I can hardly believe my eyes. Yeosang drops down into our prison cell with his telltale smirk.
"Yeosang, how did you–what are you–?"
"I'm here to get you out, sonyeo. You're welcome."
San sits up on the bed, wincing from his freshly-bandaged wound.
"What happened to you?"
"Long story." San replies.
"Well, I look forward to hearing it later. But right now we've got to move."
"Did you bring an army with you?" I ask.
"No, I'm not trying to start a war here."
"I don't know if you've noticed but this place is heavily guarded and ruled by a psychopath."
"And he's promised to massacre our people if (Y/N) doesn't agree to be his claim."
"I'll worry about that when the time comes. All that matters now is getting out of here in one piece."
Yeosang walks to the window he just jumped down from.
"I was planning to get us out through there but you don't look like you're in any shape for steep climbs, San."
"I'm fine."
San pulls the blankets from him and tries to vault out of the bed. But he stumbles. I reach out and stop his fall with my body, feeling his searing skin beneath my touch.
Does he have a fever?
"Uh, thanks."
He pulls himself back with color in his face. Yeosang sighs heavily.
"Adorable. Thanks for proving my point."
Yeosang crosses to the heavy iron door, sliding his hand up it.
"We need to get out this way. And fast."
"We should pick the lock on the door quietly."
"With what exactly?"
"There's always something. If you know where to look."
Scanning the room with my expert eyes, I spot what I'm looking for. I pull a tiny rusted nail from the bedframe, and get to work.
"That will never–"
Yeosang is cut off by a sharp click in the lock. The door swings open and I cock an eyebrow.
"You were saying?"
"I was saying…you really know your stuff."
"Uh-huh. Let's go."
The three of us silently pad down the stairs. Desperate pleas and harsh bangs echo against the high walls of Dimitri's estate.
This is how he chooses to rule. This is what the world would look like under his control. We can't let that happen. Ever.
"There. The door."
Yeosang points to two heavy doors that are sure to lead outside. When everything looks clear, we run.
"Leaving so soon?"
The minute I touch the handle, Dimitri's voice rakes over my spine. We all turn to face him.
"Sorry to take off so suddenly. It's been fun."
"Ooh, you've really gained some confidence. I like it."
"Taunt her one more time and see what happens." Yeosang growls.
"I see you decided to join our little party, false King. How nice."
"You won't think it's so nice in a moment, fucker."
Yeosang's eyes shine crimson and his voice drops an octave I feel incredible energy gather within him.
Of course. He can use his Alpha command on Dimitri.
"GET–"
But before Yeosang can finish his command, several guards descend on him, clamping a sadistic metal collar around his neck.
"GET OFF!"
Suddenly, his words have no power. My heart nearly stops beating as he's shoved at Dimitri's feet.
"Do you like my new toy? It's mined of an ore found only in my lands. And it has the ability to rob and Alpha of his powers."
Yeosang claws at the collar, desperate to remove it. But it's no use. Dimitri pulls him up by his hair.
"Let him go!" San yells.
"So quick to defend your brother, bastard? I'm touched. Tell me, do you know why I call him the 'false King'?"
"Please…"
Yeosang strains against Dimitri's hold, his voice desperate. A wide, maniacal grin forms on Dimitri's face.
"I don't care. Just get your hands off–"
"It's because he got his throne through murder."
A horrible silence sweeps over the room. I feel as though my legs might give out beneath me.
"That can't be true. Can it?"
"Oh, it's very true. Is it even that surprising? You've met the Queen. Do you really think she's above murdering her husband to elevate her son?"
I look at Yeosang. He can't meet my eyes. The stunning truth punches me in the gut.
"Pity your mother had to die right alongside him, San. I imagine that was just the Queen's jealousy."
San stares at Yeosang, his body rendered immobile by the news.
"That can't be…brother, it's not true, is it?"
Yeosang stares at the floor, his body practically limp in Dimitri's grasp. Dimitri's harsh laugh smashes the silence.
"My God, you really don't want to believe it, do you? But everyone knows the Queen is quick to violence. Just look at her little son here."
