LOGIN(Rene)"Get out of my house. The next time I catch you in here, I’m killing you."The Warden may have told me not to, but he also told Parker to stay the fuck away from what’s mine.If he doesn’t have to play by the rules, neither do I.Parker doesn't move fast enough for my liking, but he does move."I wasn't touching her.""You were close enough to. That's the part that's going to get your throat torn out if you don't start walking."He looks at Angelique once, some message passing between them I'm not invited to, then he goes, unhurried, like leaving was his idea and not mine.I wait until his scent's off the stairs before I look at her.She's already bracing.Good instinct."My room.""Rene-""Now."She does as she’s told, the way she always does, no matter how much her mouth argues on the way there.I shut the door behind us and the quiet in here is worse than the hallway was, because there's nothing left to be angry at except her."What was he telling you?""Nothing you don't al
(Angelique)Zack's asleep before the second story's even done, sprawled sideways across the bed with one leg stuck out of the blanket the way he always does.I sit there another minute just listening to him breathe.It's the only truly peaceful minute I get most days.Knowing another day has ended without anyone learning our secret.Rene will probably send for me soon, and because I’m a ridiculous idiot, I decide to go and brush my teeth, just in case he kisses me.I ease the door shut behind me and nearly walk into Parker in the hallway."You're not supposed to be up here.""I know.""The Warden said-""I know what he said. I was there."He says it without heat, the same calm way he says everything, but there's something tight behind it that I’ve never heard in his voice before."Parker, I’m so sorry for dragging you into this. You shouldn’t have come here. Not to the pack, and certainly not up here. If Rene catches you-”“I know what the dangers are.”“Then why are you here?""Wante
(Tova)Four. Well on his way to five.I keep landing on it.Zack's age and when Angelique ran.I've turned the numbers over so many times it's gone smooth as a river stone, no edges left to catch on.I told her I’d let it go, but I can’t.She loved him like crazy. Why the hell did she leave?So this morning I'm doing something useful with the itch instead of just scratching at it in my own head.I'm following Maliyah's voice down a hallway like I’m on my way to somewhere else.She's at the far end with Brynn, heads close, the kind of close that screams we’re conspiring.They’re not too far from an open window, so I duck outside and plant myself against the wall nearby, pretending to type on my phone.Everyone knows people who are busy on their phones have no awareness of what’s going on around them.It’s a well-established fact."...and you're certain she’s been getting the full dose every day?" Maliyah's asking in a low whisper."Yeah. I’m putting it in her morning coffee," Brynn say
(Maliyah)My daughter is going to make a beautiful Luna, and with me helping her from the shadows, she will become very powerful.Rene Beck just needs to stop dragging his feet long enough to let her.I sit in front of the mirror in the room they've given me and pull the pins from my hair one at a time, slow, the way I do when I want my hands busy and my mind free to work.Rene Beck stood in a hallway today and called the dead girl mine in front of three of my own.He didn't notice himself say it.That's how I know it's true.A liar chooses his lies. A man who's caught off guard says what's underneath.The wolf is hers, still.After everything.After five years of mourning a corpse that turned out to be a coward who ran instead of dying properly.I should be furious.I find I'm mostly curious.There's a knock, and Victor comes in without waiting for me to answer, which is one of the few habits of his I've never managed to break."You're still awake.""I don't sleep well in other men's
(Angelique)The hallway's full of Myr wolves again.I should've smelled them sooner, but I'm too busy thinking about last night.About Rene’s words and how they nearly broke me in a way that none of his cruelty has managed to.I’m carrying Zack's lunch tray, trying to ignore how insufferably smug my wolf’s been since Rene told me I was safe with him.He’ll protect us. Tell him.Telling him is the last thing I should do.I nearly walk into them before I fully register their presence.Three of them.Strangers, all broad shoulders and unfamiliar scent, blocking the corridor like they grew there."Excuse me."I keep my voice light. Try to angle around them.The tallest one steps into the gap before I can pass."Angelique Pruitt."He says my name like it tastes bad."The dead girl.""I'm not in the mood. Please just let me past.""Nobody asked what mood you're in."A female steps up beside him, sharp-faced, arms crossed."What a selfish bitch. You let your whole pack mourn you. Your stepmo
(Rene)I send Cole to fetch her with two words."Bring her."He doesn't ask which her. There's only one.She comes in still smelling like Tova's wine, chin up, already braced for whatever I am tonight.Smart girl.The box is on the bed, lid already off. Black leather, a small steel ring at the front, polished so it catches the lamp.She sees it and her whole body goes still in that way she has, the way that means she's working hard not to react.I bought it three days ago.Told myself it was about ownership, about making the point with something tangible instead of my mouth for once.I knew exactly what it was about.I just don't say it out loud, not even to my wolf."Strip."She does it without hesitation.It took me several weeks to train it into her and I still get something low and vicious in my chest every time she obeys without question.Mine.The wolf says it like a fact, not a hope.I pick up the collar."Come here."She crosses the room on bare feet.Doesn't look at what I’m
(Rene)Angelique's mouth opens.Nothing comes out, because Parker answers for her."She doesn't have to say it."His tone is flat and almost bored. "I already did. The boy's mine. So is she."The hall takes a breath it doesn't let back out.There it is.The words the dark thing in my chest has been
(Angelique)I'm half into my clothes before Cole finishes the sentence.Shirt inside out. I don't fix it."How long?""Minutes."He’s avoiding looking at me.Guilt or fear of what Rene’s reaction would be. It doesn’t matter."He was right on my heels. I turned for one second."Rene's already off th
(Angelique)The door opens without a knock, and I know before I turn around that something's different tonight.He's been cold for days.Controlled.Touching me like it's a favor he's choosing not to do.Not tonight.Tonight he crosses the room like he's come to collect a debt."Take it off," he sa
(Rene)Brynn comes to the study after dark, walking in without knocking."I heard you wanted to know about the boy," she says. "Who put him in her."I set the pen down.She's been building to something all week, and here it is, dressed up as information I want."I got it out of her this afternoon.







