They let me out twenty minutes later.
By then, Kael had stopped bleeding, but his skin still looked gray from the wolfsbane exposure. He wouldn't look at me. Just stared at the floor, his jaw tight with shame.
"Kael..."
"Don't." His voice was hoarse. "Just go."
"I'm not leaving you like this."
"You have to." Finally, he looked up, and the devastation in his eyes broke something in me. "Because if you stay, and they do that again, I'll tell them everything. Every safe house. Every pack member. Every secret I've ever known. I'll burn my entire pack to the ground just to keep you breathing."
"That's not your fault. That's the bond..."
"I don't care what it is!" The chains rattled as he jerked against them. "Don't you understand? Your father was right. The mate bond isn't a gift. It's a weapon. And he's using it to turn me into a traitor."
My throat tightened. "So what do we do?"
"We don't do anything. You go back upstairs, you forget about me, and you let your father finish whatever game he's playing."
"Absolutely not."
"Elara..."
"No." I moved closer to the bars, as close as I could get. "I'm not abandoning you. I'm not letting him win. And I'm sure as hell not going to stand by while he tortures us both."
"You don't have a choice."
"There's always a choice." I echoed his words from yesterday. "Even if every option ends in pain."
Something flickered in his expression.
Surprise. Maybe respect.
"Your father is never going to let us go," Kael said quietly. "You know that, right? Even if I tell him everything. Even if he gets what he wants. He'll kill me and lock you up somewhere until you forget you ever had a wolf."
"Then we make him think he's winning while we plan our real escape."
"How? He controls everything. Every door. Every camera. Every person in this compound."
"Not everyone." I thought of Thomas's warning. Of the guilt in his eyes. "There are people here who question him. Who might help if we gave them a reason."
"That's a big if."
"It's all we've got." I reached through the bars, my hand seeking his. "Kael, I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"
He stared at my outstretched hand for a long moment.
Then his fingers wrapped around mine.
The contact sent the usual heat racing through my veins, but underneath it was something else. Determination. Unity. Two people against impossible odds, choosing to fight anyway.
"Together," I whispered.
"Together," he agreed.
The cell door beeped. Opening.
I jerked my hand back and spun around.
Father stood in the doorway, Commander Hayes behind him.
"Touching," Father said. "Literally and figuratively." His eyes moved from me to Kael.
"How are you feeling, Mr. Thornhart? Ready for round two?"
Kael's expression went carefully blank. "What do you want?"
"Information. Specifically, the locations of the other Silverpine safe houses. You gave me one. I want six more."
"Go to hell."
Father smiled. "See, that's the response I expected. But you and I both know you'll talk eventually. The question is how much pain you're both willing to endure first."
"Leave her alone," Kael growled. "This is between you and me."
"No, it's not. It stopped being between us the moment you recognized her as your mate." Father moved into the cell, Hayes following. "You see, I've spent twenty years studying the mate bond. Its strengths. Its weaknesses. And I've learned something fascinating."
He pulled out a syringe filled with amber liquid. Wolfsbane concentrate."The bond makes you protective. Irrational. Willing to sacrifice anything to keep your mate safe." Father held up the syringe. "But it also makes you sensitized to their pain. When she hurts, you hurt. When she's afraid, you're terrified."
"Don't," I said. "Father, please..."
"Elara, come here."
It wasn't a request.
I moved toward him on wooden legs.
"Hold out your arm."
"What?"
"Hold. Out. Your. Arm." His voice went cold. "Unless you'd prefer I inject Mr. Thornhart with enough wolfsbane to put him in a coma."
My hand shook as I extended my arm.
Father grabbed it, none too gently, and pressed the needle against my skin.
"Stop!" Kael lunged forward, chains snapping tight. Blood ran down his wrists from the silver cutting deeper. "Don't touch her!"
"Oh, I'm going to do more than touch her." Father's thumb hovered over the plunger. "I'm going to show you exactly what happens when a half-wolf gets injected with pure wolfsbane. The seizures alone are quite spectacular."
"I'll tell you!" Kael's voice broke. "I'll tell you whatever you want. Just don't hurt her."
"Names. Locations. Access codes. Everything."
Kael's eyes met mine. In them, I saw apology. Defeat. Love.
Then he started talking.
He gave Father four more locations. Names of pack members who maintained them. Security protocols. Everything.
Father listened, nodding occasionally, while Hayes recorded every word.
When Kael finished, Father finally released my arm. The needle left a small red mark but hadn't broken skin.
"See how easy that was?" Father capped the syringe. "We'll continue this process until I have complete intelligence on every Silverpine asset. Then we'll move on to their allied packs."
"You said you'd leave her alone," Kael rasped.
"I said I wouldn't inject her. I kept that promise." Father smiled. "But there are so many other ways to hurt someone without touching them."
