"His teeth broke her skin. His lust broke her resistance." Lena Carter didn't believe in monsters- until she stumbled into Blackwood Territory. Now concerned by a snarling, golden-eyed beast with the body of a god and the temper of a devil, she learns the hard way: ware wolves are real. And the most dangerous of them all? Kade wilder, the Alpha who claims her with a single, brutal bite. The bloodmarked burns like fire, binding her to him in ways she doesn't understand. Her body aches for his touch. Her dreams are filled with him- his hands, his teeth, the rough command in his voice when he growls "mine." But the pack doesn't take human mates. And a rival alpha wants Lena dead before the bond can seal. As enemies close in and Kade's control shatters, Lena must choose: Run from the monster ... or surrender to the pleasure of being bloodmarked forever.
view moreThe forest swallowed sounds whole.
Lena Carter knew this, yet she still cursed under her breath when her boot snapped a twig. The noise echoed like gunshot in the silent pines. She froze, her pulse hammering against her throat as she scanned the shadows.
Just the wind. Just -
A low growl rumbled through the trees.
Not the wind. Never the wind, she said.
Her flashlight trembled in her grip as she swung it toward the sound. The beam caught golden eyes-high up, too high-glowing from the branches of an oak."Oh God."
The wolf dropped.
It landed in a crouch, muscles coiled beneath a pelt so black it swallowed the light. Lena stumbled back, her heel catching a root. The wolf's muzzle wrinkled, revealing fangs longer than her finger
Run.She spun, but a second wolf emerged from the bush- then a third. They circled her, saliva dripping onto the fallen leaves.
Then he appeared.
Taller, broader, human.
At least, he looked human until the moonlight hit his eyes. Gold, burning.
"You're trespassing," he said, his voice gravel and velvet.
Lena lifted her chin, "I'm leaving."
He stepped closer. The wolves parted for him like shadows for flame.
"You don't walk out of Blackwood." His nostrils flared. "Not after what you've seen."
Her stomach lurches. He knew.She'd watched a man shift an hour ago, his bones cracking, fur erupting from his skin. She'd vomited behind a log, then pulled out her camera.
Big mistake.
"Delete the footage." He held out a hand. "Now."Lena clutched the camera to her chest. "Or what?"
A slow dangerous Anike curved his lips. "Or I let my wolves decide."
One of the beasts snarled, edging closer.
It's breath reeked of raw meat.Her fingers shook as she fumbled with the camera. The Alpha watched, arms crossed, until she smashed the device against a rock.
"Satisfied?" She spat.
He stepped so close she had to tilt her head back. Up close he was all hard lines- sharp jaw, broad shoulders, a scar cutting through his left brow. His scent flooded her lungs: pine, smoke and something wild.
"No." His hand snapped out, gripping her wrist. "You smell like fear." He dragged his nose up her throat, making her shudder. "And something else."
Lena jerked away. "Get off-"A howl cut through the night. Distant, but closing in.
The Alpha went rigid. "Rogues." He shoved Lena behind him as the wolves bristled. "Run. Now."
She didn't argue.
Lena's lungs burned as she sprinted through the underbrush. Behind her, snarls and screams tore through the night.
Faster. Faster.
She skidded to a stop at the riverbank. The water churned black, too wide to jump.
A wolf crashed through the trees-not one of the Alpha's. This one was mangy, its ribs visible beneath patchy fur. Blood streaked its muzzle.
Oh God.
It lunged.
Lena screamed, throwing up her arms-
A black blur slammed into the rogue, teeth ripping out its throat. The Alpha. He shifted mid-leap, landing in human form, blood streaking his bare chest. "Climb." He hauled her into the branches of an oak.
Lena scrambled up, bark biting her palms. Below, rogues circled, snapping at the trunk.
The Alpha crouched beside her, his body radiating heat. "You led them here."
"Me?" She gaped at him. "You're the one they're after!"
His eyes flashed. "They want you now." He gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Your scent's changed. It's... mine."
Lena's breath hitched. "What?"
A rogue leaped, claws scraping the branch. The Alpha snarled, shoving Lena behind him-
Teeth sank into his shoulder.He roared, wrenching free, but blood sheeted down his arm. More rogues gathered below. Too many.
The Alpha turned to Lena, his gaze feral. "Only one way out."
Before she could react, he yanked her against his chest and bit her
. Pain exploded in her neck-white-hot, blinding. Lena screamed, but his arms locked around her, his tongue lapping at the wound. Fire spread through her veins, pooling low in her belly.
The rogues howled... then fled.
The Alpha pulled back, his lips stained crimson. "Mine," he growled. Lena's vision swam. The world tilted- Then darkness.
Lena woke to heat.
Not just the fire crackling in the hearth. Him. The Alpha-kade sat shirtless in a chair beside the bed, stitching his own wound.
She bolted upright. "You bit me!"
Kade didn't look up. "I saved you."
Lena touched her neck. The skin was smooth. Impossible. "What did you do?"
He finally met her eyes. "Marked you."
Her stomach dropped. "As...?"
"Mine." The word vibrated with possession.
Lena kicked off the furs. "I'm leaving."
Kade moved faster than she could blink, pinning her to the bed. His weight pressed her down, his breath hot on her lips.
"The mark's in your blood now. Rogues will hunt you. The pack will reject you." His thumb traced her jaw. "Only I can keep you safe."
