Chapter 239 239
Sabine POV
“If that were true,” one of the men says coldly, “you would’ve used the main gate.”
They step fully out of the shadows now, their eyes still glowing as they fan out in front of me, deliberately blocking my escape. Their bodies form an unbreakable wall. It’s clear they aren’t letting me through.
“I’m not a prisoner here,” I shout back. “Now move.”
The strength in my voice surprises me.
It doesn’t sound like me.
Before I can second-guess it, I step forward, intending to push past them when I feel him behind me.
I don’t need to turn around.
I feel his presence like heat against the back of my skull, like his gaze is burning straight through me.
“I’m leaving,” I command, done with this madness. Done with being controlled. I didn’t escape one cage just to be shoved into another. I’d rather take my chances alone.
“No!” he roars.
“No?” I spin on my heel, fury blazing through me. “I thank you for your hospitality, but I’m leaving. I want no part of this—this life you’re forcing on me.”
“It’s too late for that,” he snaps. “What do you think will happen without the drugs? Your wolf is already surfacing. What if you shift in front of humans? You’d expose our world. I can’t allow that.”
He steps toward me.
Instinctively, I step back only then remembering I’m boxed in again, surrounded on all sides.
In the distance, I see Lucas and Maurice running toward us.
Why is Damien so much faster?
“This is bullshit,” I spit. “I won’t accept it. I didn’t leave one imprisoned life just to trade it for another. I don’t care what excuse you give if Geneviève”
Her name is all it takes.
The change is instantaneous.
Damien shifts right in front of me.
I see every second of it.
It’s smooth too smooth and absolutely terrifying. Bone, muscle, fur flowing together in a seamless transformation that makes my heart stutter in my chest.
Then he charges.
A massive wolf, all power and fury, launching toward me.
Panic rips through me and I try to run but my feet tangle beneath me. I crash down hard onto the forest floor, landing on my backside. My palms scrape against the rough ground, splitting open. I feel the sting immediately, sharp and hot.
But the pain barely registers.
All I can focus on is him.
He stalks toward me like a creature born for the night, predatory and relentless. I try to crawl backward, scrambling uselessly but something pins me in place. A vibration. A force. His presence freezes me where I am.
He looms over me.
His massive head dips close, warm breath fanning across my face as he snaps his teeth inches from my skin. A deep, vicious growl rumbles from his chest.
I want to close my eyes.
I can’t.
They’re wide open as I watch what feels like a live-action nightmare a werewolf revenge fantasy and I’m the starring victim.
If I survive this, I’ll be traumatised for life.
Everything slows.
I see Maurice still human slam into Damien from the side, knocking the wolf completely off balance.
Damien is thrown several feet away, rolling through leaves and dirt before scrambling back onto his paws.
Maurice plants himself in front of me, still human, standing his ground challenging a wolf without shifting.
“You should have shifted,” the voice inside my head snaps.
“I don’t know how!” I scream, clutching my head as every pair of eyes turns toward me.
My reaction seems to break through Damien’s rage. His wolf hesitates then shifts back into human form.
I fold inward, rocking back and forth, hands gripping my head as I try to ground myself in a reality that no longer feels real at all.
Maurice crouches in front of me, gently prying my hands away. He presses a soft kiss to the top of my head before lifting me into his arms.
“It’s going to be okay,” he murmurs against my ear, holding me tightly against his chest.
“I’m taking her home with me,” he growls at Damien. “You can’t control your temper. She’s mine to protect not yours.”
He turns, walking back toward the houses with me cradled securely in his arms.
“Maurice wait.” Damien grabs his shoulder, agitation clear in his voice, guilt flickering across his face
When a scream tears through the night.
A soul-splitting scream.
“Aurélie…” Damien breathes.
“Go,” Maurice orders.
Damien doesn’t hesitate.
He shifts back into wolf form, guards surging after him as he disappears toward the house.
And I cling to Maurice, shaking, knowing my life will never be the same again.