Chapter 4

Three hunters burst through the brush.

"Found her!"

"Don't let her run!"

The first one raised a heavy crossbow and aimed it at my heart. He wore the same smug grin Justin had used on me for years.

"Look at you," he said. "Still hiding behind trees, little mistake?"

The old fear should've locked my knees.

It didn't.

A low heat stirred beneath my skin. The blood bond pulsed once. Hard.

Kane.

His power moved through my veins like fire looking for air.

The hunter stepped closer. "Justin said he wants your head. Didn't say anything about the rest of you. Maybe I'll take a finger first."

"Touch me," I said, "and find out what happens."

He laughed. "You're still a powerless stray."

His hand closed around my collar.

The bond exploded.

I caught his wrist before he could pull me forward. His grin vanished.

"What—"

His joint popped beneath my grip.

He screamed.

I drove him into the pine. Bark tore across his cheek. He tried to yank free, but I held him there with one hand.

"You called me powerless," I said.

"Get off me!"

"Say it again."

"You crazy—"

"Say it."

The heat surged through my arm. I shoved him away, then slammed my palm into his chest.

He flew backward and crashed through a wall of ferns.

The second hunter stared at me.

"What the hell was that?" His crossbow dipped. "You're supposed to be powerless!"

"Not anymore."

He lifted the weapon.

Too slow.

I crossed the space between us before he could fire. The crossbow snapped in my hand.

His mouth fell open. "How did you—"

"You're shaking."

I leaned close. His breath smelled like sour fear.

"Weren't you just laughing?" I asked. "Where'd that go?"

"Stay back!"

"Tell Justin I said hello."

I tossed him aside. He hit the dirt and rolled, choking on a curse.

The brush behind him exploded.

Justin stepped into the clearing.

His expensive leather armor was spotless. His hair was perfect. His face wasn't.

His eyes jumped from the broken crossbow to his two fallen hunters. Then they locked on me.

"What did you do?" he demanded.

"You saw what I did."

"Who gave you that power?"

"Worried?"

His jaw tightened. "Who are you working for, Sia?"

I lifted the bounty paper between us. The royal seal caught the weak light beneath the branches.

Justin's stare sharpened.

"Where did you get that?"

"You know exactly what it is."

"Hand it over."

"Come take it."

I let the paper fall at his boots.

Justin looked down at it. For half a second, his face showed something close to fear.

Then the mask snapped back into place.

"You think a royal seal makes you untouchable?"

"No."

I stepped toward him.

"I think you forgot who's allowed to break the rules."

"You're still a stray."

"And you're still hiding behind your pack."

His nostrils flared. "Watch your mouth."

"Why? You gonna send another hunter to speak for you?"

One of the men groaned behind us.

Justin's eyes flicked toward him.

I smiled. "Go on. Call for help. Let them see what I did to your best men."

"You don't know what you're doing."

"I know you wanted me dead."

"I wanted you controlled. There's a difference."

"Not to me."

He lunged.

Justin had always been the fastest wolf in the pack. But now he moved like the world had thickened around him.

I stepped aside, caught his arm, and turned.

His body hit the dirt with a hard, breathless thud.

"Sia!"

I dropped on top of him and drove my knee into his chest. One hand closed around his throat.

His fingers clawed at my wrist.

"Get off!"

"Look at me."

"You little—"

I tightened my grip.

"Look. At. Me."

His face darkened. The power inside me burned hotter, golden-red and wild. It wanted out. It wanted more.

Justin finally met my eyes.

For the first time, he looked scared.

"You're a monster," he rasped.

"Maybe."

I leaned closer. His breath scraped against my cheek.

"But I'm the monster coming for your empire."

"You think Kane will save you?"

The name hit the bond like a hook.

Justin saw it. His mouth twisted.

"That's it, isn't it?" he said. "You sold yourself to him."

"Careful."

"You don't even know what he is."

"I know what you are."

"Aren't you curious why he picked you? Why a useless little outcast suddenly has enough power to break my men?"

My grip tightened again.

"Keep talking."

"He isn't helping you, Sia. He's using you."

A sharp pull tore through my chest.

The bond.

Kane was calling me back.

