62: Emma

Benjamin laughed, the sound echoing off the concrete walls. "I warned them you'd try to link your brother," he said, watching me struggle to breathe through the receding agony. "So they gave you something to keep your wolf... compliant."

Behind him, Minister Bennett shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting to Minister Krea. I noted the interaction, filing it away. Not all the conspirators were equally committed, then.

Inside me, Artemis continued to batter against the barrier, weaker now but still fighting. I joined her from my side, pushing against the wall between us with all my mental strength. It gave—just slightly, but enough to feel like a victory.

Benjamin must have read something in my expression, because his smile took on a sharper edge. "I think I'll leave you to your thoughts for a while," he said, stepping back. "This will be so much more comfortable if you agree to go back home with me."

"Why would I do that?" I hissed, the chains rattling as I leaned forward.

He moved in one fluid motion, gripping my chin once more, forcing my gaze to his. His fingers dug into my skin hard enough to bruise, his face inches from mine.

"Because you're mine, mate," he growled, eyes flashing with possessive hunger. "You've always been mine. This little dalliance with the King changes nothing."

I held his gaze, refusing to show fear despite the way my heart hammered against my ribs. "I was never yours," I whispered. "And I never will be."

Something dark and dangerous flickered in his eyes before he released me with a dismissive shove. He turned away, gesturing for the others to follow him up the stairs.

"Why not just mark her now she's awake?" Minister Krea asked as they ascended, her voice carrying in the quiet space.

Benjamin paused on the steps, looking back at me with a calculating expression. "Because her wolf needs to be alert too, or the bond might not stick. The drug is wearing off—I can smell it." His lips curled into a cruel smile. "A few more hours should do it. Then she'll be mine again, in every way that matters."

The door at the top of the stairs opened, spilling harsh light down the staircase. For a moment, their silhouettes were black cutouts against the brightness, like figures from a nightmare. Then the door closed, the lock clicking with terrible finality, and I was alone in the dim basement once more.

I tested the chains again, metal biting into raw skin. There was no give, no weakness I could exploit. But the pain helped clear my head, focus my thoughts. They had made a fatal mistake in leaving me alive, in giving me time. Theo was coming—I could feel it in the bond between us, growing stronger by the minute. Artemis was fighting her way back to me. And I was far from beaten.

Benjamin Thorne thought he knew what I was, what I was capable of. He was about to learn how wrong he was.

I swore under my breath as I battered against the mental barrier for the thousandth time. Hours in this dank basement had left me physically exhausted, but I couldn't stop trying. Somewhere on the other side of the barrier Benjamin had erected between us, Artemis was there—my wolf, my strength—and we both were tiring. But I needed just one message, even a slight one, to reach my brother or my mate so they could find me before Benjamin did what he'd promised: remarking me and destroying my bond with Theo.

The silver chains around my wrists had left raw, weeping wounds that refused to heal, sapping my strength with each passing hour. How many had it been? Twelve? Twenty? The windowless basement offered no clues, and they'd taken my watch along with everything else.

I closed my eyes, shutting out the basement's single harsh light, and threw myself once more against the barrier in my mind. It felt like swimming through molasses, each mental push slower and less effective than the last. But I couldn't give up. Not when Benjamin might return any minute.

I visualized the barrier as something physical—a wall of smoky glass—and concentrated all my remaining energy on a single point. Push. Just one more push. The effort made black spots dance behind my closed eyelids, and for a moment, I feared I might pass out. Then I felt it—a hairline crack, a spiderweb fracture in the mental wall.

‘Artemis?’ I called through the narrow opening, my mental voice strained and thin.

For several heartbeats, nothing. Then, like a radio signal cutting through static: ‘Em...ma.’

Relief flooded through me so intensely I nearly cried out loud. Krea shifted in her chair, eyes narrowing, and I forced my expression to remain neutral despite the triumph surging within me.

‘I'm here.’

‘Hard... to reach you,’ came Artemis's response, her mental voice alarmingly weak. My wolf, usually so fierce and vibrant, sounded drained, like she'd been fighting this barrier for hours. Which, of course, she had been.

‘Save your strength,’ I urged her, even as I worked to hold the connection open. ‘We just need one message out.’

‘Benjamin…’ Her thoughts were clearer now, though still fragmented. ‘He wants to mark again. Break the bond.’

‘I know.’ The thought of Benjamin's teeth on my neck, his mark destroying my bond with Theo, made bile rise in my throat.

‘I think... I can fight it,’ Artemis said, her words flowing more smoothly as our connection stabilized. ‘If Benjamin tries to mark us again, I can stop him from breaking the bond to Theo.’

The hope her words kindled was almost painful in its intensity. ‘You can?’