Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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The rogue’s laugh echoed down the hallway. “The made wolf belongs to no Alpha.” Everyone went quiet so fast it felt fake. Damien’s hand tightened around my wrist, but I barely felt it. My eyes stayed on the cell block ahead of us. The rogue was sitting behind the bars, blood on his mouth, one shoulder hanging lower than the other, yet he was smiling like he had just won something. A guard beside him shifted his weight, looking uncomfortable, and the small sound made the rogue smile even wider.
Damien stepped forward. “Say that again.”
The rogue leaned his head against the wall and laughed under his breath. “You heard me.”
I moved closer before Damien could stop me. My side hurt with every step, but I ignored it. “What does that mean?”
The rogue’s eyes slid to me. “Look at you. Still acting like you were blessed.”
Damien growled, low and dangerous. “Answer her.”
The rogue clicked his tongue. “So protective. That is cute. Does she know she was never meant to happen naturally?”
My stomach tightened. “What are you talking about?”
Linda moved beside me, arms folded, face hard. “Careful with your next words.”
The rogue looked at her, then back at me. “Your transformation was triggered.”
I stared at him. “No.”
“Yes.” He leaned forward, chains scraping against the floor. “Old rogue magic. Forbidden serum. Depends what pretty name your traitor used for it.”
My lips parted, but no words came out at first. I looked at Damien, then at the rogue again. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?” His smile widened. “Ask the girl with the family symbol. She knew before your Alpha did.”
Damien’s face went cold. “Alice.”
The rogue hummed. “She knew the human could turn. She knew the first shift would happen under pressure. Fear. Rage. Pain. All that sweet chaos.”
I stepped back, bumping into Damien’s chest. His arm came around my waist instantly, but I pulled away because my skin suddenly felt too crowded.
“No.” I shook my head and raked my fingers through my hair. “No, that doesn’t make sense. I shifted because of the mark. Because of the Moon Goddess thing. Because maybe I was supposed to.”
The rogue shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. People like to dress experiments in holy language.”
11:48 Thu, May 21 ♫
Chapter 99
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That landed in my chest so hard I actually forgot how to breathe.
Damien grabbed the bars. “Who gave her the serum?”
The rogue looked at his hands. “Not me.”
Damien slammed the bars so hard everyone flinched. “Who?”
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The rogue’s smile faded a little. “You think I know every detail? I was told to watch for the girl. The one who smelled human but carried something sleeping.”
I pressed my palm to my chest. “Something sleeping?”
“Your wolf.” He tilted his head. “Locked deep. They woke it. Or tried to control when it woke.”
Linda cursed under her breath. “That means someone got close enough to dose her.”
Damien turned to me. “When did you feel strange before the shift?”
I let out a shaky breath and looked down at my clothes. “Everything has been strange.”
“Sienna,” he said softer.
I swallowed. “The ritual. The silver circle. The mark. Before that, Alice touched my arm when everyone was thanking me. I thought she was just being fake.”
Damien’s eyes sharpened. “When?”
“In the hall.” I rubbed the spot on my arm like I could still feel her fingers there. “She grabbed me and said something like, ‘Careful, Luna. Power changes people. I pulled away.”
Linda looked at Damien. “We need to search her room.”
The rogue laughed again. “Search quickly. Girls like that do not leave evidence sitting around forever.”
I spun toward him. “Shut up.”
He lifted both hands. “Touched a nerve?”
I stepped closer to the bars. “You don’t get to sit there and talk about my body like it’s some project.”
His eyes flicked over me. “But that is what you are.”
Damien moved so fast the guard beside the cell jumped back. He grabbed the rogue through the bars by the throat, pulling him forward until his face slammed between the metal.
“She is not a project,” Damien said.
The rogue choked, fingers clawing at Damien’s wrist.
I grabbed Damien’s arm. “Stop.”
11:48 Thu, May 21
Chapter 99
He didn’t let go.
“Damien,” I said, sharper this time. “Look at me.”
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His head turned. His eyes were still black at the edges, but he released the rogue and stepped back. The rogue dropped to the floor, coughing.
I hated that my voice worked when my whole body felt like it was falling apart. “I need air.”
Damien followed me down the hall. I didn’t wait for anyone. I walked until I reached the empty side corridor, then pressed my back against the wall and bent forward, gripping my knees.
Damien crouched in front of me. “Talk to me.”
I laughed once, but it broke immediately. “Talk? About what? About how every time I think something belongs to me, someone tells me it was done to me?”
His face twisted. “Sienna.”
“No.” I straightened and wiped under my eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. “I thought my body was finally becoming mine. I thought if I had a wolf, maybe I wasn’t just the human everyone could push around. Maybe I had something that was mine. But now it’s another thing someone forced into me.”
Damien stood and stepped close. “They don’t get to own that.”
I shook my head. “They triggered it.”
“They did not make you.”
I looked up at him, eyes burning. “How do you know?”
“Because I saw you shift.” He cupped my face, thumbs resting near my jaw. “I saw you choose me. I saw you protect the children. I saw you stand in front of a rogue with a candle holder while everyone else froze. No serum made that.”
My lips trembled. “But what if my wolf is not really mine?”
Damien’s voice dropped. “What you become is still yours.”
I stared at him, trying to hold the words without dropping them.
He leaned his forehead against mine. “Not Alice’s. Not the rogues. Not the elders. Yours.”
A breath shook out of me. I grabbed his shirt and held on because my knees felt useless. “I’m scared.”
“I know.” He kissed my forehead. “Be scared. I’m still here.”
11:48 Thu, May 21 ..
