The Cold Alpha's Runaway Mate

a P

last moments of a life. It mixed with the scent of antiseptic and lilies,

oor. Matriarch Eleanor Blake's frail, paper-thin hand was lost in the grip of h

ike leaves skittering across p

ged b

ou and Kyla... you

hitched. I pressed myself back against the cold wal

rumble of stone. "I pr

otion. Just a simple

r, Alfred, had told me the Alpha was waiting for m

ut through the air. The

le

controlled, and gently closed Eleanor's eyes. He stood

and walked ou

rniture in the hallway. He didn't speak. He didn't even acknowledge my presence. He just

for the woman who had, in her own distant way, been kind to me. It was t

Blake estate. A fine, miserable drizzle

he black dress the housekeeper had found for me was ill-fitting, a little too tight in th

t, straight and unyielding as an ancient oak. Beside

s assistant.

ssion was somber, her posture elegant. She murmured condolences to the arriving guests, handed Duke a handker

g that excluded me completely. For four years, I had been his Mate, bound to him by a fate I never ask

ure Luna should be. A powerful Beta wolf, from

parkling at her throat. It seemed to mock the somb

ew, made his way toward the front. His face was etched with deep lines

traight t

"Please accept my condolences, future Luna. Ele

the whispers, the beat of my

her head humbly, a flicker of triumph in her eyes so quick I

n't cor

se, she

my soul. I saw Duke's mother, Audrey, give Jossie a small, approving no

and furious, before draining

in this house, in this pack. Four years

erasure was

't scream. I wouldn't gi

breath, forcing down the s

ned and wa

llowed by the rain. My movements were quiet, bu

k, a fleeting, dismissive touch. But then another gues

ing willow. The rain plastered my hair to my face, cold dro

y small clutch. The scre

ugh my contacts, past the names of pack members who treated me

zing in Pack Law. A number I had saved a year ago, in a moment of

d the ca

gainst the leaves,

son spe

clear and steady, devoid o

son, it's K

ne last, final bre

ormally reje