เข้าสู่ระบบXander's POVMy voice comes out lower than I intend.“You have no idea what you’re doing to me right now.”“Oh, I think I do.” She smirks before she reaches for the hem of her dress, a soft, pale blue cotton that sits low on her shoulders and exposes my lack of a mark on her beautiful throat. Lincoln and Tobias’s marks taunt me from the other side of her neck.She tugs it over her head in one fluid motion. Underneath, she’s wearing a stunning white lacy bra, and the firelight catches the sheen of sweat on her collarbone and the hollow of her throat.“You’re not the only one who can scent arousal, Xander. And…” She pauses as she runs her hands down her sides, taunting me as she touches her delectable body. “I can feel you through the bond.”She smirks again.And damn if she isn’t the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.My shorts are painfully tight now. My hands are begging to touch her, to caress her as she’s doing herself. Atlas lets out a low growl deep in my chest. It rumbles through me,
Xander's POVWe run with the pack through the trees and mountains of Shadow. It’s a beautiful landscape, rugged and wild in places, with dense woodland in others. The energy of the pack is electric. You can tell they’re thrilled to be running at last with their Alpha pair, and I wonder how long it’s been since they have.Wolves weave between one another, playfully shoulder-barging, yipping and jumping exuberantly as they chase each other through the trees. Their joy is infectious.We rarely do pack runs in Blood Moon because our pack is so large, but seeing how they’re all responding to this, I’m thinking we should introduce them. Maybe once Zahra and I take over, we’ll split the pack into quarters. Each group could have its own monthly pack run. No one should miss out on moments like this simply because Blood Moon has grown too large.Once we’ve been out for about an hour, many of the pack start to split off, heading back in. The younger wolves, those with pups at home and the older
Xander's POVLincoln turns back to Zahra, her face flushing beneath the weight of hundreds of eyes fixed solely on her.Holly passes him the blade, and he slices into his palm. For a heartbeat, the chalice sits waiting beneath his hand.Then, instead of letting his blood fall into it, Lincoln raises his bleeding palm to Zahra’s lips.She smiles before gently sucking on his palm, drinking the blood of her Alpha. Then she tenderly licks the cut closed, sealing the wound.I see the moment the Luna bond snaps into place. The whole pack shudders as one, Zahra reacting with them as the bond settles around her.Lincoln takes her wrist in his hand.“This will sting,” he murmurs.She simply nods.The ceremonial blade flashes once more, making a shallow cut across the inside of her wrist. Holly immediately raises the waiting chalice beneath it. Crimson drops fall into the metal chalice, and I have to grit my teeth at the sight of her blood flowing again today.Once enough has been collected, Ho
Xander's POVI walk onto the training field behind Zahra and Lincoln, beside Tobias. As we step onto the field, conversations begin to falter. Heads turn one after another until most of the pack are watching us. The uneasy looks make it clear they're wondering why Tobias and I are still here, but no one is brave enough to ask.Someone has set up a raised dais at the end of the field closest to the pack house, and Lincoln leads Zahra towards it as the pack mingle on the grass in front of us.Sam and Holly, Jackson and Olivia, and Isaac and Tammy are all standing to the side of the dais as a united front.The older grey-haired man I noticed this morning is close to the front of the crowd. As Lincoln reaches him, the man clasps his forearm before they exchange a few quiet words. Then I watch as Lincoln introduces Zahra. Although I can't hear what they're saying, the man studies her for a long moment before giving her a deep, respectful bow.'I like him,' Atlas murmurs from where he's lyi
Xander's POVI’m not gone long. When I return, I take my seat on the sofa, lift Zahra back onto my lap where she belongs and hand her the laptop.“What, here?” she asks incredulously.I nod. “I need you close right now.”She smiles and nods.“Okay, if you're sure.”“I’m sure.” I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her closer. “I love having you here, and Atlas and I are on edge with you still not wearing our mark.”She glances up at me. “I’m sorry we’ve still not had our time. I hate it too.” She glances over her shoulder at Lincoln. “I think it’ll just mess up the pack dynamic right now if I wear another obvious mark.”Atlas whimpers.The sound is pure heartbreak, and it twists something deep inside my chest.I think Zahra must feel his flinch of rejection because her head whips back to mine.“Please don’t feel like that. I’m sorry,” she whispers, her eyes glassy. “I want this too, so fucking much. But the pack...”I swallow because what can I say? If I argue, I’m only putting her
Xander's POVOnce Lincoln's arms have been put back together as much as the doctor can manage, given she's working in the living room of the Alpha suite, and Zanthe has growled at her every time she's caused Lincoln another spike of pain, the doctor dresses the wounds with a thick herbal salve before covering them with gauze and fresh bandages. Lincoln is then settled onto the sofa beside Zahra while the nurse makes sure his IV line doesn't snag on anything.“We'll come back and check on you in five hours, Alpha,” the doctor says with a respectful bow.The nurse gathers up their things and heads for the door. I follow, opening it for them.“Thank you, Doctor,” I say.She gives me a nod before disappearing into the hallway. I lock the door behind them and return to the sofa.“You hungry, darling? You didn't get to finish your lunch,” I ask Zahra, squeezing into the tiny space beside her. After a moment, I give up and lift her onto my lap instead.Atlas instantly settles, happier with o
Zahra's POV“Zahra…, I am coming for you, white wolf.”A massive shadow wolf lunges at me and I jerk back with a strangled gasp, waking instantly.Fuck.The remnants of last night’s dream cling to me like wet cobwebs, sticky and suffocating. The same forest. The same voice. The same claws scraping
Max's POVShe is lying in the hospital bed, barely recognisable. Her face is one massive bruise, mottled purple and black, with some kind of frame strapped over her nose. The bruising spreads out from beneath it in ugly shadows. Her leg is wrapped in plaster and suspended from the ceiling by a rope
Max's POVI have no idea what this lecture is about. I didn’t even catch the guy’s name at the beginning. I’ve been staring at my empty notebook or out at the sun-filled canopy outside the window for the last ninety minutes. Lincoln reassured me earlier, Medus too, but I still can’t shake this feeli
Tobias's POVThe inside of the hospital room is crowded.Nicholas, Aiden, Jasper, Max, Henry, Edwardo, Zach, Xander, Oscar, and Eliot are all squeezed around the bed. Every one of them reacts to my aura in the same way the wolves in the hallway did. They pull back a fraction, necks bared, instincti







