<b>Skye’s </b>POV
Nadia lunged forward, her face contorted with rage. Before I could stop her, she spat directly into Rane’s face, the glob of <b>sales </b><b>striking </b>his crack,
“You disgusting piece of filth?” she snarled. I’d rather die than let you touch me!”
For one breathless moment, no one
The saliva slid slowly down Kane’s perfect skin, his expression shifting from shock to something dark and <b>print </b>His hand released my chin and shot toward Nadia with supernatural speed, fingers wrapping around her throat before she could retreat.
“You’ll regret that,” he growled, yanking her against the bars with enough force that the metal rattled.
I rushed forward, but one of the guards jabbed a stun baton through the bars, sending me sprawling backward with electricity coursing through <b>my </b><b>veins</b>. Since our arrival at Kane’s fortress, we’d been given shift–suppressing injections, the needle marks on our arms still stinging–a constant reminder of out powerlessness against them.
Kane pulled Nadia closer, until her face was pressed painfully against the cold metal. Despite the shift–suppressor in her system<b>, </b>she fought <b>with </b>everything, she had, wing at his arm, her eyes burning with hatred.
I’ve always appreciated women with fire,” Kane remarked, his voice dropping to a dangerous purr as he wrapped his other arm around her waist, drawing her even closer. “The stronger the resistance, the sweeter the surrender.“–
His hand moved upward, roughly cupping her <b>breast </b>through her clothing. “The more you struggle, the more excited I be,” he whispered loud enough for me to hear. “You two had better <b>pray </b>your precious Adrian agrees to my terms. Otherwise<b>…</b><b>” </b>
The implication hung in the air, heavy and threatening. I pushed <b>myself </b>up from the floor, ignoring the lingering tremors <b>from </b>the stun baton.
“<b>If </b><b>we’re </b>your bargaining chips,” <b>I </b>called out, drawing his attention away from Nadia, <b>“</b>then shouldn’t you <b>ensure </b>we remain<b>… </b>undamaged merchandise<b>? </b><b>What </b>leverage will you <b>have </b>if you’ve already taken what you want?”
Kane’s eyes narrowed<b>, </b>calcting the logic in my argument. <b>After </b>a long, tense moment, he released Nadia with a <b>dismissive </b>shove that <b>sent </b>her stumbling back.
“Always the clever one,” he acknowledged, straightening his clothing <b>as </b><b>if </b>nothing had happened. His charming smile returned with disturbing ease, the
well. You make a valid point.” monster once again concealed behind a mask of civility. <b>“</b><b>Very </b>
He stepped back from the bars<b>, </b>hands raised in mock surrender. “You’ll both remain intact… for now. <b>Rest </b><b>well </b>tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll contact Adrian with my demands. I do hope, for your sakes, that he proves reasonable.”
With a final predatory smile, Kane turned and left the dungeon, his footsteps echoing on the stone steps. One guard remained stationed outside our <b>cell</b>, his expression nk as he took up his post.
The moment Kane <b>was </b>out of <b>earshot</b>, <b>I </b>activated the mind–link with Nadia<b>, </b>focusing my thoughts carefully to create the mental bridge <b>between </b>us.<fn512a> Find the newest release on Find1Novel</fn512a>
The suppressant they used is short–acting, I projected, keeping my <b>face </b>carefully neutral to avoid alerting the guard. Usually <b>effective </b><b>for </b><b>six </b>to eight hours at most. They’ll likely return to administer another dose before it wears offpletely. <b>We </b>need to escape before then.
Nadia’s response came immediately, her mental voice steady despite what had <b>just </b>transpired. Let’s check this ce thoroughly. There <b>has </b>to be a <b>way </b>out<b>. </b>
We began a careful examination of our prison, Nádia testing the bars while I inspected the stone walls and floor, searching for loose rocks <b>or </b>hidden openings.
<b>The </b>cell was approximately ten feet square, with three walls of solid stone and one wallposed entirely <b>of </b>sturdy iron bars. <b>A </b>small<b>, </b>barred <b>window </b><b>set </b>high in the back wall provided minimal venttion but was far too small for escape. The stone floor was uneven but solid, with no loose tiles <b>or </b><b>hidden </b>trapdoors. The sleeping pallet in the corner was little more than a thin mat on a stone shelf, offering no materials <b>we </b>could possibly use as <b>tools</b>.
<b>After </b>an hour of methodical inspection, we sank down against the back wall, the reality of our situation settling <b>over </b><b>us </b>like a <b>heavy </b>nket. Even <b>if </b><b>our </b>wolves returned when the suppressant wore off, the cell was designed to contain shifted werewolves. The <b>bars </b><b>were </b>reinforced with some kind of <b>special </b>alloy that even werewolf strength couldn’t bend, and the stone walls <b>were </b>at least three feet thick.
<b>Chapter </b><b>64 </b>
<b>“</b><b>I </b><b>won’t </b><b>let </b><b>Adrian </b>sacrifice everything for us, Nádia whispered, her voice <b>so </b><b>low </b><b>I </b>barely <b>caught </b>the words. I’d <b>rather </b>ille than ten Hatice
On
<b>The </b>raw conviction in her tone reminded me of why she was <b>Beta </b>her absolute loyalty to Adrian <b>and </b>the park transcended even self pancr
Tm so sorry<b>, </b>Nadia,” I <b>said</b>, guilt crushing my chest. “If I hadn’t insisted <b>on </b>attending <b>that </b>wedding, you wouldn’t be here, <b>Adrian </b>warned me it wa but I didn’t listen<b>.</b><b>” </b>
Nadia shook her head firmly. “Don’t me yourself! This isn’t your fault. It’s that bastard Kane’s doing! Her fists clenched <b>with </b>renewed fury. You ve supposed to hide in Oasisborn forever? Never venture beyond our borders? When he poisoned ourke, we should have struck back <b>immediately</b><b>. </b>
She studied my <b>face </b>in the dim light filtering through the high window, her expression shifting from anger to concern. “Your left ear is bleeding
I <b>reached </b>up, my fingersing away with a small smear of blood. “It’s nothing,” I said, touching the torn earlobe gently. “My earring must have been <b>ripped </b>out during the chaos at the wedding.”
My earring. The thought struck me like lightning.
<b>“</b>Wait, I gasped, grabbing Nadia’s arm with sudden urgency. Using the mind–link to avoid being overheard, I projected, My earring! <b>I </b>still have one earring left!
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