PTE

enne

y fangs! What is t

and something rotten I couldn't name. The stench

oul odour jo

ruising ache settled into my limbs, like I'd been trampled by a herd of

ght and

er c

Dull flames flickered from oil lamps dangling from the beam

s rattled. Someone sobbed

n't a

voice, low

se of it. How many did

y heart

her replied. "But one of

? My puls

groggy and confused, an

ca

into this filthy place like we were livestock. Inside them

ain flared again as the silv

sped nearby. A woman, olde

as I shifted

hroat was cracked, barely a wh

nd empty. "The pits," she murmured. "

ll swept t

thout a trace. Survivors who returned damaged, or

chains. "How long-how

d. "A day? Maybe two. H

da

awed up

the mem

la

ruel

l of wo

he'd said. "A bet t

believed him when he w

i

manipulation. All designed to break me down. Now, the so-call

wo

That lingering tether

st my chest like a fog but

as p

sol

rrowed deep. H

jaw, pushing t

sol

s bond tie me t

strong enough but what

fake mate-bond. The thing I never truly felt but was made to believe existed and I began to speak-no, chant-the

bond lie cold and dead. Flesh once sworn n

s bond, let it fall. No more name, no mo

erase your trace. By my will, by blood, by pa

ith a tear, with

rst-n

t and ripping. A st

rching as my

h

N

l from my wrists and

led across

mering silver fur. My body ached. I stared, breathless and shocked, as the mark

d tu

first ti

urmurs fill

-marked

etch a hi

ar. He was the one who had spoken earlier. H

ere?" he said. "A

row

snapping my jaws at his finge

d, laughing. "Th

hers l

laughte

fell lik

toward the entra

e was

red black. His walk slow, calculate

on me cold and

n't flinch only smiled.

akes you so speci

d guards appro

ced m

oor o

. I was almost out. The second guard tried to grab me from behind,

s eru

rain

he's dangerous

eart pounding. I could m

k echoed thr

erced my

exp

n's

ollapsed

meone shouted. "She'

rd la

eside me, his hand brush

e murmured.

lavers. "Prepare h

tried

rug pulle

I didn't wa

mber lined with

felt more impr