Chapter Four
1139 Words
(Adeline's POV)
The room suddenly felt too small. Too suffocating.
I pushed off the bed, pacing toward the window. My fingers wrapped around the iron bars, testing them again. Solid. Unbreakable. Just like the walls Damian had built around his heart—cold, calculated, impossible to slip through.
But I wasn’t here to slip through his walls.
I was here to destroy them.
I exhaled sharply and ran my hand through my messy hair. The silence in the room was disturbing, pushing my skin like another layer of tightness. I had spent three years in exile, on the run, fighting to survive in the harshest conditions imaginable. And now I was locked in a room like a weak thing that needed protection.
It made my skin crawl.
A knock at the door made me jump. A second later, it opened without permission.
Killian.
The beta entered, eyeing me from head to toe before realizing I hadn’t eaten any of the food. He displayed no feelings, yet I observed his forehead wrinkle slightly.
“You better eat,” he said simply.
I didn’t answer.
He sighed, “Starving yourself won’t make the Alpha let you go, if that’s what you’re hoping for.”
I scoffed. “Who said I want to be let go?”
Killian gave me a pointed look. “No rogue comes willingly to Bloodmoon. And none stay unless they have a reason.”
I held his gaze. “Maybe I do have a reason.”
His jaw clenched, and for a second, I saw a hint of something in his eyes. Was he suspicious? Or was it something else?
"Whatever you're up to," he said, his voice getting quieter, "don't do it."
I arched my brow. “Are you warning me?”
“I’m telling you.” He straightened, his stance radiating authority. “You think you know who Damian is. You don’t.”
My pulse quickened. He’s testing me. Watching my reaction.
I forced my expression to stay neutral. “And you do?”
Killian's lips formed a tight line. "I know he's not who you think he is."
Something in his voice made my wolf jump. Not who I think he is?
Then who is he?
Before I could ask more, Killian pointed at the plate. "Eat. It's not going to hurt you, if that's what you're worried about."
"I wasn't."
He gave a little smile. "Then you're smarter than most outsiders who come here."
He turned and left, locking the door behind him.
I let out a slow breath, my thoughts going crazy.
I know he's not the man you think he is.
Was that a warning? A threat? Or something else entirely?
I didn’t know.
But I intended to find out.
Because if there was one thing I was sure of, it was this—
Damian had secrets.
And secrets could destroy even the strongest of alphas.
I stared at the plate of food, my stomach feeling uneasy.
I didn’t trust them. I didn’t trust any of them.
But I couldn’t afford to be weak. Not here. Not when I was surrounded by enemies.
I made myself eat a little bit. The food tasted really good—like spices and stuff. Too good. Too perfect.
A bitter laugh slipped from my lips.
Damian might have spared me tonight. But I wasn't dumb enough to think they'd be nice forever.
I finished the food, cleaned my mouth, and got up. My body still hurt from the fight at the border, but pain was nothing new.
I needed rest. I needed a plan.
And most of all?
I needed to remember who I was.
Not his mate. Not his pack.
His downfall.
I lay down on the thin bed, looking at the ceiling as the moonlight came in through the bars on the window.
And for the first time since stepping into BloodMoon’s territory…
I let myself wonder if I had just walked into a cage I wouldn’t be able to escape.
I wasn’t sure when I drifted off. I couldn't sleep for long, even though I was tired. As soon as I closed my eyes, I was back in the past.
Blood. Screams. The smell of burning wood.
The night everything was taken away.
I woke up suddenly, all sweaty, my heart beating fast. I put my hand on my chest to calm down. It was just a dream.
The same one. The one that never truly left.
Then I heard her.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, Adeline.”
I stiffened. The voice in my head was quiet and careful.
"You're back," I said softly.
My wolf, Silver.
She had been quiet for so long, hidden by my sadness, anger, and need for revenge. I had pushed her away, thinking I didn't need her anymore.
But now, she was here.
“I never left,” she murmured. “You just stopped listening.”
I swallowed hard. “Why now?”
“Since you are on the verge of making an error.”
I stiffened. “You don’t know that.”
She huffed. “I do. Because I know you.”
A pause. Then, softer, “He’s our mate, Adeline.”
My stomach twisted.
No. No, he wasn't. He simply couldn't be.
“He is,” she insisted, her voice filled with something close to sorrow. “You felt the bond.”
I nodded my head, despite her not being able to see me. “It means nothing.”
"You are not telling the truth."
I tightened my fists. “He is our foe.”
“And yet, he spared you. Protected you.”
I inhaled sharply. "That doesn’t affect anything."
She let out a sigh, and the noise embodied fatigue. "You don't merely wish to eliminate him, Adeline." You want to understand him.”
I shut my eyes.
She was right. And I hated her for it.
Damian was supposed to be a monster. Ruthless. Cruel. A killer without remorse.
But instead of throwing me in a dungeon or executing me, he had let me live.
And worse? He didn’t even realize he had claimed his mate.
“Stay out of this,” I whispered.
My wolf huffed. “You can shut me out all you want, but the truth won’t change. He’s our mate. And mates are meant to protect each other, not destroy each other.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “Then maybe the gods made a mistake.”
Silence. Then, finally, she whispered, “Or maybe you did.”
I flinched.
But before I could respond, she was gone again, retreating into the depths of my mind.
I exhaled shakily, staring down at my hands.
Damian was my mate.
But he was also my target.
And no matter what my wolf said…
I wouldn’t let fate change that.
- Writer
