"ept the rejection. ept your fate. Tell us where your father is, and this will end now." Amy drew in a slow, deliberate breath, and suddenly her aura red out in a sharp pulse. The sensation was strange-intense but not painful to me—and oddly, no one else seemed to be in distress. Except Amy herself. She winced, as if the energy affected her differently. How was she able to channel her aura in such a unique way toward different people? It was baffling.
“No,” she whispered, her voice trembling with a fake sob. “I can''t... He''ll kill me if I tell."
"He won''t get the chance. Just tell us."
"You have to promise me."
"Promise what?"
"Promise you won''t let him kill me. Make it binding." Amy''s tears were false, drying quickly on her cheeks. She believed she had Kennedy right where she wanted her.
"You have my word as Luna," Kennedy said with a raised eyebrow, her tone steady andmanding. "If you give up your father''s exact location and ept Finn''s rejection, he won''t have the chance to kill you." Well yed, Luna.
Amy hesitated, then muttered, “He''s been hiding in no-man''snd. We have a small house there. He won''t stay in the camp-too bougie for that."
"Go. Check it out. Be careful; it''s probably a trap or a way for them to signal we''re onto them." Ryker called out to a few of our best trackers, linking Josh, Danny, and me into the n.
"And the rejection?" someone asked.
Amy sighed, clearly irritated, "Fine." Then, with a sudden scream that was real this time, she went limp in the arms of the guards holding her.
I had heard that breaking the bond willfully was more agonizing than death itself. Yet, as I nced at Finn, he didn''t seem to be suffering the same torment. Was it eptance? Or something deeper?
Amy, panting, forced herself back onto her knees. "Now what?" she snarled at Kennedy.
"Are you okay? Have you recovered from the bond break?" I asked, though it wasn''t the question I would have expected to ask. Still, I was curious to see what woulde next.
"Yeah," Amy snapped, her defiance returning full force. The bond between them clearly hadn''t been strong enough to keep her down for long. "I only want one bond anyway. You''ve made the biggest mistake letting me live. And you can''t do a damn thing about it-"
Before she could finish, Kennedy''s hand shot out, mping tightly around Amy''s throat and forcing her back down to her knees. Around us, the warriors stood poised, waiting for their Luna''smand.
"You thought I was going to let you walk away?" Kennedy''s voice was cold and hard, inches from Amy''s face. “After everything you''ve done? You don''t deserve to die with witnesses around." She leaned closer, her tone dropping to a deadly whisper. "You deserve to rot in a hole where no one will even bother to find you."
Amy''s hands scrambled to grip Kennedy''s wrist, trying to pry her off, but she failed. "You... you can''t. You promised. You can''t let me die." She coughed, her voice strained. “You''ll die too." A cruel smile twisted her lips—she still thought she had the upper hand.
Ryker stepped quietly behind Kennedy, wrapping his arms around her waist in a steadying embrace. This would be her first kill that wasn''t in self-defense. He wouldn''t let her face it alone, though he wouldn''t interfere either. Taking a life was never easy, even when it was the right thing to do.
"You''ve got this, baby," he murmured softly into her ear, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple.
"You''d let your mate die just to get rid of me? Ha! What kind of alpha are you?" Amy choked out, struggling as Kennedy tightened her grip just a little more.
"The Luna only promised not to let your father kill you," Kennedy replied calmly. "She never said anything about anyone else."
I caught the moment Ryker''s eyes zed over as the warriors checked in with him through the mindlink.
"She gave us solid information, Lamb," Ryker said quietly. "Let''s finish this. May 1?"
Suddenly, a roar erupted through the arena, followed by screams and shouts echoing from every direction.