LOGINROWAN ASHCROFT POV“Are you seriously going to eat that entire bowl of wild berries before the hockey game starts, Kael?” I ask real loud, my hand resting flat on my big, round stomach.“My internal wolf needs all the strength he can get if your boots are going to force me to watch Ronan slam into the ice walls for three whole hours,” Kael Thornridge says back with a huge grin, his tongue licking red juice off his bottom lip. “Besides, our little pup inside your belly is the one who is actually hungry for the fruits under the moon.”“The pup wants to watch the hockey match, not eat your whole bowl,” I say, and my boots take a small step closer to his large frame inside the Alpha’s Sky Den.“Come sit right here on my lap, honeybee,” Kael commands with that deep, warm alpha voice that always makes my she-wolf feel super safe and happy. “The Blackwood Territory team is skating out onto the white ice on the television screen right now, and my arms need to be wrapped tight around your wais
KAEL THORNRIDGE POV“They are not that vague at all, Grandfather Alaric,” my voice booms out across the grass while my eyes stay locked on the hockey field.“Going that way on the ice course is not going to give her she-wolf any advantage anyway,” Nyra Vale shouts out to our faces, and her words finally make Orson Hale see that his plan is a totally bad idea.“Then that young she-wolf needs to stop being so soft on the hockey ice,” Orson grumbles real loud. “My fingers have a huge amount of pack resources riding on this game.”“You picked the wrong wolf to win, Grandfather,” Ronan Thornridge laughs from his large folding chair just a few feet away from my boots. “Come on, mate! We are going to take home the whole big victory pot today!”“Forget about that hockey hoop mark, honeybee,” my mouth yells to Rowan out on the field, because if my mind has to choose between my old grandfather and my brother Ronan, my soul is choosing Orson every single time. “Go straight for her hockey puck an
Rowan POV"Are you seriously going to make me scream your name in front of the whole pack?"I glare at Kael as he pins me against the leather seat of his SUV. His eyes flash amber, that dangerous glow that always makes my wolf go crazy."I don't care who hears." His voice is rough, all gravel and need. "Let them know exactly who you belong to.""You're impossible." But I'm already arching into him, my body betraying every word out of my mouth.He grins, that smug Alpha smile that makes me want to hit him and kiss him at the same time. "And yet here you are. In my car. In my territory. Letting me do whatever I want.""The driver—""Can't hear a thing through the partition." He nips at my neck, right where my mating mark should be. "Now stop making excuses and scream for me, honeybee."I hate how much I love when he calls me that. Hate how my whole body responds to just two words from him."I hate you.""Your wolf says otherwise." His hand slides up my thigh, and I forget how to breathe
ROWAN ASHCROFT POV“Nyra is running out the door right now to put face powder on Kael Thornridge,” I say to the empty dressing room mirror while I try to fix my own shirt.“I am right here, Rowan, and I just want to hear what the big Alpha is going to say to your face,” Nyra says as she walks back inside with her big makeup brush. “You look so great for the hockey interview, so stop shaking your hands because your internal she-wolf is looking super pretty.”“Hi, Kael,” I say when my boots walk out onto the big ice broadcast set, and I see his huge frame standing right there by the chairs.“You look totally beautiful tonight, Rowan,” Kael says, and then he leans his face right next to my cheek to give me a quick pack greeting.“What are you doing here at the Bloodmoon Gallery show, Kael?” I ask him, and my heart starts going super fast. “This is completely crazy for our hockey show.”“I am here because my wolf wants to prove my true love to your she-wolf,” Kael says back to me.“We hav
ROWAN ASHCROFT POV“Losing my hockey job at Thornridge Tower?” My voice sounds so fake when the words come straight out of my mouth. “My she-wolf used to calculate that a layout like that would represent the most terrible thing under the moon, but my spirit knows way better now.”“Your mind can still turn the whole ship around,” Marcus Hale says to my ears, his eyes getting very serious about pack business. “Your fingers can put out a big public statement, or your mouth can execute a huge live hockey interview right now.”“And what is my tongue supposed to say to the whole pack territory, Marcus? Should my voice admit that my animal made a huge mistake with her and then let her out of the mate bond paper so her she-wolf would not fight my name in front of the elders?”“The layout represents a very hard mix of things,” Elira Moss says, her face looking like her mind truly understands my pain.“Your deep voice needs to stay super low right now, Kael,” Marcus whispers fast, his eyes dart
KAEL THORNRIDGE POV“Look at this guy, he is my number one biggest screwup, and his name is Kael,” Magnus Thornridge says really loud to the whole pack room.“Magnus, stop that right now because that is a super mean thing to say to your son,” Valentina Moreau says with her thick accent. “Kael runs your whole entire Thornridge Dominion hockey empire for you, so he is doing a great job and he deserves huge respect.”“Oh, wow, you are hugging me right now, Valentina,” I say, and my voice sounds super surprised because I do not get hugs from anyone. “This is pretty weird for my wolf, but okay.”“I am just so happy to finally meet you, Kael,” Valentina says, and she sounds very warm and nice. “I know you missed the big family pack dinner last night.”“Yeah, I am sorry about that, but I have a huge amount of hockey work at Thornridge Tower,” I say. “Now we are meeting here at the Bloodmoon Gallery instead.”“He was running the empire good for a minute,” Magnus grumbles really loud. “But the
ROWAN ASHCROFT POV“Your claws are forcing my skin to stay right here against the wood,” I whisper, my teeth baring tight in the dim light of the mudroom as my boots try to find a steady grip on the stone.The moment my bones try to pull away from his mass, his large arms wrap fast around my waist,
Kael is right on my heels. My tracking ears hear the sharp click of the lock shutting behind his mass, and when my body turns around, my chest collides straight into his heavy torso, my lips finding his mouth for an instantly frenzied, wild kiss.My wolf gives into the carnal heat for the smallest
ROWAN ASHCROFT POV“Your she-wolf is paying zero attention to the pack metrics around the table,” Declan whispers, his knuckles resting close to my fork.The formal meal goes forward with zero relief in the heavy pack tension, though my mind is not certain if any other leader tracks the cold air be
“There his wolf is,” Evangeline says, locating her husband's chest across the floor. Vaguely, my ears register her voice saying something about having to meet his face later because his mind seems to be fully immersed in a heavy conversation with the pack mayor, and then she speaks a sentence that







