Raine was not supposed to be here. But she was so close. She could see Ronan spread out on the bed in the dark. She hiccupped, stumbling drunkenly as she steadied herself against the doorframe.
Raine wasn’t supposed to come back to the park and certainly not Ronan’s room , but the rejection, the humiliation, it was too much. She had to try, Ronan needed to take her back. The room swayed as she staggered in, her breath uneven, the sharp bite of alcohol still thick on her tongue, it's potency still in her bloodstream, she stumbled to the bed, the figure on it slept soundly, half-covered by the sheets. Ronan, her love. Her fated mate. With shaky hands, Raine pulled down the zipper of her dress. It pooled at her feet, and she climbed into the bed, pressing herself against him softly. She sighed in contentment. Her breath hitched as she reached for him in the pitch-dark room. He was perfect, her mate. He had cast her aside like she was nothing. But this, she was sure it would fix everything. She could change his mind. She knew it. She dragged her naked body over him and placed her lips on his. She felt the moment he stirred into awareness because his body stiffened beneath hers. She moaned low, moving against him as she kissed him again. The body beneath hers hesitated for a minute, but then he was kissing her back. Raine was pleased. Her mate still wanted her. His touch means he wants her back. He misses her. His hands tightened around her hips, and then he was flipping her beneath him in an instant. Raine gasped against his lips as the big body above hers pressed her down into the mattress. Something was different about him tonight. He seemed rougher, more desperate, and in the dark, he seemed bigger. But her drunken head was too gone in the haze of lust to care. His lips collided with hers, practically devouring her as his tongue danced with hers, fucking in and out of her tongue in a sloppy, wet kiss. Raine moaned, rubbing herself against his thick thighs. The sheet around him had slipped, and his hard member poked into the side of her hip. Raine ached to reach for it, but the alpha had her hands pinned over head as his mouth left hers and trailed down her neck and down to her already parted legs. He nosed around her womanhood, teeth and tongue pressing gently against it, licking and nibbling. Raine whined, bucking into the touch. She wanted him to bite her, she wanted his mark, but the alpha did not give it to her. Instead he trailed his lips up, kissing softlh until he was biting softly one of her nipples. He pulled hard on the nub and Raine screamed, pleasure shooting straight through her entire being. His fingers nosed in between her legs, rubbing at her clit and spreading her slick. Raine groaned, wanting more of him, her chest puffing up in anticipation as he positioned himself at her entrance and thrust in at once. Her back arched as her mouth opened in a silent scream of pleasure. The alpha bottomed out, and for some reason, he seemed bigger than usual. Or had it been that long since she’d had her mate inside her? Raine’s walls spasmed and clenched around the thick length inside her and the alpha gave a low guttural groan, hands tight on her hips. Raine whined again, moving her hips against him in a silent plea for him to give in to her desire. The alpha growled, dragging her until she was practically hanging off his lap. His big hands spanned the width of her waist and he began moving her over his length, dragging her like she was his living cocksleeve. Raine moaned, her voice rising with each pounding thrust into her, until she was practically a moaning mess. And just, as she approached her climax, she felt him swell inside her as he thrust harder. Raine screamed as her orgasm crashed over her, sobbing at pleasure ran over her in waves. She felt it then, that fire, that hunger as their wolves surged towards each other, a sense of rightness like no other as they molded into one. Raine’s sobs became tears of joy as their wolves clicked together, a connection snapping into place. She was finally getting it. The bond that she’d been denied. Ronan was hers now, and by morning he would have no choice but to mate her before the entire pack. Raine smiled as the alpha held her in his arms. His large hands stroking her body softly as she slept off. ◆◆◆◆ With the morning light came realization. Raine stretched as she awoke, her limbs, muscles, and thighs aching with a delicious soreness. The events of last night came back to her, and she smiled despite her hangover. Ronan had made love to her. He took her back. The rejection had meant nothing. They would be joined as fated mates. Finally. She turned, smile, and ready for her lover. She froze. The man in the bed beside her was not Ronan. Raine felt her heart drop down to her stomach as all the blood drained from her face. She sat up frantically, pulling the sheets up to her naked chest as she took in the man next to her. The man she had let into her body last night. Silver-streaked hair, a powerful broad frame she’d clung to last night as he’d pounded into her over and over again. And finally, glaring in the light of the morning, the alpha’s mark on his shoulder. Matthias Draven. Alpha of the Draven Pack and Ronan’s father. Raine’s stomach lurched. She made a shocked sound as she scrambled back, struggling to get off the bed before the man would wake up, the sheets tangling around her legs. Her commotion woke Matthias, and he stirred. Raine watched as those grey eyes of his flashed open, and his gaze met hers. She saw confusion crossing his features, and then shocked realization, and finally settled on revulsion. Raine was going to be sick. Neither of them said a word. They barely even breathed. And then, with one trembling hand pressed to her lips, Raine did the only thing she could do. She ran.The scent of blood and antiseptic filled the pack's medical