an

torm of memories, each

ty. My father had just passed, and rival factions within the pack were circling. My mother

assumed it was with excitement, with the overwhelming power of the bond being se

The bond flared between us, a raw, searing connection. But as soon as t

empty bedroom suite alone on our first night as a bonded pair. Our marriage

se, how to host dignitaries, how to navigate the treacherous currents of inter-pack politics. Eden was a

all of her back. Her smile, directed at me, would be full of gentle adoration. It was all a

rity gala. The city lights blurred past the window. Ede

oftly, her voice barely a whisper. "He seemed to ha

bridge the chasm between u

ding. "That's not your concern. Manage your parties and y

ce filled the car. She never tried

s loved us. Pictures of us leaving restaurants, of me at her movie premiere. I told myself it was just a game

red what it was

t threats. It transmits emotion. When I was with Josette, laughing at her jokes

e garden one afternoon. She was pale as a sheet, a pair of pruning shears on the ground beside her,

pitying me or laughing at me. The Alpha who

stant companion. And my

ed the rest of Rosa's confession-the conversation she'd over

shallow. She held Eden's hand

e needs a stable pack behind him to truly become the Alpha he was born to be. Promise me... he

ce. A promise made to the only person in thi

. I thought I was alone. But when I looked up, I saw Eden standing in the doorway. She saw the crack in my armor, the one moment of vulne

ack in my office, the air t

s a contract reaching its end. She had fulfilled her promise to my mother

lecting her final p

long, I felt a cold spike of genuine fear. I hadn't built a cage for her. I had been liv