Trigger Warning: Sexual assault themes. Read at your own discretion, or skip until the italicized part is over.

Two years earlier.

"Grey?" I call out into the woods. He had been gone for hours, and he usually always made sure he was home by dusk. The sun was low, almost lost in the night completely.

I go deeper in the woods, ignoring Grey's past warnings to never stray from our cabin. "There are far worse nightmares out in the woods than you're ready for," He had said.

"Grey?" I call out again, and my initial annoyance at his tardiness turned into concern. "This isn't funny, I'm worried."

I heard someone walking through the thick brush, and exhaled in relief as I turned to face Grey. "Thank the Goddess. What have you been doing?"

My heart stops beating when I see that it isn't Greyson at all, but an unfamiliar rogue. He's not the ugliest guy I've ever seen, tall, muscular, and big blue eyes.

"Oh, sorry," I apologize. "I thought you were someone else."

He grins, flashing his canines wickedly. "I can be whoever you want me to be, darling."

"Uhm... No thanks," I quickly say. "My, um, friend is looking for me, he'll be here any minute."

The rogue looks around the surrounding forrest. "I don't see him anywhere. And if I recall, you were the one shouting his name, I don't think he's looking for you, doll."

I take a step back in fear, not liking how sinister his dark eyes look. His grin widened at my actions. "Run if you want, darling. You won't be able to escape me."

"I don't want to hurt you," I warn, and he howls in laughter.

"You couldn't if you tried," He promised.

I raise my hands, draining a nearby tree of its life force, creating a ball of energy. "Please, leave," I plead. I don't want to hurt him, regardless of what a skeez he is.

He raises his hands in surrender, backing away slowly. I exhale in relief as his figure disappears in the woods.

I turn away, allowing the energy to dissipate into the air. When I turn back in the direction of the cabin, I shriek in surprise as the rogue is standing face to face with me.

He shoves me to the ground, pouncing on me like I'm his prey, and uses one of his hands to pin mine to the ground above my head, and I'm unable to use my Gift. I struggle from underneath him, but he's twice my size, and far too heavy for me throw him off.

"So beautiful," He whispers, using his free hand to trace the side of my face. When his finger gets close to my mouth, I snap at him, managing to bite his finger. He hisses in pain, withdrawing it, but he only looks amused. "You're lucky I love a fighter."

I sob as he kisses my cheek, and down my neck. His hand grabs my thigh, and I'm helpless, unable to stop his hand from roaming higher.

Suddenly, the pressure from his heavy body disappears, and I hear a loud growl. My sobs of fear turn to relief when I see Greyson's wolf on top of the rogue, his teeth latched deep around his neck.

His wolf turns to look back at me, growling and jerking his head to the side, warning me to look away.

I shift my gaze away from them, flinching as I hear the rogue's screams, and the sound of tearing flesh. I hear Greyson's footsteps get closer to me, he's shifted back into his human form.

I'm still sobbing as Greyson gently picks me up off of the forrest floor, cradling me to his chest. "I-I'm so sorry," I cry. "I shouldn't have left the cabin."

"Shh," Grey soothes me. "Let's get you back home, Nyx. It's not your fault. I love you."

Present day——————

"Go fish," Greyson says through the thick silver bars that separate us.

"You're totally cheating," I mutter, taking another card from the pile on the damp prison floor.

Greyson snorts. "You're such a sore loser, Nyx. Always have been."

"And you've always been a cheater," I argue.

Greyson rolled his eyes. "How can I cheat? I'm literally locked in a cell, if anything, you're probably cheating."

I shrug. "I don't know how, but I know you are."

Grey scoffs. "Whatever, I'm sick of this stupid game anyways."

"We could play solitaire? Or maybe War?" I suggest.

"We've already played both of those today. I'm sick of card games," Grey groans.

I wince. "I know. I'm sorry. I know this isn't... ideal."

Grey glances at the silver chains that restrain him and burn through his skin. "Obviously," He says drily.

