Ren.

This was Ren as I’d known him for so long. My intended mate. The young Bane alpha. My rival and my friend. The one who would lead the pack by my side. A warrior like me. A wolf like me.

I kissed him back as tears burned in my eyes. The tide of the past carried me with it, and I pushed my body closer to his. I didn’t know what to think or feel. All I knew was how good it was to be near him again. Pressing against him, I was haunted by the destiny that I’d anticipated but hadn’t fulfilled. A time when I didn’t know that lies were lies. When I thought I understood my place in the world. Some small part of me longed for that certainty, for the life I might have had before my world spun into chaos.

He pulled back, gazing at me. Lifting his hand, he traced the shape of my face. His other hand took mine. His fingers paused, lingering on the braided white gold band of my ring.

“With me,” he murmured. “You belong with me.”

The lump in my throat was painful, stopping me from speaking even if I could have found the words. How many promises had I made only to break? How much had I stolen from him by leaving?

He kissed me again, softly this time. His lips moved over my jawline, down my throat. He pulled me even closer, whispering in my ear.

“They said you’d come. I didn’t believe it, but now you’re here.”

The whirlwind of emotions that lifted me stilled as his words brought me tumbling back into the present.

They said you’d come.

I lifted my face, looking at him more closely. He was here. Alive in the room. But unlike the others, he wasn’t bruised. His face wasn’t drawn from ordeals of pain and constant hunger. His clothes weren’t torn or grime-covered. His scent was the one so familiar to me, warm and masculine but untainted by vomit, blood, or filth. I looked at his arms. He wasn’t restrained. And he was alone.

Cold fear snaked over my skin.

“Ren?” I whispered. My heart was screaming out against the chilling facts that my mind was quickly wrapping around.

He leaned forward, kissing my earlobe.

“I missed you, Lily. So much,” he murmured, taking my arms in a firm grasp. “I’m sorry.”

Suddenly I was sailing through the air across the full length of the cell. My head slammed against the wall and for a moment I couldn’t see anything. My body tipped over and I sank toward the floor. Fingers dug into my upper arms, lifting me up. I felt Ren’s breath hot against my skin. His lips crushed mine again, but this time I tasted blood. I jerked my head away and gasped, fighting to regain balance and vision.

“Ren, stop. Please.” My hands found his shoulders and I tried to push him away. “What are you doing?”

His gaze locked on me and I saw the tightness of his jaw, the strain in his eyes. Fury and sadnesspooled in the darkness of his irises.

“I don’t want this, I never wanted this,” he said through clenched teeth. “I don’t have a choice. You’ve given me no choice.”

He slammed me against the wall again, forcing air from my lungs. For a moment he hesitated, staring at me, grief etching his features even as his grip on my arms tightened.

“It’s the only way.” He choked on the words as though desperate to believe them. “You’re my mate. It’s my duty to bring you back. To make you stay. They said I have to.”

I stared at him. “Have to what?”

“Break you.”

TWENTY-TWO

REN PINNED ME TO THE cold steel of the cell wall, his knee parting my thighs.

Shock drained the strength from my limbs. I couldn’t find the will to change forms. This can’t be happening.

“Oh God, Ren. No.” I could barely whisper the words, staring at Ren. I no longer recognized the boy in front of me, madness and grief blazing his eyes, driving him to hurt me. Terror gripped me in a way it never had. I didn’t want to believe this change was possible, but his fingers dug into my wrists, making me cry out. I tasted blood in my mouth. His teeth had torn my lips. Does Ren belong to the Keepers now?

My body shook; sickening waves crashed through my limbs. I was only upright because Ren still held me against the wall. The frenzy in his eyes terrified me, making me fully aware that his every choice was fueled by grief and pain.

“You don’t have to do anything, Renier.” A new voice came from the cell door, quiet but hard. “Let her go.”

Ren’s teeth were already bared as Monroe slowly moved toward us. He had a sword held low in each hand.

“You do have a choice.” He continued to speak in low tones. “Leave this place, leave all of this behind. You can come with us.”

“With you? Searchers?” Ren spat on the ground.

“We aren’t what you think,” Monroe said. “We came for you. Calla is here to help you. So am I.”

I cast a pleading gaze at the alpha even as I twisted against his painfully tight grasp. “Please, Ren. It’s true. Come with us.”

“Your lies took everything from me.” Ren’s eyes were fixed on Monroe. “I’ll kill you before I believe anything you say.”

He glanced at me, his face contorted with outrage and sorrow that sent shivers racing over my skin.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Monroe returned. “I’m not your enemy, but I can’t force you to make the right choice. This doesn’t have to be the end, but if you won’t come with us, at least let the girl go. Don’t make this worse.”