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Finley"Now," I demand, my voice rough with desire and desperation. "Please, I need—"I have no idea how many days we’ve been sequestered away, fucking like rabbits. All I know is the minute one of them stops touching me, the fire under my skin reignites and I’m begging for something I can’t even name. But I don’t need to. Not with them. "We know what you need," Dane assures me, positioning himself above me with infinite care. "We can feel it through the bond. Feel how much you need this."When he enters me, it's with the slow reverence of someone handling something precious and fragile, despite the fact that every instinct is probably demanding he claim me with the fierce possession I feel through the bond.The rhythm we find is slow at first, careful. Even with the river of slick I’m producing and the ridiculous number of times we’ve done this, Dane is big and taking all of him stretches me to my limits. But as my body adjusts, it demands more, becomes something wilder, more desper
FinleyThe heat starts exactly as Dr. Harrison predicted—forty-eight hours after our private mating ceremony, with a slow burn that builds from deep in my core until every nerve ending feels electrified. What she didn't adequately prepare me for was the intensity of experiencing it as a fully mated Alpha with two mates who are just as affected by the bond as I am."Finley," Dane's voice is rough with barely controlled need as he enters our bedroom carrying a tray of food neither of us will probably touch. "How are you feeling?""Like I'm burning from the inside out," I admit, my voice already breathless despite the fact that nothing has happened yet. "And like if you don't touch me soon, I might actually die.""That's the heat talking," Liam says gently, though I can see the strain in his expression as he fights his own response to my condition. "You're still recovering from surgery. We need to be careful.""Careful," I repeat with a laugh that sounds more desperate than amused. "Dr. H
Finley"What's the pack situation? Really?"Dad and Mom exchange glances before Dad settles into serious Alpha mode. "Bradley's conspiracy was more extensive than we initially realized," he reports grimly. "Five pack members aside from the ones your mates took down, all of them older wolves who never fully accepted female leadership.""But only five?" I ask, strangely relieved that the betrayal wasn't more widespread."Only five," Mom confirms. "Out of nearly two hundred pack members. Everyone else has been absolutely outraged by the assassination attempt.""There have been calls for Bradley's execution," Dad continues with dark satisfaction. "The pack considers attempting to murder their Alpha during a mating ceremony to be the ultimate betrayal.""Execution?" I repeat, not sure how I feel about that level of consequence."Pack law is clear about assassination attempts against Alphas," Dane explains gently. "The traditional penalty is death, especially when the attempt is made during
FinleyThe first thing I notice when consciousness slowly returns is the steady beeping of medical equipment and the antiseptic smell of the pack's medical center. The second thing I notice is the dull, persistent ache in my chest that makes breathing feel like work. The third thing I notice is the warm weight of two hands holding mine—one on each side of the bed."She's waking up," comes Liam's voice, soft but filled with relief so profound it makes my heart clench."Finally," Dane adds, his thumb stroking across my knuckles with infinite gentleness. "We were starting to worry you were going to sleep through your own recovery."I try to speak, but my throat feels like sandpaper. Dane immediately reaches for a cup of water, helping me take careful sips until I can manage words."How long?" I croak, my voice barely recognizable."Three days," Liam reports, his hand tightening around mine. "Three very long days of Dr. Harrison telling us you were stable while we watched you lie here like
Dane"You're wrong about everything," I tell Bradley with calm that doesn't reflect the violence brewing beneath my skin. "Wrong about female leadership, wrong about Finley's capabilities, and especially wrong about thinking you've won.""Also wrong about thinking you could pull off this coward's assassination and walk away," Liam adds, moving to flank Bradley's group. "You wanted to avoid an honorable challenge because you knew she'd destroy you. So instead, you chose the path of cowards and murderers.""And since you were too much of a coward to fight our mate like a proper wolf," I continue, Summit's anticipation bleeding into my voice, "you'll have to settle for facing both of us instead."The shift happens simultaneously—Liam and I dropping to all fours as Storm and Summit emerge with coordinated fury. The sight of two Alpha-bloodline wolves, both larger than average and radiating lethal intent, makes Bradley's supporters take instinctive steps backward."Shift," Bradley commands
Dane One minute I'm basking in the afterglow of our mating ceremony, feeling Finley's mark burning bright on my throat and her presence settling deep into my soul like she's always belonged there. The taste of her blood still lingers on my tongue, sweet and perfect, while our newly completed bond hums with contentment and joy. We did it—against all odds, all opposition, all the forces that tried to tear us apart—we're finally, permanently, irrevocably mated.The next minute, the sharp crack of a gunshot shatters everything.Time slows to a crawl as I watch the woman I love more than life itself crumple in Liam's arms, crimson spreading across the white silk of her wedding dress like spilled wine. Through our fresh bond, I feel her shock, her pain, her growing weakness as blood seeps from the wound in her chest."No," I breathe, the word torn from my throat as Summit roars to life beneath my skin. "NO!"I'm moving before conscious thought kicks in, dropping to my knees beside them as L