Chapter 65: Caught.
Raven
It was hard—hard in a way that settled deep into my bones and refused to leave, like something inside me had been torn apart and stitched back together wrong.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as I lay there on the cold ground, staring at the three werewolves who had just mercilessly slaughtered the humans.
The scent of blood hung thick in the air, heavy and metallic, clinging to every breath I took. It was suffocating, almost unbearable, and it coated everything—the earth beneath me, my skin, and most visibly, their white fur, now streaked with red. It should have looked unnatural, wrong even, but instead it made them look terrifyingly real. Like creatures that belonged to violence.
They were enormous.
Not just large—monstrous.
Even if I had been five times bigger than I already was, five times stronger, it wouldn’t have mattered. They would still tower over me with ease, their presence overwhelming in a way that crushed any thought of escape before it could even fully form in my mind.
One of them stood closer to me than the others.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
There was something about him—something familiar in the way he carried himself, in the slight tilt of his head, in the weight of his presence pressing down on me. Even in his wolf form, I was almost completely convinced that it was Rex.
Or at most, Axel.
But deep down, I already knew.
Thor was the one who paid me the least attention. From the moment they arrived to now, he barely looked at me, as if I didn’t matter, as if I wasn’t even worth acknowledging. It should have bothered me, but I didn’t have the energy to care. My entire focus remained on the one closest to me.
Was I glad they were here?
Yes.
And no.
If they had come any later, I would be dead. I knew that without a doubt. Whatever those humans had planned for me wouldn’t have ended with me walking away alive.
I was aware—painfully aware—that by the time they were done, I wouldn’t have survived.
But this didn’t feel like rescue.
It felt like being dragged from one cage into another.
My clothes were torn to shreds. I clutched the remaining pieces to my chest, trying to shield myself, but it was useless. The fabric did little to hide anything, and the more I tried to hold it together, the more aware I became of how exposed I really was.
Mud and dirt clung to every part of my skin, sticking to me like it belonged there. I felt filthy, weak, and completely stripped of whatever dignity I had left.
And what made it worse—
They had come in their wolf forms.
Which meant when they shifted back, they would have nothing on.
The thought made something twist uncomfortably in my chest, but I refused to let it show on my face.
Tear streaks were still faintly visible on my cheeks, and I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand, ignoring how the dirt smeared further across my skin. I refused to let them see me cry.
Not now.
Not again.
Maybe it would be better if they killed me.
The thought came quietly, settling into my mind like it had always been there.
But I knew they wouldn’t.
I was pregnant.
And the moment we returned, they would take what they needed from me and make sure I never had the chance to escape again.
A loud snapping sound broke through the heavy silence.
I flinched, my head jerking up as the sickening crack of bones shifting filled the air. My eyes locked onto the wolf closest to me as his massive body began to change—shrinking, twisting, reforming into something human.
Rex.
His shoulder-length dark hair gave him away immediately, falling around his face as he straightened to his full height. His brown eyes found mine, glowing faintly as they locked onto me.
He looked the same as always.
Tall. Muscular. Dominant.
And furious.
There was a slight mocking expression on his face as he looked down at me, like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
"Are you even more stupid than I thought?" he asked, his voice sharp, cutting through the silence.
I said nothing.
I just stared at him.
"You thought the pack wasn’t good enough for you?" he continued, shaking his head slightly as if disappointed. "You think humans are better?"
His voice grew louder with every word, anger bleeding into every syllable.
"What did you expect?" he snapped. "That they’d be taken by your beauty? That one of them would take care of you—along with the baby?"
My chest tightened, but I refused to react.
"What did you think would happen?" he went on. "That the spawn in your belly and you could just get away?"
His gaze darkened, his entire body tense with rage.
"You belong to me."
The words landed heavily.
"Every part of you belongs to me completely," he continued, his voice booming now. "As long as you live, every breath you take is mine."
He stepped closer, closing the distance between us until he was towering over me.
I didn’t move.
Even if I had a slight chance of running from the humans, how could I possibly run from the werewolves around me?
One was already a stretch.
Three was impossible.
And beyond that—
I was weak.
Truly weak.
I had used the last of the green potion, and in that moment, I found myself wishing desperately that I had even a drop of the red left.
But I didn’t.
All I had left was the anger slowly rising inside me.
It started small, barely noticeable beneath the exhaustion and the numbness—but it grew quickly, spreading through me until it was the only thing I could feel.
I lifted my gaze to meet his.
For a moment, I opened my mouth to speak—but nothing came out.
Then finally—
"You came?" I asked.
My voice sounded hoarse, hollow, unfamiliar even to my own ears.
"You shouldn’t have bothered."
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
"Sleeping with you was like sleeping with a log," I continued, my tone sharp despite how weak I felt. "I figured the humans couldn’t be much worse."
I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel some satisfaction at the way his expression darkened instantly.
Good.
"What?" I went on, letting out a low, bitter chuckle. "You didn’t think I could escape? Didn’t think I had it in me?"
His fingers curled into fists, cracking loudly in the tense silence.
"You’re really that stupid to think—"
I didn’t get to finish.
He stepped forward suddenly, until he was right in front of me, his presence suffocating.
"Have you gone mad?" he snapped. "Did they almost forcing themselves on you make you crazy?"
I could see it in his face—he wanted to grab me, to shake me until I made sense again.
"You say you wanted it?" he continued, his voice filled with anger. "Then why the hell were you screaming like a banshee?"
I laughed.
The sound was sharp, almost unhinged, echoing strangely in the air between us.
"Wasn’t it obvious?" I said. "I wanted him to fuck me faster before anyone could stop us."
I tilted my head slightly, watching his reaction carefully.
"Maybe he could also plant a seed or two."
That was enough.
He grabbed my arm, his grip painfully tight, and I couldn’t stop the wince that crossed my face as pain shot through me. He pulled me closer, forcing me upright even though my legs barely supported me.
"Have you gone mad?" he screamed in my face, his anger spilling over.
But I didn’t look at him.
Instead, I shifted my gaze past him.
The others had transformed.
They stood there now in their human forms, forming a loose circle around me, their eyes fixed on me with expressions that mirrored surprise—maybe even disbelief.
Rex held me up, but I wasn’t really standing. The moment he let go, I knew I would fall right back to the ground.
Still—
I laughed again.
"Have I gone mad?" I repeated, my voice quieter now, almost thoughtful.
I looked from one of them to the other.
"Have I gone mad, he asks?" I murmured, a small shake of my head following as a faint, almost disbelieving smile touched my lips.
Because the truth was—
I didn’t feel mad.
Not even close.
I felt aware.
Painfully aware.
Aware of the blood in the air.
Aware of the dirt on my skin.
Aware of the way they surrounded me like I already belonged to them.
And most of all—
Aware that no matter what I said, no matter what I did—
I wasn’t getting away.
Not this time.
Worse, was the fact that whatever they were going to do to me once they took me back would be much worse than what the humans were going to do.
