el

m door behind me and the

id without tu

, Al

port on every word she says. E

her head.

lls. The pack house was quiet at this hour and most of the wolves were

across the floor. My mind was racing, turning over every possibility, every hidden meaning behind what had just happened.

hind those medical doors she was fighting to stay alive, and if she survived, answers would follow. The problem was that ans

The familiar scent of leather and pine greeted me but there was

sc

her. Sweet and floral with an underlying

oonshado

nside were the clothes we'd cut off her. The ruined weddi

xpensive and

ding

erfect and the material was fine enough that it must have cost a for

lpha's d

ser. Her scent was stronger here, mingling with pack scen

had been very

n my chest before

to focus, this wasn't about her or her scent or the

s about

ut justice f

er to single combat over a border dispute. It should h

rius c

t enough to weaken my father without being

ius walked away with expanded territory

unds when I prepared his body for burial, but I was only nineteen and newly appo

of thing most people would notice, but something about it had felt wrong the moment I saw it. I'd spent nights afterward researching old pack records and herbal toxins, trying to

Without proof I'd been forced to bury my suspicions along with him. But de

thout evidence and Darius w

wai

ronger, trained ha

ter had fallen ri

ce of parchment. My hand hovered over the

e female on my territory. Severely

s perfect and casual, almost bore

ius wou

hair was rare and combined with the timin

was what he

Would he offer a ransom? W

nse would

I will send it with a neutral messenger-someone who

just neede

should have come easily. I'd been awake for almost t

nd wouldn

ragile looking. I kept feeling her weight in my arms. Too lig

rrior wolf with

'd discovered the body. A full-grown male wolf with his throat cut o

girl had

speration drove

y office suddenly felt too small

was w

be leverage. A too

ing in my chest had twisted painfully. Something

mplication my pack didn't need, yet the sight of her pale face against the white sheets stirred something fie

This was dangerous-emotion where there should only be strategy. Still, as I turned to leave, I found

d when she curled

rr

osing m

fist. The silk crumpled easily and her scent rose stronger. Sw

s she

imagined. Not the pampered

fferent-one clean and precise, another jagged like it came from a serrated blade. And she

and streaks of red had soaked through the lace sleeves. One shoe was missing. T

steps before collapsing against

reath scraped through her

the forest w

qu

despite the tremor running through her body. No shouting.

e lost

letting her t

urch. The music. The doors burs

omach

shaking her head as if she could

ine hummed somewh

ed, small

the metal dug into her palms. If she could just reach

uddenly cres

fr

the world hel

e light

was st

r knees nearly buckled. She stumbled forw

er's doo

steppe

ark coa

ca

ghts shifted, she s

at had been stan

ed on her w

back on the desk

n't matter. All that mattered

ght it I knew I wa

adow had gotten under my ski

ied but trying so hard to be brave. The way she'd lied about h

her go like freedom was the onl

grounds. My pack was settling in for the night and l

wolves. This territory, this leg

et sentiment