Athena’s POV
The first thing I felt was the cold, not the kind that comes from a breeze but the kind that crawls into your bones and settles there like it belongs.
My head throbbed with each heartbeat and my throat burned like I’d been screaming for hours, though I couldn’t remember making a sound. My entire
body felt heavy and sluggish, like someone had filled my veins with concrete instead of blood.
Panic kicked in instantly because nothing about this felt right and everything about it felt wrong.
I forced my eyes open but the darkness swallowed everything around me, so thick and complete that I could barely make out the outline of my hands
when I lifted them in front of my face.
My skin was clammy with cold sweat and my breathing came in short, uneven bursts that echoed strangely in whatever space I was trapped in.
Then it hit me like a punch to the gut.
The air was sharp and bitter, carrying that metallic tang that made my wolf whimper and retreat deeper inside me like she was trying to hide from something that could hurt her.
Wolfsbane.
My stomach twisted into knots as I reached desperately for the bond, clawing at that golden thread that should have connected me to Tristan no matter
how far apart we were.
I needed to feel him, needed to know he was looking for me, needed anything that would tell me I wasn’t completely alone in this nightmare.
Nothing came back to me except silence.
The bond was still there but muted and suffocated under a thick, choking fog that made it impossible to reach through. It was like trying to call someone through a wall of cotton, knowing they were on the other side but unable to make them hear you.
‘No, I whispered, and my voice came out ragged and broken. I tried again, mentally clawing at that space where Tristan should have been, but there was still only that empty, crushing void where his presence should have anchored me.
Tears pricked my eyes and I blinked them back because crying wouldn’t help and weakness wouldn’t save me. Not now and not here, wherever here was.
I sat up slowly and every muscle in my body screamed in protest like I’d been thrown down a flight of stairs. Chains clinked somewhere near my ankle and I felt cold metal bite into my skin, the weight of it both foreign and terrifying.
The panic only got worse as reality started to sink in.
I was chained up in some dark place, drugged with wolfsbane, cut off from my mate, and I had no idea how long I’d been unconscious of who had done
this to me.
My hands shook as I reached down to feel the shackle around my ankle, the metal smooth and unyielding under my fingers.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to think past the fear, to remember what had happened before everything went black.
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15:22 Sat, Jan 10 GM R
Chapter 161
It came in flashes like scenes from a movie played out of order.
A knock on the door while I was impatiently waiting for Derek to come, because he sounded weird on the call.
Yes, I remembered that part now. When I heard the knock, I’d thought it might be Derek coming over like he’d promised.
But it wasn’t Derek or anyone from the pack.
It was Seraphine.
My eyes flew open at the memory and my breath came quicker as the pieces started falling into place.
She had stood in my doorway looking pale and exhausted, her usually perfect hair a tangled mess around her face.
I remember blinking at her in confusion because Tristan had gotten a call just minutes earlier saying Seraphine had tried to kill herself and was in the
hospital.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
