## KAYLA'S POV

During the entire drive back, Alpha Zeus didn't say a single word to me. He barely looked in my direction, maintaining a heavy, suffocating silence inside the back of the SUV.

When he had shown up at my father's house, a small part of me—a foolish, desperate part—had felt a sudden flicker of hope. It had almost felt like someone had actually come to rescue me. But reality crushed that thought almost instantly. My stepmother had admitted she caught me on his orders. He hadn't come to save me; he had come to claim what he felt was his.

It was almost funny in a sick way....