Semua Bab CAN I RIDE, STEP-UNCLE?: Bab 51 - Bab 60

Ellis rushed over, his nostrils flaring as he caught the thick scent. “By the Mother, brother! Who sent your wolf this entire harvest?”I pulled the tiny silver-leaf parchment from the center of the deep crimson roses. My eyes scanned the ink before I spoke the words aloud. “A birth-sun offering from the Stevens clan.”Ellis let out a low whistle, crossing his massive arms over his chest. “Perhaps those royal silverclaws possess some basic pack decency after all.”I nodded slowly, my scent softening. “Yeah, perhaps they do.”Just then, Ellis’s communicator buzzed aggressively from the sleeping quarters. “Hold your claws. That is undoubtedly Kenny’s pathetic beta frequency again.” He turned and strode out of the kitchen to silence the device.As I carefully lowered the massive floral arrangement onto the dark granite counter, my own device vibrated. The caller ID flashed with Elder Tillie's digital signature. I cleared my throat, answering immediately. “My greetings, Elder.”“A blessed

“My gratitude, Boyd,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion as I pulled away from his embrace.His gaze lingered on my skin, his pupils blown wide with possessive intent. “How is your vessel, Thorne?”“My system feels... overwhelmed, but I am standing.”“Indeed,” he growled, his voice dropping into a low, rumbling register. “Your scent is intoxicating tonight.”Before I could respond, Donna Matthews pushed through the crowd, her face flushed and her eyes wild with alcohol. “Damn, nephew! You finally hit the jackpot, didn’t you?” She clutched a heavy goblet in her hand, her gaze flicking between my frame and Boyd’s commanding presence. “You should tell Sina about this arrangement! He would gladly carry a Stevens heir. Hell, I would even petition the Silverclaw council myself!”I recoiled, my scent instantly turning sharp with panic. “Aunt Donna, this is neither the cycle nor the location for such discourse.”Drunk and reckless, Donna waved a hand, swaying as she moved toward the cir

“Forget the shower,” I rasped, my voice thick with the remnants of our collision. My leg throbbed, a sharp, searing reminder of the ruined ligaments in my knee, but I masked the flinch with a jagged breath. “I’m not going anywhere.”Trudy looked up, her lips slick and her eyes dark with a hunger that matched my own. “You’re acting like a wolf who’s been cornered, Ellis. What’s really burning you up?”I ignored the bait, my hands sliding down to grip the sheets. The burning in my knee was a constant fire, but the emptiness in my gut—the fear that I was a broken predator—was the real agony. I needed to drown the thought. I needed to forget that the Moonkeep healers had practically declared my career in the Ironfang Arena dead.“Just focus on me,” I commanded, my voice dropping into the low, gravelly register of an alpha who refused to show weakness.Trudy didn’t hesitate. She scrambled up the bed, her movements fluid and predatory, and straddled my hips. Her heat was immediate, a siren

"Because," I snapped, my pulse jumping into my throat as I watched the scene from the table, "he's a lying sack of shit who owes you and everyone else the truth."Tan didn't even blink, her stature rigid, every muscle in her body wound tight like a bowstring. "Keep his name out of your mouth," she hissed, her voice cutting through the restaurant’s chatter like a serrated blade."I don't think you understand who you're talking to," the stranger scoffed, her gaze sliding over Tan with icy disdain."I know exactly who you are," Tan retorted, stepping into her space until they were chest-to-chest. "You're just another chapter in a book that needs to be burned."I pushed myself up from the booth, my balance shifting with the weight of the pup, and waddled over, my hand instinctively dropping to the small of my back. "Tan, leave it," I urged, though my own blood was boiling at the mention of Davonte.Tan turned to me, her eyes flashing with a raw, jagged fire I hadn't seen in moons. "You st

"Pay the debt? What debt are you talking about?" I yanked my wrist away, rubbing the spot where her nails had bitten into my skin. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.Tillie tossed the jagged stone back into the bowl with a hollow clack. "The Silverclaw Pack didn't rise to power on their own, Thorne’s parent. They made a deal with the shadows of the Whispering Moon Woods, and the price is a soul of pure blood."I felt the room spin, the smell of herbs suddenly making me want to gag. "But he's my son. He's a Moonfang. He isn't theirs to trade.""He is the moment he let Boyd mark his neck," Tillie whispered, her eyes turning cloudy and distant. "The mark isn't just a sign of possession. It is a seal. A tether. You think he loves your boy? Boyd Stevens wants to be Alpha King, and that throne requires a sacrifice of someone bound to him by the Eternal Moonmark."My hands shook, and I clutched my coat until my knuckles turned white. "I have to get him out. I have to go to