Chapter 22 · Mom in Moon Amber

"You kept her in a cage."

Kael doesn't answer. He just keeps pulling me down the stone stairs, his grip tight enough to leave marks. The air gets colder with every step, thick with something chemical and sweet that makes my throat close.

"Let go of me."

"Not until you see."

"See what?" I twist hard, nails digging into his wrist. "Her corpse? The one you made twelve years ago?"

He stops so fast I slam into his back. His hand comes up, fingers closing around my jaw, tilting my face toward his. His eyes are still half gold, the wolf too close to the surface.

"She's breathing," he says. "That's more than your stepfamily wanted."

I spit in his face.

He doesn't flinge. Just wipes his cheek with the back of his hand and keeps walking, dragging me with him.

The stairs end in a hallway lit by old yellow bulbs. Medical equipment lines the walls—