Chapter 0160

Trigger Warning: This chapter contains graphic depictions of violence and sexual assault.

The vampire leader tossed me into the trunk like discarded cargo. The duct tape over my mouth muffled my screams as darkness swallowed me whole.

Tears burned hot against my cheeks. No one was coming for me. My parents—gods, the thought shattered what remained of my heart—were gone. Valeria's mournful howls echoed through my mind. Even if Jude survived, my former pack would assume I'd perished with them.

Why would Prince Damien want a werewolf? Our blood supposedly repulsed vampires. Yet when Malachi tasted me, he'd reacted like a starving man finding water in the desert. His whispered words still crawled under my skin. Nothing good awaited me.

The car finally stopped after what felt like hours. I coiled my bound limbs, ready to spring—useless as it was. Malachi anticipated the move, snatching me mid-leap.

"Patience, little snack." His breath reeked of copper. "Play your cards right, and the Prince might keep you as a blood pet." A fate worse than death.

The gothic monstrosity looming before us screamed vampire lair. Gargoyles leered from crumbling turrets. Crimson light bled through arched windows, illuminating silhouettes engaged in unspeakable acts.

The screams hit first. Raw. Primal. The kind that claws its way from ruptured lungs. Moans of forced pleasure twisted with wet, tearing sounds. My stomach heaved.

Malachi dumped me onto cold stone. The throne room reeked of blood and terror so thick I could taste it. At the dais, Prince Damien lounged like a predator savoring its kill.

The scene burned into my retinas:

A young man swayed on his knees, wrist trapped between the Prince's fangs, skin turning waxen. A woman—girl, really—was being face-fucked to death. Her weakening punches against the Prince's thighs slowed as his grip on her hair tightened. I watched the exact moment life left her eyes.

The Prince released both corpses carelessly. He dabbed his lips with a linen napkin, as if cleaning up after afternoon tea. Those soulless eyes locked onto mine while the man at his feet bled out.

Malachi shoved me forward. The Prince's smile revealed bloodstained fangs.

"Ah," he purred. "The Guardian."

Every hair on my body stood erect. How did he know?

The Prince rose, circling me like a shark scenting blood. "You're going to make me very powerful, little wolf."

Valeria's growl vibrated through my bones. Whatever game they were playing, the rules just changed.