Chapter 224

• Lycidas' POV
• The desert heat clung to my suit like a second skin, the Bentley's leather seats hissing as I shifted my weight. I'd chosen this human contraption precisely because it reeked of their fragility - polished steel and squeaking hydraulics, a coffin on wheels waiting to crumple under a werewolf's fist. My boots dented the steering wheel as I stared at the prison's rusted gates. Pathetic. They built their cages above ground here, as if shame needed sunlight to thrive.
• A lizard skittered across the asphalt, its panicked heartbeat thrumming through the haze. It froze when my shadow fell across its path, beady eyes widening before it bolted toward the prison walls. Even vermin recognized true predation. I smiled, fangs pressing against my lower lip, as the gates groaned open.