Chapter 2

Iris's POV

My vision is blurring, but I keep my eyes locked on that gorgeous face in front of me.

God, is this the man I gave up everything for?

I laugh, even with my mouth full of blood.

"What are you laughing at?" Damian's brow furrows, a flicker of irritation flashing in his eyes.

I don't answer. I use the last of my strength to lift my right hand, bite open my finger, and press my bloody fingertip onto the scroll.

A blinding red light flares up, and something deep inside me gives way with a dull, heavy sound.

The contract is broken.

Damian's eyes widen slightly, like he can't believe I'd actually go through with breaking it on my own.

Break a bond like this on your own, and all the backlash comes back on you.

I cough up a mouthful of blood, my whole body burning from the inside out, but my eyes have never been clearer or more certain.

"Damian, it's done." I force out the words with the last of my breath, and toss the scroll at his feet. "You're free."

Damian stares down at the scroll, his face going gray.

Something about the deadness in my eyes seems to cut through him, and a rage he can't control swallows whatever's left of his reason.

"Fine. Great." He lets out a furious laugh and snaps his hand out. A wave of force slams into my chest.

I go flying like I weigh nothing, and slam into the hallway wall hard enough that I hear something crack.

Damian turns away without another look at me, and pulls Daphne gently into his arms.

"Get out. Don't make her look at you."

I don't even remember how I get out of Ashgrove Tower.

It's pouring outside, the cold rain hitting my wounds like a hundred tiny needles. The gash in my shoulder is still bleeding, at least three of my ribs are broken, and every breath comes with a wet, bloody rattle.

I drag myself down the empty street at midnight, barely holding myself together.

An engine roars through the silence of the rain.

A silver sports car cuts a sharp turn across the wet road and stops right in front of me, throwing up a wave of muddy water that soaks me head to toe.

The door kicks open, and someone steps out, tall and broad.

It's Knox.

He doesn't bother with an umbrella, just lets the rain soak his wild silver hair. He's wearing a black leather jacket that's stretched tight across his frame. His eyes are glowing an eerie green, full of something feral, and the air around him feels like it's about to snap.

"Real impressive, Iris." Knox crosses the distance in two steps and grabs a fistful of my soaked hair.

The pull on my scalp forces my head back, and I'm staring straight into his eyes, which are burning with rage.

"Daphne just texted me. Says you went after Damian like some psycho, got blood all over her dress, scared her half to death." Knox's jaw is clenched so tight I can hear it. "You got a death wish or something?"

I look at him, and it feels like something invisible is crushing my heart.

Knox. The boy I grew up with.

He was born with the bloodline, but never able to shift. When he turned eighteen, it started tearing him apart from the inside, every full moon his bones would feel like they were being crushed one by one. The doctors told him he wouldn't live past twenty.

It was me. I went back to that altar and gave up another twenty years of my life.

I traded my life so he'd never have to feel that pain again, so he could finally shift.

I still remember the first full moon that didn't hurt him, the night he turned into that silver wolf for the first time. He tackled me into the grass, so excited, rubbing his big furry head against my neck, and swore up and down, "Iris, I'll carry you on my back for the rest of my life. Anyone messes with you, I'll tear them apart."

And now he's about to put me in the ground over a dress.

"Say something! You deaf now?" When I don't answer, Knox shoves me away.

I roll across the rough concrete, and my already broken ribs take another hit. Blood comes pouring out of my mouth, mixing into the water on the ground.

"Knox..." I'm flat on the ground, barely able to lift my head, my voice almost lost in the rain. "Did you forget... who gave you that life?"

That seems to hit a nerve.

"You've got some nerve bringing that up." Knox lunges at me and stomps down hard on my right leg.

A sickening crack echoes through the garage.

That's the sound of bone snapping.

The pain shoots straight to my head, and the cold sweat mixes with the rain until I can't see straight.

"You saved me once, so I put up with your crap. But that doesn't give you the right to hurt her!" Knox's eyes are ice cold, and instead of letting up, he grinds his foot down harder.

The broken bone tears through skin, and blood spreads fast across the wet ground. The pain of it tears through my whole body, and I can't stop shaking.

"She's the sweetest person I know, wouldn't hurt a fly, and you go after her? Just because we both happen to like her now? Iris, you make me sick."