Maya's POV
The stone walls of the Blackwood castle dungeon were exactly as cold and unforgiving as I remembered from the stories whispered by pack members. I'd never expected to experience them firsthand.
The cell they'd locked me in was clean, I had to give them that. A small bed, a toilet, even a tiny window that let in slivers of sunlight during the day. But it was still a cage.
"For your own protection," Stephen had said when they'd brought me here three days ago. His voice had been careful, clinical, like he was discussing pack business instead of imprisoning his supposed mate. "Until we can figure out what's happening to you."
What's happening to me. As if the slow death creeping through my veins was some mysterious illness instead of the direct result of their choices, their ac
