Chapter 9

Luciano’s POV

“You think I don’t know what you did?”

Alanza’s small shape vanished into the shadows of the nearby trees. Spring was trying to burst them open, but the darkness was already winning. The full moon, high and cool, felt like a spotlight on my failure.

Alanza Verity. Beta Verity’s youngest. A secret until tonight.

A deep growl tore out of my chest. I punched the tree trunk beside me. Pain shot up my arm, a welcome burn. Blood beaded on my knuckles from the tough bark. It felt right, needed.

I snatched my phone from my back pocket and redialed Karlos. I tried not to blame him for the rage eating me alive. If he had just texted, just called, just warned me that Alanza Verity was a tiny blonde in a black dress and glasses, I wouldn't have gone so far. I wouldn't have walked straight into the trap.

“Alanza Verity is handled. She’s gone,” I bit out. My voice was tight and rough. “Watch the others. See if they try to pull another move.”

I ended the call before Karlos could speak. I shoved the phone away. My jaw ached from clenching so hard. The Crystal Lake Pack crossed a line. I didn’t know what they did to Alanza, but it made me react to her on the deepest, most animal level. My wolf paced my mind. He was a caged beast, furious I let her walk away.

She’s not our fated. You don’t smell that on her, I snapped at him.

He howled, refusing to listen. We had never been this divided. I blamed her. That small, sexy distraction. Those oversized, thick black frames on her nose. Wolves don’t need glasses. People who wear them do it for a look. I figured she was aiming for the helpless, fragile appeal.

And it had worked. Dammit.

I raked a hand through my hair. I dragged in a slow, deep breath, trying to clear the haze. I had to find out what caused Alanza's scent to hit me with that strange intensity. I needed to understand why my wolf responded to her like a mate. Then, I would make the Crystal Lake Pack pay for everything they did tonight.

I moved through the garden. I couldn’t help but follow the last trace of her smell toward the building’s front. It stopped there, lost to the night air. The unique aroma of her fragrance still clung to my skin. It was a constant reminder of our fight. The electricity still hummed beneath my shirt. Desire was pushing past the anger.

A snarl ripped from my throat. I spun and stalked to my car.

I couldn’t stay at the gala with her scent all over me. Every breath was a fresh wave of need. My body was tight, aching for more.

I slid into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. I flexed my hands on the steering wheel. That mix of orange, honey, and vanilla was trapped in the enclosed space. I pulled a long lungful of it. My wolf howled inside my skull. He wanted to chase her. He wanted to claim her. I pushed him back. She was not our fated mate.

The tires squealed as I sped out of the lot. The sound helped release some of the frantic energy fighting between my wolf and me. I needed distance. I needed to escape the memory of her soft skin and the feel of her pressed against me. I had to clear my mind and solve this problem.

I drove fast down the dark highway. Questions raced, but one kept repeating: How do I make sure this never happens again?

My knuckles were white on the wheel. My teeth ground together as I fought the urge to growl. They wouldn't get away with this. Whatever game they were playing, I would find the rules. When I did, they would pay.

I walked the hotel room. I was a caged predator. My skin felt too tight, crawling with an energy I could not shake. Every nerve was buzzing. I was hyper-aware of her lingering scent. It was a maddening ghost of the tempting blonde in the garden.

Alanza.

Her name was a low sound in my head. My wolf stirred with a hunger that felt new and deep. I could still taste her on my tongue. I could still feel the heat of her body, soft curves pressed to my hard lines. The memory alone started a simmer of desire in my gut. An ache demanded to be filled.

With a loud snarl, I swiped my arm across the dresser. The lamp crashed to the floor. Glass and ceramic shattered. It was a good sound, but it did nothing to ease the chaos inside me. Next, I kicked the chair. It flipped over. Still, the tension coiled tighter, a spring about to break.

What did they do to me? What kind of dirty trick did the Crystal Lake Pack use to make me react like she was my mate? I had never felt anything like this. A raw, consuming need to own her. To brand her as mine in the most basic way.

And she had felt it too. I smelled her arousal. I saw it when she arched against my hand, a small sound of want in her throat. It took everything I had not to tear the black dress from her body and take her right there in the trees.

The thought made me groan. I fisted my hands in my hair, fighting the heavy pull. This was not me. I did not lose control. But that girl, that tiny slip of a thing with wide blue eyes and those stupid glasses, she woke up something inside me I didn't know existed.

A knock on the door was a relief. I pulled it open, ready to unleash the storm on whoever dared interrupt me. Karlos stood there. He looked at the wreckage in the room, then lifted an eyebrow.

“Everything okay, boss?” he asked.

“What the hell do you think?” I growled, stepping back for him to enter. “You didn’t tell me I was hunting Alanza Verity.”

Karlos shrugged. He kicked the broken lamp out of his way. “I told you the Crystal Lakes brought two daughters. I didn’t know you wouldn’t recognize the younger one. And I didn't think it would cause you trouble.”

A harsh, humorless laugh left me. “Trouble? That’s the weak word for it.”

I gripped the back of the overturned chair. I fought for calm. I could not let Karlos see how shaken I was. He couldn't know how deeply Alanza got under my skin. As my second, and my friend, he would sense weakness and use it. That was the rule between us.

When I was sure my control was back, I faced him. “Report. What happened after I left the party?”

Karlos’s eyes were steady, watching me. He knew something was wrong, but he was smart enough to wait. “The Crystal Lakes mingled. Nothing special. No long talks with anyone important. I kept an eye on them until they drove off.”

“And Alanza?”

A small frown creased his forehead. “She left right after you. Got into a rideshare. Took off alone.”

My wolf howled at the thought of her out there, unprotected. The urge to hunt her, to keep her safe, almost overcame me. I clenched my teeth and forced it down.

“I want you to find everything about her,” I ordered. “Where she lives. Who she talks to. Any weakness we can use. They did something to make me react to her like she’s my mate. I need to know what it is so I can break it.”

Karlos's eyes widened a little. It was his only sign of shock. We both knew what a mating bond meant, even if it was faked. It would give the Crystal Lake Pack a way to control me. A massive piece of leverage.

Over my dead body.

Karlos nodded. His face was serious. “Consider it done. I’ll handle it myself. I’ll report back as soon as I have something concrete.”

“Tell me this,” I said, looking right at him. “If she’s not the fated mate, what the hell is she?”