C3

Genesis drifted through the rest of the pack feast in a total daze. She spoke when the other wolves spoke to her, bared her teeth in polite smiles, and forced herself to nod, but her mind was completely numb.

They were all gathered in the tight, stone-walled living quarters of the Wolfpine Coast den, holding wooden plates of roasted boar on their laps.

The air was thick with the scent of pine, roasting meat, and the happy pheromones of Ronan and his new, shy mate, Bryony. Everyone was laughing about the couple’s recent bonding ceremony under the Great Moon, but Genesis kept her eyes glued to the corner of the room.

Daven sat as far away from the family as possible, his massive alpha frame hunched over an untouched plate of meat. His golden eyes were dark, his scent of cedar and rain souring with an aggressive, brooding bite that made the surrounding omegas keep their distance.

"Now see here, young wolf—" her father, Aldren, began, his gravelly voice rising to assert his dominance over the table.

"Father, leave her be," Ronan interrupted, his voice low but carrying a sharp alpha edge that surprised everyone. "I won't let you growl at her."

Genesis blinked, her wolf shifting with uneasy surprise. Ronan had never bared his teeth at their father before.

"I am not trying to intimidate the girl," Aldren grunted, looking slightly chastened as he adjusted his heavy fur cloak. "I am simply reminding her how the Wrenmoor bloodline comports itself."

"Maybe our bloodline isn't as perfect as you think," Bryony said softly, though there was a sudden, fierce heat in her eyes. "I may be new to this pack, but Ronan has carried the weight of your expectations for too long, no matter how much he hides it."

Genesis winced, a sudden pang of envy hitting her chest. She looked at how Ronan stared at Bryony, his eyes filled with absolute adoration and protective instinct. Their mating was supposed to be a temporary alliance, yet they looked more bonded than she and Daven ever had.

"Does anyone want more honey-mead?" Thayer asked, trying to break the suffocating tension that had settled over the hearth.

Aldren stayed quiet, his gaze shifting uncertainly between Ronan and Bryony.

Genesis couldn't take it anymore. The thick, mixed scents of the pack and the sudden wave of morning sickness hitting her throat made her feel like she was suffocating. She needed to get Daven out of here. She needed to make him look at her.

"The journey back to the Wolfpine Coast is long under the dark moon," Genesis said, rising to her feet and dusting off her leather tunic. "I think we will skip the sweet-meats."

"What is going on between you two?" Aldren asked, his sharp eyes instantly locking onto Genesis and then darting to Daven’s silent, hostile form.

"It is nothing, Father," Genesis lied, her heart thumping violently against her ribs. "Just a minor pack dispute. Isn't that right, Daven?"

Daven let out a low, mocking growl that vibrated through the floorboards. "A massive fight, more like."

"See?" Genesis forced a bright, desperate laugh, her palms sweating. "We are perfectly fine."

"Are you submissive to him out of fear, Genesis?" Aldren’s voice growled, his hand instantly dropping to the hilt of his bone-dagger.

Ronan surged to his feet, his chest expanding as his wolf pushed to the surface, and Thayer stepped up beside him, both brothers instantly locking their sights on Daven.

"Has he laid a claw on you?" Ronan demanded, his jaw tight.

Daven didn't even flinch. Instead, a reckless, bloodthirsty grin spread across his face as he slowly stood up, his shoulders shifting as if he were begging for them to try. He was a powerful alpha, but against three fully grown Wrenmoor males, he would be torn to shreds.

"Stop it!" Genesis gasped, her voice cracking with pure humiliation. "He has never touched me in anger. We are going home. Now."

Her brothers slowly relaxed their stances, though their scent remained highly aggressive.

Genesis marched over to Daven, holding out her palm. He stared at her hand for a long, mocking moment before digging into his belt and tossing the heavy leather reins of their dark stallion into her hand.

She led the way out of the stone lodge, her skin burning under the pitying stares of the pack.

"We need to talk," Ronan whispered, pulling her into a brief, tight hug before she stepped out into the cold night. "I will ride to your territory tomorrow, Gen."

Genesis nodded weakly, slipping out into the darkness where their large carriage stood waiting. Daven didn't wait for her; he climbed straight into the passenger cabin and slammed the wooden door shut.

The forty-minute ride back to their private estate in Hollowmere Heights was pure torture. Genesis drove the beast through the dark forest paths, her hands shaking on the leather reins while Daven slept—or pretended to sleep—on the opposite bench, his face relaxed and irritatingly handsome in the pale moonlight.

By the time she pulled the carriage into their courtyard, her fear had fully curdled into a hot, boiling rage. She jumped down, marched to his side of the carriage, and yanked the door open.

"We are home," she snapped, poking his hard, stubbled cheek with a sharp fingernail.

Daven jerked awake, his hand instantly wrapping around her wrist in a grip that was entirely too hot, his golden eyes narrowing. "What the hell is your problem?"

"You humiliated me tonight," Genesis whispered fiercely, trying to yank her hand back, but his thumb rubbed against her racing pulse point, sending a jolt of liquid heat straight to her core.

"I told the truth," Daven growled, slowly releasing her wrist and stepping down from the carriage. "I have no more lies left to give you, Genesis."

"You touched me," she blurted out, her voice desperate as she followed him toward the heavy oak doors of their den. "We shared a bed. We mated. You cannot tell me that was nothing."

Daven stopped dead in his tracks, turning his head to look at her over his broad shoulder. His lips curled into a cruel, mocking smile.

"That wasn't mating, Gen," Daven whispered, his voice dropping to a low, erotic purr that made her lower stomach throb with a sudden, treacherous ache. "That was just two beasts relieving their heat. It was cold, empty, and completely unsatisfying."

Genesis gasped, the words cutting deeper than any silver blade. "You... you didn't enjoy it?"

"I get more pleasure running wild under the full moon alone than I ever did inside your cold, unresponsive body," he sneered, turning away from her.

"Why?" Genesis cried out, her pride entirely gone as she grabbed his thick upper arm, her fingers sinking into his hard muscle. "Daven, why are you doing this to us?"

Daven ripped his arm out of her grip, his eyes flashing a dominant, blinding gold in the shadows of the courtyard.

"Because you are incapable of giving me what I actually need!" he roared, his voice echoing off the stone walls.

"Tell me what you want!" Genesis screamed back, tears finally spilling over her lashes.

"I want you!" Daven snarled, stepping close enough that his chest pressed against hers, his scent of musk and raw male dominance completely overwhelming her senses. "I want a real mate. A female who actually feels something, who shares her soul, not a frozen statue who doles out tiny, perfect pieces of herself while keeping the rest locked away."

"I... I am your mate," she whispered, her voice trembling.

"You are a stranger," Daven said, his voice cracking with a sudden, raw vulnerability that shocked her. "You think everything is perfect just because your healing career is thriving and I didn't run away after we lost our first pup. And now you want to breed another one into this lifeless den? I am done, Genesis. I want the bond broken."

"Are you truly happy, Gen?" he asked quietly, his eyes searching her pale face.

Genesis swallowed hard, her throat dry. "I thought I was."

"When was the last time you actually felt alive?" Daven demanded, his gaze boring into her soul.

"The night we met," Genesis whispered desperately, the truth ripping from her throat.

Daven froze, his entire body turning rigid as a stone statue in the moonlight.