CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
I drag myself to the nearest wall, my back hitting the cold stone as my legs give out beneath me.
My heart pounds against my ribs, each beat sending fresh waves of pain through my battered body.
Torn fabric lies scattered across the dungeon floor—what's left of my clothes after Jax's hands ripped them away.
Tears fill my eyes as the reality crashes over me.
What he almost did. What would have happened if that thunderous bang hadn't echoed through the castle, forcing him to leave and investigate.
I silently thank whoever or whatever caused that noise—it saved me from something I wouldn't have survived intact.
With trembling hands, I reach for the shredded remains of my shirt, trying to gather enough fabric to cover myself. My fingers shake as I—
"Well, well. Look what we have here."
I freeze, my blood turning to ice at the familiar voice dripping with venom. Avery stands in the doorway, her violet eyes blazing with murderous intent as she takes in my state—half-naked, bruised, tears streaming down my cheeks.
"You pathetic little whore," she snarls, stalking toward me with predatory grace. "Did you really think you could steal him from me?"
Before I can respond, before I can even move, she's on me. Her hands wrap around my throat, squeezing with inhuman strength. Dark magic crackles around her fingers, burning my skin where she touches.
"I should have killed you the moment you arrived," she hisses, her beautiful face twisted with rage. "Jax was mine before you came crawling back into his life."
Spots dance across my vision as she cuts off my air supply. My hands claw at hers, but she's too strong, too fueled by jealous fury. This is it. This is how I die—murdered by a witch who thinks I want the man who just tried to rape me.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Jax's voice cuts through the haze of oxygen deprivation like a blade. Avery's grip loosens just enough for me to suck in a desperate breath, coughing violently as life floods back into my lungs.
"I should be asking you that," Avery spits, whirling to face him without releasing my throat entirely. "Why did you stop me? You swore she meant nothing to you! So why?"
Jax's expression remains cold, indifferent, as if he's discussing the weather instead of my near-murder. "My plans for Aubrey are none of your concern."
"None of my concern?" Avery's voice rises to a shriek. "I've done everything for you! Manipulated her memories, sent her nightmares, helped you orchestrate this entire plan, and this is how you repay me?"
"You've done what you were paid to do," Jax replies with brutal callousness. "Nothing more."
The words ignite something primal in Avery. She releases me entirely, turning her full attention to Jax as dark magic swirls around her like a storm. "Paid? You think this was about payment?"
Their argument escalates into something vicious and violent. Magic clashes against werewolf strength as they tear into each other with words and power. Avery hurls curses that make the air itself seem to scream, while Jax dodges and snarls like the predator he is.
This is my chance. My only chance.
Ignoring the burning agony that radiates through every inch of my battered body, I call on my wolf. The shift tears through me like fire, bones breaking and reforming, but I welcome the pain because it means escape. My wolf form materializes in a blur of silver fur and desperate determination.
I bolt from the dungeon without looking back.
The sound of Aubrey's claws disappearing up the stone steps echoes through the dungeon like a death knell. I stand frozen, watching the empty doorway where my perfect weapon just escaped, fury building in my chest like a wildfire.
"You paranoid bitch," I snarl, whirling on Avery with deadly intent. "Your actions have completely deviated from our original goal."
Avery straightens, violet magic still crackling around her fingers from our fight. "My actions? You're the one who—"
"Aubrey was crucial to our plan," I cut her off, my voice rising to a roar that reverberates off the dungeon walls. "She was positioned perfectly, trusted completely, and now she's gone because you couldn't control your jealousy!"
"Control my jealousy?" Avery's laugh is sharp and bitter. "You're lecturing me about control while you just tried to rape your own weapon?"
The accusation hits like a physical blow, but I push past it. "Your impulsiveness has ruined everything. Years of planning, years of careful manipulation, all destroyed because you can't stand the thought of sharing."
A dangerous glint flashes in Avery's eyes, something cold and calculating that makes my wolf stir uneasily. She steps closer, her beautiful face twisted into something monstrous.
"Let me remind you of something, darling," she sneers, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "Who gave you the power to infiltrate the royal court? Who helped you achieve everything you have today? Who made it possible for a bastard wolf to dream of claiming a crown?"
My jaw clenches, but I can't deny her words. Without Avery's magic, without her connections to the darker powers that lurk beyond the kingdom's borders, I would still be nothing more than Alexander's forgotten mistake.
"You've been blinded by emotions," she continues, circling me like a predator sizing up prey. "Obsessed with that little blonde wolf to the point where you can't see straight. You're the true reason Aubrey escaped—because you let your pathetic desires cloud your judgment."
The truth in her words burns like acid in my veins. I have no response, no defense against accusations that cut too close to the bone. Without another word, I turn to leave this cursed dungeon behind.
But as I take my first step toward the door, Avery's voice follows me—soft, eerie, filled with a malice that freezes my blood.
"You know, Jax," she says conversationally, "I've been working on a rather ambitious magical ritual. Something that requires the soul of a powerful werewolf to complete."
I stop dead in my tracks, dread creeping up my spine like ice water.
"And you," she continues with deadly sweetness, "would be the perfect choice."