Mag-log inThe men tightened their grips on his athletic jacket, lifting his feet an inch off the ground so he could not kick or squirm away."I swear to God, I won't tell anyone about the wolves or the shift!" Connor shrieked, thrashing his shoulders back and forth.He dug his wet sneakers into the dirt, desperate to find some kind of leverage against the massive men holding him hostage."Please, man, you don't have to drug me, I will drop out of school tonight!"Evan did not answer the terrified boy, tapping the side of the glass syringe with his index finger to clear a tiny air bubble from the blue fluid.The cold, calculated movement proved he had performed this exact procedure a hundred times before on other innocent people who saw too much."Jaslyn, please help me!" Connor screamed, twisting his neck to look at me through the gap in the enforcers."Tell them I won't talk! Tell them I will keep my mouth shut!"His frantic begging tore through my chest, because he was only trapped in this ni
His raspy snarl echoed across the clearing, and the terrifying monster I had been touching vanished into the cool evening air.My hands were resting against warm, bare human shoulders instead of thick dark fur, and the realization hit me with the force of a freight train.A fierce, scorching heat rushed straight into my cheeks as the supernatural shock wore off, leaving me painfully aware of the intimate situation.Ryder was kneeling in the dirt right in front of me, and he did not have a single stitch of clothing on his body.I quickly pulled my fingers away from his skin and averted my eyes, staring intensely at the crushed grass near his knees.My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my bruised ribs, though the terror from the feral wolf was now replaced by intense human embarrassment.The men holding Connor remained frozen in place, clearly intimidated by the glowing amber light still flashing in Ryder's dark brown eyes.Even though he was unarmed and fully exposed to the eleme
The thick, pitch-black fur melted away from my skin like shadows fleeing the sunrise, exposing my bare flesh to the harsh, biting chill of the evening wind.Every single joint in my body popped and realigned with explosive force, sending blinding flashes of white-hot agony straight through my skull and down my spine.The pain was so absolute that it blurred the edges of my vision, turning the headlights of the SUVs into glaring, watery streaks of white.Every muscle fiber tore and reknit itself at an accelerated pace, burning through my supernatural energy reserves until I felt lightheaded and dizzy.My broad shoulders cracked into their human proportions, and my ribcage compressed until my lungs screamed for fresh oxygen in the humid air.I slammed my palms flat against the earth, gripping the roots of the grass to keep myself from collapsing on top of her.The sound of my bones breaking was sickening, a wet, crunching noise that made the enforcers take a collective step backward in
The large enforcers clamped their thick hands around the track runner's arms, and the rough contact sent a shockwave of pure panic straight through the mate bond.Jaslyn gasped under my chin, her small fingers tightening desperately in my dark fur as the armed men hauled her terrified friend up from the dirt.My inner beast did not care about the crying human boy, since his weak presence in the woods was nothing more than an annoying distraction to my territory.However, the intense, suffocating fear radiating from my chosen female was an unforgivable offense that demanded immediate retribution.The men were hurting her by taking the boy away, and my feral instincts categorized their obedience to the Alpha King as a direct, active threat to my mate's safety.A bone-rattling snarl ripped out of my throat, vibrating through the solid earth and shaking the loose gravel near the front tires of the silver sedan.I peeled my black lips back to expose my razor-sharp fangs, letting hot saliva
My whisper faded into the thick fur of his neck, and the chaotic tension in the clearing instantly vanished.The massive black wolf beneath my hands let out a long, shuddering sigh, his tense muscles melting into the dirt as he surrendered to my touch.Damien Blackwood kept his glowing amber eyes locked on my face as he slowly lowered his raised hand in the air.The armed enforcers standing around the black SUVs mirrored his movement with extreme hesitation, their disciplined training conflicting with their obvious fear.They lowered the barrels of their tranquilizer rifles toward the ground, though their fingers remained hovering near the triggers just in case the beast snapped again.None of them could comprehend why the feral Alpha was resting his massive chin against the shoulder of a bleeding nursing student.I kept my fingers buried deep within the dark coat, anchoring myself to the steady thrum of his heartbeat while I tried to process the impossible standoff.His immense warmt
The doors of the black vehicles swung open in perfect unison, cutting off any chance of escape toward the main road.A dozen men dressed in matching dark uniforms stepped onto the crushed grass with long rifles pressed firmly against their shoulders.They formed a tight barricade around the front of the silver sedan, trapping us between the vehicles and the thick brush of the mountain woods.I recognized the sharp chemical scent of the animal tranquilizer loaded inside the glass darts, confirming these men were elite pack enforcers rather than normal campus security.The rear door of the lead vehicle pushed open, and Damien Blackwood stepped out into the blinding glare of the headlights.His tailored charcoal suit looked ridiculously out of place in the dirt, yet the furious scowl twisting his fa
JASLYN'S POVVanessa let go of my arm the exact second he spoke. She dropped her hands to her sides and took a quick step away from me.She smoothed the wrinkles on her tight dress and forced a bright, fake smile onto her face."Damien, darling," Vanessa said. Her voice pitched much higher than nor
JASLYN'S POVThe heavy double doors slammed shut in my face and the loud boom echoed across the empty driveway and faded into the hot summer air.I stood frozen on the top marble step, my heart hammering hard against my ribs. I reached down and touched my waist where Ryder had grabbed me and my ski
RYDER'S POVI watched her stumble backward. Her spine hit the hard stone of the staircase railing. She gasped for air, and she gripped the ledge to keep her balance. My palms burned where I touched her skin and static shock of our connection still sent hot sparks up my arms. My inner wolf paced fr
JASLYN'S POVThe iron gates of the Blackwood estate loomed over my beat-up sedan. I stared through my dusty windshield at the towering metal bars and let out a long sigh. I pressed the intercom button on the security keypad and waited in the stifling summer heat."State your business," a gruff voic







