LOGINOnly after I'd managed to put a significant gap between us did I finally pause to catch my breath.It seemed the more distance was between us, the weaker the bond. The voices had gone down... as well as his in my head.The feeling was strange, even new to being mated. My wolf liked his presence.So this was what Irina had meant by that. I hadn't seen her since she'd pulled me away from the front of Alpha Damarus's office and mysteriously disappeared.That action was becoming more and more unusual, especially considering she always did so whenever someone else came into the room.My mind was snapped back to reality as two guards approached me, their eyes filled with malicious intent."You are Alexandra from the Moon Ridge pack, yes?" one asked, his tone mocking.I didn't miss how he refused to acknowledge me being the future Luna. It wasn't something I cared much about though, so there was no need to address it. "Yes. Why?"The other shifted on his feet, clearly uncertain about the pur
Her expression shifted from blissful pleasure to horror in a matter of seconds.She pressed her palms to her ears, screaming and pushing herself away from me."My luna, is something wrong?" I reached for her, pulling away when she screamed even louder and jumped off the bed."They...they're all screaming. Why are they screaming?" Her voice was broken and hoarse, barely even hers anymore.And suddenly it all made sense. The bond was fully sealed. The horrors that lived in my head had been unleashed onto her all at once."Who do you hear, little mate?" I inched forward with light, careful steps, making sure not to scare her before reaching her."All of them." Her eyes lifted off the floor to meet mine. "All the people you hurt. The people you killed, you monster!"Her words didn't sting. They burned into me like a blade fresh from war. "Alexandra...""Why did you do this?" Her body was trembling now, sagged against the wall as tears streamed down her face. "Who is that?"Finally she all
His lips trailed against my heating skin, leaving behind gentle hot kisses while exploring my body. Then his fingers lightly wrapped around my nipple, teasing slightly, driving me to the edge without giving any actual release. "Marcus." My voice was soft and seductive, nothing like it had been before. The sound shocked me, though my mind was quickly yanked back to reality as his fingers clenched around the soft bud, pinching and squeezing while forcing me to arch my back and shove my chest forward. "You like that, darling?" I felt his lips curve up into a smile as he continued, until his face was between my legs. My face flushed as it dawned on me that he had an undisturbed view of that place. Somewhere no other person, alpha or otherwise, had ever touched. And now he was about to put himself inside. A part of me was ready to draw back and avoid mating. Marcus had been good to me until now; surely his lust would not make him force me into something I didn't want. My he
Dinner came to a tense-filled end, and the murmurs as we left the dining made that very clear. "How do you plan to deal with it?" I asked, keeping my distance from Marcus as we made our way back to our chambers. It wasn't much of my business, after all I was nothing but an omega from a distant pack. It wasn't my place to question how he handled pack affairs. "You can ask me anything. You are the future luna," he said, reaching out to grip my hand. My body pulled back on instinct, the fear of having a repeat of the pain and collar from the golden collar around his neck urging me to keep my distance. "It won't happen again. I dealt with it." My eyes widened as it finally dawned on me what he'd been saying. "You're reading my mind? How?" He shrugged, tightening his grip on my hand. "It's not exactly reading. I can feel what you feel. Ever since we tied the knot. Can't you?" My eyebrows drew into a frown. "No, I haven't felt it. Is something wrong?" "It must be because we haven't
The dining hall had a long wooden table in the center, with multiple chairs on either end.At the end of the table were two chairs, for the Alpha and Luna. Alpha Damarus sat on one, the other remained empty.Marcus had never mentioned his mother, and looking back, there were never any traces of her anywhere.On either side of the table were both Lucien and Marcus. The seat next to Lucien was occupied by a beautiful, sharp-eyed woman.His mate.Bile rose to my throat at the thought of him sleeping with so many omegas even with his mate well and present. Was Marcus going to be the same? The seating seemed to be based on status and power. "Well, why are you standing? Sit down and don't delay us further." The woman, Lucien's mate demanded, gesturing to the empty chair next to Marcus.Marcus glared at her before his gaze focused back on me, softening as I approached.Before sitting, I bowed to Alpha Damarus as was the custom back home. "Thank you for having me, Alpha."Lucien snorted, mu
My gaze shifted from the view of the pack to him. Around his neck, something glowed like a ring of fire.A chain."Marcus...""Ignore it." He grunted. Each word seemed to only make the chain of fire burn brighter. "It won't let me tell you. You have to see. You will see. It's not like I can control it anymore, I haven't been able to since you arrived.""Your wolf, when it took over, was that...?" My eyes widened.His lips parted to reply but the collar of fire burned even brighter, forcing his mouth shut."Don't say anything. I don't need to know what it is." Even if this curse could be the reason my life fell apart before it even began.The collar didn't stop burning, and his face began to twist, the pain so unbearable he couldn't hide it.Then I took my hands off him for barely a second and the light dimmed.I did it again, staying away for longer this time, and the light almost went out. "It's me... I'm the one causing it."My knees felt weak as I pushed myself to my feet, taking s
Something went wrong the moment his arms wrapped around me.His skin burned against mine. Not in a calm, savoury way that matched the feel of the bond.It burned. My hands pressed against his broad, hard chest, attempting to push him off. "Marcus..."He gave no response as his fingers ran through m
"You feel it too?"Alexandra's head snapped up to face me, nearly losing her balance if not for the white cloth still holding us together. "The bond. You can feel it?"She nodded slowly, dropping her gaze back to the knot tied over our hands."We can take it off once we get to my chambers. Once we
"Wait...did you see...?" I turned around, swirling the dress along with me. Haelenya glanced around the room before settling her gaze back on me. "See who?" "Irina. My...maid." The last word still felt odd on my tongue. It was one thing to let her serve me, but entirely different to acknowledge t
The Ashclaw packhouse was exactly as the stories described.Large. So large one could get lost in the halls for days. The carriage had carried us past the outer gate where the town was, and stopped at the ancestral packhouse.“Welcome back, Alpha Damarus.” A woman stepped out of the large palace-li







