In the dead of night, a small girl wakes me up…and makes me an incredible offer.
"Hina sent me. The Omega woman you helped. She wants to get you out, too."
Hina? The girl I freed from the dungeons?
"I'm here to help you escape, (Y/N). But you have to come with me. Right now."
Wyla points at the open passageway, the one hidden behind the mirror. I look down at San. His hair falls over his eyes as he sleeps peacefully beside me.
"Don't worry about him. He'll be out for hours."
The little girl flashes a smile, holding up a rag. It reeks of something I'd recognize anywhere: Chloroform.
Whoa. This kid reminds me of me.
"Whyla, that was reckless."
"I'm an orphan who can't shift yet. I have to take risks to make things happen."
God. She's exactly like me.
Wyla takes my hand, tugging me toward the exit.
"Come on. We have to go now."
But I hesitate, something inside me twisting in an unexpected, complicated way.
"What are you waiting for? We only have a few minutes!"
I think of how San and Yeosang have helped me. How they both risked their lives with Dimitri just hours before.
"I can't…I feel guilty."
"(Y/N). Look around you."
Wyla scowls, looking far more mature than a girl her age ever should.
"You might be in this big comfortable room. But can you leave it?"
She points at the door.
"Is that guard really for enemies? Or is it for you?"
Her words hit me hard. I look at the door.
She's right. I'm only a prisoner. That's all I've ever been…or ever will be.
"Wyla…I'm sorry I hesitated."
I leap from the bed and pad up to the secret doorway. Whispering a silent apology, I hoist myself inside.
I'm sorry, San. I know you'll understand.
I sneak from corridor to corridor, moving in the darkness, until I make it to a door off of the kitchens.
"This is it. Our only way out. The guards should all be on break. Let's pray we didn't take too long."
Wyla and I sprint for the door. When my hand is on the metal latch, I feel a formidable shadow wash over me.
"What do we have here?"
Shit.
I turn to find the last guard I'd ever want to run into glaring down at me.
The guard that pointed a gun at me when I got here. The guard that dragged me to the dungeon and attacked San.
"It seems a little bird is out of her cage once again. And she found a friend this time."
The guard glares daggers at me, pulling his gun free of its holster. Wyla trembles by my side.
"Wh-waht do we do, (Y/N)? We're trapped."
Thinking fast, I slink up to the guard, biting my lip.
"I'm not out of my cage by accident, sir. I'm on a mission."
"A mission?"
"Yes. This girl here is the Alpha King's secret love child. He's asked me to get her to safety."
The guard looks down at Wyla. She flashes big, puppy dog eyes at him. Just like I knew she would.
"Please. You have to let us go. This is the child's only chance at having a life."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"You don't have to believe me. We can go ask the Alpha King himself. I can't say he'll be too pleased with you interrupting a mission this important, though…"
The guard goes pale. He quickly unlatches the door and pushes it open for me.
"Go. I was never here."
With a cunning wink, I take Wyla's hand and run off into the night.
"That was incredible, (Y/N). You really know how to work a job."
"It was harder than it looked."
"It couldn't have been easy. But you tricked that guard and got us here. Badass."
Wyla races off ahead of me, waving for me to follow her. I avoid the cliffs and the pitch-black forest. Instead, Wyla leads me down a narrow path for hours, before we come to a shipping port. The sun is just starting to rise, casting brilliant colors over the metal cargo containers.
"How did you–"
"A magician never reveals her tricks."
"Wyla, this is too convenient."
"Don't go complaining when I'm about to get you home. Come on. There's a ship scheduled to leave for New York in about an hour."
New York…home…I can actually go home?
I look back up at the cliffs I just hiked down. At the tiny outline of the castle just beyond it.
I'll say this, Yeosang, San…I'll never forget you.
"This way, (Y/N)."
Tearing my eyes away from the Alphas I have grown to know, I follow Wyla through the port until we reach a shipping container.
