Avery's POV
They didn't tie my hands.
They didn't have to.
The wolves closed in tight enough that I could feel their body heat through my coat. Every step forward was guided by pressure—shoulders brushing mine, a palm at my back, claws flashing just enough to remind me what would happen if I ran.
Liam walked beside me.
Restrained.
Two warriors had him by the arms, iron cuffs locked around his wrists. He fought them at first. I felt it in the way his muscles bunched, the way his jaw locked like he was holding back a scream. Then something shifted. Not surrender.
Calculation.
His eyes met mine once.
Stay alive.
That's what his look said.
The clearing opened into a wider path, hard-packed snow stamped flat by many feet. Torches burned along the edges, their flames steady despite the wind. I smelled woodsmoke. Metal. Blood that wasn't fresh.
Pack territory.
The pressure in my chest worsened with every step. The mark on my wrist throbbed in time with my pulse. Hot. Angry. Like it knew where we were going and didn't like being dragged there.
Then the forest fell silent.
Not natural silence. Obedient silence.
Every wolf stopped at once. Heads bowed. Spines straightened. The air itself felt like it pulled inward, like the world was bracing.
Someone was coming.
I felt him before I saw him.
The pressure intensified, crushing down until my breath came shallow. My knees threatened to buckle. A low sound escaped my throat before I could stop it.
Liam's head snapped up.
His face went tight. Pale.
"No," he said under his breath.
Footsteps crunched over snow.
Slow. Measured. Certain.
The wolves parted down the center of the path like water around stone.
He stepped through them.
The Pack Alpha.
He was taller than the others, built heavy and solid like nothing could knock him down once he decided where to stand. Dark hair, cut short. Sharp cheekbones. Eyes like winter sunlight on ice—clear, cold, devastating.
He wore no crown. No symbols.
He didn't need them.
Power radiated off him in controlled waves, pressing into my skin until my nerves screamed. This wasn't wild dominance. This was restraint wrapped tight around something violent.
His gaze moved once.
From Liam.
To me.
The moment his eyes locked on mine, the mark on my wrist exploded.
Pain tore through my arm like fire down bone. I cried out, clutching it as my vision blurred. Heat spread up my shoulder, across my chest, settling low in my stomach in a way that made me feel exposed and furious and afraid all at once.
The Alpha stopped walking.
Interest flickered across his face. Brief. Dangerous.
"Well," he said quietly. "That answers a question."
Liam strained against his restraints. "Don't look at her."
The Alpha didn't even glance at him. "You're in no position to issue commands."
He took another step toward me.
The wolves around us dropped to one knee without being told.
I didn't.
My legs shook, but I stayed upright out of pure spite.
He noticed.
"Impressive," he said softly. "Or stupid."
"Back away from her," Liam snarled. "She's not part of this."
The Alpha finally turned his head.
His eyes were flat when they landed on Liam.
"You crossed my borders," he said. "Killed my scouts. Broke my laws."
"I had no choice."
"You always have a choice." His voice dropped. "You chose wrong."
He lifted a hand.
One of the warriors slammed Liam to his knees.
I screamed his name without thinking.
The Alpha's attention snapped back to me. Sharp. Assessing.
The pain in my wrist flared again, hotter this time, like it was responding to him. My breath hitched. I hated that my body reacted without my permission.
He saw it.
His jaw tightened.
"Interesting," he repeated. "You feel it."
"I don't know what you did to me," I said, my voice shaking, "but you don't get to touch me."
A ripple of surprise moved through the pack.
The Alpha smiled.
Not kind. Not amused.
Predatory.
"I didn't do anything," he said. "The bond did."
"Bond?" My stomach dropped. "With who?"
He stepped close enough that I could smell him—pine resin, smoke, something sharp and metallic beneath it. His presence filled my space, crowding my senses until all I could focus on was him.
"With the pack," he said. Then, quieter, "And with me."
The world tilted.
"That's not possible," Liam said hoarsely. "She's human."
The Alpha's eyes flicked to him. "She's marked."
The word settled heavy in my chest.
Marked.
"I didn't agree to anything," I said.
"No," he replied calmly. "You didn't."
That was somehow worse.
He reached out.
I flinched hard, but his fingers never touched my skin. They hovered just above my wrist, close enough that the heat from him made the mark blaze brighter.
My knees buckled.
Strong hands caught my arms before I hit the ground. Not gentle. Efficient.
The Alpha watched closely as I struggled for breath, as the pain peaked and then slowly eased into a deep, aching pull that made my skin hum.
"Release her," Liam growled.
The Alpha straightened.
He looked at Liam like one might look at a problem already solved.
"You don't get to speak to her anymore."
He turned to his warriors. "Chain him."
"No!" I shouted.
The command was already being carried out. Cold iron snapped into place around Liam's wrists and throat. He fought, snarled, nearly broke one guard's arm before another struck him hard across the face.
Blood hit the snow.
Something snapped in my chest.
"Stop!" I screamed. "Please!"
The Alpha raised his hand again.
The violence ceased instantly.
He studied me in silence, eyes unreadable.
"You care for him," he said.
"Yes."
"That's unfortunate."
I glared up at him, shaking. "You don't get to decide that."
A pause.
Then he leaned down, close enough that only I could hear him.
"I decide everything inside my territory."
The mark pulsed again, slower now. Deeper. Like it was settling in.
He straightened and addressed the pack.
"Prepare the holding grounds," he said. "Double watch. No contact."
His gaze returned to me.
"And bring her."
My heart slammed against my ribs. "Where?"
His voice was cold. Absolute.
"With us."
The wolves closed in again.
And this time, no one hesitated.