FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION

The Escape

My chest burned, my pulse roared, and every chain on my body felt like it would shatter from the force of it.

This wasn’t possible. My wolf was supposed to be gone.

But the truth slammed into me, undeniable and merciless.

He was my mate.

I knew he could feel it too because the pull is undeniable. He was my mate.

"Which pack do you come from?" he asked.

His gaze shifted to the shackles that I was bound with. He reached out and touched the chain.

I was expecting the aura of the chains to sap his strength as it had done to so many others. But nothing happened. His wolf didn’t falter or weaken. The realization hit me and I knew—he wasn’t just any thief.

"You’re an Alpha," I said.

He glanced at me, I couldn't read his expression, but his silence confirmed it. This man wasn’t ordinary. His strength rivaled, perhaps even surpassed, my father’s.

He continued to move through the chamber, collecting the treasures that had been locked away with me. Gold, jewels, ancient artifacts—all were swept into his bag.

Then he finally turned back to me.

"Let me get you out of this place," he said.

I was stunned by his words. No one had ever dared to challenge the Abyssal Vault, let alone attempt to free me.

"You won’t survive the night," he continued. "Not with these shackles draining your life away."

Before I could respond, he closed the distance between us. I felt my wolf stirred.

With a single touch of his bare hand. The chains, forged from the cursed iron of Eclipse Steel, began to melt away. They didn’t clatter to the ground or resist—they completely dissolved.

As the shackles melted, a flood of emotions ran through me; freedom and relief. My body had become weakened from years of confinement. I was trembling uncontrollably. I tried to take a step, but my legs buckled beneath me, unable to bear the weight of freedom after 9 years of being locked up.

Before I could step on the floor, he wrapped me under his arms, as he lifted me effortlessly. He cradled me like a baby.

I stared up at him.

"You’re safe now," he said.

I felt relieved by his words. I remained clung to him as we moved out of the vaults.

Then I felt it—a subtle shift in the air around us. The shadows themselves cloaked us. The oppressive aura of the tower seemed to dissipate, and the heavy footsteps of the guards grew distant, their shouts were fading into the background.

I realized then that he wasn’t just powerful; he was extraordinary. He had cloaked us in invisibility, a feat I’d never witnessed before.

An older man with silver-streaked hair stood by the car and nodded at the Alpha. His scent marked him as a wolf.

Without a word, the Alpha settled me into the back seat. The driver started the engine, as we sped away from the nightmare I had endured.

The car’s interior was warm, the seats soft against my battered body.

I turned my head to look at him one last time, my vision swimming as my eyelids grew heavy. His piercing blue eyes met mine.

Then the darkness claimed me, pulling me under into a dreamless sleep.

As my eyes fluttered open, I found myself in a cozy, wooden room.

Nearby, my mate stood in quiet conversation with a rugged, older man that drove the car earlier. His piercing green eyes look toward me briefly.

“Why bring someone over, Kaelen?” the man asked. Kaelen so that was his name.

My throat was dry, my voice barely audible as I tried to speak, but Kaelen’s sharp hearing caught the faint sound. He stepped closer.

“You’re awake,” he said? “Good. Come on, stand up. Let’s eat.”

He called over his shoulder, “Thorne, join us!”

Kaelen’s steady hand guided me, I managed to sit up and take in the sight before me.

A feast stretched across the table—freshly baked bread, steaming bowls of stew, roasted vegetables, and an assortment of meats. My stomach growled loudly.

I reached for a piece of bread and tore into it with a ferocity.

“Slow down,” Kaelen said gently. “You’ll hurt your stomach if you eat too fast.”

I nodded, trying to pace myself, but the food was too tempting.

After the lunch. I stared at the vibrant world outside the window. It was a beauty I had never seen before. The memories of that fateful night were still fresh in my mind, years ago when I first discovered my inner demon. I was just 9 then, I remembered the screams of those people.

But it was too late—the damage had been done. The shame of that night was a wound that would never heal. As I stared at the endless horizon, lost in my thoughts, Kaelen’s voice pulled me back.

"The world is crazily beautiful, isn’t it?" he said. My heart raced, as he came closer. I couldn’t help but looked at him.

I wondered if my racing heart was a result of the mate bond or simply the overwhelming novelty of being near someone like him—a male wolf who didn’t look at me with fear or disgust.

Kaelen’s voice cut through my thoughts.

"Which pack do you come from?" he asked. "And how did you end up in Silverclaw Pack’s Abyssal Vaults?"

"I... I..." The words stuck in my throat. How could I explain that my own father locked me inside the dangerous dungeon, branding me as a monster and unworthy of freedom?

Before I could answer, the door slammed open, and Thorne came in.

"Kaelen, your father is dead!"

The words hit like a thunderclap, the weight of them crashing down on the room.