Three Nights in My Enemy Alpha’s Bed

"Get on your feet."

Garrick, Kael’s scarred Beta, yanks the heavy silver chain attached to my collar.

The metal bites into my neck, cutting off my air. I stumble forward, my bare feet dragging across the rough stone floor of Ironfang Keep.

"I'm moving," I snap, my voice raspy from disuse.

"Move faster. The Alpha doesn't like to wait."

He yanks the chain again. I slam my shoulder into the stone wall. Pain flares down my arm, but I push myself off the wall and keep walking.

For over two years, I have counted the cracks in these bricks. My blood fills every crevice. Every corner of this fortress holds a memory of my torture.

"Where are we going?" I demand.

"You have a role to play today."

We turn a corner. Black obsidian stones and twisted thorn wreaths decorate the grand hallway. The scent of winter roses hangs in the air.

It is a political union. The lords of the North demand a proper Luna, and Kael is giving them one.

Garrick shoves me through a pair of heavy oak doors into the chapel’s dressing room.

He drives his heavy boot into the back of my knee.

My joint buckles. I crash onto the hardwood floor, my knees hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"Stay down." Garrick thrusts a small velvet cushion toward me.

Resting on top is a massive obsidian ring. The Luna’s band.

I stare at the black stone. "Give it to her yourself."

"You'll hold it, prisoner, or I'll break your fingers one by one."

"Try it. I heal faster than you can break them."

"Not anymore," he sneers. "You look paler every day, mutt."

I look past Garrick. Kael stands in front of a tall mirror at the far end of the room. He wears a tailored black suit. His golden-green eyes meet mine through the reflection.

"You look miserable for a groom," I tell his reflection.

"And you look exactly like what you are," Kael shoots back, turning around. "A murderer in chains."

"I didn't kill them, Kael. Two years, and you still haven't found a single piece of proof."

"I don't need proof. I have you."

"Is that why you're marrying her? To secure the northern borders so you can keep torturing me in peace?"

He crosses the room in three massive strides. He grabs my chin, his large fingers digging into my jaw.

"I'm marrying Lilith because she is loyal. Something you know nothing about."

"She's a political pawn."

"She's my Luna."

"You promised that title to me once."

His grip tightens until my teeth grind together. "I told you to forget that night."

"I refuse to. It's the only thing keeping me sane in this hellhole."

"Then you'll go mad."

He drops his hand and turns away just as footsteps approach from the hallway. A rustle of heavy silk follows.

Lilith steps into the room. Her white wedding gown drags across the floorboards, scattered with tiny diamonds that catch the light.

"Is this the little spy?" she asks, her voice coated in fake sweetness.

"Yes, my lady," Garrick replies, stepping back.

Lilith stops right in front of me. She looks down at me, her eyes filled with disgust.

"She smells like copper and defeat," Lilith complains.

"She won't be here long," Kael says, adjusting his cuffs.

Lilith reaches out and pinches the obsidian ring between her manicured fingers.

She lifts it to the chandelier, inspecting the dark jewel.

"It feels light," she murmurs. "Are you sure this is the real Luna ring, Kael?"

"It belonged to my mother," he answers flatly.

Lilith's smile falters for a second, but she recovers quickly. She opens her fingers.

The ring clatters onto a silver tray resting on the vanity table. The tray is completely filled with sharp, upright silver nails.

"Pick it up, Silverblood mutt." Lilith smiles, her red lips curving upward.

"Pick it up yourself."

She kicks my injured shoulder. "You are a captive of this pack. You obey."

I look at Kael. "Is this how you let your bride behave? Like a spoiled child?"

"Watch your mouth," Garrick warns, stepping forward with his hand on his blade.

"Let her speak," Lilith laughs. "It's amusing. A dog barking at its betters."

"I am an Alpha's daughter," I growl, glaring up at her. "I bow to no one."

"You bow to my future husband," Lilith replies. "And you will bow to me. Pick up the ring."

