EIRA'S POV
"Run, Eira. Go faster."
That was the last thing I heard before the world went black.
Now—
I woke up to the sound of snarling. Werewolves. My heart nearly stopped in my chest. I had tried so hard to escape when they attacked, turning our peaceful town into chaos and ruin.
And now I was in their territory, surrounded, unarmed, and very much unwanted.
I tried to move, but thick ropes bit into my wrists, binding them cruelly above my head. My throat burned where they'd dragged me here with some iron-tipped leash. I could still taste blood in my mouth.
"You reek, girl." A guard shoved me forward. Scars slashed across his face like some god had clawed him once and regretted not finishing the job.
My knees hit cold stone, scraping raw. Pain shot up my leg as bone met unforgiving ground. I stayed down, breathing hard, the stink of blood thick in my mouth.
"She's got fight in her." the scarred one said, his voice low with cruel amusement. He yanked me upright by my wrists. My skin ached beneath the pressure of his grip.
"She'll break easy enough. They all do." Another guard's tone lacked interest. His boots thudded against the path behind me. "Look at her. Starved little thing."
Fools, just shut the hell up and let me think.
"How the fuck was she able to—"
Some heavy footsteps cut his words off. The guards stiffened instinctively, falling silent as the presence approached us. One swallowed hard. Another adjusted his grip on his weapon like it might help him now.
The wind outside carried howls, distant but closing in. Even the guards flinched at the sound.
The four Blackfang alphas entered. Riven, Silas, Cain and Theo. I'd heard the stories about these quadruplet. Scratch that, everyone had.
I sucked in a breath that burned like fire in my throat. I knew monsters. I had been dragged through blood and bone to get here. But these—these were something worse.
Their power pressed against my skin like a storm cloud, suffocating me. They struck something deep in my chest. A memory? A prophecy? I couldn't think. I just knew I knew them.
Riven, stepped forward, voice slicing the silence like a blade. "What the fuck is this supposed to be?" His tone was cold, sharp with annoyance. "She smells wrong for human."
I forced my head up. My vision blurred, splitting everything in two. Moonlight broke through shattered beams overhead, slicing the darkness apart in pale, unforgiving streaks.
"She's smaller than I thought," another of them, Theo, muttered. "Weak enough to be human."
Cain circled me slowly. I felt his eyes before I saw them—hot, burning into the back of my skull. His teeth flashed when he smiled. "But she's not human. Not really."
"You brought her across the border like this?" the one called Silas asked the guards, voice curling with disdain. "Ropes? Chains? Are you fucking idiots?"
The guards paled, cowering at his voice.
"She was caught fleeing," one of them choked out. "Fought against us like hell, even killed two of ours."
"Damn, she's got bite, then." The youngest-looking one grinned wide. "I like that."
"Your name?" Riven asked me directly, his gaze pinning me harder than the ropes did.
"Eira."
A pause. His eyes stayed locked on mine.
"I am Riven. Alpha here."
He nodded to the others. "Silas. Theo. Cain."
Why are they introducing themselves to me? Didn't they bring me here as a war spoil?
I swallowed thickly. "I know who you are."
The room went quiet.
Theo grinned like a wolf about to sink his teeth in. "Hear that? The little bitch has manners."
"I'm not a bitch." My words came out hoarse, wrecked from screaming, but I forced it anyway.
"Speak your name again." Riven commanded. His voice wasn't loud but the weight of it wrapped around my throat like claws tightening.
"I said—" My chin lifted, wrists burned in their bindings. "Eira."
His mouth twitched. "You're bold for something half-dead."
"She fought us skillfully." One of the guards offered. "She took a blade off Varric and put it through his throat."
"I didn't ask," Riven snapped without looking at him. The guard flinched, stepping back.
"Get out," Silas growled, irritated. "Before I decide you are part of the problem."
The guards didn't need telling twice. They stumbled over each other in their haste to flee.
Riven's focus stayed on me. "You've got no weapons now. No one to save you. And no one crossing into Blackfang territory leaves alive."
He circled slowly. "So what exactly are you hoping to gain by pissing me off, girl?"
"I don't care if I die here," I said through gritted teeth. "I just won't beg you to make it fast."
That earned something from him. A low sound, almost amusement, deep in his throat.
"You think this is death?" He stopped closely behind me. His heat burned along my back, suffocating. "You haven't even met death yet."
"You're wasting your breath, brother." Silas leaned lazily against a beam, spinning a dagger between his fingers. "Her family is dead now so if she's trying to be brave, let her join them. It won't take long."
Theo laughed softly. "I think she's funny."
Cain said nothing. His stare pinned me in place from across the room, sharp and unreadable.
Riven didn't move. His breath ghosted against my neck. "I could tear your throat out now," he said, low. "See how quick you stop talking."
My breath hitched at his statement. Fear coiled tight in my stomach, but I bared my teeth at him anyway. I'd rather die than beg some monsters for my life.
"Then do it, Alpha. Or stop wasting my time."
The room stilled. Even Silas's smirk faltered.
Riven's hand wrapped around my throat, slow, deliberate. His grip wasn't tight enough to cut off air. But it was tight enough to remind me he could.
"You're lucky I enjoy breaking things slowly," he murmured. "Makes me wonder how loud you'll scream when I'm done."
"I won't scream."
"You all say that."
His thumb dragged along the bruise on my jaw contemplatively.
"You smell… wrong," he muttered. "Very wrong to be human. What are you, girl?"
"None of your fucking business." I spat.
His grip tightened around my neck. "Everything you are is my business now."
Pain sparked white behind my eyes. My body trembled from exhaustion and cold.
Heat flared where his hand touched my throat.
Fuck. No. Not now—
Riven hissed and jerked his hand back like I'd burned him.
"What the fuck…?" His lip curled. "What did you just do to me?"
Silas straightened. Theo's grin faded. Even Cain took a step closer, a low, almost inaudible growl rumbling in his chest as his head tilted like he saw something none of them understood yet.
"I didn't do anything." I tried to keep my voice steady, but something was wrong. Very wrong. My veins glowed faintly beneath my skin—pale blue light crawling under the surface like cracks in glass. My wrists where the rope touched were smoking.
The bindings fell away as my wrist burned through it.
Riven stared, wide eyed at me
"You're not human."
"No," I said quietly. "I'm not."
The room shifted. The air grew thick, humming with power and magic.
"What is she?" Theo breathed.
Silas's blade lowered an inch. "Witch."
"No," Cain said, voice sharp. "She is not just a witch."
Riven stared wide eyed at me then at his reddened palm.
"A blood bond?" he sounded almost disgusted, recoiling a fraction. Snapped into place here? In my territory? By touch?" His power flared, unstable. "Who dares bind an Alpha like this?"
"I didn't do anything." My breath shook. "You did. The second you touched me."
Riven's pupils blew wide. His breath hitched. I felt it echo in me like a second heartbeat. His pack's power flared, chaotic, cracking against mine.
"I don't want this," he snarled.