Chapter Three
828 Words
Liam’s POV
The moment I stepped into the war room, I knew something was wrong.
The scent of sweat and blood clung to the air. Warriors stood stiff, shifting uneasily. No one met my gaze.
My gut twisted.
“Where is she?”
The words came out sharp, laced with command.
The warriors flinched.
Cole stepped forward, his face dark. “Gone.”
A muscle ticked in my jaw. “Gone where?”
He didn’t answer immediately. The hesitation made my wolf bristle.
“Cole.” My voice was dangerously low.
He exhaled. “The rogues took her.”
The ground beneath me might as well have cracked open.
Silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
I barely breathed. “How?”
“A rogue attack,” Cole said. “They ambushed us during the ceremony. By the time we realized—” He shook his head. “They already had her.”
My wolf snarled.
Heat rushed through my veins, hot and uncontrollable. My fists clenched at my sides.
“Why wasn’t she protected?” My voice came out like a growl.
“We didn’t expect—”
“That’s the problem!” I slammed my fist against the table. The wood groaned under the impact. “You didn’t expect?” My glare swept over the warriors. “None of you noticed rogues sneaking into our goddamn territory?”
A warrior swallowed hard. “They were organized. More than usual.”
“And we were distracted,” another muttered.
Distracted.
Because of me.
Because I’d rejected her.
My jaw tightened. I forced my emotions down, focusing on what mattered.
“We track them,” I ordered. “Right now.”
Cole shifted uncomfortably.
“What?” I snapped.
He met my gaze, hesitation flickering in his eyes.
“The thing is…” He exhaled slowly. “They didn’t just take her.”
I went still.
The air changed.
I took a slow, deliberate step forward. “What do you mean?”
Cole didn’t blink. “The rogue king marked her.”
Silence.
Cold. Heavy. Paralyzing.
I felt the words. I just didn’t process them.
“What?” My voice was barely human.
“He put his claim on her, Liam.” Cole’s expression was grim. “If she accepts it… she won’t just be gone. She’ll be his.”
Blood roared in my ears.
Marked.
By him.
A growl ripped through my throat, raw and violent.
The force of it sent some warriors a step back. My body shook with rage, my wolf thrashing inside me.
“No,” I said.
Cole inhaled sharply. “Liam—”
“No!” My vision blurred red. “She’s mine.”
“You rejected her.”
The words hit like a punch to the gut.
My breathing turned ragged. My nails dug into my palms, barely keeping my wolf caged.
“I never wanted this!” I roared.
The warriors stiffened.
Cole’s voice was careful. “You rejected her, Liam. You let her go.”
I turned on him, my canines lengthening. “She was never supposed to end up with a rogue.”
“She was never supposed to end up alone either.”
His words sliced deep.
My wolf howled inside me, thrashing against the chains I’d locked him in.
Cole sighed. “If she accepts his mark—”
“She won’t,” I snapped.
“We don’t know that.”
I did.
I knew Isla.
She wasn’t weak.
She wouldn’t accept a mark from anyone—not after what I did to her.
But that didn’t stop the fear from clawing at my chest.
“If she does,” Cole continued, “the bond will be complete. She won’t be yours anymore, Liam.”
His words should have meant nothing.
I had already rejected her.
But my wolf snarled.
My control frayed.
I lunged.
My hands slammed into the table, cracking the wood as I towered over Cole. “Find. Her.”
His jaw tightened. “We’re already tracking their scent, but—”
“But what?”
“They’ve masked it.”
“Then find another way!”
Cole didn’t flinch at my outburst.
“We will find her,” he said. “But Liam… what happens when we do?”
I stilled.
“You made your choice,” he pressed. “Are you going to drag her back just to throw her away again?”
A growl rumbled in my chest. “She’s not staying with them.”
“But is she staying with you?”
I hesitated.
Cole sighed. “You can’t just storm in and rip her from him, Liam. She’s not a possession.”
My wolf disagreed.
Mine, he snarled. Ours.
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to think.
“First,” I muttered, “we find her.”
Cole nodded. “And then?”
My fingers curled. My rage burned deep.
“Then I kill him.”
And I meant every word.
- Writer
