Chapter 1

At the biggest gala the werewolf nation throws all year, I looked dead into the cameras of every news crew there and said, “When the Alpha King walks in tonight, I’m going to sleep with him.”

The clip hit the trending list within minutes. The hate came at me in waves.

“Her? Sleep with the Alpha King? She should look in a mirror.”

“The Alpha King hasn’t touched a woman in years. He hasn’t even shaken one’s hand. She’s dreaming.”

A normal person would’ve spiraled. Me? I wanted them louder. The nastier they got, the more attention I had, and the more attention I had, the harder it would be to bury the truth later.

“What asylum did this lunatic escape from?”

“Look at her. She’s not right in the head, and she looks dangerous.”

The comments turned into straight-up attacks. Fair enough — I did look like I’d lost it.

When I’d woken up that morning and realized I was actually back, I’d almost thrown up from the shock of it.

I hadn’t put on makeup. I hadn’t even gotten dressed properly. I’d shown up in slippers, hair a mess, and if I hadn’t waved the royal invitation at the door, the guards would’ve thrown me out as a crazy person.

A cheer rolled through the hall. The Alpha King’s car pulled up.

He stepped out: tall, broad-shouldered, the youngest Alpha King the nation had ever crowned. Strong brows, striking eyes, the kind of face every she-wolf dreamed about.

But tonight his color was off, pale almost to gray.

A few days back he’d put down a rebellion at the border. A rogue had torn open his chest, and the wound was bad enough that walking was a struggle.

If he skipped the gala, word would get out he was hurt. The whole pack would feel it. So he was here, hurt or not.

Which was exactly why I had a window to get close to him.

I was so nervous my hands were shaking. I forced a smile at the cameras anyway. “Watch this. The moment he walks in, I’m getting what I came for.”

I took a breath, shifted into wolf form, and lunged. By the time anyone reacted, I had Killian Vance in my jaws and I was running.

The hall exploded. Guards drew silver. I was already gone, Killian dumped into the back of the car I’d staged and the door slamming shut behind us.

He looked at me, calm as still water. “Girl. Do you understand what you’ve just done? Kidnapping the Alpha King is a crime.”

I didn’t bother explaining. I floored the gas and got us to the hotel.

I shoved him onto the bed, kicked the door shut, and threw the lock in one clean motion.

Then, finally, I let myself breathe.

When I turned around, his eyes were on me, hard and cold. “There’s no one here but us. Tell me what you want. If it’s money, call my Beta. Whatever the number is, he’ll pay.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What if I told you I don’t want money?”

His face darkened. His hand moved, almost on instinct, to his shirt. “Then what do you want?”

He was beautiful enough that plenty of she-wolves had talked about dragging him off and making him their mate. Talk was all it ever was. None of them had actually tried.

“I just need you to stay with me here for one night.” My voice softened, almost pleading. “I won’t touch you. I swear.”

“You realize what this does to both our reputations.”

I nodded. After what I’d been through last time, a ruined reputation didn’t even register.