Before he can fight it, Dimitri tears at Yeosang's clothes, revealing layers and layers of violent scars for all to see.
"Worst kept secret in pack history. Everyone knows how mommy likes to 'educate' her little pup here."
Oh my God. Yeosang…
Yeosang grits his teeth, an angry tear pricking the corner of his eye.
"Isn't that right, big touch Alpha King? Your mother whips you regularly. Has ever since you were a small boy."
He walks his fingers over Yeosang's scarred chest. I see every muscle in Yeosang tighten as he begins to shake.
This can't go on. He's torturing him. I need to get us out of here.
Suddenly, my eyes fall on the ornate glass window above the door.
If I shatter that window I can create a distraction and–
"Tell us, does mommy still beat you every time you're a bad boy, little King? Which whip does she like best?"
Yeosang looks as though he'll die of the shame, wincing away from every unwanted touch.
"Looks like she likes one with a metal tip. Why don't you tell us all about it?"
With as much stealth as I can manage, I reach up and unpin my headpiece from my hair.
"Come on. Tell us. Do you like it when she makes you bleed?"
"Hey. Dimitri."
Dimitri's predatorial eyes snap up to meet mine, furious with the interruption.
"If you have a blood kink, why don't you let me do the honors?"
With that, I hurl the headpiece at the window. It shatters, raining glass down on Dimitri and breaking his hold on Yeosang. After that, I pick up my headpiece in the chaos and wear it again.
"You BITCH!"
Covered in tiny cuts, Dimitri screams in pain and tries to wipe off the glass. San and I sprint for the door. As San pries it open, I grab Yeosang's hand.
"Yeosang. Come on."
My touch seems to bring him back to himself. He pulls his shirt back over his chest and firms his grip.
"R-right."
We all sprint out into the snowy darkness, Dimitri's frustrated yowls carrying on the wind.
"You'll be back before dawn! You won't survive out there! There's nothing else around for miles."
Ignoring Dimitri's unhinged laughter, Yeosang, San and I all sprint out into the thick wilderness. After a good hour of hiking in silence, Yeosang finally speaks.
"(Y/N). Uh, thank you. For what you did back there."
He keeps his eyes trained on the ground in front of him.
"I never expected…"
"You never expected what?"
San's words cut through the night air, twice as cold.
"Never expected us to actually escape? Didn't you bring a car or something?"
"I brought a plane. But I have no idea where we are. We ran like hell and–"
"Oh, you have 'no idea'? You seem to be pretty conveniently ignorant these days, brother."
"San, let's not do this now, okay?" I tell him.
"Why not? Now is as good a time as any considering everything's gone to shit! We're stuck out here with no plan, no means of escape, we'll probably die if we–"
"I did my best, okay? If you two hadn't run off without talking to me–"
"Why would I ever talk to you? You caged (Y/N) like an animal. Just like Dimitri!"
"I'm nothing like that piece of shit."
"No. You're worse."
San rounds on Yeosang, seething with rage. He backs him up against an icy crag.
"How long have you known, hm? How long have you known that your mother murdered BOTH of my parents?"
Yeosang forces himself to look up at San. Both of their eyes gleam with indescribably pain.
"Hit me if you want."
"Yeosang…that won't solve anything." I say.
"Yes, it will."
Yeosang shoves San back, his eyes growing dark.
"He wants to blame me for all of this, he can go right ahead."
"You son of a–"
"Bitch? Yeah. I'm a son of a bitch. The son of a bitch who's responsible for all your pain, brother."
He shoves San again.
"The son of a bitch who took (Y/N). Who made you a pariah in your own home."
He shoves San a third time. San's hands ball into fists.
"The son of a bitch who sits on a throne bathed in your parent's blood!"
Yeosang's voice shakes with anguish. I can hear the heartbreak in it.
"So, go on! HIT ME!"
"Stop–" I try and speak.
"HIT ME YOU BASTARD."
San rears back and lands a devastating blow on Yeosang's face. It sends him flying.
"Stop!!" I yell.
