Astra's POV
"Kneel before your Alpha," growled the scarred guard, pushing Astra to the ground.
Her knees hit the dirt hard, but Astra kept her eyes up. Ten years as a rogue had taught her one thing – show fear and they'll tear you apart.
Alpha Alaric towered over her, his ice-blue eyes burning with disgust. The mate mark on Astra's arm throbbed painfully, as if trying to pull her toward him despite his clear hatred.
"A rogue," he spat the word. "The Moon Goddess must be playing a cruel joke."
Astra's heart sank. She had expected rejection, but the pure hatred in his voice cut deeper than she'd imagined. Still, she wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing her hurt.
"Trust me, I'm not exactly thrilled either," she shot back. "Being mated to an arrogant Alpha wasn't on my birthday wish list."
The guards gasped at her rudeness. One raised his hand to strike her, but Alaric stopped him with a slight motion.
"Lock her up," Alaric ordered coldly. "I need time to think about this... unfortunate situation."
Two guards grabbed Astra's arms and pulled her away from the clearing. As they marched her through the trees, her mind raced. Being locked up was bad, but at least she wasn't dead yet.
The guards brought her to a small cabin at the edge of the area and shoved her inside. The door slammed shut, and Astra heard the heavy click of a lock.
"Great," she mumbled, looking around the single room. There was a bed, a small table, and a barred window. Not exactly a five-star hotel, but better than the dirty floor she'd slept on at Master Kron's.
Astra sat on the bed and looked at her mate mark. The crescent moon and stars seemed to shimmer in the dim light.
"Fat lot of good you are," she told it. "Found my mate, and he hates me. Perfect."
The sound of footsteps outside made her nervous. Was Alaric coming back already? Had he chosen to kill her after all?
But the face that showed at the window wasn't Alaric's. It was a man with kind brown eyes and shaggy dark hair.
"Astra," he whispered. "It's me, Damon."
Relief rushed through her. "Damon! What are you doing here? If they catch you—"
"Shh," he warned, looking around nervously. "I've been tracking you since you ran from Kron's place. I saw them catch you." He frowned at the mate mark on her arm. "So it's true? You're mated to that monster?"
Astra nodded sadly. "Apparently. Not that he wants anything to do with me."
Damon had been her only friend for years. Another rogue, he'd helped her survive when things got tough, showing her how to hunt and hide. He was older than her by several years and had always been like a watchful older brother.
"We need to get you out of here," Damon said quickly. "That Alpha... he's scary, Astra. They say he killed his own father to take control of the pack."
Fear rippled through Astra's stomach. "But the mate bond—"
"Means nothing to wolves like him," Damon ended. "He'll use you or kill you. Either way, you're not safe here."
Part of Astra wanted to argue. The mate pull was stronger than ever with Alaric so close. But Damon was right. The disgust in Alaric's eyes had been real.
"How do we escape? There are guards everywhere."
Damon grinned, holding up a small key. "I made friends with one of the kitchen staff. Not everyone is loyal to the big bad wolf."
Hope sparked inside Astra. Maybe they could actually pull this off.
"Meet me at the back window in ten minutes," Damon whispered. "There's a shift change then. It's our best chance."
As he disappeared, Astra paced the small room. Running away from her mate went against every sense she had. The mark burned at the very thought. But staying could mean death.
When ten minutes passed, Astra crept to the back window. Damon was there, quickly working on the bars with a small tool.
"Hurry," he urged. "The next patrol comes by in two minutes."
With a final twist, the bars came loose. Damon helped Astra squeeze through the tight space. Her foot had barely touched the ground when a shout rang out.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
A guard ran toward them, already shifting partly to wolf form. His hands became claws, teeth growing into fangs.
"Run!" Damon pushed Astra ahead of him. "I'll hold him off!"
"No! I won't leave you!" Astra cried, but Damon was already turning to face the guard.
"Go!" he growled. "I'll find you!"
Heart beating, Astra ran. Behind her, she heard growls and the sounds of fighting. Each step away from the Northern Pack area made the mate mark burn worse, like it was trying to drag her back to Alaric.
She forced herself to keep moving, running until her lungs felt like they might burst. When she finally stopped to catch her breath, leaning against a big tree, she realized she had no idea where she was.
"Damon?" she called softly. No answer.
Guilt crushed down on her. Had she just left her only friend to die? And for what? To run from a mate who didn't want her anyway?
A twig snapped nearby. Astra froze, listening closely. Footsteps approached—too heavy to be Damon's.
She prepared to run again, but her legs trembled with tiredness. She couldn't escape another wolf, not now.
"Well, well," came a familiar voice that made her blood run cold. "Look who I found."
Master Kron stepped into view, a cruel smile twisting his face. A patch covered the wound on his head where she'd hit him with the poker.
"You've caused me a lot of trouble, girl," he growled, moving closer. "But now you're going to pay."
Astra backed away, looking desperately for an escape route. But Kron wasn't alone. Two other wolves flanked him, cutting off any path she might take.
"Did you really think you could escape me?" Kron laughed. "You're mine. I paid good money for you." "I belong to no one," Astra said, trying to sound brave despite her fear.
Kron's eyes fell on her mate mark. His smile faded. "What's this?" He grabbed her arm roughly, studying the mark. "A mate bond? To whom?"
Before Astra could answer, a deep growl rumbled through the trees. All four wolves turned to see a massive shape emerge from the shadows.
Damon stepped into view, his clothes torn and bloody from his fight with the guard. But he wasn't alone.
Next to him stood the tall figure of Alpha Alaric, his ice-blue eyes glowing with rage. Around them, at least ten Northern Pack warriors emerged, surrounding Kron and his friends.
"She belongs to me," Alaric said, his voice deadly cool. "The mark proves it."
Kron's face drained of color. "Alpha Alaric? I didn't know... I would never have—"
"Silence," Alaric ordered. "You dare to threaten what's mine?"
Astra looked between Alaric and Damon in confusion. Why was Alaric here? And why was Damon with him?
"Damon?" she asked, her voice small. "What's going on?"
Damon wouldn't meet her eyes. "I'm sorry, Astra."
Suddenly everything clicked into place. The easy flight. Damon knowing exactly where to find her. The convenient look of Kron.
"You led me into a trap," she whispered, feeling sick. "You brought me right to them."
"It wasn't like that," Damon started, but Alaric cut him off.
"Enough talking." The Alpha stepped forward, his eyes locking with Astra's. "You ran from me, little mate. That was a mistake you won't make twice."
Fear and anger battled inside Astra as Alaric neared. Had Damon misled her? Or was there something else going on?
All she knew for certain was that she was trapped between the Alpha who hated her and the master who wanted to punish her—with her only friend caught somewhere in the middle.
Alaric reached out and grabbed her arm, his touch sending electric shocks through her body.
"Take care of the others," he told his warriors, nodding toward Kron and his friends. "My mate and I need to have a private conversation."
The last thing Astra saw before Alaric dragged her away was the look of anguish on Damon's face and the terror in Kron's eyes as the Northern Pack fighters closed in.