Lena's heart pounded, but not from fear. The place where he'd bitten her throbbed.
Kade smirked, sensing her body's betrayal. "You feel it. The pull."
She shoved at his chest. "I feel nothing." She didn't want to admit the truth about what she felt.
A lie. His scent was everywhere, intoxicating. Her skin burned where he touched her.
Kade leaned down, his voice a whisper. "I'll make you scream the truth soon enough."
Then he left her-aching, furious, and alive.
The air in the clearing was heavy with the reek of blood and ozone, the earth still trembling from the echoes of the second trial. Wolves limped back into formation, shoulders torn, muzzles slick with crimson, their howls carrying both defiance and exhaustion. The stars above blinked coldly, but the moon—half-veiled by roiling clouds—seemed fractured, as though the heavens themselves mirrored the wounds carved into the pack.Lena stood at the center, her chest heaving, her skin streaked with dirt and blood not all her own. Her wolf prowled restlessly beneath her skin, a storm refusing to be caged. Beside her, Kade’s presence burned like an anchor. His arm brushed hers, steadying her, though his eyes remained sharp, flinty, locked on the hooded figures of the Council’s emissaries watching from the high stone dais.The Envoy who had spoken before—the one with the pale eyes that seemed too old, too endless—st
The council envoy did not smile. He never did. His face was carved from old stone, his robe dark as blood clotted under moonlight. When he stepped forward into the firelit circle, the pack went silent, every wolf bristling at the cold power that clung to him like smoke.He held no weapon. He needed none. His voice was the blade.“You’ve survived the pit.” His gaze slid over Lena, unblinking, measuring. “But strength of claw and fang proves little. Any beast can bite. Any brute can kill. The council seeks more than flesh. The moon does not crown savages—it crowns sovereigns.”Kade bared his teeth, golden eyes burning. “Speak plain, envoy. What is it you demand this time?”The envoy’s lips thinned, but his tone never wavered. “The second trial is the Trial of Thorns. She”—a flick of his hand toward Lena—“will be tested
The arena’s roar haunted Lena long after the wards fell. Even as the crowd dispersed, their voices clung to the night like smoke—rage, fear, doubt, all woven into a knot of tension that refused to unravel.Kade didn’t speak as he guided her from the stone circle, his hand a steel shackle around hers. His silence was heavier than any outburst, a storm contained in flesh. Only when the shadows of the Blackwood camp swallowed them did he finally stop.He turned, his golden eyes burning like wildfire in the dark. “They mean to kill you.” His voice was raw, scraped down to bone. “Not just test you, not just bind you—they want you gone. You understand that?”Lena met his gaze, the bruises on her skin still throbbing, the taste of ash still on her tongue. “I do.”“Then why aren’t you afraid?” His fingers tightened as if to shake t
The silence after the blood was louder than the battle itself.Lena lay on the stone floor of the arena, her chest heaving, her skin slick with sweat and streaked with blood—some of it hers, most of it not. The circle was littered with the remains of shattered weapons, scorched claw marks, and the ash of spells that had burned too hot, too fast. The crowd beyond the wards had fallen into an uneasy murmur, voices clashing in disbelief and awe. No one had expected her to survive.Not even her.Her wolf still pulsed under her skin, wild and restless, prowling as though the fight wasn’t over. It clawed at her ribs, demanding more, demanding blood, demanding release. Lena forced herself to breathe, to keep control, though every nerve screamed with fire.A shadow cut across her vision. Kade.He was already kneeling beside her, his arms sliding beneath her with a gentleness that belied the fury blazing in his eyes. His scent washed over her, smoke and earth and the metallic tang of rage.“Yo
The world slammed into Lena like a fist.Stone. Cold, jagged stone against her palms, her knees, her chest as she hit the ground hard. She gasped, sucking in the stench of blood and rot that clung to the pit’s air. Her ears rang with the echoes of her fall, but above that — silence.No Council. No pack. No Kade.Only her.And the eyes.They glowed in the dark, dozens of them, each a malignant spark of red. They blinked in and out of the shadows, moving low to the ground, circling, always circling. The sound of claws dragged against rock.Her wolf pressed forward, restless, claws scraping inside her ribs. Let me out. Let me fight.Her human side shook. No. Not yet. Not like this.A shape lunged.Lena rolled instinctively, the thing hitting the ground where she’d just been. Her flashlight was gone, but she didn’t need it to see the creature now. Moonlight filtered faintly through the cracks above, glinting off its body — skeletal, mangy, its limbs too long, its mouth full of teeth jagge
The bells grew louder with every step, each toll reverberating through Lena’s bones. The road narrowed, sloping upward between cliffs streaked with veins of silver and black stone. Torches lined the path, their flames blue instead of gold, burning with no smoke.At last the cliffs opened, and the Hall rose before them.It was not a castle, not in the human sense. It was something older, carved directly into the mountain, its arches sharp as fangs, its walls etched with runes that pulsed faintly as though alive. Twin statues of wolves guarded the entrance—massive, snarling beasts hewn from obsidian, their eyes set with rubies that glowed like fresh blood.The envoy turned, his crimson cloak pooling like spilled wine. “Enter. The Council is waiting.”The warriors exchanged wary glances. Even Kade’s stallion snorted, hooves stamping against stone, as if the beast itself sensed the wrongness of this place.Kade dismounted first, then helped Lena down. His hand lingered at her waist, groun
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