ena

y doorway of the club, his foot t

, just like the last time we saw each

ck to that humiliati

ying a tray of drinks, completely unaware tha

ilas sitting there, radiating immense

uneral and my medical bills, my inner wol

m and my thin, malnourished body with a curl

the silver poison, I could only

g out cruel insults, assuming I had spent

form the words to explain Julian's

Silas unleashed his

weak, Omega knees to buckle, but I grabbe

submit to

ger pay, three massive, violent Rogue debt collectors cornered me in the rain-slicked alley.

boot connecting squarely with my ribs. "Or we sell

o a halt at the alley's mouth. The rear window descended, and I saw Silas, his face illuminated by the dashboard's faint gl

broken, until my vision blurred a

car, slowly walking over to whe

lk handkerchief to pinch my

t you deserved to die for what you d

the crushing despair f

d out a broken, raspy whisper, beg

ndred-dollar bills at the rogue

kerchief onto my face, as if

t my chest, ordering me to take his charit

las was staring at the exact spot on th

"I truly wished to force her to

he club manager rushed back into t

f seeking purchase to keep the rest of his body from collapsing. He was a grown wolf, a Beta who had

arting, then closing, then parting again-as if

voice cracked, splintered, fell

round his whiskey glass, went still. The ice inside

" he co

to the floor. When he finally l

ing like a stone into still water. "Selena died in a motor-veh

did not g

ent

ss. Even the distant bass from the dance floor below seemed t

s knuckles, followed by a dull crack. He did not loosen his grip. He let the sharp edges of the fractured glass bite into his p

ipping onto the marble floo

e red spreading across his palm.

d two y

ye

tion, dreaming of the moment she would be dragged before him, broken and begging. He had rehearsed th

en rotting in a human morgue,

. It struck the floor and exploded, fragmen

ring through the expensive fabric of his trousers as his wolf surged fo

ra

hing

ie

of her into fuel, every smile into a scar, every laugh into a curse.

s truly, irrevocably go

ding his breath

finally tell her the one thing

still lo

ould never g

hite, his breathing ragged. The manager was still on the floor, weeping openl

n Alpha's fury, but the raw, bloodshot red of a man who ha

ce, he spoke. His voice was not

deeper th

On a cold stree

. His voi

ew money a

m. Because there w

t powerful Alpha in the region stood at the center of his empire, surrou

im through every moment of my wr

years for him t

that h

which of us wa