He called me his ruin. Then he made me one. 

Alpha Shiloh's rejection wasn’t just a scar—it was a betrayal. He left me shattered. Broken. And I had to rebuild myself in silence. 
I almost forgot the way his touch once burned like salvation.  

Now he’s back.  

Not to beg forgiveness. To bargain. A deadly mission, he says. He promises freedom.

But then presence ignites my wolf into a frenzy. She thrashes, desperate to claim him again. But I remember the coldness in his eyes when he exiled me. The way the pack turned their backs as I crawled into the wilderness, half-dead and wholly broken. Hate simmers hotter than desire.

Yet here I am, bargaining with the devil who shattered me. Every moment we share is a lie. He doesn’t know about the shadows I’ve fed, the truth I’ve buried.  

Or the child.  

One whisper of its existence, and the pack will paint the forest with my blood. 

But the closer we get to completing his mission, the harder it is to hide… from him, or from the part of me that still craves him.  

Freedom has a price.  

So does vengeance.  

And I’m not sure which will destroy me first.

I slept for sixteen hours. Hungry and confused, I rose from the bed. One side of it dipped, and I spun on my hands and knees and growled.


Shiloh grinned. "I do love you in that position, but I imagine you might have other things on your mind right now."


"God." Relaxing, I ran my hand along my face and tried to brush aside some of the confusion. The bed had been heavenly. And stable. It was nice to not be tossed and turned all night long, wondering if your dinner was going to come up or if your wolf was going to come out. "You're dressed."


"I've been up since this morning to check on the others. I felt you waking up, and I didn't want you to be alone. I assume you're hungry. If you want, I can bring you up a tray of food while you get your bearings."


I considered the offer but shook my head. "I really want to stretch my legs and maybe let my wolf out."


Chapter 87 - Finally An Escape