All Chapters of Kill Me Alpha, Before I Do (Beast Of Flames Book 1): Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

Romy’s POVThe library corridor wall was cold through my shirt, but I kept my shoulder pressed against it and waited for the floor to stop shifting beneath me. I pressed both palms into the painted seams, using the solid frame to keep myself upright as another wave of heat moved slowly through my stomach and climbed beneath my ribs.The corridor smelled of dust, old paper, and the dry plastic air pushed through the server vents in the grounds, but none of it covered the cedar caught at the back of my throat.My collar button pressed against the tender skin of my neck. I hooked one finger beneath it and pulled eagerly, but the small space it gave me did nothing to ease the tightness there.The mark hidden beneath the raven tattoo began to throb—one pulse, and then another. The pauses between them shortened until each beat seemed to move through my ribs.I lowered my forehead to the wall and closed my eyes.Rowan.His name never reached my lips, but the bond answered it anyway.My wolf

Romy povThe high-intensity desk lamp cast a cone of white light directly onto the center of the corkboard.Pinned right in the middle of that glare, held by two heavy steel brackets driven straight into the backing, was a silver hunting knife with a jagged cross-guard. The nickel plating on the pommel was scratched in three parallel lines near the loop, matching the exact mark from the cutlery drawer in our kitchen back in Buston.I reached out and my thumb caught on the edge of the desk frame to keep my weight from shifting too fast on the floorboards. A thick, dark stain ran the full length of the groove along the upper edge of the blade, the deep rust color was kept under a clear polymer evidence shield bolted to the frame. I reached for it, but my hand stopped an inch away from the plastic surface while the room seemed to contract until the edges of the desk became a blur.The initials A.H. were scratched into the base of the hilt, right where the leather wrapping had unraveled

Romy povI stayed against him long after there was any reason to.My forehead rested against the damp nylon of his shoulder, close enough that every breath carried cedar, rain, and the faint metallic smell of the burns across his palms.My arms still hung at my sides. Somewhere behind me was the service door I had been trying to reach only minutes ago, but I had stopped thinking about it when my fingers slipped from the latch.The desk lamp cast a small amber pool across the room. Beyond it, the study had disappeared into shadow, taking the corkboard and its thirteen years of names, photographs, routes, and unanswered questions with it.Rowan said nothing and he did not put his arms around me. At first, I thought he was afraid to touch me because of his hands. Then I felt the tension in the body beneath my cheek and understood.He was waiting.He could have closed the last inch between us. He could have taken the way I had folded against him as permission and held me there. Instead, hi

Rowan pov The first grey light of dawn filtered through the high glass, catching the red strands of Romy’s hair where they lay scattered across my chest.Her skin felt cool against my ribs. Her breathing was rhythmic and unhurried as she slept on her side.I stayed still for a long time. My arm tucked under her shoulder blade while the heat from the mattress gathered between us. For the first time since she had walked through the estate gates, the tension had left the corners of her mouth.The small brass intercom on the wall gave two short, metallic chimes. The speaker hissed with static before Aaron’s voice came through, dry from the early morning patrol.“Alpha, we have a situation in the council chamber,” Aaron said. “The senior council just arrived from the lower ridge without any notification from the border scouts.”I shifted my arm slowly, trying to slide my forearm out from beneath R

Romy povThe oak table in the center of the council chamber was cluttered with digital printouts and ancient physical registries. A messy collision of the old world and the new.The room still carried the faint, sharp scent of ozone from the morning’s confrontation. I stood by the high-backed leather chair, my fingers resting on the edge of my dark wool collar. Beneath the fabric, the skin of my neck felt tight. A constant reminder of the fresh mate mark hidden there.I wasn’t looking at Rowan. But I could feel the steady pull of the bond between us, anchoring me to the room despite the chaos on the table.Rowan unrolled a tactical map of the southern ridge, his jaw set in a hard, tight line. “The western district passes are closing within forty-eight hours,” he said. “Harwick’s legal team pulled out of the capital, but the Hunters’ local scouts haven’t moved an inch. They’re digging in.”“Because they think I’m still a wild card,” I said, leaning over the table to trace the narrow mo