10

Aprils POV
Jake’s voice slithered through the silence, filling the dungeon with a darkness that seemed to seep into the very stone. “April,” he said again, the word rolling off his tongue like a taunt. His footsteps echoed against the walls as he approached, his eyes locking onto mine with a mix of disdain and cruel amusement.
What the fuck did this asshole want? I was both scared and angry at his presence here. I was angry because of what he had done and scared of what he could still do.
I pushed myself up against the wall, refusing to look away, even as the air grew thick with his presence. He stopped just a few paces from me, and the twisted smile on his face deepened. “You look terrible,” he sneered, his gaze trailing over me like I was something less than a werewolf. “Then again, I suppose that’s fitting, considering you’re about to lose everything.”
I held his gaze, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “I already lost everything,” I spat back. “You saw to that.”
“Not yet,” He said coldly.
I knew what he meant; he meant Snow. He wanted to strip my wolf away from me so that I would be nothing but a hollow shell.
My own mate, Damn. Moon Goddess, you really messed up with this one.
He was on a mission to break me past the point of repair, and much as it had not gotten there yet, he had still succeeded in breaking me, and I fucking hated that.
He chuckled, the sound low and mocking. “Oh, come on. You act like this is all my fault. You were doomed the moment you were born into this weak, pathetic family.” He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I’m just trying to play my part and finish the job.”
His words pierced me, but there was a numbness in my chest that kept the worst of the pain at bay. “So, what now?” I demanded, my voice laced with bitterness. “Did you come here just to gloat? To remind me of how powerless and weak I am?”
Jake’s grin widened. “Partly.” He shrugged, his tone casual, as if discussing the weather. “But also…” His gaze raked over me as he licked his lower lip, and there was a glint in his eye that made my skin crawl. “I was thinking we could spend a little time together before your big ceremony. After all, technically, you are still my mate. We should at least know what it feels like to be with each other; I would like to feel the sensation of taking my mate, devouring her. Sex already feels so damn good, but now I can only imagine how amazing it would feel with my supposed soul mate; that bond would only intensify it and take it to the next level. Let us make my fantasy a reality.”
What a fucking pig! What the fuck did he actually take me for? He killed my parents and is the reason I have been rotting in this cell for days. Ugh, the fucking audacity.
“The mate bond shattered the minute you rejected me, so I am no longer your mate, you pathetic jerk,” I spat as my anger boiled; I did not care that I had just insulted him. What was he going to do? Kill my parents? Ha!
I felt a surge of disgust so intense it nearly choked me. “You’re unbelievable,” I hissed, taking a step back. “You think I would ever-”
He cut me off, his tone growing harsher. “You don’t have a choice, April. Or have you forgotten that?” He leaned in, his voice dripping with mockery. “I’m doing you a favor. At least this way, you’ll get a taste of what it could have been like if you’d been worthy.”
What the actual fuck? I wanted to kill him, but the only meal I had taken was the one Dylan had brought me, and it was not a lot to energize me fully and get me to fighting power; perhaps in the coming days, I would have my strength back if Jake does not kill me before then and if my alliance with Dylan holds but Oh My Goddess, I would kill him. No matter how long it took, That’s a promise.
The air around me seemed to freeze, and a burning rage stirred within me, roaring to life despite the cold grip of despair. “You’re the one who isn’t worthy, Jake,” I shot back, my voice trembling with fury. “You’re a coward who hides behind your title, your power, and Big Old Daddy. You’re nothing without them.” I don’t know where I am getting this courage from, but I love it.
His eyes darkened, and for a split second, I saw a flash of something raw-something vulnerable. But then his mask slipped back into place, and he smirked as if my words had been nothing more than a mild inconvenience. “Keep telling yourself that,” he said, his voice a dangerous whisper. “It won’t change what’s coming.”
Did he really think I was scared of my fate? Well, yesterday, I was not, but after meeting Dylan, I don’t know, he kind of instilled some hope in me, some will to live. Maybe for the first time since my birthday, I don’t want to die, but even if I did, it would still be okay. The hope in me is not all that; it’s just a tiny flicker.
“I have accepted my fate, Jake. Bring it on,” I say, and he seems taken aback.
Just then, something strange happened. His expression wavered, and his posture stiffened as if he was fighting against something inside himself. His eyes-usually so cold and unyielding-softened. I saw a flicker of recognition in them, a glimmer that didn’t seem to belong to him. When he spoke again, his voice was different-deeper, rougher.
“Mate…”
My breath hitched, and I felt my wolf, Snow, stir within me. She felt closer-drawn to the way Jake’s wolf was surfacing, clawing to be heard.
