Katrina’s POV
My body was failing me.
Every inch of me throbbed with exhaustion. My arms hung limp at my sides, wrists raw and red from the heavy iron shackles that bit into my skin. My legs were numb, barely able to bear my weight even as I sat hunched on the cold, unforgiving stone floor. Each breath I took felt like fire in my lungs—sharp, shallow, labored.
I had lost track of time.
Hours? Days? Maybe longer. Time didn’t pass here the way it did on the outside. Down here, beneath the fortress where the sun couldn’t reach, time crawled—measured only in drops of water echoing somewhere in the distance and the growing ache in my bones.
The flickering torchlight was the only movement in the room besides my slow, strained breathing. Its flame danced along the slick walls, casting long, shifting shadows that made the room seem smaller than it already was. The dampness clung to everything—my skin, my clothes, the air I struggled to breathe. The silence was thick, oppressive, like a weight pressing down on my chest.
But even now, broken and chained, I wasn’t ready to give in.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to concentrate, searching within. I couldn’t shift. The chains were laced with suppressants, keeping my wolf dormant. But there was still one thing I could do.
The bond.
Adolphus.
I reached out, my thoughts stretching through the fragile thread that tied us together.
“Adolphus,” I called, my voice barely more than a whisper in my mind. “Please…”
And then, like a sudden rush of air to a suffocating flame, I heard him.
“I’m here, Katrina. Where are you?” His voice filled my head, fierce with worry, urgent and grounding. The sound of him, even only in my mind, anchored me. I clung to it.
“I don’t know exactly,” I replied, closing my eyes, trying to paint a picture for him. “It’s old… a fortress. The walls are thick, stone. Everything’s wet. I can hear water dripping. There’s a huge iron door, and…”
My throat tightened.
“…it’s him, Adolphus. The one who took me—it’s the Rogue Alpha.”
There was a pause. His mind went silent for a heartbeat, and then the fury came.
“The Rogue Alpha? Are you sure?”
“Yes. He wears a mask. I heard about him—how he never shows his face. The second I saw him, I knew.”
I barely had time to brace myself when the sound of grinding metal snapped my attention back to the cell.
The door.
The massive iron door groaned as it opened inward, the hinges shrieking under the weight. Cold air swept in, prickling against my damp skin. And then—he appeared.
The Rogue Alpha.
He filled the doorway with his towering frame, his cloak dark as night, dragging along the floor like a shadow come to life. The light from the torch caught the edge of his mask—a cruel piece of black iron shaped like a wolf’s snarl. His eyes, however, were fully visible through the slits.
And they were terrifying.
Sharp. Calculating. Void of empathy.
Our mindlink snapped instantly.
The bond that had connected me to Adolphus disappeared like mist in the wind. I gasped, clutching at the sudden emptiness in my mind. My breath came quicker, but I forced myself to sit up, every muscle screaming. I wouldn't let him see me weak.
He stepped inside without a word, letting the door slam behind him. The sound echoed around us like a warning bell.
For a long moment, he said nothing. Just watched me. Studied me.
Then, finally, his voice broke the silence. It was low, guttural, laced with power and menace.
“Are you the true heir of the bloodline?”
The question hit harder than I expected.
I didn’t answer right away. I couldn’t. My throat felt like it was swelling shut.
Was I?
I’d shifted. I’d tapped into powers that felt older than anything I’d ever known. The Lunar Flame had responded to me in ways it never had to anyone else. I had felt it. But did I know it?
Was that enough?
Was claiming the title going to get me killed—or was silence even worse?
My lips parted, the weight of the question pressing against my chest like an avalanche waiting to fall.
I didn’t know what to say.
But I knew this: whatever answer I gave… would change everything.