Chapter 4: The Escape and the Wound

Lilian’s words festered inside me, a poison more potent than any vampire’s bite. The guarded door, the silent servants, Caius’s cold absence—it all confirmed her terrible prophecy. I wasn’t a ward; I was a prisoner, a vintage bottle waiting to be uncorked. The pain of the stretched bond was a constant, dull throb in my chest, but the sharp sting of betrayal was far worse. I couldn’t stay. The wolf in me, the part that remembered the feel of earth beneath her paws and the freedom...