Isla's POV
"You think keeping me here makes me safe, but it feels like another kind of prison."
Kyree's hand froze on the edge of the table. He was cleaning his gun again, checking the chamber like he always did when he was trying not to lose his temper. His eyes lifted to mine, sharp and cold.
"You'd be dead without me," he said flatly.
I pushed him, shoving at his chest hard enough to make him step back. "Then let me choose how I die. I don't need you to decide it for me."
The air between us tightened. My heart pounded, but I didn't move away. Ava stirred in my chest, restless, daring me to keep standing.
Kyree growled low in his throat. "You don't understand this world. You walk outside that door alone, and you'll have only minutes before Logan's men or Drake's hunters tear you apart."
I lifted my chin. "And if I stay here, I'm still trapped. That's not safety. That's just a prettier cage."
His eyes burned. He stepped closer, so close I could feel his breath. "You're mine to protect, whether you like it or not."
"I'm not yours," I snapped, even though the bond sparked under my skin, traitorous and hot. "I'm mine and if I burn for it, then that's my choice."
Kyree's jaw tightened. For a moment, I thought he would grab me, but instead, he turned, slamming his gun onto the table so hard that the metal rattled.
"Keep pushing me, little wolf," he muttered. "But don't blame me when the world eats you alive."
I didn't answer; I just couldn't. My chest heaved with anger, but under it all, guilt throbbed. Every man tied to me was burning and I didn't know how much longer I could survive holding them all.
Logan's POV
The war room stank of sweat and fury. Maps of the borderlands were spread across the table, pins marking failed hunts. I paced the length of the room, fists clenching and unclenching.
"My men didn't come back with her," I spat. "They were humiliated by Kyree's biker army. A pack of leather-clad rogues and they failed."
My father, Alpha Bruno Jasper, sat at the head of the table. His voice was heavy. "You sent them to drag back your sister. She is stronger than you want to believe and Kyree does not let go of what he claims."
"She's mine," I snarled. "She crawls back, or I drag her through fire myself."
Bruno's gaze sharpened. "Careful, Logan. If you kill her, you risk the wrath of the Moon Goddess. She will not forgive you."
I leaned forward, planting my hands on the table. "Then I'll test the Goddess myself."
Inside me, Ronan clawed against my skin, restless, demanding blood. "She is ours," my wolf growled. "Bring her back. End this."
I smirked darkly. "I'll end her, or I'll end them all."
Drake's POV
I sat in the enormous hall of the Nightshade estate. The long table stretched before me, covered in maps and contracts. Envoys and rival warriors leaned in, waiting.
"She's worth more than a bounty," I said calmly, lifting a glass of wine. "But let the fools chase it. The gold will keep them hungry."
One envoy frowned. "You mean to capture her yourself?"
I set the glass down. "Not just capture. Use her." I looked around the room, eyes hard. "A mate rejected is a weapon sharpened. Logan bound her, then cast her aside. That wound will never close, and I will be the one holding the blade."
A murmur rippled through the men. I raised my hand, silencing them.
"She will not just be leverage," I continued. "She will be the fault line that collapses the Ivory Moon Pack from within. Logan will tear himself apart trying to kill her, and I will be there to take what remains."
I gestured to one of my lieutenants. "Send spies into the human city. Feed the fire around the hockey star, Coby Winters. His scandal weakens him and through him, her bond will break too. Make sure the world keeps her cornered."
They bowed and scattered to carry out my orders. I leaned back in my chair, smiling faintly. Logan would rage, and Kyree would fight. The human would drown and I would win.
Coby's POV
The headlines wouldn't stop. "Winters Cheats On Girlfriend With Secret Lover?" "Public Figure Meltdown: Winters Avoiding Intimacy?"
"Has the Hockey Star Finally Lost His Edge?"
Every time I scrolled, my face was there. Every time I stepped outside, a camera flashed.
"You think I'm stupid?" My girlfriend screamed at me outside the club. Paparazzi circled, shoving microphones. Her mascara ran, her hands shaking. "You've been avoiding me for ages now. You don't touch me, you don't look at me and now I find out you've got some mystery girl on the side?"
"It's not like that, baby," I muttered, jaw tight. She slapped my arm, hard. "It's always one-sided. I've been carrying us and you've been lying. We're done."
Flashes exploded around us. I shoved past them, chest tight. The next morning, I missed practice. The morning after, I showed up drunk. My coach grabbed my jersey. "Get your shit together, Winters. You think the team will cover for you forever?" I shoved him back. "Get off me."
At practice, I snapped at teammates. During the game, sweat poured down my face, my hands shook and Bryan clawed inside me. The puck slid across the ice, but I barely saw it.
"Shift," Bryan growled. "Shift and tear them apart." "No," I muttered under my breath. I skated faster, heart pounding. The crowd roared, but my chest burned. My vision blurred. For a moment, claws pushed against my fingers.
I stumbled, slammed into the boards, and gasps erupted. I forced myself up, panting and hiding the glow in my eyes.
After the game, I sat in the locker room, drenched in sweat, hands shaking.
"She's out there," I muttered. "She's burning me alive, and I can't touch her."
My agent stormed in. "You keep this up, and you're done. No team will take you. Get rid of the drama, or I'll cut you loose." I didn't answer.
Reporters shoved microphones at me outside. "Who is the mystery girl?" "Is the relationship over?" "Did you cheat?"
I pushed through them, head down, but Bryan's voice rumbled inside. "Find her, or I'll tear through your world."
I slammed my fist into the wall, chest heaving. Bryan was right. I couldn't survive the collision of both worlds much longer.
Isla's POV
The Brotherhood thought I didn't hear them, but whispers carry in the night.
"Did you see the human news? That hockey guy's life is burning down." "They say he's got a secret lover." "Bet it's her. The cursed Omega."
I froze, my hands tightening on the blanket.
Ava stirred. "The bond bleeds across worlds. He's breaking and soon he'll come for you."
I pressed my forehead to my knees, heart pounding. "How many men will the Goddess chain me to before I shatter?"
Kyree's shadow passed outside my tent. Logan sharpened his rage far away. Drake dispatched his spies. Coby drank alone with his world falling apart and I am still here, chained to all of them.
When all four men close in, Logan with blood, Drake with cunning and Coby with desperation, who will reach me first and what will be left of me when they do?