He turned to me. "Elara, starting tomorrow, you will conduct enhanced interrogations. Commander Hayes will instruct you on the proper techniques."
"Enhanced interrogations?" My stomach turned. "You mean torture."
"I mean extracting information through whatever means necessary." Father's expression hardened. "You've been too gentle. Too sympathetic. That changes now."
"I won't..."
"You will. Or I'll have Hayes do it, and he won't show the restraint you might." Father gestured to Hayes. "Show her."
Hayes pulled out a tablet and brought up a video.
It showed Kael in this same cell, but from yesterday. Before I'd ever entered. Two hunters I didn't recognize were working on him with silver instruments. The screams coming through the tablet's speaker made my blood run cold.
"This is what professional interrogation looks like," Father said. "Efficient. Thorough. Results-oriented. This is what you need to become."
The video continued. Five minutes of systematic torture designed to inflict maximum pain without killing.
I couldn't watch. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't process what I was seeing.
"That's enough," Father finally said. Hayes shut off the tablet. "Tomorrow, you begin your real training. Hayes will teach you everything you need to know."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then Hayes does it to Kael while you watch. Every day. For as long as it takes to break one or both of you." Father moved toward the door. "The choice is yours. Be the torturer, or watch someone else torture your mate. Either way, I get what I want."
He left with Hayes, the door sealing behind them.
The silence in the cell was deafening.
I stood there, trembling, unable to look at Kael. Unable to process what Father had just demanded.
"It's okay," Kael said quietly.
"How is any of this okay?"
"Because now we know the next move. We can prepare. We can..."
"Can what?" I finally looked at him. "Father's going to teach me how to torture you. And if I don't do it, someone else will. Someone worse. There's no way out of this."
"There's always a way out. We just haven't found it yet."
"You're being too optimistic."
"One of us has to be." He managed a weak smile. "Besides, I've survived three centuries of worse things than this."
"Have you?"
The smile faded. "No. Probably not."
I moved to the bars, my hand reaching through again. This time, Kael met me halfway, our fingers intertwining.
Through the bond, I felt his pain. Physical and emotional. The shame of betraying his pack. The fear for me. The desperate need to protect me that Father was exploiting ruthlessly.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"For what?"
"For being the weapon he's using against you."
"You're not a weapon. You're my mate." His thumb stroked over my knuckles. "And I'd give him every secret I have if it keeps you safe. That's not your fault. That's just what mates do."
"Father said the bond is a weapon."
"Your father is wrong about a lot of things." Kael's eyes held mine. "The bond is a gift. It's just being twisted into something it was never meant to be."
"What was it meant to be?"
"A partnership. Two people choosing each other, protecting each other, building something together." His voice softened. "Your father sees it as a weakness to exploit. But in the wild, mate bonds make packs stronger. Make wolves better. More stable. More human."
"I don't feel very human right now."
"That's the wolf waking up. She's angry. Protective. Ready to fight for her mate." Kael squeezed my hand. "Let her. When tomorrow comes and your father tries to make you hurt me, let your wolf out. Let her rage at the injustice of it. That anger will keep you sane."
"What if I can't stop once I start?"
"You will. Because I'll be here. And I'll remind you who you really are."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to think that somehow, we'd survive this.
But looking at the blood on his wrists, at the exhaustion in his eyes, at the impossible situation Father had engineered... I couldn't see a way forward that didn't end in both of us broken.
The door beeped again.
This time, Thomas entered. Alone.
"I have orders to escort Elara back to her quarters," he said, not quite meeting my eyes.
"Thomas..."
"Don't." His jaw was tight. "Just come with me. Please."
I gave Kael's hand one last squeeze, then reluctantly pulled away.
As Thomas led me out of the cell, I looked back. Kael watched me go with an expression that broke my heart all over again.
"I'll come back," I promised.
"I know."
The door sealed between us.
Thomas and I walked to the elevator in silence.
"You knew," I said finally. "About Father's plan."
"Not all of it. Just... enough." He pressed the button for ground level. "I'm sorry, Elara. I should have warned you sooner. Should have done more."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because I'm a coward." He said it flatly. "Your father terrifies me. What he's capable of terrifies me. And I've spent three years telling myself that following his orders doesn't make me complicit in what he does."
The elevator doors opened.
"But it does," Thomas continued. "And I have to live with that."
We walked down the corridor toward my room. At my door, Thomas finally looked at me directly.
"For what it's worth? I think you're doing the right thing. Questioning him. Trying to protect the wolf." His voice dropped. "And if you need help... real help... you know where to find me."
"Why are you saying this?"
"Because someone should." He glanced down the corridor, checking for observers. "And because Hayes is planning something worse than what you saw today. Something he's calling 'psychological intimacy techniques.'"
My blood went cold. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know specifics. But I overheard him talking about exploiting the mate bond through forced proximity and sexual tension."
Thomas's expression darkened. "He wants to make you and the wolf so desperate for each other that you'll do anything... say anything... just to get closer."
