her inner wolf. The music from the party was a dull throb behind h

ned. It was them. Kade had Lila pinned playfully against the stone wall, his body caging hers. H

was not her mate. That was a stranger,

he noise of the party, wanting nothing more

from the ballroom and crashed directly into her. The impact sent her reeling sid

her arm. A deep gash, inches l

An injury to a mate was a distress signal of the highest order, an alarm bell that was mea

pressed a hand to his temple, a deep frown creasing his bro

nt whine. She tugged his hand away from his h

mate was hurt. He had to find the source of the pain. He st

she pouted, her lower lip trembling. "It

, at her contrived expression of helplessness, then mentally probed the pain signal from Elara. It was sharp, yes, but it di

e his

f the part of his mind connected to Elara, s

on back to Lila. "Just a headache." He offered her a gentle smile, then knelt,

e of the balcony

nd shock. It hit a wall. It was met with silence. He had not jus

mplaint, he had severed the most

ack numbness spread through Elara's chest, extinguishing the last embers of her dy

stammering, his face pale with horror. "Lu

itation techniques taught to warrior-class wolves to control their bodies, forcing the knitting flesh to remain separated. It was an agonizing process, like holding back a tidal wave with

an oppo

voice devoid of emotion. "I

a ghost in a silver dress. No one stopped her. No one noticed the blood soaking her handkerchief. Her Al

surprise when she entered, his eyes widening at th

ppened? Where

"Doctor, the scent of the disinfectant you used... it's so strong. It seems to block out everything else. I was just thinking, for pack security, are there natu

ost-Bloom herb. Its pollen, when dried and aerosolized, can temporarily overwhelm a wolf's olfactory receptors, binding to them and rendering them useless

itting the name *Gho

rm neatly bandaged, the party was still in full swing.

ven noticed