“No,” I breathe.No way. It can’t be.
Demi’s face blanches as she whispers the name she dreads the most on this Earth. “Kiersten?”
Vessa
My wounds scream with newfound agony. I’ve never smelled—never looked—worse in my entire life.
Trembling before the camera, I almost miss the announcement. "We've got a confirmed match. Skornokovy’s girl is the one."
Levi looks more pissed than ever. "She's the Sponsa Noctis? This sweet little thing? Don’t play with me, cousin."
His partner shakes her head. She steals a quick look at me, her expression souring. "I wish I was.”
I blink with a shudder. The secret’s out.
Preston steps into the room, hands stuffed in his pockets. He comes to a halt as he beholds my battered face with disgust. “Remick is going to flay all of you for this. Look what you animals have done to her.”
Buzzcut checks his phone. A promising smile spreads on his thin mouth. "500K deposit just hit. We'll get the rest when the Big Man comes to collect."
Levi slices through the bonds on my chair. The scientist puts a hand on his shoulder, breathing heavily above me. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked. Now it’s time you held up your end of the bargain. Release my daughter.”
The scorpion snarls, nostrils flaring. “Not until after the exchange. Now take your hands off me.”
Preston panics. “Give her back, Levi!”
Levi delivers a hefty punch to his jaw, dropping him instantly. I gasp as his partner yanks me out of the cold chair, dragging me away from the scene. The woman then shoves me through the doorway, quickening her pace as the guards bolt out of the interrogation room.
Already, I am panting. Every step is strenuous. "Why is this so personal for you? The others couldn’t give a shit about who I am. But you’ve got hatred written all over you.”
“Shut it,” Levi growls from the rear. In his pocket, his phone blares. He breaks off to answer it, waving his partner onward.
My throat burns as she ignores me. “Unless it isn’t me?”
She refuses to look at me as her mouth parts. “Axe Skornokovy sentenced me to a life behind bars and ruined my chances of ever having a career or a pack ever again. Every day, I remember the sneer on his face as he told me I would never walk out of that prison, nor would I ever see the woman I love again. As a reward for my patience, eventually, I was released. Well, technically I released myself. Enjoyed about forty-eight hours of freedom before that brute and his squad of heathens found me crossing into Bissex. He ordered the Alpha of Silverback to shoot me full of silver and left me there to die."
What?Axe is brutal, but from what I’ve encountered, his reasons are justifiable. Surely there must be more to the story . . .
I gulp. "Looks like you found a loophole."
The barrel of her gun digs into the middle of my spine. We bypass the staircase that leads to the bowels of the building, where my cell awaits. Panning my eyes furtively, I chart the layout of the floor, noting all possible exits. Windows.
Fear coils in my stomach as we approach a new corridor, which is apparently unguarded. For the first time in days, I am dragged into a private bathroom. She jerks the shower handle and nudges me inside. I quickly rinse, trembling as the blood and urine wash clean from my skin. After I reemerge, the blondereplaces my bandages along with a new set of garments. As I slip them on, I shudder. When the bathroom door clicks open, so does the realization of who is gripping my arm. Who must’ve inked the tattooed flames that extend beneath her sleeve and collar.
"She wasn't just any woman, was she? It was Demi."
Levi reappears in the doorway, wearing a look of shock . Like I've used a name that is forbidden among their group.
“. . . Which makes you Kiersten.”
Her grip remains unshaken. “It’s Snow now. Though I’m flattered your mate went out of his way to mention me. Believe me, Vessa, as much as I'd love to snap that flimsy little neck of yours, nothing fills me with more satisfaction than knowing that in two days from now, the person most precious to him will be in the hands of the man he’s devoted his entire life to destroying.”
Shit.
I have two days to miraculously escape, or I’ll never see Axe again. Goddess only knows if he’ll find me in time. I could be held up on another continent for all I know.
Pushing me back into the hall, her fingernails dig deeper into my arm. “After Bleeding Sun’s sentencing, Demi sent me away. Everything I did—I regret nothing. I loved her . . . and yet, it scraped out every ounce of goodness I had. It drove me to insanity. To abandon my own species. For years, I couldn’t live with myself. Twice, I almost hung myself in my cell. But one day, through a mercenary channel, Levi caught wind of a human who could redeem us.So, he smuggled me out of prison and promised to come back for me after he’d retrieved the Sponsa Noctis. It didn’t exactly go the way we planned. But sure enough, a few years later, we succeeded.”
“You would willingly side with the very monster who butchered your own parents? Demi’s and Tesni’s?”
