ANMELDENCARTER'S POVFor one full second, nobody moved.The entire throne room held its breath at once, dozens of pairs of eyes all going back and forth between the crumpled heap that used to be their all-powerful Alpha and Carter, still frozen solid on his knees."What?" Carter's struggled to defend himself. "What the hell are you all staring at me for? Obviously I didn't do anything! I didn't kill him!"His heart was slamming so hard against his ribs he could practically hear it. This was it. This was how he died, torn apart by an entire pack of grieving werewolves who needed someone, anyone, to blame for their fallen leader, and he was the only human-shaped target in the room.But his shout seemed to snap something loose, because the spell broke all at once, and the room scattered into absolute chaos."Move, move, get back—""Is he breathing? Someone check if he's breathing!""I've got him, I've got him, lift on three—"Werewolves surged forward from every direction, getting up from their
Aurelius didn't so much as blink. He simply raised one hand, and claws slid free from his fingertips, long and sharp and the colour of old bone."No! Nobody knows I'm here!" Carter stumbled; all pretence of bravery disappeared. "Dallas just kidnapped me. I never wanted to come here, I never wanted any of this, please, just let me go—"He was babbling, and he knew it.He had put his pride and anger aside to beg for his life for what felt like the thousandth time since he'd first been brought to this place.But what else was he supposed to do against a man who could apparently reach inside his own head and force his body to do what he wanted, like something out of a horror movie? And after that horrific experience with Dallas' brother, where he got literally ripped to shreds, Carter knew there was no way in hell he'd let anyone's claws come anywhere near him a second time."Good," Aurelius said simply, lowering his hand. "That means no one will come looking for you when you are gone."
CARTER'S POVCarter squinted up at the old man standing at the head of the throne room, and something about the sheer arrogance radiating off of him tugged at a memory buried so deep that it took a second to fully surface."Holy shit. It's you." He almost laughed. "I can't believe it."A flash of memory hit him right then, and he remembered seeing a much younger version of this man, glowering down at two boys, him and Dallas, as they chased each other past his study, his eyes full of disapproval and suspicion.It wouldn't be long before he got kicked out for making too much noise, while Dallas got sent up to his room to bury himself in books or learn a fifth language or whatever else his father thought was more 'productive' at the time.That was a long time ago, when Dallas was still just the skinny kid Carter used to sneak out with after dark, back before everything got complicated into whatever this was.Carter didn't get too long to reminisce, though, because Dallas's sharp eyes cu
The room got so quiet you could’ve heard a pin drop. Dallas looked at the faces watching him. Different guards and servants, young wolves and old ones who had grown up hearing his name spoken with the deepest respect. All of them were watching to see what he would do in the face of such public embarrassment.Dallas bit down so hard on the words rising in his throat that he tasted blood in his mouth.“No, Alpha Aurelius,” he said.His father began to move through the room in a slow pattern, the tip of his walking stick clicking against the marble. “I warned you. When you first told me about this boy. When you were barely thirteen years old, you came to me with stars in your eyes talking about the mate bond you’d felt with that human child you grew up beside.”“That is true, Alpha Aurelius.”“Did I not tell you then that you were forbidden from ever acting on that bond? That you were to stay away from him, and wait until you were both of age, and then reject him cleanly?”“Yes, Alpha
DALLAS’S POV“Do not open the front gates!” Dallas yelled in a loud angry voice, his command sweeping through the pack’s mind link as he took the stairs three at a time. “Keep them closed! Do you hear me? Nobody opens those gates until I get there! That is a direct order.”A response came back immediately from the gate guards, a chorus of “Yes Alpha” that did nothing to slow his racing heart.He ran faster, straight up leaping over the bannister of the second-floor landing and dropping to the ground floor on all fours before standing up and breaking into a run.His body was still recovering from the pain transfer, his muscles ached, his joints protested, his vision swam slightly at the edges, but none of that mattered right then.His father could not be here. Not now. Not with the way things were.It would be disastrous if he ever found out that Carter was locked in the basement and the mansion still reeked of his brother’s violence. The same brother who Dallas was supposed to keep
“Yeah, a lot of them nearly got wiped out for it because the humans didn’t like that at all. They didn't like any of us, actually; they nearly wiped us all out. But they’re still around, and most of them will be here for the Moon Festival. So you’ll get to meet them and be formally introduced.”Over my dead body, Carter thought.“They can be…” Eric searched for the word, spinning Carter’s pen between his fingers. Over and over, click click click, the sound drilling into Carter’s skull. “Weird. It’s difficult to explain. You’ll understand when you see them.”“Eric,” Carter said.“Yeah?”“Please stop that, I don’t have another one.”“Oh. Right. Sorry.” Eric stopped messing with the pen. He set it down and made to stand again. “Anyway, thank you, sir. But I really should get back outside before—”“Wait! You haven’t finished telling me about the hierarchy,” Carter said immediately, frantically rushing to his feet.Eric paused, watching Carter with the most adorable of smiles. “Were you a







