Chapter 8
I stood by the penthouse window, staring out at the city’s cold lights like they held the answers I needed. The black velvet choker pressed into my skin, a constant reminder that I was trapped in more than just walls.
That night, I made my move.
I slipped out of the penthouse, silent as a shadow, heart pounding. The corridors were empty. The guards, where were they? Maybe Vexx’s promise of ten minutes was real.
I reached the service elevator.
The door hissed open.
Freedom was one floor away.
Suddenly, a voice, low and deadly, echoed behind me.
“Kessia.”
I spun.
Vexx.
His golden eyes glowing in the dark.
“No more running,” he said softly.
I opened my mouth to argue, but my voice caught.
Then, instinct kicked in.
I sang.
A sharp note, high and piercing.
But something was wrong.
His wolf didn’t freeze.
His eyes didn’t glaze.
Instead, he stepped forward, licking his lips, hunger clear.
“Your voice...” he whispered, “it’s my poison and my cure.”
He smiled, dark, possessive.
“I’m addicted, little siren. And you’re not escaping anymore.” The black velvet choker felt heavier than any chain as Vexx fastened it around my neck, his fingers lingering too long, like he was marking territory no one else could touch.
“You belong to my pack now,” he said low, his breath brushing my ear. “Not just as a prize, but as the heart of my empire.”
I swallowed hard, resisting the urge to pull away, but I knew it was useless. The power I held, the power I hated, had already woven itself into the dark thread of this bond.
“Why the velvet?” I asked, voice barely a whisper.
He smiled, eyes gleaming. “Diamond collars shine for the world to see. Velvet is for the shadows. For those who understand power isn’t always loud.”
I hated that I understood exactly what he meant.
Outside, the city roared, danger and desire mingling in the cold night air.
He stepped back, eyes dark and wild. “You’re mine, Kessia. And if you want to survive, you’ll learn to sing for me.”
I clenched my fists.
“I don’t want to sing for anyone.”
His grin was sharp and dangerous.
“We’ll see.” Days passed in a blur of steel walls, stolen glances, and whispered commands. Vexx’s penthouse had become a cage gilded in shadows, and I was both prisoner and weapon.
One evening, after the endless silence had grown too loud, I found myself at the grand piano once again. The room was dark except for the pale moonlight filtering through the tinted glass.
I hesitated. Then, almost without thinking, I began to sing.
At first, it was a lullaby from my childhood, the one my brother used to hum to me, soft and sweet. But as the notes slipped out, the song twisted, darkened, grew into something ancient and powerful.
It was a forbidden pack war hymn, a song outlawed for its ability to command the fiercest wolves into madness.
Vexx appeared silently behind me, his breath hot against my neck. His wolf stirred beneath his skin, tension coiling in his muscles.
When I finished, the silence shattered.
From the shadows, pack members started shifting, eyes glowing brighter, bodies trembling with rage and loyalty tangled.
The penthouse transformed into a battlefield.
“Stop her!” Vexx roared, but it was too late.
The wolves surged, voices raised in a howl that shook the walls. Some resisted, but the power of the hymn ruptured eardrums, sending blood dripping from the ceiling vents.
Vexx’s empire teetered on the edge of chaos, and I stood at the center of the storm, the siren whose song could destroy or save. The penthouse was chaos. Wolves snarled and clashed, teeth bared in the dim light. Blood stained the marble floors, dripping from the shattered ceiling vents like a dark rain. The air was thick with fury and fear.
Vexx’s voice cut through the madness. “Kessia! Stop!”
I clenched my fists, heart pounding. My voice still echoed in my ears, the forbidden hymn had shattered the fragile balance of his empire.
“Stop?” I shouted back. “Why? So you can chain me tighter?”
He advanced, eyes blazing with desperation. “Because you’re mine. And without control, you’ll lose everything.”
I stared at him, fury rising. “I don’t want to be owned!”
His wolf snarled beside him, but his human eyes softened. “Then learn to command your power. Before it commands you.”
The room shifted as the pack’s fury simmered down, eyes still wary, bodies tense.
I swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling deep.
The battle wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. Blood stained the white marble like spilled ink. The chandelier, made of polished wolf fangs, still swung from the ceiling, creaking softly, as if the room itself hadn’t caught up to the violence it had just witnessed.
Vexx stood in the middle of it all, shirt ripped, chest rising and falling like a storm barely contained. Around us, the pack watched, silent, stunned, bloodied.
I stood by the broken piano.
My throat burned from the power I’d unleashed. I hadn’t meant to sing the war hymn. I didn’t even know I remembered it. It had spilled out of me like instinct. Like rage.
And it had worked.
It had worked.
I looked at the faces of the wolves I’d shattered. None of them were dead. But none of them would ever look at me the same.
“She’s not one of us,” a deep voice growled. It came from a massive shifter near the back, bronze skin, eyes like smoke. I remembered him from the day Vexx introduced me to the pack. His name was Drekk. Beta.
“She’s not pack. She’s a threat.” He stepped forward, blood dripping from a long gash across his cheek.
Vexx didn’t move.
Drekk pointed a clawed hand at me. “I say we tear the voice out of her before she destroys what’s left of this house.”
The others murmured in agreement. Not loud, not eager. But afraid.
Vexx’s voice came low and sharp. “You want her silenced?”
“She’s a weapon.”
“So are you,” Vexx said coldly. “But I don’t cage my weapons unless they point at me.”
“She did.” Drekk bared his teeth.
Vexx turned slowly toward me. His face was unreadable.
I stepped forward. “Let him speak,” I said quietly. “He’s not wrong. I don’t know how to control what’s inside me.”
Drekk looked surprised.
“But cutting out my voice won’t make your pack safer,” I continued. “Because there’s more coming. I felt it. When I sang that hymn, something out there heard me.”
Everyone stilled.