"In here. This is where I'm going to hide you."
"Thank you so much."
"Don't thank me. It's the least I can do."
Wyla and I pull back the heavy door. But when I see what's inside, I pause. A heavy chain hangs from the ceiling…with a thick cuff attached.
"What?"
"Does it look comfortable, (Y/N)?"
A bone-chilling shiver runs up my spine as Hyunjin's voice slithers into my ear.
"No…how did you find me?"
"It was easy. I know you so well. You walked right into my little trap."
I turn around. Sure enough, the man I once called father flashes a sharp, yellow-toothed smile, opening his arms wide.
"I…I stabbed you. How are you alive?"
"Yes…I'll admit, that almost killed me. Took forever to recover. Consider this my way of thanking you for that hell. I see you met my new ward. I suppose she's almost like a little sister to you."
He put his arm around Wyla. She gives me an equally sinister grin.
"I did tell you not to thank me, big sis."
Wyla's accent changes from Korean to American on a dime. My whole body goes cold. I grab Wyla by her thin shoulders, thrusting her in front of me with force. She kicks and swings at me.
"Let me go!"
"I'll let you go. As soon as I'm out of here."
My hand moves to her throat. But I freeze when Hyunjin pulls a massive gun out and aims it at me.
"I have no problem killing you both. Back the fuck up."
I know he's serious. Swearing silently, I raise my hands and back up toward the chain. His men descend and cuff my hands above my head. Hyunjin chuckles.
"Now isn't that a pretty sight. God. You really did grow up to look just like your mother."
He ambles toward me, licking his lips.
"Would you like me to tell you all about her? How she felt? How she tasted?"
He drags his gun up the curve of my body. Bile rises in my throat.
"I won't listen to your lies."
"Don't accuse a man of lying, little girl. I doubt your new owner would appreciate that much."
"You're selling me again?"
"Yep. One fine piece of meat for double the price. I'm rolling in the money I'm making off you."
He grabs my cheek, squeezing hard.
"Make sure you drive him wild. I might just be able to see you a third time."
Wyla's eyes widen behind Hyunjin's back.
"Wait."
Hyunjin snarls at the interruption. He turns to the young girl.
"What"
"I thought we were giving her to the Alpha she was originally promised to. Did you lie to me?"
With the speed and force of a bomb, Hyunjin backhands Wyla. She hits the ground.
"Wyla!"
"You'll shut the fuck up and do what you're told. My business is my business."
My heart breaks when Wyla wipes a streak of blood from her lip, her eyes glassy with tears.
I see so much of myself in her. In a few years…Hyunjin will sell her like a piece of meat, too.
"Wyla. Listen to me. I don't know what he's told you, or given you, or promised you. But I can tell you this: He was my world. And he ripped it out from under me."
"(Y/N)…"
Wyla's eyes are fixated on me, even as Hyunjin screams and swears.
"Don't fucking listen to her, you little brat. Get back to work or–"
"He doesn't care about anyone but himself. In a few short years, it will be you chained in a box, ready to be shipped off. So, go. Run. NOW."
Wyla's throat works as she chokes back tears. She gives me a small nod.
"Okay."
"No–!"
Hyunjin moves to grab Wyla but she's far too fast for him. She skids out of reach and darts off into the port.
Thank God. At least one of us will have a life.
"I hope you're happy."
I spit in Hyunjin's face. He flips his gun over.
"That was your last mistake.
The last thing I see is the hammer of his weapon colliding with my head. Men laugh, glasses clink, music plays… The sounds of a party beckon me out of my coma. When I open my eyes, my heart plummets. I'm lying on the floor of a fancy, high-speed train car, chained head to toe.
No. Where am I? Who is–
Then, I see him: Hyunjin holds a glass of champagne, toasting Dimitri.
"Ah, look. My little claim is awake. Good morning, (Y/N)."
"Dimitri…let me go if you want to live."
