Chapter 2

Julie POV:

My first instinct was to beg. Survival, raw and desperate, clawed its way past the pain.

"Please," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "There's no point. Locke won't pay a ransom for me. He cast me out. He... he thinks I'm barren."

The word tasted like poison on my tongue.

Ron Moss said nothing. He just watched me, his face an unreadable mask of shadows. His silence was more terrifying than any threat.

Suddenly, a vibration started against my leg. My phone, still in the pocket of my jeans. It buzzed again and again.

Ron raised an eyebrow, a silent question. My hands were tied, so he reached down, his fingers brushing my thigh as he pulled the phone from my pocket. It was a brief, accidental contact, but a strange warmth shot through me, a stark contrast to the cold dread filling my veins.

He unlocked it with a swipe and his eyes scanned the screen. The buzzing stopped. He held the phone so I could see it.

The screen was filled with notifications from Debbie.

Message after message, a torrent of cruelty.

Debbie: "Moved into the Alpha's manor. It's so much bigger than my old quarters."

Debbie: "Your old clothes are in a trash bag on the porch. Should I burn them for you?"

Then came the picture.

It was of her and Locke, tangled together in the master bedroom. My bedroom. The room I had spent years decorating, filling with soft blankets and scented candles. Locke was looking at her with a look I'd craved for a decade-a look of unguarded, possessive tenderness.

My stomach lurched. A wave of nausea washed over me.

Below the photo was one last message.

Debbie: "Soon, I will have the Luna title, the Moon Goddess will bless our pup, and you will have nothing."

Nothing. The word echoed in the hollow space where my heart used to be.

As I stared at the image of the man I loved with another woman, in our bed, a strange heat ignited deep within me. It wasn't anger, not entirely. It was a wild, uncontrollable surge of energy, a physical agony born from the deepest emotional betrayal. My blood felt like it was boiling, my skin prickling with a feverish heat. It was the pain of the rejection, the silver poison, and something else... something ancient and primal awakened by the presence of the Alpha standing before me.

I thrashed against the ropes, a strangled sob tearing from my throat. "Stop! Please, just make it stop!"

The ropes, weakened by my frantic movements, suddenly gave way. My body lurched forward, over the edge of the cliff.

For a split second, there was only the rush of air and the sight of the jagged rocks below. I was falling.

Then, a blur of motion.

Ron moved with a speed that wasn't human. He crossed the distance between us in a heartbeat, his powerful arm wrapping around my waist, yanking me back from the brink. He pulled me hard against his chest, my back slamming into solid muscle.

His bare arm was pressed against the sliver of skin exposed where my shirt had ridden up. The moment his skin touched mine, it happened.

A jolt, fierce and bright as a lightning strike, shot through my entire body. It wasn't painful. It was... everything. A current of pure energy that made every nerve ending sing. My inner wolf, dormant and grieving, suddenly stirred, lifting her head and letting out a silent howl of recognition.

Ron froze. I could feel the sudden tension in his body, the way his muscles went rigid. His breath hitched.

His gaze, which had been cold and calculating, was now a stormy sea of confusion and something darker, something fiercely possessive.

"Did you want to die?" he growled, his voice a low vibration against my back. But then, the anger seemed to drain out of him, replaced by a grudging softness. "I underestimated his cruelty."

He slowly loosened his grip, but didn't let go completely. He leaned in, his face close to my neck. I felt his warm breath on my skin as he inhaled, long and deep.

The scent of him filled my senses-a wild, clean smell of pine trees after a thunderstorm, mixed with the sharp, cold air of a coming blizzard. It was powerful, intoxicating, and my soul seemed to unclench, recognizing a scent it had been searching for its entire life.

His wolf was satisfied. I could feel it. A low, pleased rumble echoed in his chest.

He gently used his thumb to wipe a smear of blood from the corner of my mouth. His touch was no longer that of a captor. It was something else entirely.

His eyes locked onto mine, dark and intense.

"I'll make you a deal," he said, his voice a low murmur that sent shivers down my spine. "Go back to him. Get the ring your parents left you. The one he wears."

He paused, his gaze unwavering. "Bring it to me, and I'll let you go free."

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