Chapter 33

Alpha Dancescu sent a mental call to his pack, urging them to gather. The anticipation was about to peak. Within minutes, the crowd around her swelled, their eyes gleaming with a morbid curiosity. They were practically vibrating with excitement.

Colette tugged at her bonds one last time before letting her arms fall in surrender. Even if she could shift, how was she supposed to fit in with this pack?

They were all twisted, every single one of them. Even if they didn’t actively participate in the ruling, none of them stood up to their leader.

Colette felt Sorin stirring before he even sat up. A strange sensation fluttered in her chest.

She craned her neck, trying to catch his eye. Gradually, the man rose, a bit wobbly on his feet.

Sorin scanned his surroundings swiftly, the warrior in him ever present, before his gaze landed on Colette. He opened his mouth to speak, but it snapped shut when he saw her. She knew he saw her injured neck and marred skin. She must have looked like a nightmare.

Suddenly, Sorin let out a roar of pure fury and dropped to his knees, yanking at his own restraints with all his strength. The sounds he made sent a shiver of anticipation tinged with fear down her spine.

“Yes, Sorin, I hear you,” Dancescu drawled, weaving through the crowd to him. “It was Avram, but I’m handling it. Until you and the human are mated, his punishment is my call.” He flashed a toothy grin.

Sorin growled and pulled harder.

“Ugh,” Dancescu groaned, waving a hand dismissively and turning back to Colette. “The full moon is almost here, and—” He gestured to her. “—you don’t seem to be changing.”

He signaled one of his men, who brought forth a long blade.

“When the full moon passes, I could end your life…or make Sorin do it as his own punishment,” he mused more to himself than anyone else.

Colette barely registered his words as she strained to see past him to Sorin, the beautiful man. She’d come to several realizations in a short span of time: she wanted to be with him, she wanted to be his mate, and she wanted to spend the rest of her too-short life with him.

She couldn’t die without spending at least one night with him. How foolish she’d been, rejecting him every time he’d made a sexual advance.

“Hey,” Dancescu snapped suddenly. “Stop making eyes at each other when I’m talking!” he demanded, almost stomping his foot like a petulant child.

Colette’s attention jerked back to him. He was a strange man. Clearly threatened by such trivial things. It would’ve been amusing if he wasn’t trying to kill her. Instead of laughing at him, she flinched at the harshness of his words.

Colette’s lips twisted into a frown as she forced herself to look away from Sorin for her own sake. There was no need to make her already dire situation worse.

Everyone referred to her as human. Even she doubted her own wolf-ness. She’d never craved raw meat, was definitely below average in physical strength, and she seemed perfectly human, which would’ve been a great compliment before meeting Sorin.

Colette turned her back on them all, even as Dancescu continued to drone on about himself and something about needing his pack to obey him and whatever.

Colette was thinking about Sorin’s mother, Silviana. She’d told Colette that only mates could conceive easily.

Colette had never really considered whether she wanted kids or not. It wasn’t necessary before, considering she never really dated and never had sex.

I mean, it would be a waste if she and Sorin were the only couple who could conceive easily and they didn’t have any kids. Plus, a pack had a strong “It takes a village to raise a child” vibe.

Yet, Sorin hadn’t mentioned anything about being mates to her. Ylenia, Shemika, Dancescu, and even Silviana had all brought it up, but Sorin? Nothing.

Lost in her own thoughts, she was taken aback when pain bloomed in her belly. She stifled a cry as Dancescu was still in the middle of his—what seemed like—lecture.

She thought the first stab of pain was bad, but each new wave was worse than the last. Each one brought with it nausea and dizziness.

Colette clung to her post in a feeble attempt to stay upright. The next wave of pain was so overwhelming that she collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony, and her stifled cry turned into a scream that echoed around her.

The entire crowd instantly lost interest in their alpha, their attention riveted on her.

She could feel every pair of eyes on her, including Sorin’s. Oh god, how she wished she could be near him.

Pain was everywhere. Pain in every limb. The kind of pain that made her want to pass out, but she couldn’t. There was no relief, not even for a moment.

She could hear her bones grinding and cracking. Even as her pain seemed unbearable, it seemed to double every second. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t passed out from the pain yet.

“Colette,” Ylenia cried. “Breathe, please. You’re turning blue!” She tried to rush to Colette’s side, but Dancescu held her back.

“Let her turn on her own, little witch,” he growled, clearly annoyed by the new development.

“With help or not, she’s still turning, sir. Please, let me help her,” Ylenia pleaded, struggling against her alpha’s unyielding grip.

“Pain doesn’t immediately mean she’s turning,” he huffed, flinging Ylenia back into the arms of one of his men, who immediately wrapped his arms around her to hold her back. “I want her to feel it all. I don’t want you to do anything.”

The crowd grew restless as Colette continued to writhe and moan in prolonged agony. No one wanted to watch anymore, but no one could look away. Dancescu forced them all to stay, except for the few children.

Sorin’s fury was ebbing away with each passing minute, replaced by a growing sense of desperation. He strained against his bonds until his hands were a deep shade of purple and his tendons were stretched to their limits.

Dancescu had anticipated Sorin’s desperate attempts to break free and had ensured his wrists were securely bound. If he pulled too hard, he’d risk losing his hands.

Sorin was aware of the danger, but he continued to struggle against his restraints. His wrists bled profusely, but he couldn’t stop himself. He was driven by an overwhelming need to be with her.

His view of her was obstructed by the crowd, but he could hear her cries of agony and it felt as if he was experiencing her pain himself.

Colette’s head fell back as a scream, the most horrifying sound he’d ever heard, tore from her throat. Her body writhed and twisted as the final stages of the spell took hold, the full moon completing its task.