossible things are happening on the same day"

I finally found the strength to speak. "I'm right here, you dickheads."

Elisha grins. "Oh, we know. Now let's get you to your room."

Before I can protest, he grabs my arm and hauls me to my feet. My legs are weak, but I force them to hold my weight as he guides me toward the door.

"My room?" I hesitate, confused. "Where exactly am I? Am I not a prisoner?"

Elisha chuckles. "Prisoner? What gave you that impression?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Well, for one, I woke up to a guard watching me."

That makes him pause.

"Guard?" He glances back at Lucian, then bursts out laughing. "Lucian? A guard? Oh, that's rich."

Lucian crosses his arms, unamused.

Elisha wipes an imaginary tear from his eye. "Lucian isn't a guard, sweetheart. He's the leader of the rogues."

I blink. "The... leader?"

"Yep. And to answer your second question-welcome to Rogue Ville!"

With a dramatic flourish, he swings the door open.

What I see steals the breath from my lungs.

Beyond the doorway is a massive clearing, carved out of the dense forest. Small bungalows are scattered around, but most of the shelters are tents-some patched together with cloth and wood, others looking more permanent. Smoke rises from campfires, and people bustle about, cooking, sharpening blades, having fun.

The entire place hums with life. I take a slow step forward, marveling at the scene.

Elisha grins. "I know, right? We leave an impression."

As he can lead me further, a sharp voice cuts through the air.

"Is she the one?"

A woman storms toward us, her golden-blonde hair whipping behind her. Her amber eyes are locked onto me with barely restrained fury.

Elisha stiffens, immediately stepping in front of me. "Livia, I'd advise you to take it easy."

"Don't you dare stand in my way!" she snaps.

Her wolf is close to the surface-her fingertips have already elongated into claws, and her irises glow a dangerous yellow.

"You expect me to stand by while some wretched wolf steals Lucian from me?"

Wait. What? I push past Elisha, eyeing her warily. "Steal Lucian? Why would I want to do that?"

Livia moves closer, her rage sharpening her features. "You cast a spell on him! You made him think you're his mate, and now you dare to play innocent?"

Mate?

What the fuck is she talking about?

I turn to Elisha, demanding an explanation. "What the hell is she talking about?"

Elisha hesitates. "Well-"

"What this birdbrain is trying to say," Livia interrupts with a sneer, "is that we don't want you here. Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of."

I exhale sharply, shaking my head. "I don't even want to be here."

Livia smirks, clearly enjoying the small crowd that's gathered to watch. Her fingers curl around a strand of her hair, her claws glinting.

"I don't care what you want," she hisses. "I just want you gone. Even if it means you join your dead family."

The world stills.

My pulse spikes, pounding in my ears like a war drum.

The rage I barely held back earlier surges forward, burning through my veins like wildfire. My wolf stirs violently, clawing at my control.

The gasps around us confirm what I already know.

My eyes are glowing.

"What did you just say?"

My voice is low, unrecognizable.

Whether out of stupidity or pure malice, Livia keeps pushing.

"I said, go back to where you came from. Even if it means joining your dead parents." The sky shifts.

Clouds churn, dark and angry, swallowing the once-blue horizon. A low rumble of thunder vibrates the ground beneath us.

The crowd murmurs uneasily, their amusement fading into wariness.

Livia tilts her head, sensing the shift but too arrogant to back down. "Oh, wait. You wouldn't even find them," she mocks, her laughter cruel. "Last I heard, they were too disemboweled to be found."

Something inside me snaps.

The wind howls through the camp, whipping through the trees, sending debris spiraling into the air. Energy crackles in my veins, raw and unfiltered. I lift my hands without thinking.

A pulse of violet light surges from my fingertips.

Lightning, wild and untamed, strikes the earth from the sky beneath Livia's feet. The impact shatters the ground, sending a shockwave through the clearing.

Screams erupt as rogues scatter, their earlier bravado shattered by the sheer force of the unnatural storm raging above.

Livia barely leaps back in time, her face frozen in shock and fear.

The last thing I hear before everything fades to black-

The terrified cries of the rogues.