Another voice—Chiara, crying. “Let me go! Please… please don’t do this…”
We were thrown down side by side.
Drake snapped, “Let them go. This is between you and me. Don’t drag them into it.”
Jakobi ignored him. I could hear the smile in his voice. “Let’s play a game, Alpha. You like games, right? I’ve prepared a few little punishments. You just need to choose… who takes them.”
My heart dropped.
“No,” Drake said immediately. “You want something, say it. Land, money, power—I’ll give it to you. Just let them go.”
“Stop wasting my time,” Jakobi snapped. “First game.”
Chains clinked. Low growls followed.
“The first punishment… is blood bait.”
I froze.
“We’ll smear one of them with fresh blood and throw them into a pit of starving rogue wolves,” Jakobi went on, almost cheerful. “Let them chase. Let them hunt. Don’t worry, I’ll pull them out before they die… maybe.”
Drake’s breathing turned heavy. “You’re insane.”
“Choose.”
Silence.
Then suddenly, we were shoved forward. Something cold and wet smeared across my skin. The smell hit instantly—blood.
“No—!” I gasped.
The ground beneath me dropped.
I fell.
Growls exploded around me. I couldn’t see, but I could feel them circling, closing in.
“Drake!” I screamed. “Please—!”
He roared, furious, desperate. “Stop! I said stop! I’ll choose!”
The wolves snapped closer. Claws brushed my leg.
“Who?” Jakobi asked, amused. “Her? Or the pregnant one?”
My chest tightened.
For a second… I waited.
I still waited.
His voice came out strained. “I—”
Then Chiara cried, choking, “Drake… please save me… our pup… I can’t… I can’t die…”
Everything went quiet. Even the wolves seemed to pause.
And then—
“Chiara.”
Just one word.And that was it. Something inside me broke so quietly I almost didn’t notice.
The wolves lunged.
Pain exploded as teeth tore into my flesh, claws ripping, my body dragged and thrown like I wasn’t even human. I screamed until my voice disappeared.
Then they pulled me out only to throw me back again.
And again.
I lost count.
By the time they dragged me out for the last time, I couldn’t even move. I could barely breathe.
“Are you trying to kill her?” Drake shouted, his voice breaking. “She won’t survive this!”
Jakobi laughed softly. “You chose this. Don’t look at me like that.”
I was thrown onto the ground. My body felt numb, heavy, like it wasn’t mine anymore.
“Second game,” Jakobi said casually. “Let’s make this more interesting.”