LOGINMikhail"I'm pleased to announce that Irina has formally accepted Mikhail's courtship."Dimitri's voice rang out over the assembled pack, and my stomach dropped to the floor."The official mating ceremony will take place in three weeks' time. I expect everyone to—"The rest of his speech faded to white noise. He was giving me three weeks before I was bound to Irina forever.Around me, pack members applauded and congratulated me. Irina stood beside Dimitri, smiling like she had won a prize. I forced myself to nod, accept the well-wishes and play the part of the honored future mate. Inside, I was screaming.When I could finally escape, I found myself walking toward the forest without conscious thought. I walked away from the house and the pack, the trap closing around my throat.Natasha was already there when I arrived at the clearing we had claimed as ours, deep enough in the woods that no one would stumble across us, but close enough we could reach it quickly when we were desperate.
NatashaThe pack celebration was in full swing. There was music, dancing and laughter echoing through the great hall. It should have been beautiful and joyful. Instead it was torture, because Mikhail was dancing with Irina.Her arms were around his neck, her body pressed close, that confident smile on her perfect face. She said something that made him nod, and Dimitri watched from the side with obvious approval.I stood near the refreshment table, a glass of wine clutched in my hand, watching the man I loved hold another woman."They look good together, don't they?"I turned to find Svetlana, one of the pack females, beside me. She was smiling, oblivious to the knife she was twisting in my chest."Yes," I managed. "Very good.""Dimitri says they'll announce the mating soon. Probably within the month," She sighed dreamily. "It'll be such a beautiful ceremony."I downed the rest of my wine in one swallow."Easy there," Svetlana laughed. "It's strong stuff."I didn't care. I needed some
Mikhail"You need to move this forward."Dimitri's voice was firm as he cornered me in his office Monday morning. A week had passed since that first dinner, and apparently my pace wasn't satisfactory."I've been spending time with her," I said carefully. "I have been getting to know her.""That's not enough," He leaned against his desk, arms crossed. "Irina's father is expecting progression. He's not going to wait forever.""It's been a week, Dimitri.""And in that week, you haven't even kissed her," His eyes narrowed. "Why is that?"Because the thought of kissing her makes me want to vomit. Because my body won't respond to anyone who isn't Natasha."I'm taking it slow. Being respectful." I said instead."There's been respectful and then there's been cold." He studied me. "She mentioned you seem distant and uninterested. That's not the impression we want to give.""I'm not uninterested. I just—""She's perfect for you, Mikhail. She is strong, intelligent and beautiful. She is from an
NatashaI saw Mikhail and Irina, walking through the gardens together from the infirmary window. The midday sun caught her dark hair, making it shine like polished obsidian. She was laughing at something he said, or pretending he had said something funny. Her hand was on his arm again and my chest constricted so tight I couldn't breathe.This was the third day. It had been three days of watching her pursue him, touch him and smile at him like she already owned him. It had been three days of torture disguised as courtship."Beautiful couple, aren't they?"I jerked away from the window to find Mary, one of the older pack healers, standing behind me with supplies."I suppose." I managed, my voice remarkably steady."Irina is quite accomplished. Dimitri chose well." She began organizing bandages. "It will be good for Mikhail to settle down. He's been distracted lately."Distracted by me. By us. By sneaking moments we stole in the darkness."Yes," I said hollowly. "Good for him."I for
MikhailI had to look away before I did something stupid. Before I shoved Irina's hand off my arm and crossed the room to pull Natasha into my arms and tell everyone the truth."Are you alright?" Irina asked, noticing my distraction."Fine. Just tired.""Of course. Dimitri mentioned you've been working hard lately," She squeezed my arm sympathetically. "When we're mated, I'll make sure you take proper care of yourself. A strong wolf needs rest as much as he needs a challenge."When we're mated. Not if. When.She had already decided. She already saw this as a done deal.The rest of dinner passed in a blur of meaningless conversation. Irina talked about her pack, her accomplishments and her vision for what she could bring to our territory. Alpha Konstantin and Dimitri discussed potential alliance benefit, and I sat there, Irina's hand on my arm, feeling absolutely nothing while the woman I actually loved sat at the end of the table pretending she wasn't falling apart."I think this has
MikhailI spent every waking moment of the next three days trying to find a way out. Any way out.I considered telling Dimitri I had already found someone. But who? I couldn't name anyone without raising questions, and any she-wolf I named would either confirm or deny it immediately.I thought about claiming I wanted more time, but Dimitri had made it clear. This wasn't negotiable. My time was up.I even briefly considered just refusing outright, consequences be damned, but that would mean losing my position as one of the leaders of the pack, losing Dimitri's trust, and worst of all, it would make him suspicious. He would start digging into why I was so resistant, and if he dug deep enough...No. That wasn't an option.Viktor caught me in the training yard on Thursday, the day before the dinner."You look like shit." He observed, leaning against the fence as I beat the hell out of a training dummy."Thanks.""Nervous about tomorrow?"I slammed my fist into the dummy's head. "Why woul







