C3

BRIONY ASHBRIAR slammed her small fists onto the splintered wood of the desk inside the Ashbriar Homestead, her breathing ragged. She was going to tear down every single eviction notice the Alpha Council had nailed to her oak door if it was the last thing she did.

"You can scratch your nails raw against those pack edicts, Briony, but the legal seal remains unchanged," Marshal Calder Rimewolf boomed, his heavy boots shaking the floorboards as he stepped into the small room.

My human heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, the scent of his dominant wolf blood suffocating the small space.

"My family has tilled this valley for five generations under the old treaties, Calder," I spat, my white complexion flaring red with pure rage. "You cannot simply let the Frostwarden family take the Ashbriar Wolfstead because my brother is away in Ironfang Crossing."

"The decree does not come from me, human," Calder muttered, his hand resting on the iron hilt of his blade as he tossed a fresh scroll onto the desk. "Look at the signature at the bottom."

My fingers trembled as I snatched the heavy parchment, my eyes dropping to the thick, elegant ink that shattered my last hope.

"Lady Eirlys Frostwarden," I whispered, the words tasting like ash on my tongue. "The Alpha's mother signed this herself."

"She exercised the sacred lineage clause," Elric Ravenscar sneered, stepping out from the shadows of the hallway, his cruel eyes raking over my skinny frame with hungry satisfaction. "A solo human female has no legal standing to hold ancestral pack lands, Briony. By tomorrow's moon rise, this homestead belongs to the pack, and you belong in the outer colony stables."

A wave of intense, hot humiliation flooded my veins, making my wet core twitch with an angry, defensive throb as his foul pheromones tried to force me into submission.

"I will rot in the deep woods before I ever let you touch me, Elric," I barked, my voice trembling but sharp.

"Then pack your bags, little bird," Elric chuckled darkly, his fingers brushing against the iron boundary key hanging from his belt. "Because unless an alpha claims you by blood law before the dawn council meets, you are officially an outcast."

They strode out, slamming the heavy oak door and leaving me alone in the suffocating silence of the failing homestead.

My hand shook violently as I grabbed the small communication crystal from the drawer, my mind racing through the absolute disaster my life had become. There was only one option left, a desperate gamble that made my stomach turn with pure dread.

I tapped the crystal, pulling up the link to the Moonwatch Tower Den.

BRIONY:

Did you mean what you said in the den?

GARRON:

About putting my pup inside your tight little pussy? Every word, hellcat. Just give me the word and I will knot you until you scream my name.

BRIONY:

I meant about the marriage contract at the Alpha Council Hall, you jackass.

GARRON:

You know I did.

BRIONY:

Why would a powerful wolf like you agree to hitch himself to a broke human?

GARRON:

Because your brother Oswin made me promise to protect you before he left for the border. And maybe I just want to see Elric choke on his own spit.

BRIONY:

Oswin definitely did not mean for you to claim me as a mate.

GARRON:

Too bad he is not here to stop me.

BRIONY:

I am going to regret this for the rest of my miserable life...

GARRON:

But?

BRIONY:

I am in. Meet me at the Council doors at dawn.

GARRON:

Knew you could not resist my heat.

BRIONY:

Do not flatter yourself, Frostwarden. If you pull any dirty alpha tricks tomorrow, I will take your white cane and break it over your thick skull.

GARRON:

Oh, I love it when you talk dirty to me. Save that biting energy for the wedding bed, little bird.

I cut the connection, dropping the crystal onto the desk as a cold shiver ran down my spine.

I was going to legally tie my life to Garron Frostwarden, the most possessive, infuriating blind wolf in the entire territory.

My skin still tingled where his massive hand had gripped my waist earlier, my inner human instincts screaming that I had just walked straight into a trap far more dangerous than Elric's eviction notice.

The front door suddenly rattled again, a heavy, familiar knock echoing through the empty farmhouse.