Yeosang slams against the sharp boulder and gasps at the pain. Pain he's never felt before. San jumps on Yeosang and hits him again and again and again. His knuckles grow bloody as he crushes Yeosang's face.
That collar has taken all of Yeosang's strength. He can't take this kind of power. And San…
I see fresh blood start to leak through San's shirt.
At this rate they'll both die.
"STOP THIS!"
With no regard for my own well-being, I dive between San and Yeosang, right into the line of fire. San's fist flies down at me, but he stops just a fraction of an inch from my closed eyes.
"(Y/N). Move."
"No."
"Move, (Y/N). It's fine."
"I SAID NO!"
I shove the brothers away from one another, my eyes flashing gold.
"Don't you see what's happening here? Dimitri, Roslyn, your father—so many other people want to drive you apart. Not because they don't respect you, Yeosang, or because they think you're a monster, San. They do it because they fear the power you would possess if you worked together."
Both Yeosang and San flinch at my words. San stumbles back, and for a long moment, the woods are utterly silent. Then, Yeosang rises to his feet, wiping the blood from his healed face.
"San, I–"
A horrifying roar shakes the earth we stand on.
"What was that?"
San and Yeosang look up behind me, the color draining from their faces as a massive shadow engulfs me.
Oh God…
"(Y/N). Don't move." San urges.
Fear takes the place of reason. My mind races. My whole body trembles, but I force myself to stay still. I feel hot breath on my back, and the stench of rotted meat fills my nose. Then, drool hits my shoulder…white fangs the size of knives open by my ear…I turn my head…a massive white tiger roars in my face.
"RUN!!!"
Yeosang grabs my hand and we sprint at full speed through the woods. The tiger easily crushes the trees, just seconds behind us.
Shit. Even at full speed as shifters we can barely–
San and Yeosang skid to a halt at the edge of a sudden drop off. Yeosang catches me around my waist before I fly off the edge.
"Where do we–?"
I can't even finish my sentence before the tiger leaps through the trees at us. San suddenly shifts, his great silver wolf colliding mid-air with the beast. They smash to the ground, a storm of white and silver fur. It isn't long before I hear San yelp in pain.
"We have to do something!"
"I can't shift with this fucking thing on!"
Yeosang rips at the metal collar around his neck, spitting swears.
"Well, I can."
I remember what I was told. About following my instincts. Calling on my wolf, I run at full speed towards the tiger.
"(Y/N), what are you doing?"
"What I have to. No matter the cost."
Squeezing my eyes shut, I throw myself into the air, letting my ancient bond take over. My body morphs, growing longer and larger, armed with lethal fangs. The tiger has San pinned, its mighty claws mere seconds from slicing him open. I clamp my jaws around the tiger's colossal shoulder before it can strike San, dragging a huge scratch through its flesh.
"(Y/N), don't–"
With barely any effort, the monstrous cat shakes me off. I'm jettisoned into the air…and over the cliff.
"(Y/N)!!!"
The last thing I see is Yeosang reaching for me. I slam hard against a sheet of thick ice, skidding across its surface. The impact forces me to shift back to my human form.
I–I didn't die? I'm barely hurt.
Shaking myself off, I find I am standing in the middle of a massive frozen lake. With a ferocious roar, the tiger leaps from the cliff, landing deftly on the lake's surface. It stalks towards me. Praying for a miracle, I put my hands up and speak in a low, soothing tone.
"Easy now. I'm not going to hurt you."
The tiger snarls, digging its deadly claws into the ice with ease as it prowls. Then…it lunges.
"No, no, no!"
I scramble backwards, bracing myself for the inevitable. But a howl cuts through the night sky. San leaps from the cliff with Yeosang on his back, colliding with the tiger before it can kill me. The force of the impact opens a hole in the ice. Frigid black water swirls near their feet, threatening to suck them in. Yeosang jumps off of San and San shifts back. They stand back-to-back as the tiger circles them, blood lust bright in its eyes.
"You can't take it on. If you do it'll–"
"Kill us?" San asks in response.
"Better us than you, (Y/N)." Yeosang adds.
Their words rocket through me. I stare at the two Alpha's who once sought to use me.
