ene

ay from eighteen years of quiet desperation. For the first time, I felt the weight on my sh

"The sanatorium is peaceful, Mother. You can

e and love washing over me. She was so strong. My strong, bril

d not

s caught the roar of several more engines approaching fast. Our car jol

antly alert, h

ng a dangerous, feral red. He was flanked by a handful of personal guards, not the full contingent that had been dispatched to the f

hunted

e did not even seem to see Elois. "Get out,

grained fear making me tremble. But Elois mov

y to you, Father," she said

e of his will. "Adriene Lara! I am your Alpha and your mate! I command you t

soul. The mate bond, once a warm tether between us, now felt like a rotting chain. The air in the carriage turned thick and suffocating with his pheromones, pres

inner wolf, dormant for so long, suddenly stood up and bared her fangs at her former mate. "No,

face inches from mine. His breath was hot and smelled of sour wine. "Do you think you ca

er your mate?" Elois's voic

evering the bond is so simple?" He laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. Then

ou want to sever the

the Pack. A new one. And you will provide an annual stipend for the rest of your life. If you refuse,

od ran

e woman cast out by her Alpha. And your children... your precious Elois and Columbus... their mot

gu

thout protection, our scents erased from the pack registry, making us targets for an

, but the person behind it was a stranger, a monster. Every tender memory, every hopef

nd mistook it for surrender. A t

t. "Return with the money, or prepare t

k to his own vehicle. He and his men sped a

ent. I felt nothing. A vast, cold

dy. "Do not be afraid, Mother," she murmured into my

leaned against my daughter, my protector, my only hope. After a l

aid, "I regr