HUCK

I'd experienced plenty of pain in my life. Cuts. Burns. Broken bones. I knew the difference between muscle tears, superficial aches, and the deeper, unending suffering of infected organs. But nothing had ever come close to this. A fire was ripping through my core, burning my insides into char, incinerating my soul. I writhed on the floor in blind agony, screaming, crying, begging in a voice that sounded nothing like mine—desperate, wailing, pleading for reprieve. For death.

"Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!"

I got what I asked for, but only half of me died. The pain ended so suddenly, I wept with relief, but the numbness that followed was almost worse than the torture. It was the ultimate betrayal to be glad that it was over. I lay on my back, staring at the fluorescent light, uncaring that they burned my retinas. I was empty. It was over. I'd never make it out whole. My wolf—I swallowed hard—My wolf was gone. I'd never take my place as Alpha. I'd never fix anything for the valley. For all I knew, they were already dead too.

I used to think they'd taken everything. I should have protected what I had. There were a hundred different paths I could have chosen. A million different places we could have gone. I pictured them all. I imagined white sand beaches or cabins far, far away from home. Anything besides this. Anything that kept her with me.

But I hadn't chosen correctly. I'd stupidly followed the moon, and she'd led me in the worst possible direction. Brooke...A tear broke free and rolled down my temple. Our bond was severed, and there was nothing I could ever do to repair it. She was his now, and this time, I had no chance of stealing her away.

I'm unsure how long I stayed that way. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours before the door opened, and the men entered. I didn't fight them. I had no fight left. They lifted me by my arms and legs and carried me out of the room and into the shadowed corridor beyond. I tried to make out where I was, but spots danced across my vision. They lugged my limp body down one hall and then another as if I were a carcass being cleared off of a battlefield.

I'd lost the war.

Heavy metal doors swung open, and sunlight warmed my face. A cool breeze blew over my wet skin, and I drew it into my nostrils like a baby taking its first breath—or a man taking his last. Before I could fully absorb the luxury, they tossed me into the back of a box truck.

I hissed, clutching the shoulder I'd landed on as one of the men rolled the door shut with a loud bang. A few moments passed before more doors slammed, and then the engine started. The truck lurched forward. I groaned and pushed myself upright, propping my back against the wall of my new, steel box. Where were they taking me? Why bother? I was no threat to anyone, not anymore. Better they end me and be done with it, but of course, that would be too easy.

The only light filtered through the crack at the bottom of the door. In another timeline, I might have tried to open it and escape. But not in this one. I stayed where I was, swaying with the momentum of each turn and stop.

I somehow knew we'd reached the mountain.

The ache magnified. The emptiness deepened. My throat grew raw and tight, and I swallowed convulsively, but I was in no condition to fight, not even my own tears. They broke free and rolled down my face. I wasn't a werewolf any longer. I was just a man. A weak man. My chest shook. My breaths shuddered. Sobs bubbled up my throat and sputtered past my tight lips. I mourned all of it. Everything I'd ever lost. Things I'd never had. I mourned my mother, my father, Dean, and a hundred others. I'd failed everyone, and I couldn't face it. Not here.

But the truck kept driving, and when it finally stopped, and the door rolled open, I was faced with my worst nightmare.

Titan held Brooke by her forearm, his fingers visibly digging into her flesh. Tears shimmered on her stubbornly, composed face, rolling down a bruised and swollen cheek.

"I'll kill you," I rasped, but I struggled just to make it to my knees. I fell forward, boneless, spineless.

"I doubt that very much," Titan said, sounding beyond pleased.

Shame weighed me down, crippling me further. I kept my head bowed, unable to bear the thought of what I might find in her eyes. I wasn't the man she'd known. He was dead, and I was worthless to her now. A weak man.

"Take him to the dungeon," Titan said.

* * *

I lay in the fetal position on a pile of old, matted straw, desperate to see Brooke, and praying she wouldn't come. The dungeon air was so thick and stagnant I could barely breathe, but it didn't matter. Whether I was here or in a steel room made no difference. Existence was torture enough to drown out the details.

I flinched as the door above opened and footsteps echoed down the stairs. I didn't want her to see me this way. With great effort, I pulled myself up into a seated position. But when the person finally came into view, it wasn't Brooke.

Aster walked over and stood hunched over her cane in front of the bars. "You look terrible."

"Leave me." My tone was something I never would have dared taken with her before. But what bad could she do to me now? If she wanted to wield a curse, she was a bit late to the party.

"She told Titan the truth, you know?" Aster said as if I hadn't spoken.

Despite myself, I couldn't help but ask, "About what?"

"About who killed his mate."

I stared at her for a moment before looking around my empty prison. Had she really given up her mother? I mean, the woman deserved it for sure, but I'd never expected Brooke to be the one to do it. "Why isn't she here? Did he kill her?"

"I said she told him the truth. I never said he believed her."

The bruises. "So he beat her." My voice was tight, and I clenched my eyes closed, trying and failing to block the image from my mind.

"They prefer lies here," she said.

"Why are you telling me this?"

She was quiet for so long, I thought for a moment she'd left. But when I opened my eyes, she was still standing in the same spot, looking at me as if I were the world's biggest disappointment. "Why wouldn't I tell you this?" she asked.

"Because I can't do anything about it."

"Can't or won't?"

I laughed, but it may have been a sob. My head shook in disbelief. "If I was capable of killing him, I'd have done it by now."

"He isn't immortal. I can assure you, he can die just as easily as the rest of us."

"Then how about you do us all a favor and go kill him yourself."

She scoffed. "That isn't the role I was given."

"And what is your role, exactly? Turning us in? If it wasn't for you, we would have never been caught in the first place."

"I do as the goddess directs me."

"The goddess," I spat. "You see what following her got me."

"Careful, Alpha. She won't appreciate your—"

"My wolf is dead, witch!" I snapped. "The alpha bloodline has ended for good, and not even your magic can bring it back."

She hummed. "Tell me, how was it that the first came to be?"

I didn't respond. If only she'd stop talking and leave me to rot. Or, better yet, kill me so I could be done with this once and for all.

"She did show you, didn't she?"

I hesitated. She couldn't possibly know about the visions, could she? "Show me what?"

"We both know what I'm talking about."

"I was hallucinating," I said lamely, hardly believing it.

Aster snorted. "Is that so?"

"What do you know about it?"

"She's shown me many times since the night of my first shift." She waved a hand, as if annoyed she'd needed to explain. "Now, stop wasting time and answer my question. How did the first come to exist?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. I'd seen what had happened. I'd felt the moment the first and his wolf had joined in spirit. "It just happened."

"Because the goddess willed it to happen."

"Well, if that's the case, why doesn't she just will it now? Why let my wolf die in the first place?"

"She never does anything without reason." Her lips curved, and she turned and began shuffling back toward the stairs.

"And that reason is?" I called to her back.

"It isn't my place to say."

My jaw tightened, and if I'd had a rock, I would have thrown it at her. I climbed to my feet and hobbled to the bars as if I could magically break past them and go after her. But not even my wolf could have broken free, and she ascended the stairs, disappearing from view. "Then why bother coming here?" I shouted.

"You stopped sniveling, didn't you?"