Chapter 4

On the third day, Serena came to see me herself.

She carried a bowl of black liquid, and she wore a sweet smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Cynthia, I'm here to help you," she said.

I didn't answer.

"Do you want to know why you can't shift?" she asked. "It's because your bloodline is too weak. Your inner wolf was never strong enough to wake up."

She stirred the liquid with a spoon. "This is Wolfsbane Draught. Drink it, and whatever tiny piece of inner wolf you have left will disappear for good. You'll never feel pain again."

I shrank back.

"Don't be scared," she said, smiling wider. "Your inner wolf was never going to wake up anyway. What's the point of keeping it? Drink this, and you'll become nothing but human."

She put extra weight on the word "human."

For a wolf, there was no greater shame than being called human.

"No," I said, shaking my head.

Two guards rushed in. One pinned my arms down, and the other pried my mouth open.

Serena pressed the rim of the bowl against my lips.

The hot, bitter, foul liquid poured down my throat.

I fought as hard as I could, but the liquid splashed all over my face and neck.

"Drink it," she ordered.

She grabbed my chin and forced me to swallow.

I choked down one mouthful. Then a second. Then a third.

The moment the liquid slid down my throat, that tiny flicker inside me, the inner wolf I had always believed was barely there, let out a sharp, piercing wail.

Then it went silent. Forever.

Serena let go of me, stood up, and smoothed her dress.

"There," she said, her voice cold and satisfied. "You're clean now."

She walked out and didn't look back.

I lay sprawled on the floor, heaving over and over again. Nothing came up.

My inner wolf was completely gone.

Even the smallest hope I had left for awakening was gone with it.

*****

I lost track of time in the darkness of the dungeon.

All I knew was that every day, someone shoved a piece of moldy bread through the crack under the door. I would drop to the floor on all fours and gnaw on it like a starving animal.

No one came to see me. Not once.

Victor never showed up.

I didn't think about him anymore.

When one hit absolute rock bottom, they stopped feeling the pain.

Then one day, the dungeon door flew open.

Blinding light poured in, and I raised my hand to shield my eyes.

It was Marcus.

He looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.

"Cynthia, come with me," he said.

"Where to?"

"The Alpha wants to see you."

I laughed. My cracked lips split open, and blood seeped out. "Because he wants to see me, I'm supposed to jump up and run to him?"

Marcus crouched down next to me and lowered his voice.

"Things are bad," he said. "Serena was never his real fated mate. House Blackwood used forbidden magic to fake the bond. Now the backlash is tearing him apart. He passes out from the pain every night. You're the only one who can save him."

"Why should I care if he dies?"

"Because you're his fated mate."

I stared at him and made sure he heard every word. "Did you forget? I drank the Wolfsbane Draught. My inner wolf is gone. What kind of fated mate am I supposed to be now?"

Marcus's face went pale.

"Is that true?" he whispered.

I rolled up my sleeve and showed him the black stains on my skin, the marks left by the potion as it ate away at me.

"The Luna was the one who forced it down my throat," I said. "Tell me, do you think Victor knows about that?"

Marcus didn't say a word.

I pushed myself up slowly. My legs were so weak that they could barely hold me, but I managed to steady myself against the wall.

"Go back and tell him this," I said. "If he wants to see me, he can come to me on his knees."

Marcus left.

I figured I wouldn't see him again.

Then the next night, the dungeon door swung open once more.

It wasn't Marcus standing there this time, though. It was Victor himself.

He looked terrible. He was gaunt, with dark circles under his eyes, and his lips had gone completely pale.

His left arm dangled at a strange angle, and I could tell it was broken.

As he walked in, every single guard in that dungeon dropped to their knees.

He stopped right in front of me and loomed there, staring down.

I pressed my back against the wall and raised my chin to meet his eyes.

"Kneel," I said.