-Ember-
Three days.
I've been stuck in this clinic room for three fucking days, feeling like a prisoner rather than a victim. The white walls aren't just closing in anymore—they're practically suffocating me, pressing against my chest until each breath feels like a battle. The antiseptic smell has burrowed into my skin, my clothes, my hair. I swear I'll never get the stench of disinfectant and disappointment out of my nostrils.
My body physically aches for freedom. For air that doesn't taste like chemicals and lies.
Ivy finally returned on the second day, her presence the only thing keeping me from completely losing my shit, but her rage vibrates through me like a live wire.
"I'm going to tear his fucking throat out," she snarls for the hundredth time today, pacing restlessly in my mind like a caged tiger. "How dare he touch us? How DARE they keep us locked in here like WE did something wrong? I swear to the Moon Goddess, if I see him, I'll rip his balls off and feed them to him while he watches."
"I know, Ivy. I know," I whisper, staring at the ceiling, counting the tiny cracks for the millionth time until they blur into constellations of my own personal prison.
The truth is, I've been healed for the last twenty-four hours, yet Alpha Garret won't let me go home. His excuse? My "protection." As if the solution to assault is locking away the victim instead of the perpetrator. It's such bullshit that I can practically smell it over the antiseptic.
What's worse are these unusual feelings consuming me. I'm typically calm and understanding—the peacemaker, the rational one—but lately, I'm drowning in emotions I barely recognize as my own. Anxiety that makes my skin buzz. Irritation that feels like ants crawling up my spine. Rage that burns so hot I'm surprised the sheets haven't caught fire. It feels foreign, like these emotions belong to someone else entirely.
Ainslee, Stella, and Oaklynn have been taking turns staying with me while the others work. Their company is the only thing keeping me from clawing at the walls, but none of them are here right now. Just me and my thoughts—a dangerous combination these days.
Late afternoon sunlight slants through the small window, painting prison bars of light across my bed when a knock sounds at the door. Sharp. Official. Unwelcome.
I sigh, knowing it isn't one of my friends. They never knock—they barge in with coffee and gossip and distractions that momentarily make me forget that my life has imploded.
"Come in," I call out, sitting up straighter on the bed and tugging my oversized sweater down over my leggings, suddenly feeling exposed even though I'm fully dressed.
Simon, one of the high-ranking warriors, enters my room. His imposing frame fills the doorway, but his expression is apologetic. All six-foot-something of pure muscle, looking at me like I'm a wounded bird. I hate it. I hate it so much my teeth ache from clenching.
He clears his throat. "Alpha Garret would like to see you in his office."
I feel a surge of bitterness so strong it nearly chokes me. "Oh? I'm allowed out of my cell?" The sarcasm drips from my voice like honey—sweet but sticky and impossible to wash away.
Simon drops his head and exhales heavily, his massive shoulders slumping. "This was for your protection, Ember."
"He should have locked up the attacker NOT the victim," I scoff, swinging my legs over the side of the bed with enough force that my feet slap against the linoleum. "Or is that too logical for this pack?"
"Damn right," Ivy growls, her voice like gravel in my mind. "Tanner should be in chains, not walking free while we're imprisoned. Tell him we're not stupid enough to believe this protection bullshit."
Simon's expression softens slightly, and I hate the pity in his eyes even more than the fear. "Well, let's go meet the Alpha so you can go home."
I follow Simon into the hallway and immediately freeze. My feet refuse to move forward for several seconds as I take in the sight before me. Five more warriors are waiting, forming what looks like a security detail. Or a firing squad. My stomach drops so fast I'm surprised it doesn't crash through the floor.
"What the actual fuck is this?" Ivy bristles, her fury sending hot prickles across my skin. "Are we being escorted to our execution?"
As we walk, they form a wall around me—one in front, one in back, and two on each side. The formation makes my skin crawl. I feel nervous, scared, and increasingly anxious with each step.
"Something's wrong," Ivy whispers, her usual bravado dimming. "They're acting like we're in danger... or like we're dangerous. I don't like this, Em. Not one bit."
