ANMELDENAlpha Dimitri’s POVA small smile touched my mouth, gentle enough that she would not mistake it for anger.“From now on, I promise you will be okay. Trust me. No one is going to find you. Nobody is going to hurt you.” I paused, giving her a moment to take in each promise. “You are fine. You are perfect, and you are safe here in Bloodfang, under my protection.”I held her gaze as I spoke. These were not empty words meant to calm a frightened healer. I meant every one of them. The man who had marked her and taught her to expect pain would not reach her again while she remained under my protection. Scarlett’s brown eyes remained on mine. The uncertainty was still there, but some of the tension left her posture. I had seen that small release before, the moment she stopped typing and allowed herself to simply wait.A promise meant little if I left her exhausted and hungry. I ordered something warm and simple from the inn’s kitchen and had it brought to the room. When the tray arrived, I
Alpha Dimitri’s POVThe kiss continued.Her mouth was soft against mine, hesitant at first, then slowly returning the kiss in a way that sent an unexpected jolt through my chest. I kept my movements gentle, one hand resting lightly against the side of her face, my thumb brushing along her jaw without asking for anything more. I would not take what she did not offer.Not after what she had told me. Not after learning how another man had taught her to fear his touch.When she kissed me back, something tightened deep in my chest. It was not simply desire. She could have pulled away, but she didn't. My pulse quickened as I tilted my head, deepening the kiss only when she responded. There was still a faint trace of salt on her lips from the tears that had dried on her cheeks.I had expected this moment to feel like victory.Instead, it felt far more profound than that. It felt like something I had been waiting for without even realizing it. Zedd surged forward at once.The wolf wanted t
Raven / Scarlett’s POVAlpha Dimitri froze.His eyes remained fixed on the three words glowing on my screen. He did not move or say anything.I could not wait for his reaction. My hands were already trembling as I typed the next line and turned the phone toward him.A man from Ironclaw.The color drained from my face as I watched him read it.Moon goddess, please save me.I prayed silently, desperation twisting through me. I knew I was lying. Every word I chose concealed more than it revealed—the arranged mating, the rejection, the acid, the name Raven Moonshadow that no longer existed.I could not give Alpha Dimitri the whole truth. Not here. Not now. I needed a story believable enough to answer his questions without exposing everything I had spent so long hiding. My fingers trembled as I typed, making several mistakes before I managed to finish.I am not from Ironclaw. I married a man who left Ironclaw. He still carried their mark because he lived with a smaller pack near their bor
Raven / Scarlett’s POVThe candidate’s question was still fresh in my mind when Alpha Dimitri’s hand closed around mine.“We’re leaving.”His tone was quiet, but there was no room for argument. His fingers tightened around mine as he pulled me toward the exit. I stumbled after him, my phone still open in my other hand, the unfinished reply to the man’s question about Ironclaw glowing on the screen.My stomach twisted.He had noticed.I could see it in the rigid set of his shoulders and the speed of his steps as he cut through the crowd without looking back. Conversations and soft music blurred around us. I kept my eyes on the floor and followed, every nerve warning me that something had changed.Was he angry?Or worse, did he already believe I was connected to the enemy pack?The scar on my neck suddenly felt exposed, as though everyone in the hall could see what it meant. I shouldn’t have washed that damn scarf.We stepped through the exit into the late-morning light. The parking lot
Alpha Dimitri’s POVThe third candidate approached with more confidence than the previous two. He was clean, roughly the right age, and smiled politely as the organizer introduced him.Scarlett gave a small nod, her phone already in hand. He asked her a polite question, and she began typing her response.Then his gaze dropped to her neck.His hand followed before anyone could redirect him, reaching toward the scar as though curiosity gave him the right to touch it.Scarlett recoiled immediately. Her shoulders jerked back, her chin tucked toward her chest, and one hand rose halfway between them in a reflexive attempt to protect herself.His fingers never made contact, but the intention was enough.Something inside me went cold.I was between them before I had time to think.The speed of my reaction surprised even me. One moment I had been standing a step away; the next, I was directly in his path, close enough that he had to stop or walk straight into my chest.My first instinct was to
Alpha Dimitri’s POVI ignored him and gave the woman one final nod before turning toward the door. Her stunned silence followed us out of the inn.Scarlett slipped into the passenger seat without a word. I got behind the wheel and pulled away from the curb.Twenty minutes. That was all it would take to put my healer in a room full of men and find one suitable enough to take her off my hands.Zedd stayed quiet throughout the drive.I preferred it that way.The map led us toward a converted hall that soon came into view, a long, single-story building with wide windows and a modest sign for the Crossroads Social. Cars already filled half the parking lot, while small groups of casually dressed people made their way toward the entrance, talking among themselves.There was no heavy security and no pack colors anywhere in sight. It was exactly the kind of neutral ground I needed.I parked and killed the engine.Scarlett waited for me to step out before following. She kept her phone in one ha







