Chapter 360

Judy’s POV

The halls stretched long and dark; moonlight slanted through high windows. Selene moved with easy grace, her hand trailing along the walls, but I slowed when a door creaked faintly open on our left.

“Esme used to spend a lot of time in here,” she told me, stepping into the room.

The air was stale, and my heart squeezed in my chest as I realized where we were. It was a nursery.

It was heavy with dust, but the crib still stood, delicate lace draped over its frame. Toys lay scattered across the rug—a stuffed wolf, a carved rattle, a tiny silver cup. It looked as though someone had simply walked out and shut the door years ago.

“We never understood why,” Selene went on to say. “It took years for us to get her to leave this room. Once we shut the door, we never opened it again.”

“Whose room was this?” I asked, my voice coming out unfamiliar and hollow.

“Lila’s,” she replied, turning to look at me. “We had it built when she was a baby.”

I looked around the room again, my chest tight. The scent… it was odd. There was something to this scent that put my wolf in distress.

“Judy,” I heard his voice through our bond, and suddenly my heart had skipped a beat. “Where are you?”

I couldn’t answer him; it was like I was stuck in some kind of warp with the walls closing in around me. My breathing, which flowed so easily only a moment ago, felt constricted. I stepped back, a wave of dizziness crashing around me.

This room… this scent… this manor.

Why was I feeling this way?

“Judy, are you okay?” Selene asked, her voice laced with genuine concern.

I tried to answer her, but I doubted any words left my lips.

She stepped towards me, her brows pinched together, but just as she reached her hand out, Gavin was by my side, wrapping me in his arms.

“Don’t touch her,” he nearly growled. I could feel that his wolf was on edge, and he was seconds away from tearing every living person up in this manor. I rested my head against his chest, breathing in his calming and familiar scent. “I’ve got you,” he murmured, pressing his lips to my temple. “It’s okay.”

For once all night, I truly felt he was right. It was okay… I was okay. I had my mate… he would take care of me. I buried my face in his chest, my arms wrapping around him like a vice.

“It’s time for us to leave,” Gavin said, and I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or to Zachary and Selene. I hadn’t even noticed Zachary behind us until Selene softly spoke to him, explaining that I had a minor panic attack.

Was that what that was? A panic attack?

“Well, I suppose all has been said for this evening,” Zachary said, his eyes finding mine briefly before his attention returned to Gavin. “We’ll talk more in the near future. Just think about what I said.”

Gavin’s body was tense, but he nodded.

“Yeah,” he murmured, his hand rubbing soothing circles along my back, anchoring me to him. My wolf immediately felt calmer, and my breathing had finally slowed back down to its normal rate.

We left the nursery behind, but its air clung to me, thick and wrong. Even in Gavin’s arms, my chest still ached, as though the room had stolen something from me I couldn’t name.

Zachary’s words echoed behind us, smooth and measured, “I’ll see you soon.”

But it wasn’t his voice that followed me into the night… it was Esme’s.

As Gavin guided me through the front hall, her hair sat at the far end, waiting in the shadow. Her milky eyes found mine, unblinking, ancient.

Her lips parted slightly, and in a soft, yet raspy and unused voice, she said the words that haunted my dreams.

“Blood calls to blood.”

I glanced at Gavin, wondering if he had heard and seen what I had, but his focus was on the front door, his frown deep and the worry lines on his face prominent. I glanced back in the direction of Esme, and my heart lurched when I saw that she was gone like she had never been there, a whisper in the wind or a forgotten shadow in the corner.

I stumbled, clutching Gavin’s arm. He stared at me instantly, his body tensing at the look on my face.

“You’re pale,” he said softly. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” I whispered, though the word tasted like a lie.

I rested my hand over my belly as his arm tightened around me. My wolf was silent now, but not calm. She was waiting… she was listening.

He pushed the front doors open and stood in the cool night breeze, taking in the calming outdoors.

“Let’s go home,” he whispered.

