JAYDEN

The voice slithered in again, curling like smoke inside my skull.

Tell him. Tell Gabriel about his daughter… or I will make you.

My jaw clenched so tight it ached. I pressed my palms flat against my knees, forcing my body still. My wolf raged, pacing, snarling at the intrusion. My own thoughts felt hijacked, invaded, until I couldn’t tell which belonged to me and which he had planted.

Get out, I hissed in my head. You don’t own me.

The laughter that followed was a low, rasping echo, sharp enough to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.

I closed my eyes, sucking in a long...