Chapter 2

The sun hit dead center. Beat down on the training field.

Two hours.

The young wolves in formation had shaky legs, sweat running down from behind their ears. None of them moved. Nobody dared. Alpha hadn't said a word. Move, and you were asking for it.

A female in the front row raised her hand.

She pointed at the gap under the rusted shed door. Her face went white. Her wolf eyes blew wide.

"Alpha… there's red stuff coming out…"

The formation erupted.

A few bold males stretched their necks forward to see.

At the bottom of that iron door, thick dark red liquid was seeping out. Slowly. But steady.

On the hot concrete, it dried fast. The edges turned into this weird dark brown crust.

The young wolves crowded around. Voices rose like a dam broke.

Anya pinched her nose and stepped back. Whole face scrunched up. Voice went sharp.

"Oh my god, Luna is so childish! She popped a blood bag in there just to get Alpha to feel sorry for her?"

"Who's she putting this show on for? It's disgusting—I think I'm gonna be sick—"

The young wolves around her paused.

The tension that had been building loosened up—just a little.

A few started muttering. How Luna had gone way too far this time. Dragged the whole pack out here to bake in the sun for some stupid stunt.

Lucian's face went dark.

He walked up to the iron door, looked down at that half-dried dark red puddle on the ground.

"Serena. You done yet?"

His voice was all impatience. Like a blade scraping bone.

"Drop the pathetic act. You think smearing blood around is gonna make me go soft?"

Nothing from inside.

Silence.

Lucian's mouth twisted into a cold smirk.

He lifted his leg. Kicked the iron door.

BANG!

The whole shed rattled. Rust flakes rained down.

I hung in the air, watching it all clear as day—

That body inside, the one slumped against the door—the impact knocked it straight over.

Thud.

A dull crack. My head slammed into the rusted metal shelf behind the door. The kind of sound that makes a wolf's fur stand up.

The noise carried right through the iron.

Lucian heard it.

He didn't think anything was wrong. He laughed.

"See? Still got enough energy to throw stuff around and throw a fit."

He turned. Swept his gaze across the field.

"Guess she hasn't learned her lesson yet. Need to turn the heat up in there."

He pointed at a few young males at random.

"Go grab those insulated hides from storage."

The wolves he'd pointed at froze. Looked at each other. None of them moved.

"You deaf?"

Lucian's voice dropped. His Alpha command pressed down like a mountain.

Every single one of them lowered their heads. Fast.

Who would dare cross the Alpha?

They ran to storage with their heads down. Came back a few minutes later dragging a pile of heavy, stinking old hides.

"Block every single vent up there."

Lucian pointed at the few narrow gaps in the iron roof. The only places air could still get through.

The young males gritted their teeth and climbed up on the stone blocks. Laid those old hides over the louvers, layer after layer. Lashed them down tight with rough sinew rope.

That was it. The last bit of circulating air was gone.

I threw myself at those hides like a mad thing. Transparent arms clawing. Tearing.

My fingers passed right through. I couldn't touch a thing.

The temperature inside that shed spiked. Like someone had lit a fire.

The smell of blood kept getting thicker in that sealed-up space. So heavy you could almost taste it.

Outside, Lucian looked up at the vents—completely blocked. He nodded. Satisfied.

Then he turned back to face the terrified young wolves on the training field. Raised an eyebrow. Lazy. Smug.

Those wolf eyes of his were full of certainty.

Certain I was faking.

Certain I was acting out.

Certain that all he had to do was push hard enough and I'd break.

"Wanted some quiet time, did she?"

His voice wasn't loud. But that Alpha weight behind it made every wolf in the formation flinch.

"Then let her sit in peace."

"Burn every last bit of that spoiled attitude right out of her."

Just then, a harsh roar came crashing in from the other end of the training ground.

"What the hell is going on here?! You think training's over?!"