d: The Alpha'

: Blood M

her wrists bound in silver-threaded rope. Each step was a war between defiance and exhaustion.

eat crawling up her spine-an infuriating mix of power and danger.

. A stone altar stood at its center, glowing faintly under the light of the Blood Mo

r tracks. "You're not

otion. "The ritual must be

ed altar under a blood moo

f we don't complete the binding, you

e pain in her shoulder even less. The mark burned hotter with each p

in the ancient tongue of the moon priests. One stepped forward-El

ate," he

lied. "And she's not a sacrific

prise. That almost sou

does not care about feel

flinched, expecting pain-but their hands were soft, respectful. They help

s and ankles, binding her to the sto

ting gre

was unreadable, but his fingers twitched

ne and dipped it into a bowl of dark crimso

epped f

commanding, echoed t

o hers. I take her pain as mine, her blood as my legac

eyes locke

ed above them

and the burn was instant. Her blood-silver

was don

ressed his han

blood

ath the altar. The air

light. Pain shot through her like fire and t

g body. A white-haired woman whispering forbidden words

n... st

stopped

oon d

ffs re

hard, caught her before sh

-