The power stuttered. My vision blurred at the edges. My muscles began to tremble.

Justin felt the change beneath my hand.

His fear turned into a grin. "There it is. The crash. You can't hold it."

"Shut up."

"You borrowed power, and now the debt's due."

"I said shut up!"

I shoved him away and staggered back.

My lungs dragged in air. My arms felt packed with sand.

Justin rolled onto one elbow, coughing.

"Run, Sia!" he shouted. "The whole North is hunting you!"

I backed toward the trees.

"Keep running!" he called. "You can't hide forever!"

"I don't need forever."

"You'll be dead before sunrise!"

"Then you'd better catch me before I get stronger."

I turned and ran.

Branches whipped my face. My boots slipped over roots and wet leaves. Behind me, wolves crashed through the undergrowth.

"Spread out!" Justin yelled.

"She's heading east!"

"Don't lose her!"

Their howls followed me deeper into the Forbidden Woods.

My borrowed strength vanished one painful piece at a time. By the time I reached the cedar, my knees gave out.

I hit the trunk and slid down, clutching my chest.

Footsteps stopped nearby.

I held my breath.

Nothing moved.

Then a voice brushed my ear.

"That was adequate."

Kane stepped out of the darkness and leaned against the cedar beside me. His shoulder touched mine. Heat spread through the thin space between us, sharp against the cold sweat on my skin.

I looked up at him. "You call that adequate?"

"You broke one hunter's arm, threw another through a fern bed, and nearly strangled your former commander."

"Nearly?"

His mouth curved. "You stopped."

"You pulled me away."

"I reminded you of the debt."

"They're coming."

"I know."

"Justin brought the whole pack."

"Let them come."

"I can't fight all of them. Not like this."

Kane reached for my face. His fingers paused beside my jaw before touching me.

The contact sent a clean jolt through the bond—and something hotter underneath it.

I should've pulled away.

I didn't.

His thumb rested against my skin. His eyes held mine, dark and steady, close enough that I could feel his breath mix with mine.

"You don't have to fight them all," he said.

"Then what do I do?"

"Pay what you owe."

"You mean kill for you."

"I mean stop pretending you hate the power."

My pulse kicked hard.

"I hate what it costs."

"No. You hate that you want more."

I slapped his hand away.

"Don't read me."

He caught my wrist before I could pull back. His grip wasn't rough, but I couldn't break it.

"Then don't broadcast so loudly."

"Let go."

"Say please."

"Go to hell."

His gaze dropped to my mouth for one dangerous second.

When he looked back at me, the heat in his eyes had sharpened.

"That's closer."

"Kane."

"The debt is still open, little bird. You tasted what I can give you."

"I used it to survive."

"You used it because it felt good."

"You're lying."

"Am I?"

He leaned in. His breath warmed the side of my face.

"Ask yourself why you smiled when Justin hit the ground."

I shoved against his chest.

He didn't move.

"You're enjoying this," I whispered.

"Immensely."

A howl rolled across the ridge.

Then another answered.

Kane's fingers tightened around my wrist.

"They're close," I said.

"Good."

"What do you want from me?"

His voice dropped, sliding straight through the bond.

"Bring them back to me. Every one of them."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then the power stops."

My stomach twisted.

"You'd let them take me?"

"I'd let you choose."

"That's not a choice."

"It's the only one you have."

The howls came again, louder now. Branches snapped somewhere beyond the trees.

Kane released my wrist and rose to his full height.

"Stand up," he said.

"I'm exhausted."

"Stand up, Sia."

"Make me."

His eyes flashed.

For one breath, the space between us vanished. His hand closed around my arm, and his body heat pressed close enough to steal the cold from my skin.

"Careful," he murmured. "You keep challenging me like that, and you'll learn exactly how much control I have left."

My breath caught.

Then the ridge erupted with snarls.

A dozen wolves broke through the brush.

Kane turned toward them.

I pushed to my feet, swaying beside him.

"You said you wanted them afraid," he whispered.

"I never said I wanted to feed you."

"You will."

The first wolf launched from the canopy.

Its shadow swallowed us. Claws reached for my throat, and Kane's hand snapped toward me as he shouted—