We cross the pack grounds, and I notice everyone we pass staring and whispering. Their eyes follow me with a mixture of pity and fear that makes my stomach churn.
When we enter the packhouse, the sound of Stella yelling greets us. My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Stella rarely loses her cool with the Alpha. Whatever's happening must be serious. Like, end-of-the-world serious.
As we get closer to Alpha Garret's office, I can make out Stella's words more clearly, and what I hear causes me to stop in my tracks, my blood turning to ice.
"He will kill you. When he finds out. WHEN. Not IF. He is going to go on a murder spree," Stella's voice rings out, slightly muffled behind the door but crystal clear in its intensity.
Who is she talking about? Who would go on a murder spree? And why does the idea send a strange, electric thrill down my spine?
I strain to hear Alpha Garret's response, but his voice is too low to make out the words, like he's deliberately keeping his voice down while Stella has no such qualms.
Stella laughs, a harsh sound devoid of humor that makes the hairs on my arms stand up. "You honestly think you stand a chance? I have trained with his guys, they have no mercy. They are vicious, ruthless, rage-filled killing machines."
Another muffled response from the Alpha, something that sounds like a weak protest.
I start walking again, hoping to get there in time to stop my friend from being banished or worse, killed, for speaking to the Alpha this way. Though honestly, I'd pay good money to see Stella take him down a notch or ten.
"It hasn't been easy keeping him away," Stella continues, no longer yelling but still loud enough for me to hear. "He wants her. I've been dodging him for days."
"Just keep him away until I get things settled," Alpha Garret replies, his voice clearer as we approach, tinged with something I've never heard from him before—fear.
"You do understand the resources he has at his disposal, right?"
My heart pounds so hard I can feel it in my throat, threatening to choke me. Are they talking about me? And who the hell is "he"? The mysterious man who could apparently bring an Alpha to his knees with fear?
"You said the men at the border, they are here for her?" Alpha Garret asks.
"Yes," Stella confirms. "And your only job is to keep her safe. That is what he agreed to. He doesn't interfere here... you keep her safe. You haven't held up your end, Alpha."
Who has this kind of power over the Alpha? And what connection do they have to me? My mind races through possibilities, each more unlikely than the last, each sending a different kind of chill down my spine.
"Very well," Alpha Garret says, resignation heavy in his voice. "You may tell him I won't go back on my word. But you have to promise nothing gets said about this little incident."
I motion for Simon to knock on the door, my mind racing with questions and my stomach tied in knots so tight I might never untangle them.
"Enter," Alpha Garret calls out.
I step into the room while the six warriors remain in the hallway like sentinels. Taking a few hesitant steps forward, I raise my head and fix my gaze on Alpha Garret, trying to portray confidence despite the trembling in my limbs. Fake it till you make it, right?
"Stand tall," Ivy encourages, her strength flowing into me. "Don't let him see your fear. We are not prey."
Alpha Garret smiles when he sees me, but it doesn't reach his eyes. It's the kind of smile that politicians give when they're about to screw you over and expect you to thank them for it. "Ember, my dear. Come sit."
I offer a tiny, polite smile that feels more like a grimace and take a seat on the sofa along the wall. "Thank you, Alpha. What can I help you with?" My voice is steady, surprising even me.
"Nothing at the moment," he says, leaning back in his chair like we're about to have a casual chat about the weather instead of discussing my assault. "I would like to go over some things, get your side of what happened."
Confusion and nervousness wash over me in alternating waves. Stella comes and sits next to me, taking my hand in hers. The gesture steadies me, her strength flowing into me through that simple touch, an anchor in the storm.
"Ok," I begin, my voice small, hating how vulnerable I sound. "Um, well... I was sleeping when I felt something touch my face and then felt a prick in my arm. When I opened my eyes, Tanner was sitting on my bed."
