Mia’s POV“Come with me.” His hand closed around mine and pulled me forward.Electricity shot through me, flooding my skin until I swore my soul had just left my body. I bit the inside of my cheek hard, holding back a hungry moan that threatened to escape. When he finally let go, I nearly stumbled.Did he feel that too?I followed in silence, trying to keep up with his long strides. That same unsettling smile lingered on his lips, and all I could think of was how much he looked like Alex. They were brothers—of course they’d share that resemblance.Good, Mia. Keep thinking about cute Alex. Anything to distract yourself from this walking furnace in front of you.My eyes dropped to his feet. Bare. They padded softly against the dust-coated floor.Barefoot. Through this creepy hall. What the hell…I lifted my gaze again just in time to smack into him. “Oomph!” My face plastered against a chest as solid as a brick wall. Before I could recoil, both of Keziah’s large hands caught my head.“
Axel’s POV Keziah chose the worst possible moment to take control of my body. He knew I’d be embarrassed—friends, maids, guards… even my brother were all standing there, watching. And then he just fucking took over. It was like being shoved aside in my own mind. He knocked me into sleep, leaving me floating in the dark, and all my hunger twisted into something else—anger. Raging, suffocating wrath for the one thing we couldn’t have. Mia. When my eyes opened again, I wasn’t in control. “Keziah,” I whispered. “Hm?” “How’s it going?” I asked softly, relieved he had taken over. If it were me standing there, I’d have made a fool of myself like I did earlier. People misunderstood Keziah. They thought he was just insane, but he was the sharpest wolf I’d ever known. For that, I thanked the Moon Goddess. This was how it always worked: in human form, I was the brute while Alex carried the charm and brains. But in wolf form, it was different. Keziah was the charming intelligence, while D
Mia’s POVI swallowed hard. The air in Axel's room was suffocating with the scents of wolf musk. My palms were damp, and the only thing keeping me was my thoughts.“What? What did I agree to? I wanted to say, I didn’t agree to be used, to be treated like this. I only agreed so I could ask a favor from you, you self-serving wolf.” But my lips never formed these words. I just wanted this moment to end.Suddenly, Alex clapped his hands once. “Excellent. Settled, then. Athena, you should have that injury looked at. You can’t heal the way wolves do.” Athena’s eyes narrowed. “I have magic. I will heal.”“Not like wolves,” Alex countered, his tone heavy with meaning. They exchanged a silent look that prickled the back of my neck. I knew that look—it was the expression of someone keeping secrets. Secrets from Axel, maybe.“You’re a priestess,” Alex continued, “and no matter how skilled you are, you can’t mend flesh without some human care.” He turned toward the gathered betas and omegas. “
Alex’s POVMia gaped.“Aren’t you the rogue found near the borders?” Her eyes narrowed. “Highly impressive, how you slipped past my radar. Tell me, little one… are you a witch like me?”Mia’s mouth opened to speak, but Athena’s hand lashed out first, cracking across her cheek. The sound echoed like a gunshot. She stumbled. Still, Athena’s arm drew back for another strike… but it never landed. In the blink of an eye, Axel’s hand closed around her wrist. The movement was slow enough to look controlled, yet still too fast for Athena to follow. Axel’s grip tightened until Athena’s expression shifted into something I’d never seen from her before—Terror.“Axel,” she hissed. “Respect yourself. You and I both know she isn’t your true mate, so I can do whatever I want—”“Shhh.” Axel whispered softly.Athena’s eyes widened, and I knew why.It wasn’t Axel anymore.It was Keziah.“Keziah, I didn’t mean to—” she began, but Axel applied more pressure to her wrist. She choked and spat a mouthful o
Alex's POV“Axel..” Donotrom howled. A sharp pang shot through my chest. Whenever Axel was like this, our mateless situation became painfully obvious.Why brother?Just look at his fists, shoulders, and whole body crashing against the door like he meant to destroy it. He didn’t even seem to notice us.Great. I jerked my chin toward one of the guards. "Where’s Mia?”The man shifted uneasily. “We couldn’t find her…”Suddenly, Mia screamed.I shifted immediately. Time to put my brother down. What would people say if they saw him like this? They’d whisper that Mia wasn't his mate—that she was a fraud. They'd say his true mate would have stepped in to calm him, but the rogue… poor Mia couldn’t even keep herself out of trouble.Unless…I hooked the heavy chain in my fangs, dragged it across the floor, then reached out to Mia.Mia? There was nothing. In fact, any hope of calming her down vanished when I met a locked mental door. Well, it wasn't surprising for a rogue's mind to be closed off
Alex's POV“Fuck,” I groaned, stretching out my bones. Frank’s hit had taken me about ten minutes to recover from—though truthfully, I was fine long before the guards even reached the infirmary. It was easy enough to fake that my bones were still rearranging themselves while my brother handled the rest of the night.I simply enjoyed the ride.As I closed my eyes, Mia’s face flashed into my mind.She looked surprisingly good in my clothes. Too bad she was just on a contract. Axel hadn’t told me, but I knew the deal—once she gave an heir to either of us, we would…Kill her? Send her away? I wasn’t sure which.I quickly linked to my brother, who had been spewing nonsense about Lunar wolves lately. Sure, the Desori Claw pack specialized in intelligence, but that didn’t mean he could play with mine.Lunar wolves? What a joke. They don’t even exist… not since the last…Rebellion.My eyes snapped open. Fucking hell. How had that slipped my mind? And it hadn’t even happened that long ago.Any