: JA

he car, R

ic hammer against the base of my throat, each beat sending a fresh wave of adrenaline-fueled fire through my veins.

th you," she snapped, her

against my palm, a direct wire to the bond that was currently trying to rip my chest open. I dragge

ting me!" s

wling in the back of my skull, demanding I soothe the very bruise I was creating

ht. I slammed the door, the sound echoing like a gunshot through the empty garage. By the time I

r back pressed hard against the door,

k," I g

speed that matched the chaos in my blood. Beside me, Remi was a statue of terror. I could smell the cold s

ructure loomed over us like a silent, concrete beast. I used m

I com

. The lights are off.

aid

s. The smell of stale popcorn and old ice rose up to meet us. It

sudden, violent drop in temperature, hitting my face like a slap.

pointing to the

, swallowed by the immense silence of the empty arena. Her eye

on't move. Don't s

ice with a sharp, echoing clack. I didn't bother with a helmet. I didn't bother w

an to

V:

und just bounced off the thousands of empty

al weight, seeping through the thin silk of my dress until my bones felt like they were made of glass.

as a

carving into the ice was a series of violent, rhythmic stabs. Rrip. Rrip. Rrip. The ice wa

ts that looked more like an act of war than

an

a thunderclap. I jumped, my breath hitching in a

ing off his chin as he pivoted. I could smell it even from here-that thick, metallic tang of an Alpha pushed to the

uck. This time, he d

ned to

n my veins. He drew his stick back, his mus

wa

e safety glass directly in front of my face wit

The glass didn't break, but the sound-a high-pitched, ringing c

ng, his chest rising and falling with a violent rhythm. "Is that the excit

ce cracking. I stood up, my legs feelin

ll the part of me

through the boards and crush me. At the last possible second, he turned his ska

I stood there, shivering, the ice melting ag

t it felt like it was melting from the heat radiating off him. His eyes weren't blue anymore. The

s hot, smelling of chocolate and iron. "The board is gone. My career is

op of the boards, my knuckles white. "I didn't

voice dropping to a low, dangero

: JA

me," sh

bration that started in my diaphragm and filled the entire rink. She actually turned around

er hips, moving with a taunting

skates clattering onto the rubber flooring

k against the cold, hard glass of the rink. The impact m

of me,

my open jersey, and the contact of her palms against my skin was like a lightning st

I gr

ld of the rink behind her and the heat of my body in front of her. She

on either side of her head. The sound was a dull

face inches from hers. "You think you're going to fl

, her eyes wet with tears that refused to fall. "I am not your p

your

. The silence that followed was absolute. The only sound was the hum of

s to the mark on her neck. It was glowing. A faint, ethereal amber

voice breaking. "It doesn't care about my contract. It only cares

elled like heaven and a looming storm. My hands moved from the gl

mi," I breathed against her lips.

?" she asked, her voic

ev

was a physical barrier, a wall of static that made the fine hairs on my arms stand on end. I wanted

, her breath hitching, her fingers

d, her voice a jagged shard of

to sink my teeth into that glowing mark and end this to

e ice flickered to life, its

eyes squinting a

across the screen in g

OOD, JAXSON. SHE ISN'T

t her, and the terror in her eyes was replaced

grip on her shoulders tightenin

past me, toward the dark tun

oncourse. He was holding a file, and even from this distance, I

could barely hear her, "that the blood test didn't just

light. It was the same man from the party, but he wasn't weari

gh the rafters. "She isn't your sister. She's your prey. And