phin

nes of the manor's front hall. I stood in the cen

the thick wool rug. His heavy boots le

nally shouted, stopping to glare at me. "To

ce a perfect

k. "She sent me a vision. I saw blood on the snow. I saw our Pack torn asunder by a

nto his eyes. He was a wolf of the old ways. He could not openly dism

n?" he m

. Alpha Xander came to claim a mate, but did he ever expl

her bl

law. An Alpha could have a mate, but the title

s bed while another holds

who was cowering near the fir

lutching her silk shawl

?" I asked, stepping toward her. "Do you dare to swear that

An Alpha's mating heat was a thing of violence, a feral, unco

the Alpha's prestige but never considered the cost. And I knew, with

ad, unable to fo

y, leather-bound book from a concealed pocke

I transcribed the exact passages la

g is lawful. Furthermore, the soul's rejection ca

read the text, the heav

dark coat. It was Xander's Gamma, the third-in-command of the

just smirked, his posture drip

e mate," the Gamma said, his voice smooth and condescendi

silks. It looked less like a gift

at Celestine, then at me. "Once you both relocate to our territory, things will be simple. One of you wil

od ran

sing, but because they were the exact words the Goddess had whispe

to be used and discarded. Even my fa

the Gamma. I let my cont

in my family's blood for seven generations, waiting for the one who would need it most. Guided by the iron discipline of a master healer, I did no

adiated from me. The ambient te

d as his inner wolf sensed a predator far o

with an unnatural chill. "Tell your Alpha that if he forc

from his main house to his farthest border sentinel will know that the gre

is boots slipping on the wet floor. He grabbed the box, utt

rs slammed sh

felt the cold aura, too. He was beginning to realize I

will summon the Pack Doctor. If he confirms you

ded s

I knew, with cold certainty, that

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