He was wrong. Instead of crying, I walked straight into the territory of the most dangerous man in the city and signed a blood oath covenant.
Brock Hamilton. The ruthless Alpha of the Hamilton Pack, a billionaire CEO, and-ironically-the adoptive guardian of my best friend, Halie.
To the outside world, this marriage was just a mutually beneficial contract to get his Pack Elders off his back about finding a Luna. But stepping into his private domain, the reality of what I had just done finally hit me.
The living room was dark, illuminated only by the sprawling glow of Manhattan's neon skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It cast a sharp silhouette over the tall figure standing in the distance.
Brock had already stripped off his tailored suit jacket, tossing it carelessly over the back of the leather sofa.
He wore only a midnight-blue silk dress shirt, his broad shoulders and tapered waist exuding the suffocating dominance unique to a pureblood Alpha.
I stopped dead in my tracks three yards away, my pulse hammering in my throat.
He seemed to sense my hesitation and turned around slowly. In the dim light, his deep, ink-blue eyes locked directly onto mine with predatory precision.
He didn't speak. Instead, he walked toward the marble bar counter, his long fingers lifting a crystal decanter of amber bourbon.
He poured two glasses. The sharp clink of ice cubes against the crystal cut through the dead silence of the penthouse, vibrating against my frayed nerves.
He crossed the room toward me with measured, unhurried strides. As the distance between us shrank, the crisp scent of cold cedar rolling off his skin wrapped around me like a tightening net.
Every instinct told me to take a step back, but I forced my heels to remain glued to the floor, meeting his gaze head-on.
He came to a stop barely an inch in front of me, extending one of the glasses. His deep, gravelly voice rumbled in the quiet air.
"Drink. You're shaking."
I stared at the glass for half a second before reaching out to take it. My fingertips inevitably brushed against his rough, calloused knuckles.
Zap.
A sharp, electric jolt sparked at the point of contact, racing straight up my arm and straight into my chest. I flinched, pulling my fingers back instantly and clutching the base of the glass to hide the sudden tremor in my hands.
To mask my sudden panic at that bizarre, intense spark, I tilted my head back and swallowed the burning liquid in one single gulp.
The high-proof bourbon scorched down my throat, leaving a trail of fiery heat laced with an unnervingly sweet, floral undertone.
For werewolves, The Heat was a primal biological wave triggered by meeting a fated mate or catalyzed by ancient herbs. It stripped away all rational thought until raw instinct took over.
The second the empty glass left my lips, a sudden, violent blaze ignited in the pit of my stomach. The heat surged through my bloodstream at a terrifying speed, melting my defenses and turning my knees to water.
I staggered forward, the crystal glass slipping from my numb fingers and thudding heavily against the thick carpet.
Brock moved with terrifying speed. His powerful arm hooked around my waist, hauling me flush against his rock-hard, burning chest before I could hit the ground.
His overwhelming cedar scent crashed through my sensory defenses. My blood roared in my ears, and every cell in my body began to scream with a desperate, unhinged craving for his touch.
Inside me, the dormant white wolf in my bloodline let out a deafening roar-Mate!-demanding absolute possession of the Alpha holding me.
I gasped for air, my hands rising on their own accord to grip the broad expanse of his shoulders. My fingernails dug through his silk shirt into his tense muscles.
Brock froze, his entire frame turning rigid as iron under my touch. His breathing turned ragged and heavy, the ink-blue depths of his eyes bleeding into a dangerous, dark crimson.
"Falon..." he growled through clenched teeth, his voice scraping low and hoarse. "Do you have any idea what you're doing right now?"
Brock Hamilton POV:
I locked my arms around the soft, burning body in my embrace, my throat working as I fought with every ounce of my Alpha willpower not to take her right there on the rug.
My idiot Gamma, Chad, had slipped an ancient herb that induced The Heat into that decanter. I had intended to take things slow.
I wanted to give her time to heal from Casimer's betrayal, refusing to take advantage of her when she thought this was just a cold business transaction.
She had no idea. She thought she was just a convenient shield against my Elders. She didn't know that since the day she saved me in the Red River Woods over a decade ago, I had been waiting in the shadows.
But the moment her scent-a rare, intoxicating white lily that belonged only to me-bloomed unchecked across the room, my celebrated Alpha restraint shattered into dust.
My inner wolf slammed relentlessly against the bars of my mind, roaring to mark the woman I had secretly desired for ten long years. Mine. My Fated Mate.
I bent down and scooped her up into my arms, taking long, ruthless strides across the penthouse hallway before kicking the master bedroom door wide open.
I laid her gently down on the vast velvet mattress. Like a lost cub seeking warmth, she tangled her limbs around me, pressing her feverish lips against the side of my neck, letting out a soft, needy whimper that completely destroyed me.
The last thread of my sanity snapped.
You signed the contract, Falon, my inner wolf purred darkly as I leaned down and crushed my mouth against the soft lips that had spoken only formal words to me all evening. There is no going back now.