It all seems to happen in slow motion, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Rin spins towards Brandon, her fist already pulled back before she releases a punch that would have definitely dislocated and possibly broken a human’s jaw. But Brandon catches her hand in mid-throw. Suddenly, she’s on the ground beneath him, her hands grasped in his, his knee in her stomach, and his face menacingly close to hers. “I wouldn’t do that, Corinda. You have to know how my gift works. I’m not sure why I didn’t see Sev’s tree coming, other than it isn’t really living, but I’ll see anything you try to do. Don’t do that again.” His voice is a growl, threatening her. I feel Case tense beside me, but I can feel his conflicting feelings through the link. She kind of asked for this, but that’s our mate that’s being threatened. The most unexpected thing happens when her arousal scents the air. It temporarily leaves both Case and I immobile in utter shock. Brandon moves off of her almost fas

I know that I took my anger out on the wrong person. It’s just so much easier to take it out on Brandon than it would be to face Rin in that moment. But I have to face her now. We’ve got to get out of here and to the safehouse. And we have to deal with the shit that just went down. FUCK! I can’t believe that she got off on Brandon holding her down. She hasn’t gotten horny like that since…I can’t remember the last time we’ve made her horny with just a word or a touch. We have sex so rarely and when we do, it takes her so long to get wet. We have to use lube and do foreplay for what seems like hours for her to get wet enough to take us. She rarely, if ever, seems interested. But a wolf can only go so long without being with their mate after they are marked and mated. It’s helpful that Sev and I can be together and that pushes the need off some, but we need each other. At least Sev and I need her. I catch her scent quickly and follow her through the woods. Though she is a

“Somebody give me something,” I say walking into the Alpha Council meeting room. Charlie and I had been a mess while Brandon was chained. That hour of not having contact with him was one of the worst of our lives. He trusted Severn and Casen, but Charlie and I were having a lot of trouble leaving him in the hands of someone who had tried to kill him earlier today, as well as the crazy she-wolf who had planned his kidnapping and the killing of multiple packs. Yeah, they had their reasons, but their brand of psycho near our mate was killing us. As was the knowledge that he wouldn’t be coming home with us tomorrow. The only thing keeping us from freaking out was that Brandon was currently safe and in nearly constant contact with us and that we have a project that we can focus on: finding out who The Red One is. To do that, we call in Citra, the witch that helped to escort Nathan here from Julian’s pack. “Whoa, there cowboy,” Dev says. “How’s Brandon?” I plop down in my seat at t

“Wait, so why haven’t we heard of them until now?” I ask. “You would think if there were these all-powerful witches out there that hunt down werewolves, it would be a big topic of conversation.” Citra shifts uncomfortably. “That might be our fault.” “What do you mean?” Zak asks, his voice and body language tense and agitated. “Down, boy,” I whisper to him, grabbing his hand in mine and putting it on my thigh. He relaxes some, but both of us are still on edge. It’s going to be like this until Brandon gets back and it’s fucking exhausting to be honest. “Sorry,” Zak mutters. Citra nods before she continues. “The American witch community has tried really hard to ensure that what has gone on in Europe with the Riding Hoods doesn’t come over here. No witch that has any ties with their coven, no matter how remote, is allowed to enter our borders and we’ve cut all ties with the European covens. But that means that we also have limited information about them. Wolves tend to be qu

We have another three hours to drive. We stay quiet for the majority of the time, talking only occasionally. Mostly, we’re thinking about what Brandon had to say. Looking at it now, I really think that I told Case and Sevy…Sev, the truth about my feelings towards Brandon. It’s not him I’m attracted to, per say. I mean, he’s attractive, but he’s a werewolf. We’re all attractive. Shit, we don’t even get acne as teenagers. It’s part of the predatory thing that comes with being a wolf. Sleek and beautiful appearances attract better mates and put prey at ease. But that wasn’t what attracted me to Brandon. It is truly that he didn’t hold back when he called me on my shit. He didn’t treat me like I was this fragile thing. When Case tackled me in the forest, I felt the same thing, though it did go a little deeper because he was my mate. Now that I see the attraction for what it is, the agitation is gone. I just wish I hadn’t embarrassed myself like that. Likely, Brandon’s who