Rayven stumbled and gasped as she crashed onto one knee on the packed dirt floor. Her shoulder slamming against the concrete wall stopped her from actually falling on her face, but the jarring impact shot pain from her rotator cuff down to her midsection.

Pulled tendons, bruised muscles, and broken ribs she could tolerate—as long as she didn’t move. Unfortunately, keeping her balance was tough with her hands tied behind her back.

But her guards didn’t want to kill her. Merely torment her and incite her to fight back because they knew she couldn’t. They’d tried to provoke her over the last several days, ever since she’d woken from a drugged stupor. But there was only so much they could do in the small shack where they’d kept her chained to an iron ring in the wall. A brief visit from Alpha Karndottir’s second, Jacob, ensured they didn’t fatally injure her.

Lot of good that did her, and why he bothered, she didn’t know. Now, she sat caged in the clan sanctuary. What a joke. The land offered only nightmares for those unlucky enough to stumble across it, but for her, a shifter born on these grounds, it delivered tiny electrical shocks along her skin. Whether stemming from her own fear or the alpha’s power leaching out to torment her, she hoped she wouldn’t spend eternity in a cell in the basement of her father’s house.

She eyed her prison. Not even an upgrade from her previous jail, though she couldn’t remember much of the last few days except for fading in and out of consciousness. At least the cot, toilet, and sink here were all in one open space. Her captors would love that. She twisted her arms behind her back with no more success in getting free. But she was more worried about what they’d done with Nathan than her own predicament. The van holding him hadn’t been anywhere in sight by the time she’d been relocated. She hoped he’d survived.

At a loud whine of rusted metal on metal, she raised her head. Jacob stood in the doorway to her cell with his arms crossed over his barrel chest, staring at her. Goddess, how she hated every last enforcer on the alpha’s team. If she had the power of her beast, she’d end them all. However, Jacob was taller, with muscles like a bull, and faster than she was—if only because he had the luxury of embracing his beast anytime he wanted. On the other hand, God had shortchanged him in the brains department.

No matter how many times he’d challenged her to shift in order to claim her as his mate he’d failed. Not because she’d physically beaten him, but because she’d refused to give in. Not for him or any of the other men in the Karndottir clan who pressed to land their mark and possess her. She’d survived through sheer stubbornness, preferring death in her human form before she gave any of them the pleasure of claiming the alpha’s daughter for their mate.

That was the law by the alpha’s mandate. They had to possess her animal to claim her.

A bitter pill to swallow since Karndottir gained as much joy from her misery as his men did from their sadistic pursuit.

However, the glint in Jacob’s eyes indicated he planned to try one more time. Spare me.

He didn’t bother closing the door behind him. It was humiliating that he knew her strength wouldn’t sustain her getting past him, much less running down the hall, up a flight of stairs, and across the compound to freedom.

“You know this is getting boring, Rayven. Seeing you bruised, bloodied, and defeated. Again.”

“And yet it took six men,” she spat out. “Five barely capable humans and one shifter to bring me in. What, don’t any of you own a phone? Haven’t any of you learned the social nuances of issuing an invitation and waiting for an answer? Most women don’t consider being beaten and dragged by their hair a mating ritual.”

His jaw clenched, and the hard darkness she knew too well froze in his features. “So fucking cocky.”

She knew better than to reply. Having watched Jacob claw his way up through Karndottir’s ranks, she’d seen him at his worst. For a wolf shifter who beat the clan children and seduced other men’s wives, he delved pretty low. But the icky stink of satisfaction swirling around him made her want to gag. For all his grand position as second-in-command, he held no authority to speak of. Karndottir’s ego didn’t accommodate for sharing even an infinitesimal portion of his power with others.

“Or are you coldhearted enough that murdering our alpha didn’t give you a moment’s pause?” Jacob tilted his head, his lips pulled back to reflect his gleaming white teeth.

What? “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she forced past the shock squeezing her chest. No way was Karndottir dead. He was too mean-spirited to die, though she’d spent sleepless nights wishing for just such an outcome. But even as self-interested as Jacob was, he wouldn’t joke about the death of his alpha.

“You can drop the guileless, innocent act.” The words tripped off his tongue, smooth and surprisingly practiced. She scrutinized his expression for a hint of the disbelief she felt. Instead, a slight curl at the corners of his lips hinted at satisfaction. Had he been involved somehow? “Everyone knows there was no love lost between you and your father. You’ve made that very clear for years now.”

“Everyone also knows I’d never stand a chance surviving a battle against the alpha.”

Neither would Jacob. But perhaps five to ten of Jacob’s team would if they joined together. However, only if they bribed appropriately with money and promises of positions and power—and it was a full moon powered by gypsy magic. So like, never.

“Probably why you used a knife inlaid with silver and a gun with silver bullets. Overkill. Cowardly too, don’t you think? But then, since you can’t shift, what else would you use?”

“You know very well I didn’t kill anybody, much less leave evidence behind.”

With an affable smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We caught you trying to escape over the territory line into Sheridan’s lands.”

The oily stink of lies wavered around him as he stalked toward her. She didn’t cower. One good strike from his fist would knock her unconscious, but she’d never give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

He squatted where she still knelt on the floor, braced against the wall. “I’ll make you one last offer, Rayven. Shift and accept me as your mate, or I will turn you over to the alpha tribunal.”

If the alpha truly was dead, then why was Jacob still adhering to the old law and waiting to claim her in animal form? Ah yes. Either Jacob wasn’t that quick at catching on or he had another reason. Either way, she now thanked the supposedly departed alpha for one blessing. “Hell, no.”

His open-handed slap slammed her away from the wall and into the cot frame. Even with every muscle tensed against the pain, it hurt like hell, but she didn’t cry out. Don’t let them see what they do to you. Right, Mom. She owed her steel backbone to her long-departed mother.

Before she had time to recover, he hauled her up. His fingers gripped the front of her shirt as he lowered his face beside hers. She worked not to flinch as his nose rubbed against her cheek and he inhaled deeply. “Look what you’ve made me do. I don’t want to hurt you, Rayven.”

Sucking in a breath, she glared at him. “Don’t you think the tribunal will wonder why the accused murderer is beaten to a pulp?”

As quickly as he’d grabbed her, he let her go. With a grunt, she landed and slid into an awkward pile, jarring her shoulder again.

“Our beloved alpha has been murdered.” The solemnity coloring his tone didn’t match the quick rise and fall of his brows or his increased heartbeat. “By his own daughter no less. I imagine the alpha tribunal will expect nothing less than outrage from a loyal clan.”

“There isn’t a loyal bone in any of your team.”

Not so much as a muscle twitched on his face, and his expression turned oddly still. “I gave you a choice. I’ve given you far too many. However, I will regret losing you to the final alpha death challenges.”

Rayven ground her teeth. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She doubted she’d survive the tribunal if Jacob and the other enforcers had fabricated charges against her.

He turned away and spoke over his shoulder. “One other thing. I received a text. The Ghost is coming to retrieve you for his alpha. We all know what happens to his victims.” Jacob stopped at the door and motioned to someone down the hallway. Her throat tightened as Sam appeared. “Stay outside her cell and make sure she doesn’t try anything. She needs to be alive when the envoy comes.”

Sam nodded but remained at the open door, his eyes hazed with red.

Rayven tensed, waiting. She still had some fight left in her. Granted, a pitiful amount, but the ground beneath her delivered a powerful ripple that oddly eased the constriction in her chest. Where had that come from?

From the unsavory smirk on Sam’s face, she guessed he intended to use the fact she was still conscious as an excuse to dole out yet more of his sadistic punishment.