The world was a punishing symphony of thunder and rain, each drop a sting against my raw, torn skin. I lifted heavy eyes, catching a blurred glimpse of two identical faces in the lightning's electric blue flash. He had returned, Alpha Kendrick, to ensure his defiance was met with death. My body, aching and broken, was lifted from the mud, enveloped by thick, warm arms. Just let me die, I pleaded internally, as darkness swallowed me whole, promising the only freedom I had ever known.

Days later, consciousness flickered. My entire body felt crushed, as if a crushing weight still held me down. This wasn't the freedom I'd expected. Pain shot through my ribs with every breath, yet I was breathing. They had found me, and I was back with Kendrick. He would never stop. "We aren't free," Justice, my inner wolf, whined, a voice I had only truly heard since my first shift. "He mustn't see we want to be free, or he will never end it."