ael's

on, dark magic, and blood. But cutting through all of it, a suffocati

an's

, golden ember that had suddenly awakened deep in my chest. My soul was sti

a

at me,

ull back, his hand shot forward, his leather-gloved fingers snapping around my jaw in

shoulders broad, his icy gray eyes narrowing into sharp, lethal slits. He looked down a

tened his grip until the bones in my face groaned under the pressure. "Why wa

the bond, if I so much as let the word mate slip past my lips...Vinca wouldn't hesitate. He would slit my t

terror he expected from a wolfless servant. Tears of pain gathered at the corners of my eyes, blu

ath fanned across my forehead. "Alpha Bastian is a monster. He doesn't leave witne

crates behind him rattled. "The pup was screaming! His arm was broken! Bastian dropped down... he saw us... and then his Beta yelled

of hesitation, any telltale sign of a lie. I kept my gaze wide, terrified, and

a deep, aggressive breath near my neck, trying to

hing unnatu

flickered briefly across his neck and jaw. He gasped, his face twisting into a mask of sudden, agonizi

d a full step, hitting his back against the stone wall of the bunker. He grabbed his gloved h

revulsion. The flash of his wolf flickered wildly in his gray eyes befo

n Omega nature repelling him. He had no idea it was the collision of

chway, his sword drawn, looking between Vinca and me with confusio

composure. "Get them out of here. Take the pup to the infirmary to stabilize him. And

d blinked. "She's just

nto a terrifying Alpha roar that made the stone floor vibrate. "The Silver Pack breached our lower archives within minutes. Someone opened th

, Al

ey grabbed me roughly by the upper arms, hauling me off my knees so fast my bru

ned bunker, my feet scraping a

grand halls of tower were unrecognizable. Thick, black smoke poured from the shattered stained-glass windows. Blood slicked

ilton's outer defenses like paper, only to cal

ard the servant quarters. But as we passed the grand ba

ing near the to

still pinned in elegant coils, untouched. She wasn'

ing straight

old, calculating malice that sent a shiver straight down my spine. She had seen Vinca draw his blade on me

lammed shut behind me, the iron lock slidin

up cell. Darkness swallowed me, save for the faint

st, the faint, golden warmth beneath my

ered in the back of my mind, echoing thro