C4

"The old skin scar looks totally fine to me, but Lady Genevieve, Victor, and Tristan act like I have rotten meat tied to my fur whenever they look at my shoulder," I mutter, keeping my voice low.

"You need to stop staring at it and finish putting on that ridiculous lace dress," Tristan barks from the other room, his footsteps heavy against the floorboards.

I roll my eyes. The gown is a big, heavy white mess with giant puffy shoulders that make me look like a sick bird instead of a wolf. The paint they smeared on my lips is bright blood-red, which looks stupid against my pale skin. Genevieve did my silver hair nicely, though, twisting it up with wild flowers from the territory. If my face wasn't so white from the silver juice, I might actually look like a real Luna bride.

I look down at my wrist and growl. The heavy silver engagement collar sits there, plain and boring, just like Tristan.

I need to get my pack passport out of the stone safe where Genevieve locks all my official pack papers. I am only six moon cycles away from turning thirty winters old, and then the entire Alpha Bloodline Legacy belongs to me. I will not let them force me into a Sacred Moonbond Union with that coward. I do not know what dark trick Genevieve is playing next, but she will do anything to steal the Moonfang Treasury. Her mate Victor is even worse; he makes the meanest rogue leaders look like sweet pups.

I sneak into the big stone sitting room. The coast is clear. I walk fast over to the small wall safe. It opens with a four-number code. I press A-K-45, which is the moon day of Genevieve’s favorite old pack warrior. She thinks I am a dumb little girl who doesn't notice anything, but I have learned to play stupid to stay alive. Ever since I flashed my bone knife at Tristan's throat, they have put big pack guards everywhere. They say the guards are there to keep me safe, but they are really just spies making sure the Lost Luna Heiress does not run away into the trees.

Genevieve brought two massive guards for this trip to Crimson Moon City. They are the only wolves she could bribe to help her force an illegal mate bond. Whenever the family leaves the lodge, those two guards look at me like I am a piece of fresh deer meat. I call them Growler and Mean-Eyes. Mean-Eyes even tried to touch my tail when he helped me up the stairs after Genevieve put sleeping root in my water. I have to escape these awful wolves right now.

The safe makes a sharp click and pops open. I grab my pack, passport, and shove a bunch of gold coins right down into my tunic. I see Tristan’s silver ring sitting there, make a mean face, and slap it right down where the papers were.

"Goodbye, you stupid dogs," I whisper.

I shut the safe with a big smile. Genevieve thinks her giant guards will keep me locked up forever. She forgot that a wolf can find more than one way out of a lodge.

I run out to the stone ledge of the Bloodmoon Sanctuary Lodge. The sun is going down over the mountains. We are way up on the seventeenth floor. The outside of the lodge is covered in giant stone carvings of wolf fangs, heavy horns, and sharp claws. There are four big stone fangs, then another ledge right below. I look down. The other ledges look tiny, and the wolves walking on the ground look like little ants.

My heart starts pounding super fast against my ribs. Thump, thump, thump. Holy cow, that is a long way down.

I close my eyes and see a scary picture in my head. First picture: my wolf body smashed flat like a pancake on the rocks. I shake all over. No way. I am too young to die.

Second picture: me turning into Tristan's forced mate. My belly twists hard, and I feel sour spit hit the back of my throat like I am going to throw up.

That makes my choice easy. Falling to my death is way better than letting that smelly louse mark my neck. I didn't hide from him for twenty-two years just to become his forced Luna. Seraphina Vale can keep him.

Carefully, I reach out my hands and grab a giant stone wolf horn. I swing my leg over the railing until my bare foot finds the cold stone nose of the carving. I bite my lip hard, pulling my body across the gap. The wild mountain wind blows hard, ripping at my hair and dress like it wants to push me off the mountain and back into Genevieve's golden cage.

No, thank you.

I move slowly, inch by inch. My arms burn like fire because I am holding onto the stone teeth with all my strength. This stuff looks so easy when the older wolves tell stories around the campfires. At least the mountain stone is rough, so my fingers do not slip. If it were smooth, I would fall and break into pieces. I crawl a little bit more.

Be brave, I tell my inner wolf. Dying sucks, but it is not as bad as being trapped. If I fall, Genevieve, Victor, and Tristan will lose every single piece of gold. I found out that if the Lost Luna Heiress dies, the whole fortune goes to a poor orphan pack in the Whispering Moon Woods. That pack is run by an old Luna who hates Genevieve, so my family would never get a single coin.

My head feels hot, and my mouth is totally dry like sand.

Come on, just a little bit further!

I stretch my leg out as far as it can go, and my bare toes touch the wooden floor of the next ledge. I let out a huge breath, but I keep my hands locked on the stone teeth. I cannot mess up now.

I grit my teeth and jump right onto the neighbor's balcony. Right when my feet hit the wood, the big glass doors slide open. A giant, dark-haired male wolf in a fine grey tunic steps out.

I let out a sharp yelp. He spins around fast, his eyes wide with total shock. I crash right into his big chest, wrapping my arms around his neck in a super tight grip. He staggers back two steps until his broad shoulders hit the wooden door frame.

"What in the world?" he growls.

"Shh!" I slap my bare hand right over his mouth, looking back at Genevieve's ledge. "Keep your jaws shut!"

He stares down at me with huge, blue-grey eyes. My heart is still going crazy from the scary climb, but I am safe on solid wood now. I try to think fast. A neighbor was not part of my plan. Genevieve usually buys out every single room on the floor just to show off how much gold she has from the Moonfang Treasury.

This male is huge—at least six feet and five inches tall. My toes are barely touching the ground while my arms are locked around his neck. He smells amazing, too. He smells like deep pine trees, woodsmoke, and warm fur.

My brain goes totally blank as I look at his face. He is the most beautiful wolf I have ever seen in my life. A piece of dark hair falls over his forehead. His thick eyebrows are bunched up like he is super mad, and the intense look in his eyes sends hot shivers right down my back. His cheekbones are high and perfect. His lips are pressed hard against my palm, and my heart starts running fast for a totally new reason that has nothing to do with falling off the building.

I need to talk because my hand is blocking his mouth. "Listen, if you do not growl or call the guards, I will let go of your neck. Do we have a deal?" I whisper.

His eyes look over at the stone wolf carvings... then back to the empty ledge on the other side. He grabs my wrist with a super-strong grip and pulls my hand down easily. Wow. He could have broken my hold whenever he wanted.

"Did you just climb across the mountain fangs from the next suite?" he demands.

I give him a huge, proud smile and nod my head. He does not look happy at all. The lines between his eyes get even deeper. "Are you completely insane, girl?"

"Maybe?" I shrug my shoulders and look up into his pretty eyes. "Which answer makes you help me?"