Chapter 3

The full moon's light filtered through the tiny barred window of my cell, casting eerie silver patterns across the stone floor. I'd been counting the days since my eighteenth birthday—since the moment my life had shattered into a thousand jagged pieces. Tonight was the first full moon since then, and something in the air felt different. Heavy. Charged with ancient magic that made my skin crawl.

I curled tighter into the corner of my cell, trying to ignore the dual marks on my neck that throbbed with increasing intensity as the moon rose higher.

"It's starting," I whispered to myself, feeling a strange warmth spreading through my veins.

Then the pain hit.

It started in my bones—a deep, grinding agony that made me gasp. My back arched involuntarily as something inside me tried to force its way out.

"No," I whimpered, recognizing the sensation. "Not now. Please, not now."

My body was trying to shift—to transform into my wolf form under the full moon's call. But with two mate bonds pulling in opposite directions, my body didn't know which form to take.

The first crack came from my left arm, the bone splintering with a sickening sound. I screamed, the noise tearing from my throat as white-hot agony radiated up to my shoulder.

"Help!" I cried out, my voice echoing through the stone corridors. "Someone help me!"

Another crack, this time in my right leg. My bones were breaking and reforming, over and over, as my body desperately tried to accommodate two incompatible transformations.

The door to my cell burst open. Xavier stood there, his massive frame blocking the light from the corridor. His eyes were cold as they swept over my writhing form.

"Finally," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "The first full moon."

I reached toward him, my fingers trembling. "Please," I gasped. "It hurts. Make it stop."

Xavier stepped into the cell, his expression unmoved by my suffering. Behind him, I could sense others gathering—guards and curious pack members drawn by my screams.

"This is what happens when you're greedy," Xavier said, circling me slowly. "When you try to claim two Alphas."

My spine cracked next, the sound like a thunderclap in the small cell. I convulsed, my body arching painfully as my bones shattered and reformed again.

"Xavier," I pleaded through gritted teeth. "You can feel it too. Through the bond."

His face tightened momentarily—he could feel it. Some small fraction of my agony transmitted through our connection. But instead of showing mercy, his eyes hardened further.

"Stop being so dramatic," he said coldly. "It's just a little pain."

He moved suddenly, his boot coming down on my outstretched fingers. I heard them snap one by one as he applied pressure, grinding them against the stone floor.

"That's what you deserve for being so greedy," he said, twisting his foot. "For trying to have both of us."

My screams echoed through the Shadow Pack territory, carrying across the miles to where Damien waited in his own domain. He could feel it too—every break, every moment of agony as my body tore itself apart trying to serve two masters.

But he didn't come. Neither of them would save me.

My bones continued their terrible dance—breaking, healing, breaking again—as the moon reached its zenith. The pain was beyond anything I'd ever imagined possible, a supernatural torture that threatened to shatter my mind as thoroughly as it was shattering my body.

Hours passed in a blur of agony. When dawn finally approached, my body lay broken and trembling on the cell floor, my throat raw from screaming.

I didn't have long to recover before Damien appeared.

"Your turn," Xavier said simply, stepping aside as Damien entered the cell.

The Blood Moon Alpha's eyes gleamed with cruel anticipation as he surveyed my broken form. In his hand, he carried a silver whip—its handle ornately carved with ancient symbols of power.

"Hello, little mate," he purred, crouching beside me. "Did you enjoy your first full moon?"

I couldn't speak, could barely move as he uncoiled the whip with deliberate slowness.

"I brought you a special gift," he said, running the silver tip across my cheek. "Blessed silver. It should help you remember your place."

The first lash came without warning, the silver tip cutting through my shirt and into the flesh beneath. The pain was blinding—worse than broken bones, worse than anything I'd felt before.

"Please," I begged, tasting blood where I'd bitten through my lip. "Please stop."

"One more," Damien said, his voice gentle as if speaking to a child. "For being so ungrateful."

The second lash caught my side, opening a wound that immediately began pouring blood. The silver burned like acid, preventing my werewolf healing from kicking in.

"Two Alphas," Damien whispered, leaning close as if sharing a secret. "Such ambition for such a little thing."

I tried to crawl away, but my broken body wouldn't cooperate. "Kill me," I pleaded, my voice breaking into sobs. "Please, just kill me..."

Damien's laugh was soft and terrible. "Death would be too kind an end for you."

He left me there, bleeding and broken, as the sun rose fully over the horizon.

Later that day, in a clearing halfway between their territories, Xavier and Damien met in secret.

"She's still alive," Damien noted with some surprise. "I thought she might not survive the first moon."

Xavier's expression remained impassive. "She's stronger than she looks."

"We need to establish some rules," Damien said, pacing the small space between them. "We can't keep taking turns like this. It's inefficient."

Xavier nodded slowly. "I propose an arrangement."

They spoke in low voices, their words carrying on the wind as they hammered out their agreement.

"Odd-numbered days," Xavier finally said. "She belongs to me."

"Even-numbered days," Damien countered. "And I get her on the full moon."

Xavier's eyes narrowed, but he nodded. "Agreed."

They shook hands on it—two predators dividing their prey like hunters sharing a kill.

"She'll break eventually," Damien predicted with some satisfaction. "And when she does, we'll see who she truly belongs to."

Neither of them noticed the small figure watching from the shadows—a young omega who had followed Xavier from the pack house, drawn by whispers of the strange woman with two marks.

Neither of them knew that their sick game had just acquired its first witness.

And neither of them had any idea what would happen when a third player entered their deadly contest.