nor

like a bridal gown and more lik

now, I stood at the bottom of the wide, freezing stone steps of Manhattan City Hall. Th

oors at the top of the stair

Lovers. Soulmates. People who chose each other willingly. But to me, they loo

ruthless stranger I had met less than twenty-four hours ago-final

d blinding, s

, my heel pivoting as every instinct screamed at me to run. To flee this p

noticed e

inescapable-a vice of pure, unyielding strength that made my bones creak in warning. He yan

d that sent ice shooting through my veins. "It's a blood pact with my Pack. If you run,

Let the w

here is nowhere on this

bt

fate worse than being a Rogue. Rogues were killed quickly. Debtors were broken. Hunted for sport. Enslave

to run evaporated, replaced by a chilling,

orced myself to move, letting him guide me u

had sna

e a shrinking box. The air smelled of old paper and bureaucratic indifference. Behind a heavy d

clerk droned, readi

ace-this cold, sterile box-felt like a silve

ay my adoptive mother used to remind me at every opportunity that I was just a wolfless orphan they had never truly accepted. The ove

wedded husband?" the clerk asked, looking up with the dead-eyed ex

my lips parted. N

dn't b

nd too long, Damien's hand shifte

world stopp

Absolutely irresistible. It was the Alpha's Command-a power that could bend the will of ev

bypassed my mind entirely, hijacking my v

rembling violently as the words we

I pronounce you husband and wife," the clerk said,

legal transacti

cting Damien to turn and walk

ds suddenly cupped my

ze, a terrifying flash of f

nner

sp, his mouth cra

iss. It was a

g, heavy scent of sharp cedarwood, a raging rainstorm, and rich Cuban tobacco flooded my senses, drowning out the stale air

ke a trapped bird. My lips were swollen. My breath was gone. My entire

lip. His chest vibrated with a low, guttu

the words barely audible but heavy

him, trembling

married a bi

with an apex predator. And h

mall of my back to steer me out of the office and back toward the waiting Maybach. His touch was possessi