Chapter 5

Abigail’s POV

I didn’t remember running — only the desperate crash through a doorway, the slap of my shoulder against cold wood, and then folding into the shadowed corner like a wounded animal. My chest heaved so violently I thought my ribs might snap. Tears blurred my vision until the room swam in watery shapes, the taste of salt and shame hot and metallic on my tongue.

My hands trembled as they pressed against my face, useless shields against the memories. His touch clung to me like smoke I couldn’t wash away — hands where no one had ever been, claiming, marking. His mouth had branded heat into places I had sworn to keep untouched. And the hard, insistent brush of his body against mine…

I shuddered so violently my teeth clicked.

James and I had been mates for three years. Three years of patient promises and gentle restraint. We had barely gone beyond kissing, though temptation often pressed close. I had been so firm, so certain of myself. I would wait. I would not give myself away until we were officially bound before the pack, until the ceremony tied us body and soul. My conviction had been unbreakable.

Or so I thought.

With the Lycan… it had taken nothing. One command. One look. A single moment where his will pressed down on mine, and my body — treacherous, weak — had yielded. My heart had betrayed me first, fluttering like it had never known James’s touch. Then my body followed, answering him in ways that made me want to tear my skin off.

Even knowing what he was.

Even knowing I should hate him.

My thighs ached. My skin tingled like embers had been pressed into it. Worst of all, my heart stuttered with a memory I couldn’t banish: the sound of my name on his tongue, low and rough, as though it belonged to him.

I hated that I wanted him.

But the moment he had realized what I lacked, the change in his eyes had been brutal. That flash of disgust, that curl of disdain in his lip, had split me open deeper than his touch ever could. The dismissal in that single look cut into me until I could hardly breathe.

That feeling — worthless, rejected — wasn’t new. It was the same one my father had carved into me years ago. Every glare. Every muttered reminder that I was a disappointment. That I would never measure up. That without a wolf, I was nothing.

He doesn’t want me. My father doesn’t want me. My mate doesn’t want me.

The words beat against my skull until they spilled out. I lifted my head, whispering into the dark, my voice raw and breaking. “I’ve lost everything. Even my dignity. I don’t deserve to live.”

The silence swallowed my confession.

My blurred vision cleared just enough to register the room — a kitchen. Cold. Empty. Shadows crowded every corner, the faint smell of old ash and stale bread clinging to the stone counters. My gaze snagged on the window.

An escape.

I didn’t hesitate.

Bare feet. A thin gown. None of it mattered. I climbed onto the counter, shoved the stiff window open, and squeezed through into the night. The cold air struck me like a slap, but freedom — fragile, fleeting — was worth the sting.

I ran.

The earth cut into my soles, sharp rocks and roots tearing my skin until I left wet trails of blood behind me. Still I ran, lungs burning, heart pounding like a war drum in my chest. Every snap of a twig behind me sent terror crashing through me, a phantom image of him right there, reaching, claiming. I pushed harder, faster, until my body was nothing but pain and fear.

I needed distance before Lycan Daniel realized I was gone.

If he cared at all.

The forest swallowed me. Moonlight poured through the canopy, turning every branch into a silver blade, every shadow into a lurking threat. Twigs lashed my arms, my legs, leaving bloody lines across pale skin. Blisters split and bled, but I didn’t dare stop. Not until—

A howl.

Low, deep, bone-shaking.

The sound froze me where I stood. It wasn’t just a noise — it was a command, primal and undeniable. It rippled through the trees like thunder rolling out of the dark, vibrating in my chest until I felt sick.

I bolted again. Terror screamed in my veins, urging me onward. My foot caught on a root, and I crashed to the ground. Pain flared white-hot through my ribs. I tried to scramble upright — but then I saw it.

A wolf.

Massive. Monstrous. Eyes glowing like blue fire as it stalked forward, towering, more nightmare than beast. My breath hitched. My body refused to move.

And then it changed.

Fur melted into skin. Bones cracked and reformed. Claws twisted back into fingers. In heartbeats, the nightmare stood in human shape.

Daniel.

Bare-chested, his skin gleaming pale beneath the moonlight, his midnight-blue eyes locked on me like a predator sighting prey.

“Y… I—” The words stuttered from my lips, broken fragments of sound.

He didn’t let me finish. His hand shot out, closing around my throat, pinning me back against the nearest tree. The bark bit into my spine. My air vanished, his grip unrelenting.

I thought he was going to kill me.

Until a voice cut through the night.

“You raced several kilometers just to kill her?” The Beta’s voice. Disbelieving. Tight.

Daniel’s grip loosened. Air whooshed painfully into my lungs as I collapsed to the ground, hacking coughs tearing through me. My fingers dug into my bruised throat as I gasped.

“The Omegas searched until one found the kitchen window open,” the Beta said evenly. “We tracked her bare footprints through the snow. It’s freezing, it’s a full moon, and she could’ve been torn apart by rogues.”

“And so what if I died?” The words tore out of me before caution could stop them. My voice shook, but the venom was real. “You’d be rid of me. Save yourself the trouble and let me go.”

“Your Majesty—” the Beta warned softly.

But Daniel was already moving. His fist tangled in my hair, yanking me up until my scalp screamed. I whimpered, tears springing to my eyes.

“You want to die so badly?” His voice was a blade of ice. “Fine. You’re pathetic enough to deserve it.”

The words sliced clean through me. I crumpled inside, my tears spilling hot and furious.

“But,” he added, colder still, “you’re the only one who can bear my heir. And until you’ve done that, you don’t get to die.”

Shock rooted me. My heart stuttered.

“You will be my breeder for the next ten months,” he continued. His voice was flat, merciless. “You’ll mate with me, carry my child, and once you’ve raised him long enough, you’ll leave. A contract will make it clear: you’ll be fed, clothed, cared for. But we are not mates. We are not lovers. The only time you’ll see me is when I fuck you.”

My heart hammered, equal parts rage and terror. My stomach twisted until I thought I might retch.

Daniel’s eyes bored into me, merciless. “I hate you, Abigail Aaro,” he said, each syllable venom. “And I want you to hate me just as much. Because if you don’t…” His grip tightened in my hair until sparks of pain flared across my scalp. “…I will become your greatest nightmare.”