He strutted over towards me with arrogance. I held back the vomit rising and instinctively backed up until I hit the wall. Nowhere to run now. He’d left the door open out of over confidence. I tried to find a way I could maneuver around him and escape.

“Are you as delicious to taste as you are to look at?” he questioned with a smirk of haughtiness.

“I wouldn’t know. I’m not a f*cking steak.”

He chuckled, clearly amused and I snarled at him. He reached his hand out as he got closer. I resisted the urge to bite at his fingers. His hand against my face felt like acid moving along my cheek. I shivered away from his touch.

“Come now, Katie, my sweet. Don’t be like that.”

I stared at him wishing I could shoot bullets from my eyes.

“What am I supposed to be like, Uncle?”

He shuttered from the word. Clearly, picturing us as family repulsed him as it did me. But he wouldn’t continue to see me that way.

“There’s no need for that,” he grunted. I smirked, happy to put a damper in his seductive mood. I felt so sick with the thought that I was almost dizzy. But he dragged his hand down from my cheek to my neck and then to my breasts. He’d hardly begun but I could feel the tears piercing my eyes from the violation.

He ignored my pushing and pleading from him to leave me alone. Instead continued to usher notions like he’s the alpha and I’ll be his Luna or how badly he wanted me, as if these were meant to be soothing.

Fit the first time in a long time I felt like a little girl. I was terrified and I didn’t know what to do. I let the tears fall and I cried out for my mother, knowing she couldn’t help me anymore.

“Mama….” I stopped fighting and let myself succumb his torture. But he stopped and pulled away from me. He looked at me like I’d just hit some trigger that turned off his sexual aggression. I gathered myself quickly and kicked my foot up as hard as I could.

He let out a loud groan and caved in on himself as he fell to the ground.I ran quickly out of the room and out into the hall. It had been so long since I’d been in his castle but I felt confident enough I was running towards and exit.

The halls were empty. The light shining through let me know it was dusk - almost twilight. The tears grew in force. Even if I managed to keep evading him, I couldn’t find my way to safety in the dark. I resolved to find some place in the castle to hide.

“Katie….” His voice echoed down the hallway like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. “There’s nowhere for you to go. You might as well come back to me.”

I ducked quickly down a more narrow path, realizing as I went these must be servant quarters.

“Like hell! You f*cking killed my mom! She spent her last days panicked and making sure I’d be free of you and you f*cking killed her for it!” I knew it was stupid to shout back at him. I knew he was probably just trying to get a better idea of my location. But I could control the anger I felt. Part of me did want to go back so I could punch him and tell him how evil I truly thought he was. But that would only get me locked in that room at the very least, he’d likely continue to violate me as well. I shuttered internally.

“I didn’t kill Jessica. Why would I murder my own sister? It was a car crash!”

“That you caused! I saw us being followed to the airport! She booked five flights just so you wouldn’t know which one I was on or where I was going! She wanted to keep me away from you and I will not let her death be in vain!” My tears were making it difficult to utter comprehensible words but that didn’t really matter. I knew Nik would get the point. Despite him taking ignorance, he knew exactly how I felt about him.

“Come now, Kate. You’re being dramatic and slightly paranoid. Something you got from Jessica, no doubt. I told your mother my plans and she insisted you go to college first, that’s all. She knew she couldn’t deny me and neither can you.”

His voice was getting closer and I could feel the panic rising in me. I felt lost in this labyrinth of halls. I’d lost sight of anything that looked familiar. But I kept moving - running, hoping I’d find an escape.

“You can say what you want but I know what you did!”

I turned again and I felt like I’d gone in a giant circle. Nik was silent now and all I could hear was the clacking of my shoes against the marble floor. I remembered dancing on these floors as a little girl, pretending to be a ballerina. It was so sick to think I was running from the only ‘family’ I had left - hiding to escape with my life.

“I’m curious Katie, where do you think you’re going? Do you presume to know my castle better than I do?”

His voice was much closer than I was expecting and a new wave of panic moved me further down the hall. He was still sort of chuckling as if he enjoyed our little game of cat and mouse.

“I’m sorry you think so little of me as to think I would murder my own sister but her death was truly an accident. Either way, it won’t stop me from having you and making you my Luna.”

I moved quicker. He sounded as if he was just around the corner. My eyes darted around desperately for a place to hide or a door to escape through.

“F*ck that! I will never be your Luna. I’ll only give myself to my true mate,” I found myself shouting back. I instantly rolled my eyes. I had given my location again. His chuckles grew lounder. I tried to force myself to quiet my steps. I turned the corner and ran smack into a hard muscled surface and fell to the ground. A new tone of laughter. I recognized this voice too. I was caught again.

“Where do you think you’re going, Kate?” Ben asked. He forcefully picked me up and started walking me down the hall. “I’ve got her sire. I’m taking her back to her room.”

I tried to push away from Ben and started to kick and scratch at him. He continued to walk as if he didn’t notice anything. I screamed in fury and frustration.

“Stop! I don’t want to go back to him! I don’t belong here! People will be looking for me!” I continued to scream out, which did nothing except hurt my throat.

“Yes, I’ve noticed. You’ve got quite a lot of missed calls from a ‘Logan Finn’. Is that your boyfriend? Should I break the news to him gently?” Ben asked, laughing wildly.

“That my boss,” I mumbled. Part of me hoped he would call Logan. I knew he’d realize that something was wrong. Ben threw me back into the room and Nik was already waiting with open arms.

“There you are my sweet,” he cooed, pulling me back into him. I tried to push away from him.

“Let me go! I hate you and I will never be yours!” I screamed at him. Nik frowned.

“I’m offering you a dream life here, Kate. Why would you turn such a thing away? Who doesn’t want to be married to an Alpha? Or to become a Luna? You’ll see at our wedding ....”

His words hung in the air and they felt like I’d swallowed a bullet. I stared at him.

“Our wedding?” I repeated, barely able to comprehend the words. His smile returned.

“Of course, this weekend.” He looked at me as if he had just declared checkmate. It felt like he had. I felt hope drain from my body as I imagined the nightmare ahead of me.

“You might not recognize me as your niece, your family, but the people will recognize me as Kate Cole. It wasn’t that long ago I stood in front of everyone for my coming of age party. You really think the pack will accept this?” I sneered at him. I knew I was grasping at straws but I had to try anything.

“That’s an easy fix. No one looks too closely at royalty. No one will question me when I present you as someone different.” He ran his hands through my hair and I shuttered away from his touch, wishing I could pull away from it forever.