“Jake?” I whispered, a tremor of uncertainty in my voice. “What are you doing?”
“It’s not him,” the voice said, strained as if it was being dragged out of his throat. “It’s me… his wolf.” Jake’s body shuddered, his fists clenched tightly as though Jake was trying to wrestle back control.
“Call me Ragnar, beautiful mate,” He says after getting complete control of Jake’s body.
That was a cool name.
I stared at him in shock, my heart pounding in my chest. “Your wolf…” I repeated as if trying to make sense of it.
What the fuck was happening?
“He doesn’t deserve you. None of this… it wasn’t supposed to be like this.” He says hurriedly, as if in a rush. I got the idea that Jace was perhaps trying to regain control of his body.
He had probably never stopped fighting for control since Ragnar took control.
“Why are you… why are you telling me this?”
Jake’s eyes flashed, and for a moment, they seemed to shift to a golden hue, his wolf Alpha power radiating through them. “I need you to know… that I’m sorry.” The words came out hoarse, almost broken. “For everything he’s put you through. You and your wolf are my mate… you both didn’t deserve any of it.”
The admission sent a jolt through me, like a knife twisting in my gut. This was the last thing I expected to hear, especially from the guy who had taken everything from me. “Sorry?” I repeated, my voice hollow. “Your apology doesn’t bring back my parents. It doesn’t change what he’s done.”
“I know,” Ragnar said, the anguish evident in his voice. “But I can’t undo it. All I can do is try to give you a moment… a real goodbye.” There was a pause, and then his tone softened, filled with a desperation that I hadn’t expected. “Please, Mate… let your wolf speak with me. Just this once. Before everything changes. Let me see my mate, please.”
I felt Snow stir again, a spark of recognition and longing in her that mirrored the raw emotion in Ragnar’s voice. I didn’t know if I could trust him-if I should even let myself believe that this was real. But as I stared into those eyes, unlike those I’d come to hate, I felt a pull that I couldn’t deny.
I hesitated for a moment, my breath hitching in my throat. “Fine,” I said, barely above a whisper. “But after this… we’re done.”
Ragnar let out a low, relieved sigh, and for a heartbeat, I saw the human mask slip away entirely, replaced by the raw presence of the wolf beneath. “Thank you,” he murmured, his voice echoing with a depth that sent shivers down my spine. “Thank you, Mate.”
Before I could respond, there was a sudden flicker in his gaze, and just as quickly as it had appeared, the wolf receded, the hardness returning to Jake’s eyes. His expression twisted back into that familiar sneer as if amused by my reaction.
Those eyes I hated were back, and I knew Jake had regained control of his body.
“Did you actually believe that?” he scoffed, the cruel smile spreading across his face again. “You’re more naive than I thought.”
Fuck! Was all that a show?
My blood ran cold, the tiny flicker of hope I’d felt crumbling to ash. I felt my rage rise like a tidal wave crashing over me. “You’re disgusting,” I spat, my voice shaking with fury. “You’re a liar and a coward; one day, you’ll pay for everything you’ve done.”
Jake’s expression darkened, and he stepped closer, lowering his voice to a chilling whisper. “We’ll see about that,” he said, a dangerous edge to his tone. “Enjoy your last days as you are, April. Soon enough, you’ll be nothing but a broken omega, and I’ll be the one who put you there and did that to you.”
With that, he turned on his heel, striding out of the dungeon without a backward glance. The door slammed shut behind him, the sound echoing through the cold stone like a final, damning sentence.
How heartless can one honestly be?
I sank to the floor, my hands trembling as I tried to calm the storm raging inside me. Snow’s grief and rage surged through me, and I felt the tears prick at my eyes. He had dangled hope in front of me, only to snatch it away at the last second, as if it were some kind of twisted game.
But then I remembered the flicker in his eyes-the voice of the wolf that had spoken to me, and I knew that even if Jake had been lying, Ragnar hadn’t. In those brief moments, there was something real, a truth that Jake couldn’t completely hide.
Or perhaps I was overthinking?
Something else that bothered me was the fact that Jake had rejected me, and I accepted it; I clearly felt the bond shatter, and it affected and is still affecting both Snow and me. However, Ragnar still called me his mate, and he seemed eager to see his mate. He did not seem like a wolf who was going through rejection or one who had felt the bond shatter because if he did, I don’t think he’d still be calling us his mate. So, how come that was so? I’d never seen that happen, not even in books.
Or were they fine because Jake had initiated the rejection? Or perhaps it was because he was a future Alpha and he had a strong wolf?
Ugh, Who knows?
As I sat there, questions filling my head, my breath coming in shallow gasps, I felt a determination settle over me, solid and unyielding. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.