LOGINThe doors of the grand ballroom swung open with a loud, sudden thud. Every single conversation in the room stopped instantly. I turned around, my breath catching in my throat as the sharp click of high heels echoed against the marble landing. It was Raine. She stood at the top of the stairs, wearing a long black silk dress that caught the bright lights of the room. Her hair was pulled back tightly, and her eyes looked completely different. They were cold, sharp, an
A searing heat exploded at the base of my neck without any warning. It felt like someone had poured liquid fire straight onto my open skin, burning down through my flesh, my muscles, and right into my bones. My hand flew up to my collarbone, my fingers pressing hard against the newly formed mate-mark. The skin beneath my palm was blistering hot. My breath caught violently in my throat, and my vision flashed a brilliant electric blue as Xavier’s royal blood bound itself directly to mine. The pain was sharp, heavy, and blindingly fast."The heat... it's too fast," I choked out, clutching my throat as tears of heat sprang to my eyes. I looked up at Xavier, my ears ringing with a sharp whine as the massive ballroom started to spin around us. "Xavier, what is happening to the perimeter sensors?" I asked.Xavier didn't answer me right away. His whole posture went completely rigid, every tendon in his neck locking tight. He snapped his head toward the massive, floor-to-ceiling glass windows
Moments later, Twyla returned, her voice pierced right through the silence, screeching at the top of her lungs. Her face contorted into a tight, ugly mask as the veins in her neck popped out. She pointed a shaking finger directly at Raine, her body trembling as the entire ballroom stood completely paralyzed, nobody moving a single muscle."She’s a fraud!" Twyla shouted, her voice echoing wildly off the high ceilings. "Look at her—she’s a pathetic, unranked stray from the gutter! Don't let her fool you with cheap parlor tricks! Guards, grab her! Throw this trash out into the street where she belongs before I have you all fired!"Raine completely ignored the screaming woman. Instead, her cold eyes drifted down to look at me where I sat on the floor, frozen in a complete stupor. Her face showed nothing but absolute, freezing boredom."You wanted to see what a 'stray dog' looks like when she stops playing nice, Twyla?" Raine said, her voice dropping
I stayed on my hands and knees, staring at the polished floor. I could hear the heavy, steady thud of Xavier’s boots as he finished walking down the grand staircase. He did not look at the crowd. He did not look at me. He moved with a calm, terrifying authority that made everyone back away. He walked straight to the bottom step and stopped right in front of Raine. I expected him to claim the space, but he did not. Instead, Xavier lowered his head in a deep bow. He extended his right hand to her. It was a gesture of absolute, total submission."Everything is ready, My Queen," Xavier said. His voice was smooth, deep, and perfectly steady.Raine looked at his open palm for a split second. Then, she placed her hand in his. The exact moment their skin touched, a loud pop rang through the air. A visible arc of bright blue energy shot out from their hands. It tore across the ballroom like lightning, hitting my chest and knocking the breath right out of my lungs. Suddenly, the scent of her po
The doors of the grand ballroom swung open with a loud, sudden thud. Every single conversation in the room stopped instantly. I turned around, my breath catching in my throat as the sharp click of high heels echoed against the marble landing. It was Raine. She stood at the top of the stairs, wearing a long black silk dress that caught the bright lights of the room. Her hair was pulled back tightly, and her eyes looked completely different. They were cold, sharp, and focused. The loud chatter of the high society wolves vanished. A heavy, suffocating silence took its place, making it hard for me to breathe.She looked down at the crowd, her face completely calm. "I believe I’m on the guest list," she said. Her voice was not loud, but it carried clearly into every corner of the quiet room.At the top of the stairs, Twyla stepped forward. Her face twisted into a mean, ugly smile. She raised her hand and snapped
I lunged across the foyer, my open palm slamming down on the polished wood of the hostess’s podium with enough force to rattle the digital tablets. My face burned, hot sweat soaking through the stiff collar of my tuxedo as my eyes swept frantically over the incoming guests filtering through the security gates. "I told you, check the overflow list," I growled, my voice low and vibrating with desperation. "She isn't registered under 'Winslow.' Check the aliases. Check the false names. Just find her."The hostess flinched away from the counter, pulling her tablet tightly against her chest as her pupils dilated with instinctual fear. "Sir, there’s no one else on the secondary sheets," she whispered, her voice trembling as she glanced nervously toward the high table delegates standing nearby. "Please, you’re creating a scene. The Council elders are already watching you."Before I could tear the device out of her ha
The crushing pressure of Xavier’s aura hit me the second I stepped onto the main floor of the grand ballroom, drawing my eyes straight up to the mezzanine shadows. He sat in absolute silence, slowly swirling a glass of amber scotch, his presence so heavy it forced a ten-foot circle of empty space around his table. No one dared cross that line. My sharp Lycan hearing picked up the precise moment a southern border Alpha tried to approach his table, completely blind to the subtle warnings of the room. "Don't even think about it. Walk away," Xavier murmured. The southern Alpha froze mid-step, his glass tilting as a drop of liquor spilled onto the floor. The man tried to force a casual laugh, though his scent spiked with sudden, sharp fear. "I was just looking for a seat, Wright. No need to bite." Xavier set his glass down with a single, precise click that resonated clearly over the low murmur of the room. He didn't look up immediately, letting
"Raine, pick up the phone!" Torin’s voice crackled through the speaker, sounding breathless and desperate. "You have to let me explain. It’s not what it looks like."I stared at the blinking timer on the call screen. "Save your breath, Torin. I’m done. We’re over.""What? No! Raine, listen to me,"
"Leaving so soon?"The voice was a low, gravelly vibration that settled right at the base of my spine. I froze, my hand hovering inches from the edge of the silk sheets. Xavier Wright didn’t sound like a man who had just woken up. He sounded like a predator who had been watching me from the moment
"Are you absolutely sure about this?" I asked.I needed to hear the words. We were standing in the back of the elevator, the metal doors sliding shut to cut us off from the rest of the world. Raine didn't answer with her voice. She stepped into my space, grabbed the lapels of my jacket, and pulled
"Harder, Torin! God, yes! Right there!"The high, shrill scream of my best friend ripped through the heavy oak door. I stood in the hallway, my legs turning to water. In my pocket, the anniversary card I had spent an hour picking out felt like a jagged piece of scrap metal. I had been so excited. F