"Always the firecracker, aren't you. Did you learn that from your father?"
"Among other things. I'm sure you'll find her quite entertaining." Hyunjin smirks, raising his glass.
"She better be for what I'm paying."
The goons in the train car all laugh mockingly at me. Dimitri shoves me with his foot and I hit the ground again.
"Damn it. Let me go!"
"I really don't like repeating myself, (Y/N)."
Dimitri sighs and lazily snaps his fingers. A hulking brute picks me up and throws me back down on the ground, knocking the wind out of me.
"Are you going to be a good girl now? And stop demanding fantastical things?"
"I'll stop fighting for freedom when I'm dead."
"Alright. That's your choice. But let me make something abundantly clear."
Dimitri rises from his seat and crouches beside me, swirling his champagne flute.
"You're on my private train, heading to my homeland. Where you will become my slave."
He pours the champagne on my cheek and slowly licks it off. I struggle, but I can't escape.
"Mine to use however I please."
"Go to hell."
"We're already here, my love."
Dimitri's smile grows twice as wide. He reaches for the thin strap at my shoulder, tugging it off.
"Get the fuck off her."
San's voice seems to come from everywhere and nowhere. Then, he tears away the metal ceiling as if it's paper, and drops down.
"San…took you long enough."
"Sorry. Got here as fast as I could."
On his last word, San shoves Dimitri and Hyunjin, and pulls the chains from my body with a burst of silver eyes.
"Thank you."
"Thank me by backing me up."
"GET THEM!"
I square off, back-to-back with San, as all of the men in the train car rise to fight us. It is a flurry of fists and fangs as San and I work our way through the small army, crushing one man after another. When I plow past two truck-like shifters, I'm face-to-face with Hyunjin. He snarls, heaving a massive fist at me.
"I should have killed you back at the shipyard!"
I dodge him, but only by a second. He cracks a table in half.
"I should have killed you in that throne room!"
He swings again. I somersault out of his way, scrambling for any kind of weapon. I try to summon my power to me. To will it to move through me. But it does not answer my call. I swear.
"I should have killed you when I ripped you from your mother's arms!"
Finally, my fingers find a champagne bottle. I swing it at his head. He dodges and stumbles onto his back.
"No. It's me who should have killed you, Hyunjin. And if you talk about my mother again, I am going to smash you to pieces. Do you understand me?"
I stand over him, seething with rage. The father I once loved sneers at me.
"I'll talk about that dry cunt any time I please."
"I warned you."
Raising the heavy bottle high over my head, I bring it down hard on Hyunjin's junk with a resounding crunch. His agonized screams drown out the entire train car, music to my ears.
"You bitch! You little bitch!"
"Now, your dick matches your heart: Completely out of commission. Enjoy a lifetime of celibacy. And every time your destroyed dick starts to burn, remember…"
I grab him by the hair, yanking him up to meet my eyes.
"My mother made me who I am today. Not you."
With that, I throw him on the ground. Suddenly, dozens of bullets fly through the air, puncturing the pristine train car. I duck.
"I don't remember saying that you could start a little fight club in here, (Y/N)."
Dimitri has his foot on San's chest, an automatic rifle stuffed into his mouth.
"San!"
I move to help him, but Dimitri places his hand on the trigger, stopping me in my tracks.
"Dimitri, please don't."
"Such sweet words. But I'm afraid I'll have to decline. If you don't get on your knees. Right now."
San shakes his head. But I do as I'm told, lowering myself onto my knees.
"Good. Now, I'm really in a predicament here. The bastard prince is on my turf threatening my life."
"Isn't that what you did just yesterday?"
"Taht? That was a discussion. But this… This could be seen as an invasion. An act of outright war. But I'm willing to overlook that."
Dimitri pushes the gun further into San's mouth.
"If you let me claim you right here and now."
My stomach churns as San's eyes widen. Dimitri's eyes are nearly black with lust.
