The Alpha's Prickly Porcupine
He presses his own thumb against the edge until a bead of bright, crimson blood wells up on his skin—a signature of the contract.
I stare at the blade. My fingers twitch. This is it. The end of my autonomy. The end of my life as a free, independent wolf. I look at the smoldering ruins of my home, then at Daryl, whose presence is both my ultimate prison and my only conceivable hope. The air around us is heavy with the scent of ozone and iron. My hand reaches out, shaking violently, ready to surrender to the inevitable.