Warning: Some Mature Content, ? 2025, LeeAnn Passmore
Chapter One - The Now
***Current times - Kiera POV***
The odor of death clung to the air—rotten, metallic, unrelenting. It seeped into the cracks of the worn-out walls, the dirt floors and the pink scrubs that were a noticeable uniform we wore at camp. Hope here, was nothing more than a fading memory, and every breath of the stench felt like a reminder of the world that had been lost.
Kiera sat in the corner of her small, damp cell, her knees pulled to her chest, the weight of her past pressing down on her like the very shackles she was chained in. She could still hear the echoes of the battle—the snarls of the dead, the crash of her mate's body hitting the ground, his blood staining the earth beneath him.
Her mate, gone. Her safety, gone. The world as she knew it, gone. She had once been part of something powerful. A werewolf's mate, protected by pack law. A human cherished in a group of people much different than the life she grew up in. But that was before the war, before the humans' virus, before they turned the world into a graveyard and a war zone.
The camp was silent now, save for the occasional shuffle of guards' boots as they paced the perimeter, unaware of the fire burning inside her. She wasn't meant to be here. She wasn't meant to be alive, but somehow, she was. And somehow, she had to get out.
The door to her cell creaked open, and a figure stepped inside. It had been weeks since he had talked to her, they called him the General of the camp, nothing else. His eyes flicked over her with that calculating, cold stare that made her stomach twist in disgust. She could feel the weight of his gaze, like a hand on her skin, as if he could claim her simply by looking at her. But Kiera wasn't his. She had already lost so much. She wasn't about to lose herself too.
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"Oh yes, you are going to make a fine addition to this sector. I hope you're comfortable sweetheart, because you're not going anywhere for a very long time," the general said, his voice smooth but dangerous. "Not unless I say so at least."
Her heart hammered in her chest, but her face remained stoic. "You can try to keep me here, but I will leave. One way or another."
His lips curled into a smile similar to a cheshire cat, but there was no humor in it—only the promise of something far worse. "You'll be more than a prisoner here, Kiera. You'll be my pretty little queen."
His queen? What the hell could that imply?
The words sliced through her, and she stood abruptly, her hands tightening into fists allowing the metal clamps to dig further into her wrists. She wanted to fight, she wanted to hit the son of a bitch, but she knew better than to challenge him directly.
At least, not yet.
A howl rose in the distance, cutting through the camp's monotony like a jagged blade. The sound made her freeze, her heart stopping for a fraction of a second.
It was a wolf's cry.
And it was close.
Her breath hitched as the general turned, his expression unreadable. "Another wolf," he muttered, "probably hunting for food, damn dead vermin have almost killed every living fucking thing, the wolves are starving too."
Kiera's pulse quickened. He was right about the wolf hunting, but that was not just any wolf—her Alpha.
Could it be him? Could it be someone was still fighting for her?
She could feel the pull—the connection, the promise of a future she thought was lost forever. She didn't know how, but she had to find them.
The general stepped toward the door, but Kiera's voice stopped him. "You should watch you back General, the wolves seem to be extra hungry tonight."
He turned, his eyes narrowing. "Wont have such a smart mouth once I'm done with you."
As he walked out, the door clanged shut behind him, but Kiera wasn't thinking about him anymore. The howl still echoed in her mind, a beacon of hope for holding on.
She had to escape. And for the first time in weeks, she felt like there was a reason to hope again.
