C5

BRIONY ASHBRIAR guided her battered wagon into the dusty courtyard of the Alpha Council Hall like she was riding toward her own execution. Paralyzed by the sheer weight of what was coming, I kept my hands clamped around the reins to stop them from shaking.

What in the goddess's name was I doing?

This wasn't a standard trading day at the Silver Pine Trading Post. I wasn't here to submit basic pack property registries or pay a boundary fine. I was here to legally bind my bloodline.

To Garron Frostwarden, the most infuriating wolf in the entire territory.

With my pulse thumping like a war drum inside my ears, I peered over the wooden buckboard and caught sight of him immediately. The dominant brute had always possessed a strange, magnetic pull that drew every eye in Frosthaven Moonreach. Mine included, to my absolute disgust.

Garron leaned his muscular, 5.8-foot frame against the heavy stone balustrade at the top of the steps, carrying himself with an irritatingly effortless power. His gray tunic stretched tight across his broad shoulders, highlighting the raw mass of his chest. His short dark hair looked wild from the mountain wind, and that mocking smirk sat perfectly on his handsome, black face.

He held a silver-leaf cigarette between his thick fingers, a thin trail of smoke rising around him. He was a complete menace to my sanity.

The moment his acute senses picked up my arrival, he straightened, tapping his carved white cane against the stone as he descended the steps with a lazy, possessive stride.

I didn't want to notice how perfectly those leather breeches hugged his powerful thighs. I didn't want to look at the golden undertones of his dark skin under the morning sun. Most of all, I didn't want to admit that my human gaze was completely locked onto him.

I especially didn't want to acknowledge the sudden, treacherous heat pooling low in my belly. I tried to tell myself it was just the unseasonably warm air rolling off the Blood Moon Harvest Grounds, but my body knew better.

Goddess help me, this wolf was about to claim me before the law.

"What are you doing, you absolute lunatic?" I muttered under my breath, forgetting that a werewolf's hearing could catch a whisper from a mile away.

Garron halted right at the side of my wagon, leaning his massive upper body over the wooden frame, his blind eyes turning toward me as a lethal dimple showed on his cheek. "I am here to violate a sacred pack edict with my future bride. What about you, hellcat?"

I clenched my jaws tightly, cutting off my internal panic as I forced myself to step down from the wagon wheel, landing heavily on the dirt right in front of him.

"You are late," he murmured, his voice laced with amusement.

"And you are entirely unbearable," I snapped, crossing my arms over my slim, 5.5-foot frame. "I tried to find any other powerful ally to save the Ashbriar Wolfstead, but the elders blocked me. You are literally my absolute last resort."

His hidden gaze seemed to track me from head to toe, reading the erratic rhythm of my human heartbeat and the way my fingers dug into my own sleeves. He didn't mock my obvious fear; instead, his large hand shot out, wrapping around my wrist with a firm, inescapable grip.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded, though my legs followed his lead anyway.

"Giving you a moment to collect yourself," Garron said, pulling me toward the secluded stone archway at the side of the ancient hall. "You are vibrating like a trapped rabbit, Briony. If you bolt now, Elric Ravenscar will have you in the outer colony stables by nightfall."

"I am not going to run," I lied, my voice tight.

"You are," he countered smoothly, pressing my back gently against the rough, sun-warmed stone wall of the courthouse. "Which is why we need to practice."

"Practice what?"

His head tilted down, his scent of rich tobacco and dominant alpha musk invading my senses as his voice dropped into a dark, velvety register. "You know exactly what."

My wet core throbbed with an immediate, defensive ache that made my knees turn to water. No. Absolutely not. I refused to go soft for a cocky wolf who probably spent his mornings testing his mating pheromones on the village girls.

I let out a sharp, mocking breath. "It figures an alpha would drag me into the shadows just to satisfy his ego. Afraid the pack council will laugh when they realize your human mate can't stand your touch?"

Garron didn't even blink at the insult, his grin only widening as he stepped deeper into my personal space. "You don't honestly want our very first display of intimacy to happen in front of the entire elder council, do you?"

"I don't want to touch you at all!"

"Too bad, little bird," he whispered, his chest brushing against mine. "The blood law requires a convincing show. It's mandatory for this little stunt."

The thought of his lips on mine should have made me fight dirty, but my traitorous eyes fell to his mouth. I wondered how his heat would feel against my cold skin. If he kissed the way he commanded—possessive, relentless, and completely overwhelming.

"Come on," he rumbled, his breath ghosting over my lips. "Let me make you forget why you are trembling."

"Please," I choked out, trying to steady my racing pulse. "You couldn't make me forget a single thing."

"That sounds like a direct challenge to my wolf, Briony."

He took the final step, pinning me against the stone without using a single hand. My palms grew slick, my breathing shallow as his massive frame completely boxed me in.

"Give me the permission, hellcat," he growled low in his chest.

"Fine," I snapped, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs. "Do it. Only because I want to prove that your alpha charms don't work on me."

"Whatever lie helps you stand still," Garron murmured.

He used two thick fingers to tilt my chin upward. His thumb dragged slowly across my lower lip, parting them slightly, and a sudden, intense spike of arousal made my core twitch with wet heat. He hadn't even truly touched me yet, and my body was already betraying my species.

"Would you just get it over with, jackass?" I demanded, desperate to stop the torturous waiting.

Garron let out a low, rough chuckle against my mouth, his large hand sliding back to cup the nape of my neck while his other palm gripped my hip, his fingers digging into my waist with a possessive force that made me gasp.

When his lips finally crushed against mine, the world shattered.

It wasn't a gentle brush of skin. It was an absolute claim.

I melted into his heat, my tongue instinctively meeting his as the ancient mate bond sparked to life between us like a physical fire. Garron groaned deep in his throat, pulling my slim hips flush against his lower body as he deepened the kiss, drinking me in like a starving beast.

My hands flew to his chest, bunching the fabric of his shirt as I clung to him, completely drowning in the taste of him. His hard, thick cock was already fully aroused, pressing hard against my stomach through our clothes, making my nipples tighten to painful points.

When he finally tore his mouth away, I slumped against the wall, panting heavily as my vision blurred. My lips were swollen and stinging, my human instincts screaming at the sheer danger of what I had just unlocked.

Garron stared down at me, his breathing ragged, his dark complexion flushed as his chest heaved. A slow, incredibly smug smile spread across his face. "Told you so."

"That was... completely uninspired," I managed to rasp out, trying to salvage my pride.

"Is that so?" He leaned down until his lips brushed my ear, his voice a lethal whisper. "Do you always rub your wet pussy against every male who gives you an uninspired kiss, hellcat?"

Before I could strike him, he stepped back, reaching into his leather vest to pull out two ancient silver bands bound by a simple piece of sinew.

"Let's go, wife," Garron said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the massive iron doors of the hall. "Time to bind your blood to mine."