The roar shook the walls.
At first, I thought it was thunder—deep, rolling, alive—but thunder didn't make the chains tremble or send dust raining down from the ceiling. Thunder didn't come with screams.
Wolves screamed.
My head snapped up, heart slamming violently against my ribs. The torch on the wall flickered wildly, shadows jerking like panicked things trying to flee.
Something was happening.
The men who had been watching me moments ago stiffened. One of them cursed under his breath.
"He's here," another muttered.
My breath caught painfully.
He.
Hope surged so fast it almost hurt. "Xavier," I whispered without thinking.
The door burst open.
Not him.
A wolf stormed inside instead, eyes blazing, chest heaving. "We're compromised," he barked. "He's tearing through the outer guards."
The leader's expression hardened instantly. "How close?"
"Too close."
The word sent ice through my veins.
My chains rattled as I shifted instinctively. "Please," I said hoarsely. "Let me go. I won't say anything. I swear."
The leader turned to me slowly, eyes sharp. "You're not going anywhere free."
He gestured sharply. "Move her. Now."
"No—wait!" Panic exploded in my chest as two wolves grabbed me roughly. The chains were unlocked just long enough for my wrists to be yanked free before iron cuffs snapped back around them, heavier this time, connected to a thick length of chain.
My feet barely touched the ground as they dragged me from the room.
"Xavier!" I screamed, my voice breaking. "Xavier!"
The sound echoed uselessly down the stone corridor.
We moved fast—too fast. Through twisting hallways, up uneven steps, past doors I didn't recognize. My shoulder slammed into the wall more than once, pain blooming, but they didn't slow.
Every roar in the distance felt closer now. Louder.
Nearer.
A wolf down the hall screamed suddenly—cut off mid-sound.
The grip on my arm tightened.
"Hurry!"
They burst through a hidden door and into the open air.
Night slammed into me like ice.
We were in the back of the warehouse now, where the city gave way to broken concrete, rusted fences, and darkness stretching toward the river. A van idled nearby, engine growling impatiently.
"No," I whispered, dread choking me.
They shoved me toward it.
Then—
A massive black shape landed between us.
The ground cracked under the impact.
Wolves skidded backward with startled cries.
I froze.
Silver eyes burned in the darkness.
"Let. Her. Go."
Xavier's voice wasn't loud—but it didn't need to be. It carried death in every syllable.
My heart lurched painfully. "Xavier!"
His gaze flicked to me for half a second, relief and fury colliding violently in his eyes.
Then the wolves attacked.
Chaos erupted.
Xavier moved like a storm unleashed. He shifted mid-motion, wolf and man blurring together as claws tore through flesh, bone snapped, bodies slammed into metal with sickening force.
One wolf lunged for me.
Xavier caught him by the throat and hurled him across the yard like he weighed nothing.
"Touch her again," Xavier snarled, "and you die slowly."
The leader stepped back, eyes calculating. "You're too late," he said coolly. "She's already moved."
I screamed as someone yanked me backward—another pair of hands, another direction. I kicked, thrashed, fought with everything I had, but exhaustion and fear made me clumsy.
"Xavier!" I cried again.
He turned just as the van door slammed shut between us.
Our eyes met through the narrow window.
The look on his face—raw, furious, desperate—burned itself into my soul.
Then the van lurched forward.
"No!" Xavier roared.
The sound followed us as the vehicle sped away, echoing through the broken streets like a wounded beast's cry.
I collapsed against the floor, sobs ripping out of me uncontrollably.
I had been so close.
So close.
Xavier
The van disappeared around the corner.
For a single, terrifying second, the world went utterly silent.
Then Xavier screamed.
The sound tore from his chest, raw and feral, shaking the air with grief and rage so violent the remaining wolves faltered.
"You took her," he said hoarsely, eyes blazing silver as he turned slowly toward the leader. "You took her from me."
The leader straightened, masking his fear behind arrogance. "You should have stayed in the shadows, Alpha."
Xavier didn't answer.
He moved.
The leader barely had time to react before Xavier slammed into him, driving him through a concrete wall. Stone exploded outward. The wolf howled as Xavier's fist connected with his jaw, again and again, each blow fueled by the image of Scarlett's face behind glass.
"Where," Xavier growled, lifting him off the ground by his throat, "are you taking her?"
The wolf laughed weakly. "Far enough."
Xavier's grip tightened.
"Wrong answer."
He snapped the wolf's arm like it was nothing.
The scream echoed.
Felix and Jason arrived moments later, skidding to a halt amid the wreckage.
Jason stared at the devastation. "Gods…"
Felix's gaze locked on Xavier. "Did you get her?"
Xavier shook once. "They moved her."
Jason cursed viciously. "We need to track the vehicle."
"I already am," Xavier said, eyes unfocused, senses stretching far beyond the yard. He inhaled sharply, catching the faintest trace of Scarlett's scent—fear, blood, and something else. Something metallic.
"River road," he snarled. "South."
Felix nodded. "I'll cut them off."
Jason hesitated. "Xavier… if they're doing what I think they're doing—"
Xavier turned on him, fury vibrating off his skin. "Finish that sentence."
Jason swallowed. "Then they're using her as bait."
Xavier's jaw clenched so hard it cracked.
"Then they'll regret it."
The van rattled violently over broken pavement, every jolt sending pain through my arms where the chains dug into my skin. My head throbbed, tears blurring my vision, but I forced myself to stay awake.
I couldn't afford to pass out.
Not now.
The wolf sitting across from me watched silently, his expression unreadable.
"You didn't have to hurt him," I whispered.
He tilted his head. "He hurt us first."
"He came for me."
"Of course he did," the wolf said. "That's why you're valuable."
My stomach dropped.
"Valuable how?"
The wolf smiled faintly. "You'll see."
The van slowed.
My breath caught as the doors opened to reveal water glinting under moonlight—the river, wide and dark, stretching endlessly in both directions.
They dragged me out again.
Cold air sliced through me as they hauled me toward an old dock, half-collapsed and rotting.
I stumbled, knees shaking. "Please," I whispered. "I don't want to die."
The leader stepped into view, eyes reflecting the moon. "You won't," he said calmly. "Not yet."
Chains rattled as they secured me to a metal post near the water's edge.
"Wait here," he continued. "Your Alpha will come."
My heart shattered all over again.
They weren't running.
They were waiting.
As the wolves faded back into the shadows, leaving me alone with the river and the night, I lifted my face to the sky, tears streaming freely now.
Xavier…
I didn't know if he could hear me.
But I hoped—desperately—that he was coming.
Because if he was…
this city was about to burn.