Chapter 6 Chapter 6
AMINA
Rian’s hand on my arm was a brand. After the agonizing, explosive agreement in the Observation Deck—the hostile alliance sealed by his terrifying promise to be my teacher—he didn't bother with the restrictive polymer cuffs. He didn't need them. The Mate Bond was a leash made of my own fear and his possessive will.
“The Cage is for liability assessment,” Rian announced, his voice flat as he guided me through the Tower’s silent, sterile corridors. “You’ve proven your status: an uncontrollable weapon. Now, we proceed to resource management.”
Resource management. That’s all I was. A political problem with teeth he intended to file down.
He stopped before a door indistinguishable from the others. A seamless, black door, and secured by retina scan. It hissed open to reveal not another cage, but an apartment that made my old Lower East Side bunker look like a storage unit.
It was vast, floor-to-ceiling windows replacing the concrete walls. There was a bedroom the size of my old apartment, a kitchen that looked like a science lab, and a view that stretched over the entire city, mocking my confinement. It smelled clean, expensive, and utterly devoid of life.
“This is your new space,” Rian said, stepping inside. “It’s fully sealed and soundproofed. The walls are not steel, but they are magically reinforced. Think of it as a very expensive, very secure hotel room. You will not leave it without my authorization.”
I walked toward the window, putting the maximum possible distance between us. “A five-star cage. How thoughtful. Do I get a butler, or does Kira just bring me my daily ration of hatred?”
Rian ignored the sarcasm, his amber eyes scanning the room, checking the seals. "Kira will not be assigned to your daily needs. You will deal with Jasper for logistics." He pointed to a small, sleek tablet on a table. "That is your contact terminal. It has no external network access, only comms within the tower… and me."
"And what happens when your Council buddies decide three days is too long to wait?" I challenged, turning to face him. "Do you tranquilize the resource and ship me off in a refrigerated truck, or do you just push me out this lovely panoramic window?"
He met my gaze, his own unwavering. "I told you, Amina. Your survival is now linked to my success. I don't fail. Now, tell me who you need to contact. You left a life behind. I will manage the risk."
I froze. He was offering me a lifeline, a final, necessary cruelty to cut my old world away cleanly.
Ethan. God, Ethan. He must have gone back to The Read Thread the next morning to find my belongings still there, the keys on the hook, and me completely vanished. He’d be worried sick, probably calling every hospital and the police.
If he went to the police, the Council would find out, and the Shroud would be breached. That would be a diplomatic disaster that Rian couldn't survive.
“I have one friend,” I admitted, the lie feeling heavy and necessary. “Ethan Reyes. He manages the bookstore. He’s human. He doesn’t know anything. If he thinks I just ran, he’ll panic and start digging.”
Rian’s expression didn't change, but his Alpha scent flared, a sudden wave of possessive concentration. He walked over to the terminal and typed a command. A plain, burner-style phone appeared in a sealed, sanitized slot on the wall.
"One minute," Rian ordered, his voice low and uncompromising. "You will tell him you had an emergency, you're leaving the city for a week, and he must not call anyone. He will not ask questions. You will not give details. This line is secure, but the consequences of his panic will fall on him, not you."
My hands shook as I grabbed the phone. The Mate Bond was a confusing mess of gratitude and crushing fear. He was giving me this small measure of peace, but using it as a direct threat.
I dialed Ethan’s number. It rang twice before he picked up, his voice rushed and stressed.
"Amina! Thank God! Where the hell are you? The Read Thread is going crazy, and your landlord called me…"
"Ethan, listen to me," I cut in, my voice tight, forcing it to sound calm but hurried. Rian stood three feet away, his arms crossed, watching my every syllable. "I'm fine. But I had to leave. Immediately. A family emergency. Out of state."
"A family emergency? You don't have family, Amina! You didn't even pack a bag! I was about to call for missing persons!"
"No! Ethan, you can't!" My voice cracked. "Please. I need you to do something for me. I need you to just... let it go. Tell the landlord I left my keys with a friend. Tell everyone I'll be back in a week, maybe two. And you absolutely, under no circumstances, call anyone—not the police, not the news, no one. I promise I'm safe."
The silence on the other end was too long. "You sound scared, Amina. What the hell kind of emergency is this? Are you in trouble? Just tell me where you are, I'll drive down there."
"I can't tell you," I choked out, a tear finally escaping and running down my cheek. "Please, just trust me. If you try to find me, it will only make things worse. Just cover for me. Can you do that, Ethan? For me?"
I heard the conflict in his sigh. He was smart; he knew I was lying, but his loyalty was stronger than his reason. "God, Amina. Fine. Fine, I'll tell everyone you took an impromptu trip to visit an estranged cousin or something. But you call me every day. Promise me."
"I promise."
That was all I managed before the phone went silent. Rian’s hand had snapped out and pressed a button on the terminal, severing the connection instantly.
I stared at the dead phone, tears of frustration blurring my vision. "I wasn't done!"
"You were done," Rian said, his voice flat. He took the phone from my numb fingers and dropped it back into the secure slot, which immediately sanitized the device. "He knows you're lying. He's emotionally compromised."
"He's human, Rian! He cares! That's not a crime!" I yelled, desperate to inflict some kind of injury on his cold control.
He turned to me, and the last vestiges of weary patience vanished. His eyes hardened to lethal gold.
"In my world, caring is the deadliest liability you can possess, Amina. The Council is not a group that tolerates loose ends. He knows too much. He is now an active variable in a political war that he is entirely unqualified to survive."
I felt the fear tighten my throat, not for myself, but for Ethan. "You wouldn't."
Rian took a step closer, forcing me to look up at him. "I wouldn't kill him for sport. But if he initiates an investigation, if he calls the authorities and breaches the Shroud, I will neutralize his threat. And that means he is no longer your friend, but the Council’s leverage against me. He will be treated as an enemy of the Pack, and I will not hesitate."
His coldness was absolute. He wasn't giving me a threat; he was giving me a promise. He had sealed Ethan's fate with that single, abrupt button press.
"You are my responsibility now," Rian concluded, his voice low, his possessive gaze sweeping over me, emphasizing the words. "Any attachment outside of this tower is a threat to the Shroud, to the Mate Bond, and to your survival. Ethan Reyes is now an active liability. Do you understand, Hybrid?"