a P

ave you

pitched it felt like a physical jab in my eardrum.

orn-out stool in the cramped break room. I rubbed

alled me. Hysterical! She said you assaulted

ife's work to become his personal servant," I shot back, my

ed lines in this pack! You don't have the right to be picky! You're w

ced through my chest. My hand tightened on the phone, my knuckles turning white. It wasn't just the word; it

own," I said thro

ting by the end of the month, the elders will step in. Alpha Marcus

ced, with a notorious drinking problem and hands that wandered.

g of a storage shelf, the impact rattling a stack of coffee filters. "He's a disgusting old drunk, Mom!

ing cold and dismissive. "It's a good allianc

closing in. I was trapped. No matter how hard I fought, they would find a way to cage me. My gaze

etly at the corner table, nursing his coffee, a picture of calm i

ickered in my mind. A tiny spar

I pushed through the curtain and walked quickly to his tab

is is going to sound crazy, but do you know anything about the

youngest son has a gambling problem. Alpha Sterling's designated heir just got his third DUI. And the Goodwin

tion I needed. I felt a s

with newfound confidence. "You mean with the Goodwins, whose family wealth is a complete sham? Or maybe you'd prefer I

the line. I had never spoken to her like this,

regain control. "You are

ing rea

will bring home a suitable fiancé to the family dinner. Not a date. A fiancé. Or on Monday morning, I w

ne wen

y ear. A fiancé. By the weekend. It was i

ne feeling impossibly heavy. It al

expression concerned. He stood up and pulled a napkin from the dispenser, holding it o

ng his again. This time, the warmth

He wasn't from a powerful family. He was just... Derrick. And in that moment

shrewd. She'd see through it in a second. She'd

g legally binding, would stop

full-blown, terrifying blaze. It was insa

with a new, desperate intensity. He met my stare, his head tilte

asking for gossip. I pulled out the chair opposite

against my ribs like a trapped bird. This was either

an, my voice sur

propositio

en us, suspended in the thick a

is broad chest. He didn't look surprised. He looked... int

the pack elders off my back." I rushed the words out before I could lose my nerve. "I would pay you, of course. A generous amount. You'd just have to

The intensity of his gaze made me feel like a butterfly pinned to

mother strikes me as a sharp woman, Anna. Do you really think she'll

mitted, my voice barely a whisper. "It's a lo

nk, and his presence seemed to fill my entire field of vision. He smelled of sawdust

s voice dropping even lower, a conspir

at him,

et ma