ra

le weight, and made my way down the long, echoing corridor. I needed to

en I s

iumphant smile on her face. She must h

practiced surprise. "What are you doing skulking in

t. "Your son's special night? I was not

He loves me. He even let me move into the Alpha's house. He says my scent soothes him." She took a s

ed. "What are yo

o do that," she savored the words, "he's going to formally reject you

were being stretched to its breaking point. The pain was so intense, I swayed on my feet, gra

rounding the corner at

ous and absolute. The malice in her face dissolved,

ame motion, she drove her own nails into the flesh of her forearm, scoring four parallel lines from which b

wn her face. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I ma

a's arm, and his pupils contracted to pinpricks. In that instant, his entire world narrowed to that single point o

, his golden eyes blazing wit

into my mind, bypassing my will entirely to seize the root of my nerves. My own ankles turned against my volition, forcing me away.

embarrassing

inner wolf whimpere

out through the crushing weight of his command

flat, utterly devoid of the warmth I had once know

und my shoulders in a sudden downpour. The two images, that boy and this man, refused to merge. They flick

n," I whispered, the words

his command still pulsed through me, making