The masked man leaned back in his chair, his gloved hands resting loosely on his knees. For a moment, he just stared at me through that faceless mask. Then his voice came, low and calm, like a blade sliding across stone.
"My son is dying," he said. "And you... you are going to heal him."
I blinked at him, confused. "Heal him?" My voice cracked. "Why would you go this far—kidnapping Selene, dragging me here—just for that? If your son is sick, I can help. I can heal him. You didn’t have to do this."
He tilted his head slightly, like he pitied me. "It’s not as simple as you think," he said. "His illness is not a wound. It’s an exchange. A curse. His life for another’s."
My stomach tightened. "What do you mean?"
The man leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "If you heal him, the curse won’t just break—it will move. His heart will start beating again, and yours will stop."
I felt the blood drain from my face. My wolf growled weakly inside me, but the collar smothered her voice. "You’re insane," I whispered. "You can’t ask me to—"
"I’m not asking," he interrupted sharply. "I am telling you."
He sat back again, then turned his masked face toward Selene. She stiffened under his gaze, her lips pressed tight.
"And after you heal him," he continued, voice smooth, "my son will feed. From her."
Selene’s eyes went wide. "No," she hissed, her voice trembling but full of rage. "You touch me and—"
"You will do nothing," he said flatly. "Neither of you will."
My breath came fast. "You don’t need to do this," I said quickly, desperate now. "If your son is cursed, there must be another way..."
"No," the masked man said again. "You are the only one who carries Hailee’s special abilities. You don’t even know how powerful you are yet. Only you can heal him. And only she—" he glanced at Selene "—can sate his hunger without killing him."
Selene shook her head violently. "This is madness!"
He tilted his head, as if amused. "Madness or desperation? Sometimes they are the same thing."
I clenched my fists, feeling the knife under my thigh strap pressing into my skin like a reminder. My mind raced. If I healed this boy, I might die. And Selene would be fed on like livestock.
But at the same time... if I refused, would he kill us both now?
The masked man stood. "My son will be brought here in a few hours," he said calmly. "You should both get ready."
He turned toward the door, pausing for a moment. "Don’t do anything foolish, Olivia. The collar will make sure of that."
The door slammed, the sound echoing through the small, cold room. Silence followed. My mind spun with thoughts. There had to be a way out. There had to be. Frederick would come. The triplets would come. But would they make it in time? Follow current novᴇls on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒·𝗇𝗲𝘁
I pressed my back to the wall, thinking, counting the seconds, and replaying every possible way to break the collar. Selene sat still beside me, her eyes distant, lost somewhere I couldn’t reach.
Just as I was thinking, I overheard footsteps—slow at first, then heavier, closer. A key scraped inside the lock.
Two guards entered, their faces twisted with something ugly. My stomach dropped as I realized their intent. One reached for me, the other for Selene, their hands already pulling at their belts.
They grinned, exposing themselves as they moved closer. "You’ll do as you’re told," one of them hissed.
Selene’s voice trembled with anger. "Stay away from me—!"
They forced their hands against our faces, trying to pry our mouths open. The stench of them made bile rise in my throat. But as one of them shoved his filthy cock toward my lips, I opened my mouth—not to obey, but to strike.
I bit down. Hard. His scream tore through the room as blood flooded my mouth, metallic and bitter. He staggered back, clutching himself, cursing and howling in pain.
Before the other could react, the door slammed open again.
The masked man strode in, his presence like a thunderclap. His voice was no longer calm—it was a roar.
"What do you think you’re doing?"
Both guards froze, the one bleeding collapsing to his knees, his hands still clutching himself.
"We... we just wanted to have fun," the uninjured guard stammered, his voice breaking under the weight of that faceless gaze.
The masked man’s head tilted, slowly, dangerously. "Fun?"
"Yes... sir," the other whispered hoarsely, blood dripping between his fingers. "We thought—"
"You thought?" The masked man cut him off, his voice low and angry now. "These women are not here for your amusement. They are not toys. They are not for fun."
He took one step closer, the leather of his boots whispering against the floor. "You broke my command. You shamed my house." His gloved hand twitched once at his side as if restraining himself. "You will be punished."
The guards swallowed hard, terror etched into every line of their faces.
"Get out," the masked man hissed. "Now."
They scrambled for the door, dragging the bleeding one out. The masked man slammed the door behind them, the lock clicking sharply into place. The room fell silent again except for the sound of my heartbeat thundering in my ears.
I spat the blood out onto the cold floor, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. Selene looked at me, her eyes blazing—not with fear this time, but with something like pride.
"That was insane," she breathed, almost a whisper, but her lips curved slightly upward.
A weak chuckle escaped me before I could stop it. "Maybe it was," I smirked.
For a moment, the room fell quiet again—but then, unexpectedly, Selene laughed, and I joined. For the first time since we’d been dragged here, we both laughed. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t even for long. But it was real. It was the first time we’d shared something other than fear, anger, or hate towards each other, and in that brief moment, I wondered—just for a heartbeat—what things might have been like between us if we had met under different circumstances.