Now they're…protecting me with their lives.
The tiger sprints for them, opening its mighty jaws. As one, Yeosang and San haul their bodies at the tiger. It slams them to the ground, gnashing at the air right above their heads. They slide closer and closer to the hole in the lake. The tiger slashes San's face with its jaws and he swears through thick blood.
They're not going to make it. Not like this.
Digging deep within myself, I muster up the courage to act. Then, I face full-tilt at the tiger's back.
"(Y/N), what are you–?"
"On my mark!"
With every last ounce of my strength, I ram my whole self against the tiger from behind.
"NOW!"
As I shove the tiger, the brothers lift it over their heads in unison. It flips over…and splashes into the depths of the lake. It thrashes in the dark water, swiping violently at Yeosang, San, and I. But the freezing water is far more powerful. Before long, it swallows the massive beast. Winded, we all stare at the churning water where the creature once was.
"That was–" San begins to speak.
"Brilliant. That was brilliant, (Y/N). Thank you." Yeosang grins.
"We did it together."
They open their mouths to protest, but suddenly, like a shark from the bottom of the sea, the tiger bursts forth once more. It smashes its huge paw into the edge of the ice before disappearing again. When it's finally gone, I want to laugh with relief. But that relief is quickly blown away as I hear a sickening snap in the ice.
"Oh no…"
A huge crack forms in the ice, spreading outward…right in our direction.
"Run. RUN!" San shouts.
All three of us rush for the banks of the lake where a massive ice cave rests. But the crack spreads quickly beneath our feet.
"We're not going to make it!"
San and Yeosang shove me forward. I stumble into the mouth of the cave, safely out of harm's way. But when the crack meets the cave's entrance, I hear a deafening boom.
No. This thing is going to cave in!
The crack in the lake gives way to water, and both San and Yeosang stumble as they reach for me.
"(Y/N)!" San shouts.
"Your hand!"
I look from San to Yeosang, a horrible truth settling in. I can only grab one of their hands. At the last second, I make my decision. I fold my hand over San's, pulling him into the cave. Then, a sheet of ice falls over the cave's entrance, trapping us inside.
"YEOSANG!"
I bang against the sharp sheet of ice, clawing desperately at it as though I have the power to move it.
"I'm all right."
The voice is small, barely audible through the partition, but I do hear it. It's Yeosang's voice.
"Oh my God."
I burst into tears. San slides down the wall of the cave, numb and winded.
"I was able to grab hold of the cave before the water could catch up."
"That was lucky."
"No kidding. Listen. I'm going to climb over this thing and see if I can find a way out. Don't freeze to death, okay?"
"Ha ha, very funny." San says with joking annoyance.
Then, Yeosang is gone. San rakes a hand over his face, letting out a frustrated growl.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? What part of this isn't wrong?"
He pounds his fist against the cave floor so hard I flinch.
"San–"
"I'm so goddamn weak."
"What?"
"You saw me. This whole situation is my fault. From Dimitri's, to our escape, to this fucking mess."
"What are you talking about?"
"I can't Alpha command. I don't know what's come over me but–but I let that monster dominate. That single mistake has led to all of this. I–I'm useless."
His hands shake as he rakes them through my hair. I bed down next to him.
"You know that's not true."
"Yes, it is."
I open my mouth to protest, but a violent shiver runs over my body and I fall to my knees.
"(Y/N)?"
"I–I'm fine. I'm just–cold."
San inspects me. When his eyes fall on the skirt of my dress, he exhales sharply.
"You're soaked. I don't know when, but at some point during that run, you got up to your waist in water."
"Oh."
That is the only sound I am able to get out. My muscles tense, my lungs constrict.
"Jesus. You're going to get hypothermia at this rate."
San pulls his shirt over his head. The bondage falls free to reveal his healed, chiseled chest.
"Take off your clothes."
"What? Why would I do that?"
"Because."
He takes a step toward me.
"You and I need skin-on-skin contact if we're going to keep you warm."
Moonlight spills over the slopes of San's toned body. I can practically feel his heat from where I lie, like a fire all its own.