I nodded in agreement, wanting nothing more than to leave with my mate.

….

Third-person POV

The night air clawed at her skin, but the real chill came from within. Daisy sank down against the garden wall, phone clutching her hand, her whole body trembling.

The bond flared suddenly, searing through her veins, and white-hot pain ripped across her chest and belly, making her gasp. Her nails clawed at her skin as the truth hit her—Noah was with someone else… again.

The mark on her neck throbbed like fire, branding her inside and out. It wasn’t just jealousy; it wasn’t just rage… it was agony. His betrayal was her punishment, forced through the bond until she could barely breathe.

She pressed the phone to her ear, with shaking hands. In the long run, and then his voice slid in, smooth and cruel.

“Noah…” she whispered, tears spilling hot down her cheeks. “Please. Please let me come to you. I can’t—”

“Why are you calling me?” He asked, his voice clipped. “Haven’t I told you not to?”

“The pain…” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “It’s too much. I did what you asked of me… I stole the gem for your sister. I did your bidding… every single time. I have nowhere to go… no one to turn to. You are all I have left.”

His laugh cut her off; it was cruel and unnerving, sending a chill down Daisy’s spine.

“You feel it, don’t you?” He murmured. “Every time I touch another woman. That’s what you are to me, Daisy. A reminder of what I own. I don’t owe you anything… It’s me you serve, and you’ll continue to do so until your dying breath.”

Her heart stuttered.

“I…I risked everything for you…” Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

“Enough,” his voice hardened, and with it, the bond constricted. She cried out, clutching at her throat as if invisible fingers squeezed her windpipe. “It seems you need a reminder of who is holding all the cards. Tell me who you belong to.”

“Please…” she croaked, her face red from the lack of air.

“Tell me,” he ordered, his voice loud in her head.

She clutched at her chest, trying to gain some relief, but found none.

“I’m yours…” she finally said, her body sagging with defeat.

“Again.”

The command snapped through her blood like a whip. She had dropped the phone in her hand to the ground, but his voice was prominent in her head. He was using the bond he forced on her all those years ago to get into her head, making demands she knew she couldn’t refuse. He’s done this for years, keeping her at arm's length and yet on a tight leash as well.

He pulled her in, gave her the scraps she needed to survive, and then pushed her away once again, making her feel as if she was nothing. She suffered every single day while he slept with various women… the pain was much worse when he chose to mark them as he did her.

Noah was different, and she knew it from the beginning; if he marked another, the bond he once had wouldn’t break. He’s able to mate with multiple women and control them as he controls Daisy. She’s still not sure how he manages such a thing, but the amount of power he has is clear.

She assumed it had something to do with his bloodline.

The Blackwells were all too powerful.

The hold on her neck tightened, and she struggled to draw in a single breath.

“Say it,” he demanded again, his tone darkening.

“I’m yours,” she gasped, the words pilling out, humiliating and raw.

The bond loosened—not gone, never gone, but easing enough that she could take a shuddering breath. She fell to the ground, her trembling hands finding her phone as she brought it back to her ear. His breathing was heavy as if he had just run a marathon.

“Good girl,” Noah purred. “Now do as you're told, keep quiet. Keep useful, and maybe, if you’re lucky, I’ll let you sleep in my bed again.”

The line clicked dead.

Daisy collapsed forward, shaking her shoulder, but even her tears felt hollow now. She wasn’t his mate; she was his prisoner. He didn’t love her, and he probably never did, nor would he ever. She was so stupid to fall for his charms when she was younger… so stupid to think for a moment that he could actually have some feelings for her.

She thought she could use Lila to break this painful bond between her and Noah, but she was wrong. The gem didn’t work for Lila, and now Daisy felt more alone than ever.

It made her wonder if Lila was truly Blackwell blood.

Wiping her tears with trembling hands, Diasy stared at her reflection in the black pond. She had nothing left. No home. No freedom. No love.

But she had her instincts.

And if she couldn’t break the chains, she’d break Lila instead.