The door didn't just open. It exploded inward, wood splintering across Ryan's hardwood floor like shrapnel. I didn't have time to scream. Kade's hand clamped over my wrist and yanked me sideways, behind the kitchen counter. Ryan stumbled back against the couch, his face gone white.
Two men stepped through the broken doorframe. They moved wrong. Too smooth. Too controlled. The first one had silver studs running up both ears and eyes that caught the light like a cat's. The second was bigger, shoulders filling the doorway, and when he smiled I saw teeth that were just a little too sharp.
"Kade Locke." The first one said it like a greeting and a threat at the same time. "You're bleeding all over a human's apartment. That's sloppy."
Kade's grip on my wrist tightened. I could feel his pulse hammering against my skin, or maybe that was mine. The blood bond flared hot under my ribs, a live wire connecting me to him. It was screaming at me to stay close, to not let go. I hated it.
"Lena." Kade's voice was low, barely a whisper. "When I move, you run. Back door. Don't stop."
"What about Ryan?"
"I'll handle it."
"You're already hurt—"
"Go."
Ryan was still frozen by the couch, staring at the two men like he'd seen a ghost. Or two. "You." His voice cracked. "You were at my dad's office. Three years ago. I saw the security tape."
The bigger one laughed. It sounded like gravel in a blender. "Smart kid. Shame your old man wasn't."
Ryan lunged. I don't know what he thought he was going to do—tackle a guy twice his size?—but he didn't get the chance. The first man moved, just a flicker of motion, and suddenly Ryan was on the floor, gasping, the man's boot on his chest.
"Ryan!" I tried to pull away from Kade, but his hand was iron.
"Don't." Kade's eyes were locked on the two men. "That's what they want."
The first man tilted his head, studying me like I was a bug under glass. "This her? Doesn't look like much."
"She's human," the bigger one said. "What the hell were you thinking, Kade?"
Kade didn't answer. He shifted his weight, angling himself between me and them. I could see the blood seeping through his jacket now, a dark stain spreading across his ribs. He wasn't going to last long in a fight.
Ryan was still pinned, struggling to breathe. The man's boot pressed harder. "Let's make this simple. You give us the girl, we let the human go. He doesn't need to be part of this."
"No deal." Kade's voice was flat.
"Kade." I dug my nails into his arm. "Just let me—"
"No."
The bond flared again, hotter this time, almost painful. It felt like my chest was caving in. I wanted to stay close to him. I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. All at the same time.
The first man sighed. "Fine. Hard way it is." He lifted his boot off Ryan's chest and stepped back. Ryan gasped, rolling onto his side. "Get up, kid. You're coming with us."
"Like hell—" Ryan started, but he didn't finish. The man grabbed him by the collar and hauled him upright like he weighed nothing. Ryan's feet barely touched the ground.
"Wait." Kade's voice cut through the room. "You want leverage, take me. Leave them out of it."
The bigger man grinned. "We don't need leverage. Theron just wants to talk." He glanced at me. "All of us."
My stomach dropped. "Who the hell is Theron?"
Kade didn't answer. His jaw was locked tight, the muscle jumping under his skin. That was answer enough.
"Back door," Kade said again, quieter. "On three."
He didn't get to three. The bigger man moved first, crossing the room in two strides. Kade shoved me sideways and met him head-on. They collided like freight trains, crashing into the kitchen counter. The impact rattled the dishes in the cabinets. I hit the floor hard, my hands skidding on broken wood.
Ryan was still struggling, the first man dragging him toward the door. "Let go of me—"
I didn't think. I just grabbed the nearest thing—a heavy ceramic mug from the counter—and hurled it. It hit the man square in the temple. He staggered, his grip loosening. Ryan wrenched free and bolted for the hallway.
He made it three steps before the floor gave out under him.
Not gave out. Opened. A trapdoor, hidden under the rug. Ryan's scream cut off as he dropped, vanishing into the dark below. The sound of him hitting the bottom echoed up like a gunshot.
"Ryan!" I lunged for the edge, but Kade caught me around the waist and hauled me back. The bigger man had him pinned against the counter, one hand locked around Kade's throat. Kade's face was going red, his fingers clawing at the man's wrist.
"Kade!" I didn't mean to scream his name. It just tore out of me, raw and desperate. The bond was shrieking now, a thousand alarm bells going off in my chest. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. "Let him go!"
The man laughed. "You really bonded a human? Theron's going to love this."
Kade's eyes met mine. For a second I saw something I hadn't seen before. Regret. Then he slammed his knee up into the man's ribs. The man grunted, his grip loosening just enough. Kade twisted free, grabbed my wrist again, and ran.
We made it to the hallway before I heard the growl.
It didn't sound human. It didn't even sound like a dog. It was something deeper, older, wrong in a way that made my hindbrain scream run run run. I looked back. The bigger man was still standing in the doorway, but he wasn't shaped like a man anymore. His shoulders had broadened, his spine arching, his face stretching into something that had too many teeth.
"Go!" Kade shoved me toward the back door. "Don't look back!"
I ran. My legs were shaking, my lungs burning. The hallway was too long, the door too far. I could hear the thing behind us, claws scraping on hardwood, breathing like a furnace.
Kade slammed into the back door first, kicking it open. Cold night air hit my face. We were in an alley, dumpsters and fire escapes and nowhere to hide. "This way—"
A second growl, from the other end of the alley. Another shape, blocking the exit. We were boxed in.
Kade pulled me against the wall, his body between me and both of them. His breathing was ragged, blood soaking through his shirt now. He wasn't going to make it. "When I tell you to run, you run. Got it?"
"I'm not leaving you—"
"Lena." He looked at me, and for the first time I saw fear in his eyes. Not for himself. For me. "Please."
The bond twisted in my chest, hot and desperate and wrong. I wanted to argue. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to stay.
A voice cut through the alley, smooth and cold. "You won't need to leave him."
A man stepped out of the shadows near the dumpster. Tall, sharp-featured, with silver hair that caught the streetlight. He looked at Kade like a teacher disappointed in a student. Then his eyes shifted to me.
"Miss Cross." He said my name like he'd known it for years. "I'm Theron Silver. We need to talk."
I didn't move. Couldn't. Kade's hand was still locked around my wrist, and the bond was screaming at me to stay close, to not let go.
Theron smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "Kade never told you?" He took a step closer. The two wolf-things at either end of the alley stayed where they were, watching. Waiting. "You weren't saved. You were his price."
My blood went cold. "What?"
Theron's smile widened. "The bond wasn't an accident, Lena. It was a deal." His eyes flicked to Kade. "And he's been paying it off ever since."
I turned to Kade. He wasn't looking at me. His jaw was locked, his eyes on the ground. He didn't deny it.
"Kade." My voice cracked. "Tell me he's lying."
Kade didn't answer.
Theron laughed, soft and sharp. "Thirty days, wasn't it? That's how long he bought you. Now the bill's come due."