Chapter 6

This time we didn’t return to the penthouse. We exited into a darker, colder hallway. This one lined in red velvet and old stone, like a cathedral melted into a crime scene.

He didn’t explain where we were going. I followed because the leash wasn’t physical anymore, it was in my blood now.

Down the hall, we entered a room that reeked of old wine, expensive leather, and secrets. Massive bookshelves. A fireplace burning low. A dozen gold-framed portraits of wolves in suits. Vexx’s ancestors, maybe.

In the middle sat a table.

A long, black-wood table with files stacked neatly. Red wax seals. Weapons laid out like utensils.

And a piano. Again.

Always a piano.

Vexx walked to the table, opened one of the folders, and slid a photo across to me.

I picked it up.

My hands went cold.

It was my brother.

Tied to a chair.

Beaten. Bleeding.

Eyes wide with fear.

“What is this?”

“Two weeks ago,” Vexx said, quiet. “He sold you to me.”

“I know,” I said bitterly.

“No, you don’t.”

He flipped the folder. There was another picture. My brother, but this time, he wasn’t alone.

He was standing beside a man in a green suit. Tall. Scarred. Not a shifter. His eyes were dead gray.

“Who’s that?”

“His name is Grell. Human. But works for someone older. Deeper. Someone who hunts voices like yours.”

My stomach twisted. “What do you mean?”

Vexx turned toward the fire. “Your brother didn’t just sell you to cover debt. He sold you to them. He made a side deal. A blood oath. You were going to disappear. Used. Broken. Dissected.”

I stepped back. “No.”

“He lied to me,” Vexx said. “Used my auction to hide your real destination.”

“No. You’re lying. He wouldn’t...”

“He knew what you were, Kessia.”

The room spun.

I saw it. In my head. Clear as day. Him hugging me before I went to sleep. Humming one of my lullabies. Asking me to sing it again. Again.

He knew.

He’d always known.

I backed into the piano and sat down hard, hands trembling.

“I wanted to kill him,” Vexx said. “But I needed to know why he wanted you alive. Why sell a siren instead of silencing her? That’s when I found the truth.”

“What truth?” I whispered.

He looked straight into my eyes.

“You’re not the only one.”

My blood turned to ice.

“What?”

“There are more like you,” he said, stepping closer. “Hidden. Hunted. Some used in private wars. Some kept as breeding stock. Others... already dead.”

“No... no, I can’t...”

“You were next.”

I shook my head. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because now they’re coming for you.”

The words landed like a punch to my ribs.

Vexx reached out and touched the velvet choker. Gently. Slowly. “This isn’t just a symbol. It’s a warning to every pack, syndicate, and blood dealer in the city: You’re claimed. You’re under my protection. My empire. My teeth.”

He leaned in. His breath warm against my skin. “You may hate it. You may hate me. But if you want to stay alive, Kessia... you need to stay mine.”

I looked up at him, rage and confusion colliding behind my eyes.

“You’re using me.”

“Of course I am.”

“At least you admit it,” I said, tears starting to burn.

“But that doesn’t mean I’ll let anyone else touch you.”

There was silence again.

Then he said the one thing I didn’t expect.

“You have a choice now.”

I laughed bitterly. “Oh, now I get a choice?”

He nodded. “Yes. Stay here. Or leave tonight. I’ll give you one key, one map, and a ten-minute head start. No guards. No tricks.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What’s the catch?”

“If you leave,” he said, stepping back, “I’ll never come after you.”

“But?”

“But neither will I stop what’s coming.”

I stared at him. Heart pounding.

He meant it.

It was real.

Stay with the Alpha... or run into a world that wanted to rip me apart.

And if I stayed...

I’d be his.

Completely.

The fire cracked behind us. Somewhere above, a wolf howled.

And I still hadn’t answered. The fire’s crackling echoed in the silence between us, louder than any words I wanted to say. Vexx watched me like a predator waiting to see if his prey would run or freeze.

I swallowed hard. The weight of his offer pressed down on me like a storm.

“Stay here, be claimed by the blood alpha,” I said quietly. “Or run, and get torn apart by the hunters waiting in the shadows.”

His eyes burned into mine. “And you think running is safer?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But maybe I don’t want to be owned by anyone. Even you.”

He smiled, cold, sharp. “Ownership isn’t always chains and cages, Kessia. Sometimes it’s survival. Sometimes it’s power. Sometimes it’s something you don’t realize you need until it’s too late.”

I clenched my fists, biting down on the fear and the fire inside me. “So, what now?”

He reached into his jacket, pulling out a small black box. Inside was a simple key and a folded map. “This is your way out if you choose it.”

I took the key, my fingers trembling.

“Ten minutes,” he said, voice low. “No guards will stop you.”

“And if I stay?” I asked.

“Then you learn to use your power,” he said, stepping closer. “With me.”

I looked at the key, the map, and then back at him.

My heart screamed for freedom.

But my soul whispered of a darker fate.

The clock started ticking.