Chapter 165 Chapter 165
Reed
A chance to finally leave this hellhole?
I didn’t even hesitate.
I didn’t care if it was a trap. I didn’t care if it meant signing my name in blood and giving up whatever fragments of my soul were left. I would’ve willingly handed over every last piece of myself for one step outside this prison. That’s how desperate I was. That’s how far gone I’d become.
Even if it meant crawling into bed with the devil himself, I wouldn’t flinch. Not anymore.
So when the woman turned and walked back in the direction of Voss' office, I followed her. No questions. No second guessing. Just raw, gnawing hope clawing at the walls of my chest.
She didn’t speak. Didn’t glance back. Her steps were precise, measured, like someone who had done this before—like someone who knew people like me followed without needing answers.
The hallway stretched on forever, or maybe it just felt that way because my pulse was thundering in my ears. Every flickering light above us bathed the chipped linoleum in a sterile glare, and the faint stench of bleach and sweat mixed with the air like poison.
This couldn’t be real.
Could it?
We reached the door. She opened it with the kind of confidence that told me she didn’t need permission. I stepped in behind her, and as soon as I cleared the threshold, I turned and quietly locked it behind us.
The click of the lock echoed like a shot.
If this was a setup, I’d sealed it shut myself. If I was walking into a massacre, then fine. At least it wouldn’t be in that cell.
The woman stood in the middle of Voss’ office, her expression unreadable. Stoic. Like stone. Her features were sharp, almost aristocratic. Her suit looked like it cost more than most people's income. She didn’t look like someone who belonged here.
And yet, she owned the room.
I took a few careful steps in and crossed my arms over my chest. “What is this about?” I asked, my voice dry, rough. “It better not be a prank. Because I’m already at my wit’s end.”
The woman turned toward me slowly.
“The fact that you followed means some part of you believes it’s real,” she replied, her voice smooth and unbothered. “That should be enough. You need to start asking the right questions.”
I stared at her, hard. My fists clenched at my sides.
“Fine,” I uttered. “Who is this well-wisher? And what do they want in return?”
That earned a faint smile from her.
“That’s more like it,” she hummed, approvingly.
Then she reached into her bag and pulled out a sleek black phone.
No hesitation. No performance. She dialed a number, then extended the device toward me with both hands like she was offering something sacred.
I took it slowly, uncertain, my hands trembling just a little.
I raised the phone to my ear.
And then I heard it.
A voice. Distorted. Filtered through layers of tech, altered until it no longer resembled anything human but it was calm. Almost friendly.
“Hello, Reed,” the voice said. “I’m sure you’ve seen better days.”
My spine stiffened. My blood went cold.
“Who is this?” I inquired.
“I’m only a well-wisher,” the voice answered. “Someone who took pity on you and decided to extend a hand.”
I scoffed, even as my chest twisted.
“You don’t expect me to believe you’re a philanthropist,” I retorted. “What do you want in return?”
There was a pause that felt like half amusement, half calculation.
“Very good,” the voice commended. “I’ll get you out of that shit hole and sponsor you, but in return, I require your cooperation in my plan.”
Of course.
Nothing was ever free.
My heart beat faster, my mind spiraling with the possibilities, the risks, the what-the-fuck-am-I-doing of it all. But I was already too far in.
“Does your plan,” I asked slowly, “involve helping me get revenge on those that have wronged me?”
The voice chuckled.
“You’re not in a position to bargain.”
“Yeah,” I concurred, “but you won’t tell me who you are or what your plan is. How am I supposed to trust you?”
“You have nothing to lose,” the voice returned simply.
I gritted my teeth. “I need some type of reassurance,” I argued. “I’m not some common criminal for hire.”
Another pause. Heavier this time.
“I know that better than anyone,” the voice asserted, and something in the tone shifted, like a thread of truth bled through the distortion. “And luckily for both of us, your thirst for revenge falls in line with my grand scheme. You’ll get your revenge, Reed. That I can assure you.”
