“Come on,” he says, breaking the silence. “Let’s get you out of here before someone else decides to make your day worse.”I follow him without a word, and my heart is pounding for reasons that have nothing to do with magic. Gray walks with the kind of confidence that only an alpha can pull off. Every step radiates authority. He was born for this role, even if it was thrust on him too soon. But there’s a gentleness to him, too, a quiet strength that makes me feel safer than I probably should.As we head toward the edge of the training grounds, I catch sight of Madison and her group watching us from a distance. Their whispers are like knives darting through the air. I don’t need to hear the words to know what they’re saying.Look at her, following him around like a lost puppy. She doesn’t deserve his attention. She doesn’t deserve anything.I clench my fists and keep my head down, willing myself not to react. Not now. Not with Gray right here. But then heglances over his shoulder and see
First, the Alpha banished me. Now, he forces me to marry him.As a witch, I was always the outcast in the pack, the lowest in the hierarchy.When he banished me, I ended up as a slave in an underground black market.When he finds me, he buys me and becomes my new owner.The endless bullying and mocking in my youth caused my powers to overreact.That’s when the accident happened. The accident that made him expel me.His betrayal broke my heart and drove me into darkness.Now he’s back, offering my owner a huge amount of money to make me his personal slave.He rushes me into a mating ceremony, and I wake up in his bed.He demands that I open myself to him, even though I’m afraid.I’m afraid of the things he does to me, of the way he lays me bare.I’m afraid of the way he owns my body, of the way he makes me beg.Is my owner my fated mate?The Starfire Hollow Alphas always get their way. They rule their packs the way they want, claim their mates the way they want, and never make excuses
Epilogue - Alec Eight Months Later There are a few things that make me want to run from a council meeting—Gray’s “big announcements” among the top of that list—but right now, there’s only one reason I’d actually leave in the middle of one: Isadora. I’m sitting at the council table, only half-listening as Gray clears his throat with the kind of self-important air that usually means he’s about to drop some earth-shattering news on us. I glance around, taking in the slightly bored expressions of the other alphas who’ve had to endure this formality just as long as I have. Damien’s practically dozing off beside me, but my mind’s only half here, anyway. Isadora’s been complaining about feeling heavy and uncomfortable for weeks now. ”I swear I’m about to give birth to a were-basketball,” she muttered just this morning. Well, at nine months along, I’m not sure how she expects to feel, but I value my head and decide to keep that comment to myself. Gray’s voice drones on, something about
The corner of his mouth twitches, and a low, rumbling growl escapes him. “Oh, I have a few ideas.”Before I can respond, his hands are on my hips, his fingers deftly unfastening the button on my jeans and slipping them off in one swift move. Then, his palms are pressed flat against my thighs, spreading me wide, and his breath is hot between my legs.I gasp, arching against him. His tongue darts out, a flash of wet heat that sends a shudder through me.“That’s… one,” I manage, my voice strained, my pulse racing.“Mm-hmm,” he murmurs, his eyes locked on mine as he dips his head, his tongue trailing a searing line along my inner thigh.“Two.”The word comes out as a whimper, and I can’t stop myself from grinding against him, desperate for more.“Three.”This time, it’s a command, and he obeys, his tongue flicking out to swirl over the aching spot, teasing and taunting.“Four.”The number comes out as a plea, and my breath hitches, the pressure building. He keeps going, his tongue relentl
IsadoraThe council chamber feels stiff and formal, as usual, and I can’t say I’ll miss it when we’re done. Though we’re finally wrapping up, the energy’s still tense, like everyone’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. The alphas and council members exchange nods of approval, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that this is far from over.Damien stands and clears his throat. His voice booms over the others as he speaks. “I think it’s safe to say that we owe you both—Isadora and Jade—a debt we can’t quite repay. Your contributions, the risks you took… I don’t think any of us could have anticipated how close we’d come to losing everything. And it’s thanks to you that we’re not facing a portal leaking demons right now.”I feel Alec’s hand brush against mine, grounding me as the weight of Damien’s words settles in. It’s not that I need the credit, but hearing it from someone as stoic as Damien is a rare thing, underscoring how close we came to losing all of this.Gray adds, “The packs owe
AlecThe second my claws tear through the demon’s throat, sulfur fills my nostrils, sour and thick. The demon’s body crumples beneath me, barely hitting the ground before another lunges my way, teeth bared and eyes burning with malice. I whirl to face it, growling, fur bristling, ready to fight with everything I have.Isadora is on her feet as soon as I’ve torn the demon off her. Once she starts moving, her black wolf is a blur as she takes on two demons at once. She’s ferocious, and my wolf instincts scream to shield her, to stand between her and each enemy. But she holds her ground, fierce and focused, her eyes catching mine briefly as she dodges a vicious swipe.One demon charges me, snapping me back to the battle as I lunge, catching it mid-leap. My teeth sink deep, the bitterness of its blood coating my tongue. I shake it fiercely, throwing it to the ground in a final twist that breaks its neck. But there’s no time to recover—the cavern’s thick with them, a writhing mass of snapp