Page 100 of A Hunger Soft and Wild

“You’ll care for a thing, and it will cost you,”she’d whispered, voice like a blade pressed to the base of my throat.“Let this be your first lesson.”

I suck in a breath, an ache knotting deep in my stomach. She’s always known exactly how to unnerve me. How to twist the knife.

“If you want me,” I say, forcing the words past the rising burn in my throat, “if you want your—your property back, then I’m here. You don’t need her too.”

Her lips twitch, suppressing a laugh. “Ah, so itisabout a mortal. How predictable. You never did understand our superiority, did you?” She sweeps forward, her presence dominating the shattered foyer. “You never understood what it meant to be one of us. You threw away strength and station for...what, exactly?” Her gaze flicks over my scuffed boots and torn cloak, and the distaste in her expression deepens. “Honestly, Aria, you look…pathetic.”

My shoulders tense, jaw locked, but I stay silent. She’s baiting me. Poking old wounds to see if I’ll bleed.

I won’t give her the satisfaction.

When I don’t respond, her expression hardens—elegance turning brittle.

“Come.” She extends a pale hand, fingers rigid, ringed in silver like the promise of a cage. “We leave immediately. Back to the estate. You’ve wasted enough of my time.”

My voice breaks through the tension. “What abouther?”

Her eyes flick toward me, amused. “Your…friend need not be harmed, so long as you don’t make a fuss.”

I swallow, trying to quell the panic flooding my chest. I can’t let her or the clan near Roan—there’s no way she’ll spare her. If I press, I might lose any chance of protecting Roan at all.

Still, I have to ask. “Why do you want me back so badly? You have an entire clan—”

Her eyes flash with anger, cutting me off. “Youdarequestion me? You are my daughter,” she hisses, “and you carry our blood. There is no running from that. Your little rebellion has been…entertaining, but I’m done playing. You will return to your place. Or I will burn whatever hole you’ve crawled into.”

She signals the enforcers again, and they step forward to grip my arms once more. I freeze, panic rising hot in my chest.

This is it—she’ll drag me back, and Roan…

My mind whirls, heart pounding. I see Roan—sleeping, unguarded, back at the inn. I’d parted from her to protect her, to keep her out of this, but I was a fool to think distance would be enough. My mother could track a breath through a storm—she’s a master tracker. That’s how she followed us this far, isn’t it? Roan’s scent, the faint trail we left behind, every misstep I thought we’d hidden… all of it led her here. And if she wants to, she’ll follow it right back to the inn. Right back toher.

I suck in a breath. My voice comes out quieter this time, trembling around the edge of desperation. “If I come with you quietly... you’ll leave her alone? Forever?”

A languid shrug. “If she’s wise enough to keep out of my way.”

My eyes fall for a heartbeat—and that’s all she needs. She strikes like a snake, one gloved hand grabbing my chin, yanking my face up.

“Youwillobey,” she murmurs, her tone laced with chilling finality. “Because that’s what you were born for. You’re only here now because you can’t hide forever. Don’t lie to me, Aria. But you and I both know who holds the leash.I’m the only one who can grant your mortal a chance, flimsy as it may be.”

I want to scream. I want to tear her apart—but the thought of Roan in my mother’s path sets ice in my veins.

Instead, I say, “Yes.”

The word tastes like blood and surrender.

Damaris exhales sharply behind me. One of the enforcers nods. My mother’s smile spreads, triumphant.

I glance toward the door, as if I could see Roan from here. I can’t. But the echo of her warmth is still tucked beneath my ribs.

“I’ll go with you,” I say, voice low. "I'll obey."

And for the first time since I left that inn, I feel truly cold.

The silence shatters.

A crash—sharp, jarring. A muffled shout. And then a sound that turns my blood to ice: a wet, visceral tear, like flesh parting from bone.

My mother’s fingers jerk from my chin, and her head whips toward the noise. Around me, the enforcers go still, muscles taut and ready, eyes darting toward the hallway with sudden, silent panic.

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