"I'm not taking no for an answer, (Y/N)."
He stalks toward me, straddling me the same way I did him on the bed.
"You can take them off, or I'll take them off of you."
"You'll…what?"
"You heard me."
He leans in close, his huge hands folding over the small of my back.
"Your choice. You can do this yourself, like you always do…"
His fingers travel up my spine, brushing my skin as he toys with the lace of my dress.
"Or you can accept a little help. For once. What will it be, (Y/N)?"
"I…I want…your help, San. Please undress me."
A slow, satisfied growl rumbles from his chest. He leans in closer.
"Okay."
His fingers deftly unlace the bindings on the back of my dress, loosening them with a tug that leaves me breathless.
"Are you all right?"
"Y-yes. Just cold. Like I said."
"I'll fix that. Soon enough."
With utmost care, San unthreads the laces, loosening my dress until it can easily fall from my body.
"Hang on to me. I'm going to pull it down."
"Uh…okay…"
"This is for warmth, (Y/N). Nothing more."
"Nothing more. Right."
Trying to keep my heartbeat slow, I wrap my arms around San's neck. He pulls down on my dress, and I feel it fall away, leaving only my underwear to separate my body from his.
"Good. Now, come here."
Leaning back against the cave wall, San pulls me against him.
I've…I've never…
I lose myself in his unbelievable warmth. Warmth only a shifter is capable of having. His body feels endless against mine, like his smooth skin and sloping muscles go one for miles and miles.
This feels…so good.
Giving in to pure instinct, I take his powerful hands and pull them around me, enclosing myself in his arms.
"(Y/N)?"
My name has a tone of surprise on his lips.
"Sorry. I just…you're so warm."
"Don't apologize, I'm just…I wasn't expecting you to…"
"Why?"
He tenses slightly beneath me.
"Do you really need to ask? After everything I've done? Just minutes ago I made you flinch with my anger. I saw it."
"That didn't mean anything."
"Doesn't it though? You don't deserve any of this. This endless war for your power. I've–"
San looks away.
"I've played far too great a role in that."
"Listen, you–"
I reach up to cup his neck, my fingers brushing over his brand. He practically jumps out of his skin, catching my wrist with a flash of his silver eyes. As quick as it happens, San releases me.
"God, sorry."
"Did I hurt you?"
"Hurt me? No. It's just."
He stares at my hand.
"They did this to me when I was five-years-old. I was awake the whole time. It look…so long."
I can feel San's heart race in his chest, his body trembling ever so slightly.
"Every day since, everyone around me has reminded me what it means. But no one's ever…touched it."
His eyes rake over my fingers in the darkness.
"I was just surprised. At how…it felt…"
"San."
His name spills from my mouth ever-so-softly. I bring my hand close to his mark again. He closes his eyes, leaning into me. Rather than touch his mark, I wrap my my fingers around the back of his neck, lifting myself higher.
"What are you–?"
"Shh."
With featherlight affection, I bring my lips to his mark…and press them to him. His whole body flames with heat and he tenses. But does not pull away.
"(Y/N)."
"I'm so sorry they did this to you. You didn't deserve a second of the pain they inflicted."
I trace the mark with my mouth, speaking the words against his skin.
"What they call you…what they expect of you…is not who you are, San. I've gotten to know you for the man you are."
He takes my chin in his hand then, tipping my mouth up so it is a breath from his.
"And?"
"…And I like the man I've gotten to know."
His eyes search mine, his thumb tracing the edges of my swollen mouth.
"Look at us. Both born to walk a path we never agreed to."
He leans in, pressing his half-naked body to mine… Then, he kisses me. The fire he awakens with his mouth stokes something deep within me, I didn't know I possessed. My tongue tangles with his as our bodies melt together, forgetting the cold, forgetting the pain.
"Fuck. (Y/N)."
His hands move over my hips, over my waist, higher and higher.
"(Y/N). I can't do this anymore."
"Waht?"
He catches my mouth in another kiss, his eyes flaming silver as his fingers move to rip off my bra.
"I can't hold back."