Chapter 21 · The Blood Price

"Get behind me, Ivy. Now," Silas snarled, his voice a low vibration that I felt in my own chest.

I didn't move. I couldn't. The air in the corridor was thick with the metallic tang of old blood and something worse—the scent of a rogue shifter’s hunger. Three of them were closing in, their claws scraping against the stone walls with a sound that made my skin crawl.

"I can help," I snapped, stepping forward. My hand went to the small silver blade tucked into my waistband. "I'm not just some piece of luggage you carry around."

Silas spun around, his hand clamping onto my wrist with a grip that bordered on painful. His eyes weren't human anymore; the gold had bled into a predatory amber. "You're a liability. Get. Back."

"Since when did I start taking orders from a monster?" I yanked my arm back, but he didn't let go. Instead, he hauled me flush against his chest.

For a second, the world stopped. I could feel the heat radiating off him—a searing, unnatural warmth that made the cold dampness of the Ridge feel like a distant memory.