The implications made my stomach turn.
"When?" I asked.
"Tomorrow. During your training session." Thomas put his hand on my shoulder. "Elara, whatever he makes you do in that cell? It's not your fault. Remember that."
He left before I could respond.
I entered my room and locked the door behind me.
Then I collapsed on my bed and finally let myself cry.
For Kael. For my mother. For the life I'd thought I had that turned out to be nothing but lies.
But mostly, I cried because I knew what was coming.
Father was going to make me torture Kael. Make me use our bond against him. Make me become the monster I'd been trained to fight.
And the worst part?
I wasn't sure I'd be strong enough to refuse.
Morning came too quickly.
I hadn't slept. Just laid there, staring at the ceiling, thinking about Thomas's warning.
Psychological intimacy techniques.
I knew what that meant. Father wanted me to seduce information out of Kael. Use physical attraction, the mate bond, the desperate need we both felt to get close enough to complete it... all of it twisted into an interrogation method.
My phone buzzed. A text from Father: Training room B. 0800 hours. Don't be late.
Twenty minutes.
I dragged myself out of bed and dressed in tactical gear. Black pants, gray tank top, boots. The uniform of a hunter.
The uniform of Father's weapon.
Training room B was in the basement, not far from the cells. When I arrived, Commander Hayes was already there, along with a table full of equipment I didn't want to examine too closely.
"Good morning," Hayes said. His smile didn't reach his eyes. "Ready for your education?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"No." He gestured to a chair. "Sit. We have a lot to cover."
For the next hour, Hayes taught me things I never wanted to know. How to cause pain without leaving permanent damage. How to read body language for signs of breaking. How to exploit emotional vulnerabilities.
And then, the part I'd been dreading.
"Now, the most effective technique with a mated pair." Hayes pulled up a presentation on a tablet. "Psychological intimacy. The subject is already desperate for physical contact with his mate. You use that desperation. Get close. Touch him. Make him think you might complete the bond. Then pull away. The frustration will make him more pliable. More willing to trade information for intimacy."
"That's evil."
"That's efficient." Hayes's expression was clinical. "The mate bond makes them vulnerable. You're just taking advantage of that vulnerability."
"I won't do it."
"Then your father will let me do this instead." Hayes pulled up another video.
I refused to watch. Closed my eyes. Covered my ears.
Hayes grabbed my face, forcing me to look.
"You need to see what happens if you refuse."
The video showed Kael. More torture. Worse than yesterday.
"Stop," I choked out. "Please, turn it off."
Hayes shut off the tablet. "So? Will you cooperate?"
Every part of me screamed to refuse. To tell him to go to hell. To choose anything but becoming the thing Father wanted me to be.
But I thought of Kael. Of what Hayes would do to him if I said no.
"I'll do it," I whispered.
"Good girl." Hayes stood. "You start today. Now. I'll be monitoring from the observation room."
He led me down the corridor to Kael's cell.
Before we entered, Hayes grabbed my arm. "Remember... get close, make him want you, then use that want to extract information. The more desperate he becomes, the more he'll tell you. Understand?"
I nodded mutely.
"Excellent. Begin."
He swiped his keycard and pushed me inside.
The door sealed behind me.
Kael looked up, his expression wary. Then he saw my face, and something in him softened.
"Elara? What's wrong?"
I couldn't speak. Couldn't move. Couldn't do what Father and Hayes were demanding.
"Talk to me," Kael urged. "What happened?"
Finally, I found my voice. "They're going to make me hurt you."
"I know. It's okay."
"It's not okay! None of this is okay!" I moved closer to the bars, my hands shaking. "They taught me... they want me to... I can't even say it."
"Then show me."
I looked up at him, tears streaming down my face.
And saw the understanding in his eyes.
He knew. Somehow, he'd figured out what Father wanted me to do.
"It's okay," he said again. "Whatever they want you to do, it's okay. I can handle it."
"I don't want to manipulate you."
"You're not manipulating me. You're surviving. There's a difference." His expression turned fierce. "Do what you have to do. Say what you have to say. I'll know it's not really you. I'll know you're just playing the part your father wrote."
"Kael..."
"Trust me. Please."
In the observation window, I saw Hayes watching. Waiting.
I took a shaky breath and made my choice.
Father wanted me to seduce information out of Kael? Fine. I'd play along.
But I'd do it my way. On my terms.
And somehow, we'd turn this against him.
"I have questions," I said, my voice steadier.
Kael's eyes held mine. "I have answers."
"Not the ones Father wants."
"Then let's give him what he expects to hear. While we figure out what he doesn't expect us to do."
A smile tugged at my lips despite everything.
"You're dangerously clever for someone chained to a wall."
"Three hundred years of experience." He returned the smile. "Now come here. Let's give them a show."
I stepped closer to the bars.
And the real game began.