If I don't do this, San will die.
"I'll do it."
"Good. If you're serious, you'll get a move on."
His finger pulls back slightly on the trigger.
"Okay, okay! I'll do it."
"Good."
Dimitri waves for everyone to leave. Hyunjin and all of the other men slink out of the train car.
"Now that it's just the three of us, take your clothes off. Slowly."
San fights like mad. Every fiber of my being writhes with disgust. But I pull at my strap, slipping it down my arm. Suddenly, the train gives a sharp lurch. Dimitri and San go flying…and so does his gun. I dive for it, but before I reach it, San's immense, muscular arms catch me, and he leaps. Winter wind whips through my hair as I land on the roof of the train car, tumbling together. When I come to a stop, San is right above me, the heat from his body like a furnace in the endless expanse of cold.
"San. I–"
"You almost gave yourself to him."
San's eyes are twin pools of rage, flashing silver.
"Why would you do that?"
"Why would I not? He had a gun in your mouth!"
"I don't care! I don't matter! If he claims you, there's no going back!"
"And you think there's going back from you dying in front of me?!"
To my surprise, tears stand in my eyes. San's lips part as he stares at me.
"(Y/N)…"
"I wouldn't come back from that. I wouldn't survive. I might as well be dead right along with you!"
The words spill from my mouth almost of their own accord. But they all ring true. San's eyes change then. They grow hard and hot, flitting down to stare at my parted mouth.
"Then it looks like we're doomed."
With that, San crushes his mouth to mine. His kiss is hot, hard, all-consuming and real. No crowd, no agenda. Just me…and him. My fingers trace San's jaw, and closing my eyes, I press my lips hard against his. His breath catches as I kiss him fiercely, lost in his scent, the feeling of his body against mine.
"(Y/N)…"
He whispers my name again, his body growing hotter and harder as he grinds me into the train roof. Then, he forces my lips to part. His tongue slips into my mouth, tangling with mines as though becoming one.
San. I didn't know I had feelings for him. But seeing him almost die…
Lost in the kiss, I slowly slide my hands up San's back, dragging my nails lightly across it.
"Fuck."
Breathing hard, San kisses me again, sliding my hands up over my head.
"I don't care that we're on a speeding train heading for disaster."
His hot, commanding hands slide down my arms, over my neck, getting closer and closer to the swell of my breasts.
"I don't care. I can't stop."
"San…I don't want you to stop."
With my words, San kisses me again, harder. I lose myself in his lips, in his scorching tongue. His kiss is all-consuming, mingled with his sweet, intoxicating scent, the press of his longing. His fingers skim down my throat, dancing over my clavicle, lower and lower.
"(Y/N)."
Then, he cups my breasts. A small sound escapes me and he huffs. Even through the thin fabric, his touch is like a fire, warming me until the whipping wind and the frozen mountain are mere memory.
"Don't ever give up on yourself, you hear me? I want you to say it."
He molds me beneath his grapes and I gasp. He catches my open mouth in another kiss.
"Say it."
"I won't give up. I won't."
Without warning, a monstrous wolf flies at us, his blood-stained teeth bared. There's no mistaking his dead eyes. Dimitri gnashes at the air, coming dangerously close to my head. Without thinking, I shove San off of me and shield my face with my arm. Dimitri crunches down on my arm, grinding the bone to nothing.
"(Y/N)!!!"
The force of the bite sends me rolling backwards…launching me off the side of the train.
"NO!!!" San yells.
I dangle, the deadly tracks just feet away. The only thing holding me up is Dimitri's cruel mouth. With a blood curdling snarl of pleasure, Dimitri begins to loosen his hold on me.
"No!" I say in fear.
Suddenly, my eyes flash gold. But that's not where it stops. My whole body grows hot. A piercing whistle in my ears rings. And something ancient calls out to me from within. What's happening is something I've only ever dreamed of.
I'm…shifting.