C3

Clay Jasperfang POV

“Why are you looking at me like that, Lamia?” I ask.

I take a deep breath. My broad chest expands, the tight leather of my dark vest stretching against my shoulders. I know what the pack says about me. They call me the rogue prince, the playboy who spends too much time breaking hearts and causing trouble while my brother Rham played the perfect soldier. But I am the one standing here now.

“You are crazy, Clay,” Lamia says. Her voice shakes. She looks at me like I am a dangerous monster from the Shadowfang Wilds. “Your brother just left me in the dirt. He ran away with a low wolf. And you come in here and say this?”

“Rham is a coward,” I say. I step closer to her. My heavy combat boots click against the stone floor, and a dark, lethal aura fills the space between us. “He does not care about the Jasperfang Pack legacy. He does not care that King Aldric is dying in his bed right now. He gave up the Silverclaw Throne for Christine Thornfield. But I am the firstborn. I will take the throne, and I will keep our people safe.”

She looks at her small hands. Her skin is very pale. “The Grand Wolf Assembly will know. They will see the swap. They will say I was not good enough for the younger brother, so I took the wildcard rogue.”

“Let them talk,” I say, and a slow, wicked smirk cuts across my face. My deep laugh fills the whole room of the Blackmoor Grove manor, dripping with dangerous confidence. “They will see a powerful alliance. They will see the Blackmoor Moonfang Pack and the Jasperfang Pack staying together. We can tell them the Moon Goddess changed her mind. We can tell them the eternal moonmark showed up on me instead.”

Lamia walks over to the window. She looks out at the dark trees of the Whispering Moon Woods. She looks very small, but her back is straight. She is a proud future Luna. She does not like to look weak.

“You are a menace, Clay,” she whispers. “You sleep with every female wolf in the Silvercrest Territory. You go to the Eclipse Moon Council Hall and buy drinks for everyone. You never wanted to be an Alpha. You just wanted to have fun.”

“That was yesterday,” I say. I move behind her, towering over her small frame, completely blocking out the light from the fire with my massive, muscular build. “Today, my father needs an heir. My brother needs me to protect his secret so the pack elders do not hunt him down. And you need to save your face before the Blood Moon Celebration next week.”

She turns around fast. Her hazel eyes are very big and wet. “You think this is a game? The robes are already made for the Sacred Moon Temple! The Mooncrest Artisan Hall has spent months preparing the silver gifts!”

“I know,” I say. I reach into my heavy leather coat pocket. My strong, calloused fingers feel something cold. It is the silver band Rham left behind. The massive moonstone glows sharply in the firelight. I hold it up between us.

Lamia stops breathing. Her chest stops moving up and down. She looks at the ring, then she looks up into my dark, intense eyes.

“This is crazy,” she mumbles.

“It is the only way to win,” I say. I drop down onto one knee, my powerful frame remaining perfectly steady. I take her tiny, soft hand into my giant, warm palm, locking my gaze onto hers with fierce, unyielding heat. “Marry me, Lamia. Let’s show the whole Dominion that we are the ones who rule.”