My chest tightened.
Revenge.
On Amber.
On Voss.
On Skull.
On Rayne.
“What I want to know,” I pressed, “is why. Why are you helping me? Who are you, really?”
“You’ll find out soon enough, Reed,” the voice assured. “All you have to do is follow my instructions… like an obedient dog. Do that, and you’ll never have to worry about anything again.”
The word dog made something twist in my stomach but I swallowed the bile and kept my voice steady.
“And if I refuse?”
“Then you’ll be left to rot,” the voice deadpanned. “I don’t give second chances.”
A long breath left me.
This was insane. Reckless. Dangerous.
But freedom was dangling right in front of me, like a golden key to the cage I’d nearly died in.
“You have a deal,” I accepted. “When do I get out?”
“Right now,” the voice said. “Stacy will take care of everything. Just focus on the present… and being free of that stale prison air.”
“It can’t happen fast enough,” I urged. “Thank you… whoever you are. I’ll do my best to honor our deal.”
“That’s more like it,” the voice intoned. “I look forward to our meeting, Reed.”
Click.
The line went dead.
I slowly pulled the phone from my ear. My hand was shaking now, just slightly. I looked at the black screen, like it might reveal something—some clue, some name—but it remained dark.
Stacy stepped forward. I handed her the phone, and she slid it back into her bag like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
But something massive had just happened.
I stood there, staring blankly at the desk. My heart raced. My skin buzzed. My brain tried to make sense of it all.
I knew how bad my case was. I wasn’t naïve. I knew the charges stacked against me weren’t just serious—they were lethal. The legal system had already buried me six feet under. And yet… someone had just told me I was getting out today. That wasn’t just power. That was unreal power.
Who the hell were they?
I wracked my brain for names. Contacts. Anyone who might hold a grudge against my enemies and enough influence to buy my freedom with a phone call.
Nothing.
Nobody came to mind.
“Stay here for now,” Stacy instructed calmly. “I’ll go take care of the paperwork.”
I gave a stiff nod and sank into the worn leather chair.
The second she left, it all hit me at once.
I was alone.
In Voss’ office.
A free man?
Could it really be true?
I stared at the walls, the papers scattered on the desk, the creaky chair beneath me. Everything looked the same and yet nothing felt the same.
Was I dreaming?
Was this just some insane hallucination? Was I actually still in Skull’s cell, bleeding out, and this was the sweet delusion my mind fed me on the way out?
Between the beatings, the rapes, the starvation… was this just a fantasy?
A soft rumble stirred in the back of my mind.
It was a sound I hadn’t heard in a long time. Not since everything fell apart.
Ash.
My wolf.
“It’s real,” Ash reinforced, his voice quiet but firm. “It’s goddess Selene giving you a second chance. Don’t waste it, Reed. Please, please use this opportunity to have a change of heart. If you continue down this path… it’ll end horribly for us.”
My blood boiled.
“Fuck off, Ash,” I hissed out loud. “You have no right to give me that shit advice now. Where the fuck were you when they kept violating me and I was losing my mind?”
“Betas are dormant,” he replied, regret bleeding into every syllable. “You know I can’t shift. You know I couldn’t help you.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I snapped. “You could have said something. You could have sent me a single word. A whisper. Anything. But you didn’t. You just watched me suffer. So don’t show up now and act like some fucking savior.”
“Why won’t you listen, child?” Ash begged. “I’m trying to save you. To protect us.”
“I don’t need your protection,” I growled. “You’re a fucking hypocrite. I’m not a child—I’m an adult, and I make my own decisions. And I’ve finally gotten a chance to exact my revenge. There’s no way I’m letting it slip away.”
My voice dropped, cold and certain.
“Amber will pay,” I whispered. “And Rayne… Rayne will be mine again.”
Ash didn’t respond.
He retreated. Silent. Defeated.
Good.
I didn’t need him. I didn’t need anyone.