Chapter 28 · The Crown Wakes

The thing behind the last cell slammed into the bars hard enough to shake rust down from the ceiling.

Mom flinched. Vivienne tightened her grip on Mom's hair and shoved the gun harder against her temple.

"Nobody move," Vivienne said.

Like that was an option.

Darius stood ten feet away with his hands open at his sides, but his shoulders had gone huge under his black shirt. His eyes were gold now. Not normal gold either. Bright. Mean. The kind that made every animal part of me want to either run or get behind him.

Kyle had his gun up, aimed at Vivienne's chest.

Vivienne smiled at him. "You shoot me, Harper, she dies before I hit the floor. You know that. You're a practical man. It's why Darius keeps you around."

"Don't talk like you know me," Kyle said.

"Oh, I know you. You're the dog who has spent six years cleaning up after his alpha's grief. Must be exhausting."

The cell doors around us clicked.

One.

Then another.

Then all of them.

Metal groaned through the underground prison.

My stomach dropped.

Mom's blood was still running down her wrist.