Chapter 12
Savannah
The morning Menace left for Birmingham with Bronc, the air clung to me like static, all prickling unease beneath forced calm.
I didn’t know if my father was still looking for me, but Menace’s reassurances hummed in my head like a mantra: You’re safe.
He’d unloaded my suitcase and gotten me settled into one of the guest rooms at Bronc and Juliet’s in the early hours of the morning.
Then, he kissed me hard just inside the doorway to the room, his grip possessive yet trembling, as if letting go might unravel him.
“Juliet’s got you,” he’d said, voice rough.
“Arsenal is gonna be staying with you.” I nodded as I eased my death grip on the lapels of his suit coat.
He and Bronc were dressed for business—if I had to guess, I’d say he was in a Tom Ford suit—navy blue, crisp white shirt, matching vest and tie.
This man was more handsome than any man I’d ever laid my eyes on.
They’d look right at home in the presence of their king.
Juliet and I walked our men out to Bronc’s truck outside their cabin and gave them one last kiss goodbye.
Bronc briefly gave Arsenal some last-minute instructions as Juliet and I walked back to the large front porch.
We turned and gave a final wave as the truck pulled out and down the dusty road toward the pack’s private airstrip about five miles deeper in pack territory.
“Everything is going to work out Savanah.” Juliet’s voice was warm and reassuring. Her hand on my shoulder a comfort.
“You don’t know my father. He’s not a man who considers losing an option.” I told her. I swear I hated to sound like a pessimist. In my soul, I wanted to be that person who looked at the possibilities and not the obstacles. One day, hopefully that could be me.
Juliet looked me in the eye. “I may not know your father, but I know Menace. That man loves you. With that love comes utter devotion and fierce protection. And I also know Bronc. You are Iron Valor Pack now. He is your Alpha. And he is not an Alpha that lets any member of his pack come to harm if it is within his power to prevent it. Trust that they will do all that is in their power to keep you safe and out of the hands of your father and King Dominic Madison.” I wanted to trust in them.
I really did. There was no point in worrying about something beyond my control.
We’d worry about my father when and if the time came.
It had been two days since Menace and Bronc had left for Birmingham.
This morning after Arsenal dropped me off for work, walking into the school felt like walking into a hornet’s nest—fluorescent lights buzzing, hallways thick with the sour tang of burnt coffee.
Something just felt off from the moment I stepped inside.
Karen smiled at me. Smiled. Her lips stretched too wide, like a predator playing with its prey.
“Morning, Sawyer,” she chirped, handing me a latte I didn’t trust. The other teachers—usually icy as January—nodded warmly too.
My skin crawled, but I buried suspicion under hope: maybe Menace threatened them.
My classroom was my sanctuary. New violins gleamed in the corner—Menace’s doing, subtle as sunrise.
He’d been sneaking in instruments for weeks: a cajón drum one day, a few flutes the next.
I ran my fingers over the polished wood, smiling despite myself.
This man memorized my wishlist. The kids’ laughter during lessons soothed me, their off-key renditions of “Hot Cross Buns” weirdly grounding.
For a few hours, I almost forgot the lie I was living—Sawyer the music teacher, not Savannah the runaway heir.
Lunch with Gabby was my lifeline. She slid into the seat across from me, tossing a bag of Takis between us like contraband. “Spill,” she said around a mouthful of chips.
“Who died to make Karen human?” I snorted but didn’t answer.
Gabby didn’t know who I really was, and I hated that.
But it was too dangerous for her to know.
She’d learn when everyone else did I supposed.
“She has been nice to me all day. It’s weird.
And ‘the Karens’ have been all smiles, too.
I’m afraid Menace has maybe told her to back off or something. Which I hate.”
Gabby laughed, mouth full of snack treats. “Oh yeah, how awful. Your big gorgeous mate running interference with the big bad wolf. How terrible.” She winked.
“I know, I know. And I’m so thankful for him. But I don’t wanna seem like I’m not capable of taking care of myself,” I sighed.
She reached over and patted my hand, and I felt for the first time that besides Juliet; I had another real friend here.
“I get it, girl. And hey, I think you’re amazing.
It’s tough coming into a place that has its tribes already established.
I think you’re doing great. And the kids love you. That’s the most important thing.”
I gave her a smile. She was right, and I shouldn’t let any of what they thought get to me.
After my fourth period class, I was about to start my conference hour when Karen popped her head in my classroom door. “Sawyer? Could you help me grab some boxes out of my car?” Her eyelashes fluttered like broken moth wings.
I thought that sounded like an odd request, but I was the only teacher on conference this period, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. Just chalked it up to more grunt work for me. “Sure,” I put on my most cooperative face, following her down the main hall to the back door.
She made small talk as we walked. “How are you settling in?”
“Oh, um, great.” I was honestly surprised she’d said anything at all. “Love the kids.”
“Really? Well, that’s nice.” We got to the door, and she opened it, allowing me to go out first. “Maybe you won’t miss them too much.” She laughed as she quickly shut the door behind me.