"I promise I'll get Thane to release you soon," I swear. "I just need more time."

Greyson scoffs. "I tried to kill the Luna of Blood Lake twice. There's no way he's going to let me out of here."

Sighing, I put the cards back in the box. "Well can you blame him? Ares is like, his best friend. Or was, I guess." I frown.

Greyson leans back against the dirty wall, pressing his feet against the bars. The cell certainly was not roomy. "No, I actually see why he has to keep me locked up. Which is how I know that he will never let me go."

"I just need some time," I hesitate. "You know... You know things aren't great between us right now."

"No, I thought you spent all of your time in a dark cellar with me for the last month because things were going great between you and your mate," Grey sarcastically responded.

His tone softens when he sees the hurt look on my face. "Look, Nyx. I'm sorry that I'm the reason you and your mate aren't getting along. I really didn't know that's how that night was going to turn out. If I did, I never would have shown up."

"Why did you?" I question. "Why were you spending so much time around Blue Moon, especially with the person you tried to kill still around?"

Grey sighed. "I already told you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after the Challenge. You took quite a few bad hits, I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay. Plus... I didn't trust the Reaper around you."

"She hasn't ever hurt me," I say, but then quickly correct myself. "Well, not outside of training at least."

"She would have if she knew you as a rogue," Grey argued. "She has no problem with killing, you saw how little she cared, even when you confronted her about killing my mate."

I wince, remembering Ares' blank face that night when I asked if she was the one mercilessly slaughtering rogues.

I heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and Leo walked towards where I was sitting on the floor. "Luna, it's time to leave," He said stiffly. Leo was infuriated by my decision to defend Grey, and it had driven a wedge between us.

I nod, getting up off of the ground. "See you tomorrow, Grey," I say, and he smiles. "I'm counting on it, I have nothing else to do."

Leo walks in front of me, guiding me back to the pack house. Today was the first day that Thane had allowed me to see Greyson, unsupervised. Not that he had been supervising me, because that would have meant spending time around me, something he avoided.

And I didn't blame him for it.

I felt consumed by guilt that he now was fighting with the only family he had left. The only thing that kept me grounded, unyielding, was knowing that Grey was still alive. I knew Leo blamed me for worsening tensions between us and Blood Lake, but what was I supposed to do? Stand idly by while Ares stabbed my only family left?

I didn't want to fight with Thane anymore, but the separation between us made me feel a million miles away from him. When we got back to the pack house, I decided to take the risk of rejection and went to his office, where he had been spending most of his time for the past month.

I knocked on the door. "Come in," He called absentmindedly, and I opened the door. He looked up from the mountain of papers on his desk in surprise.

"Hi," I quietly say, suddenly regretting reaching out.

"Hi, Onyx," He said, quirking an eyebrow up. "Do you need something? I'm working."

I nervously fiddle with my sleeve. "Um, no, I guess not. I just wanted to talk."

"Can it wait?" Thane sighed. "I have a lot of paperwork to deal with right now."

I nod. "Will you come back to our room tonight?"

Thane stares at me, his face revealing no emotion. "Maybe. I might have too much to do. I'll try."

"You said that last night," I mutter.

"I had a lot of work last night too," Thane deadpans, and I cringe.

"Right, sorry. I'll leave you alone," I mumble, quickly leaving his office, closing the door behind me.

I go up to our room, throwing myself on the mountain of pillows, unable to stop the sobs that wrack throughout me. Everything had turned into such a huge mess, so quickly, and I didn't know how to fix it without having to sacrifice my best friend.

Eventually, I am able to calm myself down enough to fall asleep. Halfway through the night, I awaken to Thane pulling me into his arms. They feel like ice against my warm skin.

"I promised you I'd be there for you," Thane whispered. "That you wouldn't feel alone again. I won't go back on my word."

I relax into his arms, his words unknowingly release a deep tension in my muscles.

And in that moment, it felt like everything was going to be okay.