Thorn

puttered and died. The chatter and laughter faded into a shocked, suffocating silence. Ev

n his stormy grey eyes met mine, I saw no remorse.

linched away from his chest, scurrying to hide behind his ma

ker said, his voice a low growl. It

through the cro

e? I thought sh

ss, she's wit

bout th

duty to know every guest in our territory," I said, my tone deliberately formal, every word crisp and clear. This w

ks of that whore!* Kara snarled, he

g at my public defiance. He was the Alp

, maybe I should go..." she whispered, her voice trembling pi

s the aggressor. I watched as the hard lines of Ryker's face softened instantly. He turned his he

and did something that made

himself firmly in front of Faye, completely

s brutally, un

hose

me-a crushing wave of his Alpha's Command. It wasn't a spoken order, but a pure, dominati

, but the suffocation wasn't from his power. It was from the sheer, soul-crushing agony o

a searing, white-hot burn, as if a brand

re I fell, my pride the only thing keeping me upright.

t boomed across the silent clearing. "Faye is unde

answer. His pub

h our people before being silenced by a

ng clenched in a giant, invisible fist, squeezing until I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Five years of marriage. Five

ained, heartbroken howl. *He c

pain sharpened, so did my resolve. My eye

ing. This was the

Ryker's shoulder. A faint, triumphant smirk played on her

thing harder, colder, and far more dangerous. I met Faye's gaze