MATED TO TWO RIVALS ALPHAS

ER

e side corridor before Viktor'

that only I hear it. "Father

y taste the relief of it. Behind us the hall was loud with a kind of celebration

y going to

He doesn't let go yet. His grip is firm but not hard. "Co

me. They just look

he long tables together to enclose the space with food at the center. A young wolf on the northern frontier is narrating a tale using both hands, but the listeners keep interjecting to cor

ed under my arm. I never p

the pillar I had claimed earl

nts to

you d

don

miliar mix of protectiveness and mild exasperation he has car

t twelve. You can talk to som

lk to

n't c

th two of the younger males about whose patrol route was cleaner. Her laugh is bright and sharp.

oking at the pages with my eyes fixed, fewer people come up to me just to say something. Next I hear the double doors at the end of the corrid

xactly at this moment. He steps in, still covered with the dirt of the patrolling, one arm

n't take the time. Without even asking him, the closest warrior hands him a cup. He gulps down almost

ready movin

and the room rearranges itself around him without anyone needing to say the order out loud. Warriors s

w sound in his th

always

y shoulder once, briefly and warmly. "Stay visible. I'll go make

he crowd. I sta

s, the easy way he shoulders one of them, the way Hazel's smile widens when he finally looks at her. He says s

of his place. I am the quiet sister who spent years in city schools because my father decided the pack house was too rough for me. We have spoken

meone laughs too hard. Another plate hits the floor, and no one bothers to pick it up. The air smells

g under my ri

wledge that the air has changed temperature. My finger

ind of scent that belongs to the wo

ut through the rest of the

silent for months, lif

soft sound that should not be audible u

efore I decide

n my direction. But the pull in my chest is already rewriting the dist

a

olute. It does not feel like a thought. It f

started near the back wall all fade to the edges. The only clear thing is the line of Eric's shoulde

ri

a hall full of wolve

d-sentence. A few of the younger warriors look from me to

goes

ose in his fingers. The smile he was wearing is gone. His eyes find mine across the open space, an

k cools into

d is a live current under my skin, urging me closer, promising t

again, clear

ot move t

pers my name like they are not sure they heard correctly. Haze

e the way a person looks at a mistak

t," h

d lands harder

simply freezes, waiting for the nex

uestion. Eric's eyes never leave mine. The warmth that should have been there is ab

on the floor behind me. I cannot s

uiet, but the shape of his mouth makes

t y