ted meat. Hundreds of Silver Ridge pack members sat at long wooden tables, drinking dark ale and s

ice of the stone stairs, h

focating bond anchoring her to the man beside her. Marcus stood right next to her, his massive frame radiating dominance. His crus

p your head high. You are not a victim toni

, her jaw clenched so tightly it ached

udgmental stares of the pack piercing through her. She caught the bewildered whis

e low-rankin

e is D

cent... she smells entir

searching for Devon. She found him sitting

aze filled with heartbreak and fury. Elena wanted to break formation and run to him, to b

wolf let out a traitorous sigh of relief, betraying her conscious mind completely. Elena

lace in the intricately carved wooden chair beside his throne. Once she sa

hough the underlying tension in the room remained thick. "But the Moon Goddess has also blessed us with an unexpected cha

ze dark and possessive, before raisi

enly the reigning Alpha's fated mate. But no one in the territory possessed the courage to defy Marcus Vance. Slowl

tirely frozen, staring

beside her. He sliced a piece of meat from his own plate and placed it gently on

r starve," Elen

ted, a dark smirk touched his lips. "You have far more fire in you than I anticipated,

oking at the throne. He was leaning over, whispering intently into the ear of Thomas, the pack be

heart hammering against her ri

manders who had just arrived post-haste from the border. Seizing the distraction, Elena s

er voice completely level to mask her panic. "Unless

of a lie. She forced her terror down into the darkest corners of her mind. Finally, he gave

a heavy curtain into the quiet, dimly lit stone corridors of the p

y to slip a message to Devon, when a strong hand suddenly grip

nd flying to her mout

Devon's voice whi

se, and his hand was gripp

or a second before pulling back. "What are you doing? Your fa

tting you out of here. Thomas is helping me turn the guards. We have a truck wait

eight on her left shoulder. "Devon, we can't run. Your father said If he dies, I die

ely into the metal. "This is an elder's blade. It's dipped in wolfsbane and bound by ancient blood magic. It doesn't just kill an Alph