Jessica's POV
"You think you can fight fate, little omega? You belong to us."
Charles's voice slid over my skin like heat. Low. Rough. It made my chest tighten even as anger flared bright and sharp.
"I belong to no one," I shot back.
I was chained to a wide stone bed, my wrists bound above my head with silver links carved with runes. The room was dim, lit by firelight that danced on dark walls. It smelled like iron, smoke, and Alpha.
Charles stood at the foot of the bed. His shirt was gone. The bullet wound was already closing, skin knitting like it had never been torn. His eyes glowed faintly in the dark.
Jude leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching me like I was a puzzle he had not solved yet.
"You feel it," Charles said. He took one step closer. "The pull. The ache."
"I feel sick," I snapped. "Let me go."
My wolf paced inside me, restless and confused. She pressed against my ribs, whining. Part of her wanted to crawl toward him. The other part wanted to bite.
Jude spoke then. "Jessica, listen. This bond is old. Older than the pack laws you know. It ties one omega to her true Alphas."
"True?" I laughed, sharp and bitter. "I had a mate. He broke me."
Charles's jaw tightened. "He was never your mate."
"You don't get to tell me what I lived!" I pulled at the chains. They burned my skin. "I loved him."
Jude's eyes softened. "And he used you."
I turned my head away.
Charles moved fast. In a blink, he was beside me, one hand gripping my chin, forcing me to look at him.
"Look at me," he growled.
I did. My breath caught. His face was too close. I could feel his breath, warm and steady. My body betrayed me, heat pooling low in my belly.
"Hate me if you want," he said. "But don't lie to yourself."
His thumb brushed my lower lip. I shivered.
"Get away from me," I whispered.
For a moment, I thought he wouldn't.
Then Jude stepped forward. "Enough."
Charles pulled back, his eyes dark with something wild and hungry.
"She needs truth," Jude said. He met my gaze. "Do you want to know why your wolf felt weak all these years?"
My heart stuttered. "She wasn't weak."
"No," Jude agreed. "She was bound."
Silence filled the room.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Jude glanced at the door, then back at me. "Jackson used forbidden magic. A tether spell. It dulls an omega's wolf. Makes her easier to control."
The words hit me like a blow.
"You lie," I said, but my voice shook.
Charles snarled. "We found the marks on her aura. Fresh scars. He did this."
Images flashed in my mind. The pain. The fog. The nights I felt empty, like something was missing.
My throat burned. "He said I was broken."
Jude's voice was gentle. "You were caged."
Something inside me cracked.
A sound slipped from my chest. Not a cry. A howl.
My wolf surged forward, rage and grief mixing into a hot storm. The chains rattled as my body shook.
Charles moved again, kneeling beside the bed. He didn't touch me this time.
"He will pay," he said.
I laughed through tears. "Everyone says that."
Before he could answer, the door burst open.
A guard stumbled in, blood running down his arm. "Alpha! Assassin—"
A blade flew through the air.
Jude moved first. The blade missed my face by inches, burying itself in the stone wall behind me.
Charles roared.
The room exploded into motion. Jude shifted mid-step, bones snapping, fur tearing through skin. A massive black wolf filled the space, teeth flashing.
Another figure dropped from the ceiling, masked and fast. They went for me.
Charles stood between us in a heartbeat. He didn't shift. He didn't need to.
The assassin's knife met his hand.
There was a scream. Blood sprayed.
Jude lunged, ending it in one brutal snap.
Silence fell again, thick and heavy.
Charles turned to me, chest heaving. "They're coming for you."
"Why?" I whispered.
"Because you are the key," Jude said, shifting back, breath rough. "And because someone doesn't want you alive."
My skin went cold.
Charles reached for me, his hand stopping just short of my stomach. "This is why you can't leave."
"I didn't ask for this war," I said.
"No," he agreed. "But it found you."
He leaned closer, his forehead resting against mine. Our breaths mixed. My body leaned into him before my mind could stop it.
I hated it.
I wanted it.
"Let me go," I whispered. "Or I will break."
His voice softened. "We won't let you."
The chains loosened suddenly. My arms dropped, sore and shaking.
"You trust me now?" I asked.
"No," Charles said. "But I want you close."
He brushed his nose along my neck, inhaling deeply. My wolf purred, loud and traitorous.
I pushed at his chest. Weak. Useless.
"You don't own me," I said.
His lips hovered near my ear. "Not yet."
The door creaked open again.
A voice spoke from the hall.
"She's already marked."
Charles froze.
Jude's head snapped up.
I felt it then. A burn low on my shoulder. A mark that wasn't theirs.
Fear flooded me.
Charles pulled back slowly, eyes blazing.
"Who touched her?"
And from the doorway, Jackson smiled.