I turn my attention back to the silver tray. The nails gleam under the bright lights.

I press my right hand flat against the spikes.

The metal pierces my flesh instantly. The silver burns like fire.

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop the scream. White smoke erupts from my palm. The foul stench of burning meat fills the small room.

I curl my fingers inward, grasping the obsidian ring.

Blood drips from the back of my hand. A single red drop splashes onto the pristine white hem of Lilith’s gown.

It sizzles, burning a tiny hole through the silk.

"My dress!" Lilith shrieks, jumping back. "You filthy animal!"

She raises her hand to strike me.

"Enough," Kael commands. His voice is absolute ice.

Lilith freezes. "She ruined my gown, Kael! Look at it!"

"Don't stain the rug," he says, staring directly at my bleeding hand. "Leave the ring on the table."

I drop the obsidian band back onto the vanity. The silver poison races through my veins, making my vision blur.

Lilith pouts, snatching the ring from the table. She rubs the black stone against her dress, then slides it onto her finger.

She walks over to Kael and wraps her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his.

"Darling," she purrs. "I want to hear her sing tonight."

"She doesn't sing," Kael replies, his jaw tight.

"But I heard a Silverblood's whine sounds like a nightingale. Let her entertain the guests during the reception."

"She stays outside."

"Just for a little while? It would be so fun."

"I said she stays outside, Lilith. Do not push me on this."

Lilith sighs dramatically. "Fine. You're no fun."

Garrick grabs my chain again. "Let's go, mutt."

He drags me out of the dressing room. Kael never looks back.

Garrick hauls me through the courtyard. The northern wind howls, carrying the bitter sting of frost. The sky above Ironfang Keep is entirely black.

He shoves my back, forcing me against a massive silver pillar just outside the chapel doors.

"Stay put."

He yanks my arms around the thick column and locks the heavy cuffs around my wrists, securing me to the freezing metal.

The silver immediately burns my skin. I grit my teeth, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a scream. My knees hit the icy cobblestones.

Garrick checks the padlock. "Enjoy the music."

"You're making a mistake, Garrick," I tell him. "He's going to destroy this pack."

"He's saving it from trash like you."

He walks back inside, pulling the heavy chapel doors shut.

The massive organ roars to life.

The deep, vibrating notes rattle the stained-glass windows above me. The sound is deafening, vibrating straight through my skull.

I lean my head against the cold stone base of the pillar.

Snow begins to fall, dusting the courtyard in a thick layer of white.

Through the slight crack in the heavy doors, the priest's voice echoes out into the freezing night.

"Do you, Kael Vane, take Lilith to be your Luna?"

"I do."

"To protect this pack, to enforce its laws, and to rule with eternal loyalty?"

"I swear it."

His voice is steady. Unshaken. There is no hesitation.

I close my eyes. The vows hammer against my mind, louder than the organ music. Two years of holding onto a ghost, and this is how it ends.

I open my right hand.

Snowflakes land directly on my ruined palm.

I stare at the gaping hole left by the silver nails.

Three hours have passed since I touched the tray in the dressing room. The ceremony inside is dragging on, moving from vows to rituals.

The edges of the wound are black and jagged. The flesh is completely dead.

I don't feel the freezing snow. I don't feel the sting of the winter wind.

The wound hasn't closed.

My heart skips a beat. A cold dread settles deep in my stomach, heavier than the chains binding my wrists.

Silverblood wolves heal in minutes. Even deep silver burns fade within an hour.

But my skin is just dead.

The regenerative power in my blood is fading. The silver sand in my hourglass is running out, dripping away with every drop of blood I lose.

I am far from the Moon Blessed Lands. The curse is finally taking hold.

I look up at the dark, starless sky.

Twenty-nine days.

I have exactly twenty-nine days left to live.

And Kael Vane is going to spend every single one of them making me suffer.

A sudden, sharp crack echoes from the woods beyond the courtyard walls.

I snap my head toward the tree line.

A pair of glowing red eyes stares back at me from the shadows.