I tried the handle frantically, knowing the door would not open, refusing to believe it.
Trees surrounded the few parking spaces of the back lot, a promise of abandonment and despair.
My thoughts unraveled faster than I could hold on.
The world shifted beneath me, my breath loud in the silence. Then it happened.
Callum’s arm snaked around my throat before I could scream.
“Did you truly think you could hide from me?” His breath slithered hot against my ear, a brother who should protect his little sister, twisted and turned grotesque.
Silver chains hissed against my wrists before I could shift, searing through flesh until smoke curled from blistered skin. “Father sends his regards.”
I thrashed like trapped prey, teeth sinking into his forearm until copper flooded my tongue.
His laughter curdled the air as he wrenched my head back by my hair—roots screaming, vertebrae cracking like dry kindling.
I kicked, struggled, desperate to free myself from Callum’s grip.
It only fueled his rage, making his fists connect harder.
A sickening crack as he struck my face, then the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.
“Still fighting?” He purred as my vision blurred crimson at the edges. “Good. Dominic prefers his whores spirited.”
The first punch shattered something delicate behind my eyes—a kaleidoscope of pain blooming bright as his signet ring tore through skin. My knees buckled as darkness swallowed me whole.
Waking was worse.
Pain brought me back to the world. Everything else was darkness.
The metal walls pressed in, crushing, suffocating.
Each heartbeat crashed against my skull, a thunderous and private hell.
My senses screamed with panic. Bound, drugged, trapped.
Hopeless. My father had planned this well.
Despair tasted like blood on my lips, a bitter promise of what was to come.
The vibration and roar of engines filled the space around me.
An airplane. I was in the air, miles from the life I wanted.
Miles from Menace. Callum’s shadow fell over me, but his gloating began before he spoke.
“Rise and shine, my whore of a sister.” His voice cut through the dark, as cruel and mocking as the look on his face. “Wouldn’t want you to miss the fun.”
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe past the terror that gripped me. His hands were as tight as the chains that bound me, the chains that made my skin blister, burn.
“We’re flying to the Midwest territory,” Callum taunted, crouching close enough for me to feel the chill of his hatred. “To your new home with King Dominic.” The words twisted inside me, sharp and cutting.
“You’ll never get away with this.” My voice was ragged, a choked whisper. “I’m mated to another.”
Callum laughed, the sound dark and hollow.
“Not for long,” he said. “You’ll fulfill your role, Savannah.
Your defiance means nothing. Once your mate is dead, you’ll no longer be mated to anyone except to the king to whom you were promised.
You did this to yourself, you selfish bitch.
You’ve brought shame to your family name. ”
“Fate decided who my mate was,” I said through gritted teeth. I tried to hide my fear, knowing he got off on it. I could see it in his eyes, in the cruel twist of his mouth. He wouldn’t kill me, but he could do worse.
“For now, maybe,” he said, the words deliberate, slow. “And soon, you’ll be Dominic’s.”
The thought of it shattered me, left me reeling, raw. I had to fight, had to resist. But there was no way out. Callum leaned in, his smile a jagged wound across his face.
“You’ve got nothing left, sis. No one to save you.” His voice dripped with malice, with triumph.
I spat blood at him, defiant. “Menace will find me,” I said, clinging to the hope as if it were my last breath.
“Not before I break you.” His backhand split my lip again, and pain exploded white and blinding. I slumped against the chains, their silver grip pulling me deeper into despair, weakening my ability to heal.
Time lost meaning in the dark. Every second stretched to eternity.
Every vibration of the plane a cruel reminder of how far I was from the life I wanted.
From the man I needed. The blood tasted bitter, but it was the chemicals, the drugs, that threatened to pull me under.
I fought against it, against the numbness, the helplessness as I tried to reach Menace through our bond.
It was weak, but I felt his pull, his love.
But I was as good as gone.
Callum’s taunts echoed through the darkness, each word another twist of the knife. Another fracture of my resolve.
“He’ll be happy to have you. Damaged goods and all. You’re just a means to an end.”
I was drowning, every desperate gasp filling my lungs with dread.
“Dominic won’t care how many men you’ve let between your legs. Would you be surprised to know that your future husband and father are on this jet? They think you’re still knocked out. Guess I’ll go tell them you’re awake.”
I was nothing to them. Just a bargaining chip, a piece of flesh to trade and own.
The metal walls closed in, the vibration drowning out my thoughts.
Desperation flared brightly, consuming a fire in my blood that defied my brother, my father, my fate.
I clung to the bond I had with Menace, sending out wave after wave of fear and agony and need. He would feel it. He had to.
My hope strained against the darkness, fragile and uncertain. But it was all I had.
I felt the life I wanted slip further from my grasp with every heartbeat, every thunderous, relentless roar of the engines. The plane climbed higher, faster. Blood trickled down my chin, and I let out a silent scream, its echo filling the hollow spaces inside me.