Chapter 5

I spun on him. "His price. What the hell does that mean?"

Kade's jaw tightened. We were in some narrow service alley behind the warehouse, dumpsters on both sides, the smell of rotting produce thick in the air. The kind of place you didn't linger. He glanced over his shoulder, then back at me.

"Not here."

"Yes, here." I stepped closer. My neck was burning again, the crescent mark pulsing hot under my skin. "You bit me to save my life. That's what you said. You didn't say anything about a price."

Ryan made a sound behind me. Half a laugh, bitter. "Of course he didn't."

Kade's eyes flicked to him. Cold. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah?" Ryan straightened up, wincing. "Then tell her. Tell her why Theron's so interested in her. Tell her what you traded."

I looked between them. My heart was slamming against my ribs. The bond was doing something weird, pulling tight like a fist in my chest. I could feel Kade's anger, sharp and controlled. I hated that I could feel it.

"Kade." I kept my voice steady. "What did you trade?"

He didn't answer right away. His hands flexed at his sides. He was still in his jacket, dark jeans, boots. He looked calm. But I'd been stuck with this bond long enough to know he wasn't.

"You were dying," he said finally. "The bite was the only way to pull you back."

"I know that part."

"The bond locked you to me. To my clan. That made you a target."

I waited.

"I went to the council," Kade said. His voice was flat now. "I told them I'd take full responsibility. That meant if you broke any wolf law, if you exposed us, if you became a liability—it's on me. My life. My rank. Everything."

The alley went quiet except for a car alarm going off a few blocks away.

Ryan swore under his breath.

I stared at Kade. "You bet your life on me."

"I didn't bet anything." His eyes met mine. "I made a choice."

"Without asking me."

"You were dead."

My throat went tight. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to ask him why the hell he thought that was okay. But the bond was pulling again, warm and insistent, and I could feel the edge of his exhaustion. He hadn't slept. He'd been tracking Theron all night.

I shoved the feeling away. "So what's Theron's angle? Why does he care?"

Kade hesitated.

"Kade."

"He thinks the bond makes you a weapon."

I blinked. "A weapon."

"You're human. You shouldn't be able to survive a bond. The fact that you did means you're either stronger than you look, or the bond changed you. Either way, if he controls you, he controls leverage over me."

"He can't control me."

"He'll try."

Ryan moved closer, his hand brushing my arm. "Lena, we need to get you out of here. Out of the city. I know people—"

"No." Kade's voice cut through. He didn't yell. He didn't have to. "She's not going anywhere."

Ryan's face hardened. "You don't own her."

"I'm keeping her alive."

"By making her a target?"

Kade took a step forward. Ryan didn't back down. I could see the shift in Kade's posture, the way his shoulders rolled back. The bond flared hot.

"Stop." I pushed between them. My hand landed on Kade's chest. His heart was pounding. "Both of you, stop."

Kade's eyes dropped to my hand. Something flickered across his face. He stepped back.

Ryan let out a breath. "You can't stay with him, Lena. You see that, right?"

I didn't answer. I didn't know what I saw anymore.

That's when I heard it. Footsteps. Fast. Multiple.

Kade heard it too. His head snapped toward the mouth of the alley. "Get behind me."

"What—"

"Now."

I moved. So did Ryan. Three figures stepped into the alley, blocking the exit. Wolves. I could tell by the way they moved, too smooth, too controlled. One of them smiled. His teeth were too sharp.

"Kade Locke," the wolf said. "Theron sends his regards."

Kade didn't move. "Tell Theron if he wants to talk, he can do it himself."

"He's done talking."

The wolf lunged.

Everything happened fast. Kade shifted his weight, caught the guy's arm, twisted. There was a crack. The wolf howled. The other two came in from the sides. Kade shoved me back, hard, and I hit the dumpster. Ryan grabbed my shoulder, pulling me further away.

I couldn't look away.

Kade moved like he'd done this a thousand times. No hesitation. One wolf went down, face-first into the pavement. The other one pulled something from his jacket. A knife. Silver. I could see it glint under the streetlight.

"Kade—"

He saw it. He was already moving. But the third wolf was back up, bleeding from his mouth, and he tackled Kade from behind. The one with the knife came in fast.

I didn't think. I just moved.

I grabbed a broken piece of wood from the dumpster and swung it at the knife guy's head. It connected. He staggered. But he didn't go down. He turned to me instead, and his eyes were all wrong. Too bright. Too hungry.

"Lena, run!" Kade's voice. Desperate.

I couldn't run. My legs wouldn't move. The wolf with the knife stepped toward me. He was saying something, but I couldn't hear it over the rushing in my ears. The bond was screaming now, hot and sharp and terrified.

Then Kade was there.

He hit the wolf hard enough to send him sprawling. But the knife was still in the guy's hand, and when Kade grabbed his wrist, the blade sliced across Kade's forearm. Deep. I saw the blood before I smelled it.

Kade didn't make a sound. He just ripped the knife away and threw it into the dark.

The wolf scrambled back, clutching his wrist. The other two were already gone. The one with the knife looked at Kade, then at me. His lip curled.

"She smells different now," he said. Then he ran.

Kade stood there, breathing hard. Blood was dripping from his arm, dark and fast. Silver poisoning. I'd read about it. It didn't heal like normal cuts.

I stepped toward him. "Kade—"

"Don't." His voice was rough. He wasn't looking at me. "Just don't."

"You're hurt."

"I'm fine."

"You're bleeding."

"I said I'm fine." He finally looked at me. His eyes were too bright. Fever bright. "You shouldn't have gotten involved."

"He was going to kill you."

"That's not your problem."

I felt like he'd slapped me. "Not my problem."

"No." He turned away, wrapping his hand around his arm to slow the bleeding. "It's not."

Ryan was still standing by the dumpster, pale and silent.

I swallowed hard. The bond was aching now, pulling me toward Kade even as he was shutting me out. "You just took a silver knife for me."

"I took a silver knife because I made a deal," Kade said. His voice was flat. Empty. "That's all this is, Lena. A deal. I keep you alive until the full moon, and then you can walk away. I never asked you to stay."

The words hit harder than the wolf's tackle.

I opened my mouth. Closed it. I didn't know what to say. The bond was a knot in my chest, tight and painful.

Kade finally looked at me again. For a second, just a second, I thought I saw something crack in his expression. But then it was gone.

"We need to move," he said. "They'll come back with more."

Ryan stepped forward. "I'll take her. You're in no shape—"

"No." Kade's voice was sharp. Final. He looked at me. "Stay close."

He started walking toward the other end of the alley. I followed. I didn't know what else to do.

We made it two blocks before Kade stopped.

He went completely still. His head tilted, like he was listening to something I couldn't hear. Then his face went pale. Actually pale. I'd never seen him look like that.

"Kade?"

He turned to me slowly. His eyes were wide. Scared.

"What?" I asked. My stomach dropped. "What is it?"

His voice came out quiet. Too quiet.

"When you hit that wolf. When you bled."

I looked down at my hands. There was a cut on my palm from the wood. Small. I hadn't even felt it.

"The bond flared," Kade said. "It mixed with your blood."

I waited.

"Every rogue in the city can smell you now."