Chapter 27 · The Dead Man's Marriage Deal

The Court facility isn't what I expected. No castle. No gothic bullshit. Just a converted warehouse in the industrial district with blacked-out windows and enough security cameras to make a casino jealous.

They shove us through a loading dock entrance. Ethan's barely walking. Two guards have him by the arms, dragging more than guiding. His shirt's soaked through with blood. The wolfsbane's keeping him stable but it's also keeping him weak as hell.

I try to stay close. They don't let me.

"Separate holding," the woman in charge says. Her name's Lydia. She said it once in the van. Haven't heard her say much else. "Hunter bloodline goes to containment. The wolf goes to medical. You—" She looks at Mara. "You're a witness. Interview room."

Mara doesn't argue. Smart. She catches my eye as they peel her off to the left. Her look says *don't do anything stupid*.

Too late for that.

They take me down a hallway that smells like disinfectant and something else. Something animal. The walls are concrete. The lights are those LED strips that make everything look like a morgue. My hands are zip-tied in front of me. The silver blade's gone.