wing as Matthias paced outside the birthing room, his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white. It had been eighteen hours since the battle, eighteen hours since Raine had collapsed from her injuries and the stress had triggered early labor. Eighteen hours of not knowing if he would lose them both. "Alpha." Lyra emerged from the room, her face carefully neutral. "She's stable. The bleeding has stopped." Matthias felt his knees nearly buckle with relief. "And the baby?" "Premature, but breathing on his own. He’s got strong lungs, like his father." The older woman's expression softened slightly. "You can see them now, but keep it brief. They both need rest." Matthias entered the room on unsteady legs, his wolf whimpering at the sight of Raine lying pale and exhausted against the white sheets. But she was alive, breathing, and in her arms... "Look at him," she whispered, her voice hoarse but filled with wonder
Something was wrong the moment they crossed into Draven territory. The forest was too quiet, it made Matthias's wolf pace restlessly beneath his skin. Beside him, Raine pressed closer, one hand protectively over her belly, her newly recovered instincts picking up the same wrongness that had his hackles rising. "Where is everyone?" Selene whispered, her eyes scanning the empty paths that should have been bustling with activity. Matthias didn't answer, couldn't answer, because the scent hit him then—familiar and hated, carried on the wind like a promise of violence. Killian. Here, in his territory, waiting. "Get Raine to safety," he ordered Selene, his voice rough with barely controlled fury. "Now." But it was already too late. Killian stepped out from behind the pack house like a specter of death, his pale eyes glittering with satisfaction. He looked completely at ease, as if he owned the very ground he stood on, as if this were his territory instead of Matthias's. "Welcome home,
The cabin sat in a clearing like a wound in the forest, its windows glowing. Matthias crouched behind a cluster of pine trees, as he caught the first trace of her scent on the winter air. Raine. After months of nightmares and desperate searching, she was less than fifty yards away. "The wards are down," Selene whispered beside him, her voice barely audible. "Killian must have been confident in his control over her." Matthias nodded, not trusting his voice. Everything in him wanted to charge across that clearing, kick down the door and sweep Raine into his arms. But Selene's warnings echoed in his mind, Killian had spent months poisoning Raine against him, convincing her that Matthias was a monster, that she was safer in captivity than free. "She may not want to see you," Selene had said during their journey here. "Killian is very good at making his victims believe they deserve their suffering." The thought made Matthias's wolf snarl with rage. What had that bastard done to her?
The snow fell in thick, lazy flakes as Ronan tracked Killian's scent through the forest, his bare feet leaving bloody prints in the pristine white. He'd been walking for three days without rest, without food, without purpose beyond the burning need to find the man who'd destroyed his life. His exile clothes were torn and filthy, his face gaunt with hunger and exhaustion. But the rage that had sustained him through his banishment burned hotter than ever, a white-hot core of fury that kept him moving when his body screamed for rest. He found Killian exactly where he'd expected—in the neutral territory between their packs, sitting calmly on a fallen log as if he'd been waiting. The Voss Alpha looked immaculate as always, his dark coat pristine, not a silver hair out of place. He didn't even look up when Ronan emerged from the tree line like a specter of vengeance. "Punctual as always," Killian observed, finally lifting his pale eyes to meet Ronan's burning gaze. "Though I must say, ex
Ronan sank into a chair, his legs no longer able to support his weight. It was over. Everything he'd worked for, everything he'd sacrificed was gone. "Where is Selene?" he asked numbly. "Under my protection. For now." Matthias's voice carried a note of warning. "She may have been part of this conspiracy, but at least she had the wisdom to recognize when she was being used. Unlike some people." The implication was clear. Selene had found a way to survive her betrayal, by trading information for safety. She'd abandoned him just as surely as Killian had, leaving him completely alone in the wreckage of his ambitions. Matthias moved toward the door, his business with his younger son apparently concluded. "Now you live with the consequences of your choices. If you're very lucky, exile will be the worst of it. If you're not..." He shrugged with calculated indifference. "Well. Kinslayers rarely die peacefully in their beds." The door closed behind him with a soft click, leaving Ronan alon
The message came at dawn, delivered by a crow that landed on Ronan's windowsill. He'd been awake for hours, staring at the ceiling and replaying his last conversation with Killian, trying to parse meaning from the Voss Alpha's threats and calculating smiles. The pack will follow strength, Killian had said. Whoever can restore order when Matthias falls. At the time, Ronan had assumed he meant him. Now, as he unfolded the brief note tied to the crow's leg, he felt doubt creeping up his spine. Pack meeting tonight. All wolves required to attend. Important announcements regarding leadership transition. - K Ronan crushed the note in his fist, his wolf snarling with unease. Something was wrong here. Something had changed in the hours since their meeting, and Killian hadn't bothered to inform his supposed ally. He dressed quickly and made his way through the Draven compound, noting the unusual activity for such an early hour. Wolves were gathered in small groups, whispering among themse