My throat tightens as the memories flood back, vivid and horrifying. "He um... he..." A tear slides down my face, hot against my skin like it's burning a path of shame. "He then ripped open my shirt and started to um... you know..." I start breathing heavily, the panic rising like a tide threatening to drown me. "H-he... he then took off my pants and his clothes while holding me down... and then tried to r-r-r..." I close my eyes and shake my head, unable to say the word that tastes like poison on my tongue. "Stella came in and s-s-stopped him."
"You're doing great," Ivy soothes, though I can feel her rage building like a gathering storm. "Tell him everything. Make him face what his son did. Make him see the monster he raised."
Alpha Garret exhales heavily. A heaviness settles on his shoulders, and sadness fills his eyes. "I would like to formally apologize for the incident that took place a few nights ago."
I nod and resist rolling my eyes so hard they might get stuck in the back of my head. An apology. How fucking convenient. "With all due respect, Alpha, it's not your apology that is needed." The words come out sharper than intended, edged with a bitterness I didn't know I possessed, but I don't regret them. Not for a second. "Besides, an apology isn't of equal value to my incident." I spit out the last word like venom, like it could poison him where he sits. "I need more than that. I need justice."
"Tell him we want Tanner's head on a spike," Ivy hisses, her bloodlust pulsing through me. "Tell him we want to watch his son suffer for what he did to us."
Alpha Garret's jaw clenches as he ignores what I just said, the muscle ticking beneath his skin. "I understand that you formally rejected Tanner last week?"
I note his avoidance but go with the subject change. Classic deflection. "Yes sir."
"And he accepted the rejection?"
Stella scoffs beside me, the sound saying everything I'm thinking with perfect clarity.
I clear my throat. "No sir. He refused."
Alpha Garret nods absentmindedly, like this is just a minor detail instead of the root of this entire nightmare. "How long have you two been bonded again?"
"Three years," I reply flatly, each year weighing on me like a stone.
His eyebrows shoot up in shock. "Three years?"
"Yes sir," I confirm, a bitter taste in my mouth that no amount of swallowing can wash away. "For three years I have been the mate of your son, while he decided to sample every she-wolf in the pack and those he visited. He never marked me, we never did anything mates would normally do." I leave out the part where he made me feel worthless, invisible, like I was some dirty secret he was ashamed of. Like I was nothing more than an inconvenience to be dealt with later.
Stella squeezes my hand tighter in support, her grip almost painful but grounding. "She endured more than any mate should," she adds, her voice hard as granite. "You can't expect her to go back on her rejection." She narrows her eyes at the Alpha, challenge written in every line of her body. "Besides, I don't think that would be a good idea, do you?"
Something passes between them—a silent conversation I'm not privy to. The air crackles with tension and unspoken words, heavy with secrets I can feel pressing against my skin.
"Of course not," Alpha Garret finally says, but there's something in his tone that makes my stomach clench.
His eyes glaze over, indicating he's mind-linking someone. A few minutes later, there's a knock at the door.
And then I smell it. That unmistakable scent that has haunted my nightmares for the past three days. I freeze in fear, my grip on Stella's hand tightening painfully. My blood turns to ice in my veins, and for a moment, I swear my heart stops beating entirely.
"No," Ivy snarls, her rage exploding like a supernova in my mind. "No, no, NO! He wouldn't dare bring him here! Let me out, Ember. Let me out NOW!"
The door opens, and Tanner walks into his dad's office with Bethany hot on his heels. He looks... normal. Like he didn't try to destroy me just days ago. Like this is just another day for him. Like he didn't shatter my world into a million jagged pieces that are now cutting me from the inside out.
"I'll kill him," Ivy roars, thrashing wildly in my mind with such force that I feel physically dizzy. "Let me out! Let me tear him apart for what he did to us! I'll rip his throat out with my teeth and bathe in his blood!"
My entire body goes rigid, terror coursing through my veins like liquid nitrogen as I stare at the man who tried to violate me in the worst way possible. The man who drugged me and held me down. The man who was once my mate.
And now he's standing just feet away, looking at me like I'm the one who wronged him.
Like I'm the villain in his story.
Like I should be apologizing to him.