Page 110 of Savage Games

I swallow."He refused to let us leave.Said we had a duty to the pack, and that we owed it to Rowan's memory to stay and contribute.That he needed to keep us close because Rowan would have wanted him to make sure Maddie was really okay.But really?He was punishing us."

"He kept me isolated," Maddie adds, her voice suddenly stronger."Told everyone I was unstable, that my grief was making me dangerous.When wolves from my birth pack tried to visit, he turned them away.Said I wasn't well enough for visitors."

Her thin hands clench on her lap."That's when I knew he suspected the truth.He was creating a story, making sure no one would believe me if I ever spoke up."

Maddie lets out a soft, humourless laugh."He said Naomi was overprotective.That she’d get violent if anyone dared suggest we needed help.But all the time, he was growing more and more obsessed with her and her wolf."

I still remember the fearful glances from the other pack members, too afraid to even speak to us.

"Brad said we were grieving and needed space," I add."What he really meant was to stay away from them or else.That we were dangerous."

"He liked it," Maddie says, voice flat."He enjoyed controlling us.Reminding us what we'd done.He never said the words, but he knew.He knows."

I straighten, feeling heat rise in my chest."That's why I entered the Games.It was the only thing I could think of.If I won, Maddie and I could finally leave.If I was Alpha, there’s no way Brad could block my request for Maddie to join me.We could start over.Be free."

I take a breath.

"But Brad followed," Maddie mutters."Said he wanted Naomi to mate with him and hand over control of the new pack to him.Or he’d tell everyone what we did.What I did."

"He said if I didn't cooperate, he'd make sure every alpha in the region knew what Maddie had done," I add, meeting Blake's gaze directly."That he'd ensure she was brought before the council and charged with premeditated murder."

"And you believed him?"Dean asks, speaking for the first time.

"After everything we'd seen him do?Yes," I admit."I believed he'd destroy her without a second thought."

The silence stretches between us all.

Blake remains stone faced beside Dean, who leans back in his chair.

"Why didn't you come forward sooner?"Dean looks between Maddie and me.

"Because we didn't think anyone would believe us," I whisper."Because I wasn't going to put Maddie on trial just to prove what he was."

Maddie straightens beside me, her voice shaking."Because we were scared."

"I didn't just enter the Games on impulse," I explain."For weeks, I trained in secret, pushed myself beyond exhaustion every night.I knew I'd face alphas with more raw strength, so I developed my other skills, like speed and endurance.Everything I did was calculated for this one chance at freedom, and even then, he tried to steal it from me once he saw my wolf and knew I might actually have a chance."

Dean exchanges a look with Blake that I can't decipher.

My heart pounds in my chest, waiting.

Blake finally speaks, his voice measured."You understand we can’t base a decision as serious as this on your word alone.We’ll need to speak with Brad and his pack."

It's not a question.

Dean nods slowly."We'll need to consider the implications.For all parties."

My stomach knots."What does that mean for us?"

"It means," Dean says carefully, "that you don't have to return to Brad's pack.Beyond that, I need time to determine the appropriate course of action."

Not a pardon, but not an accusation, either.Just uncertainty.

I suddenly feel colder."And Maddie?"

"Your sister stays with you," Dean says."That much, I can promise."

It's something.Not everything, but something.

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