CHAPTER FIVE
The sound of heels echoed down the stone hallway-slow, deliberate, and chilling. Ronan's head jerked up, heart pounding, his wrists still bound in enchanted cuffs that chafed his skin. The air turned colder, the torch flames flickering violently as if they, too, feared what was coming.
She stepped into the chamber like a vision woven from nightmares and beauty.
Lady Virelle.
Her gown shimmered in deep crimson, the color of dried blood and velvet, clinging to her curves and spilling onto the cold stone floor like liquid fire. Her eyes-icy silver with a hint of violet-scanned the room with the boredom of a predator who already knew the outcome. Her long black hair fell in elegant waves down her back, and her lips were stained the same red as her gown.
Ronan froze.
He had never seen her before. But he felt her.
Power. Hunger. Death.
She looked at him like he was prey... and a prize.
"Hmm," she said softly, her voice like silk over thorns. "So this is Ronan."
He said nothing, staring at her as his stomach twisted in disgust and fear. She walked toward him slowly, her heels clicking with every confident step.
"You're more handsome than they said," she smiled, standing before him. "Though I suppose when you're neglected long enough, even the forgotten become beautiful."
Ronan narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"Oh, sweet boy," she purred, crouching to his level. "I'm the one Kael won't talk about. The one who doesn't beg for attention... because I take it."
She reached out and brushed his cheek with the back of her gloved hand. He flinched, teeth clenched.
Just then, the heavy wooden door creaked open again.
A male vampire in dark armor entered swiftly and bowed.
"My lady," he said. "It's done. Silas... is dead."
Ronan's breath caught.
"What?" he hissed.
The vampire sneered. "He tried to contact Kael. We made sure his message never got through."
Ronan roared, straining against the cuffs. "YOU KILLED HIM?!"
"Quiet now," Lady Virelle said, standing and waving the guard away. He left without a word.
She turned back to Ronan, eyes gleaming with amusement.
"So much fire in you," she whispered. "No wonder I want you."
Then, without warning, she climbed onto his lap.
Ronan froze, fury radiating from him like heat, but she didn't care.
She sat, legs on either side of him, leaning forward until their faces nearly touched.
"Kael can't save you," she whispered. "By now, he's far too occupied with Eira."
"You don't know anything," Ronan spat, voice trembling.
"Oh, but I do. I've been watching him. Watching you." Her hand slid down his chest, and he tensed. "He's always left you in the shadows. But not me. I see you."
He tried to speak, to yell, but she pressed a gloved finger to his lips.
"Hush. Don't ruin it."
She leaned closer, lips brushing his jaw, her breath cold against his skin. Her fangs slid down, and she whispered, "You're mine."
But she didn't bite him.
She paused, eyes narrowing like a cat toying with its mouse.
"Not yet. I want Kael to see what he lost."
With one last glance, she climbed off him slowly, her gown swishing like a threat.
Then she turned her back and walked toward the door, her heels echoing again-click... click... click...
And then, silence.
Ronan's POV
She left me with silence.
And I hated it.
The cold stone room echoed with every shallow breath. Her breath still lingered, her venomous words crawling in my head like spiders. Silas was gone. Dead. Killed for trying to warn Kael-for trying to save me.
My fists clenched, cuffs biting deeper into raw wrists. The silver was burning now.
The scent of my own blood filled the air-metallic and bitter.
But it couldn't match the fire boiling in my chest.
I had no idea where Kael was. No idea if he even knew.
But one thing was certain.
This wasn't over.
The door creaked open.
Boots on stone.
A scent I used to trust.
"Ronan," he growled without looking. "Still breathing, huh?"
I smirked. "You put me through this."
I raised my head slowly, meeting his eyes.
The wolf who betrayed us.
"What do you want?" I snapped.
He paced closer, arms crossed. "Just wanted to see how the mighty second-in-command is doing. Didn't expect you to last this long."
I spat blood to the side. "You're wasting your time."
He smirked. "Oh, I don't know. Time is all you've got in here."
I stared at him, fury surging with every breath. "You killed Silas."
"Silas was soft," Laxton shrugged. "He didn't understand what had to be done."
"And what had to be done?" I snapped. "Hand me over to her? For what? Power? Fear?"
He grinned.
"No," he said with a cold smile. "For Kael. For the only future that mattered."
A shadow crossed Laxton's face-brief, almost invisible.
"You think I wanted this?" he muttered. "You think I enjoyed betraying you?"
He looked away.
"I did it so Kael could live without looking over his shoulder. So Eira could move forward.I did it for the pack."
My stomach twisted.
"You think doing this helps Kael?"
"I think?" he said calmly, enjoying the way the name made me stiffen. "You really thought she'd stay loyal to a prisoner? A ghost in chains? Kael needed a clean path, and I gave him that."
My fangs slid out instantly, rage surging-
But the silver cuffs yanked tight, slicing into my wrists like knives.
The scent of my own blood thickened.
I hissed in pain, blood dripping down my arms.
Laxton didn't flinch.
"She walks with Kael now," he said softly. "Talks with him. Smiles with him, because I gave her a reason to forget you."
He stepped closer, voice like poison.
"She doesn't say your name anymore. She doesn't wait by the trees. You're a ghost, Ronan. She thinks you're dead."
I growled low in my throat.
"Liar."
"Am I?" he whispered. "She sleeps in Kael's tent now."
My heart slammed so hard it hurt.
"She holds his hand at night," he continued. "Calls him by that name you hated-Alpha."
"SHUT UP!" I roared, straining against the chains.
But they pulled tighter. Burning. Tearing.
Laxton stepped back, smiling. "You're nothing now. Just a fading story."
He turned his back.
But I forced myself to speak, through gritted teeth and blood.
"She'll know the truth."
Laxton paused at the door.
"She knows your scent," I said, trembling. "Your lies won't hold. Not with her."
He didn't reply.
Just walked out, leaving the door open long enough for me to hear his last words:
"She's better off without you."
The door slammed shut.
And I was left with bleeding wrists, a broken body...
...and a heart that refused to stop believing in her.
Eira.
She wouldn't forget me.
She couldn't