ane

ach. The brightly lit aisles were lined with violet wands, leather cuffs, and silk restraints. The air smelled of cheap

round. He stopped by a display, his large, calloused fingers picking up a black silk blindfold. He let th

his voice a low, mocking rumble. "Let him

sts at my sides. "You don't know any

then back to my eyes, stripping away my defenses layer by layer. "You have no wolf, no real instincts, yet you act like a stray guarding a master who do

urity I harbored. My vision blurred with hot, furious tears. He had taken my

elt entirely human but lethal all the same. I spun on my heel and

t over my chest, staring rigidly out the window. Knox's amusement had faded into a dangerous, heavy stillness. He intentionall

felt the heavy air, but the primal urge to submit simply wasn't there. I

e stepping foot anywhere near here was a death sentence. But Asheville itself was neutral ground, a human city where packs maintained a fragile peace for business and necessity. The true danger, I realized, was crossin

ped, dragging my own suitcase out onto the

I demanded, my voi

d unquestionable power. I followed him up a sweeping staircase and down a long, thickly carpeted cor

end of the ha

n," I said, reaching

l shove of his hand, he pushed the heavy oak door wid

c blend of Finn's rain-soaked grass and the swe

froze in

eeks ago, I had received a string of frantic texts from him, rambling about how the Mating Ceremony had been delayed-some 'political complication.' Delilah, it seemed, had returned to Asheville during the postponemen

n's face drained of color, his eyes widening in sheer, unadultera

smoothing down her hair and adjusting the collar of her blouse. Her cold

this Pack?" she asked, he

n I had flown across the country to save, feeling m