The Crippled Alpha's Secret Reborn Mate

el

ue

f a silver blade sl

blistering. I felt every i

cross the cold stone floor. The warmth of my unborn child turned cold. That tiny flame that had flickered inside

iron chains bit into my wrists, pinn

wide, my lungs filling with the rancid, rotting air of the dungeon, but

d through the suffocating darkness, an

a stepping stone to

re not killing the mate carrying his child, but merel

s my stepsister April standing in the shadows behind him, her emerald gown me

dungeon was replaced by the scen

oom of the Blackwood estate. A beautiful, haunting tune-and I k

ath hi

c. It was

e slipped from my unsteady grip-fell

n, the iron chains, the burning wound in my belly-all of it fell away. I was standing in the ballroom.

unscarred. My fingers trembling, I f

lat. Emp

s al

oor. A girl of sixteen, with wide, violet eyes and a face still ho

y forced me into. The

t. I remembered my own blood pooling on the dungeon stones, turning from warm to cold. I remembered

n the night before I was destroyed. In this dress, still

been r

ripples. No ecstasy. Only a cold, bone-deep certai

alright? You loo

s me. Her emerald green dress shimmered like snakeskin

practiced concern. The same hidd

glass of champagne into my hand.

drugged wine. The

he ghost of my murdered wolf. I forced

ghtened around the stem, my knuck

," she purred, her voice a conspiratorial whisp

. The trap

had less than an hour to unrav

st the cool marble of a Roman pilla

in April's eyes. She thought

It's quiet there, and the air is much fresher," sh

tingale

xtinguishing the last ember of doubt. T

od idea. Could you do me a favor? Tell

d. "Of course, siste

mask of vulnerability fell from my face, replaced by a cold, hard resolve. I saw her stop,

hed softl

With a steady hand, I tipped the contents of the champagne fl

htened m

had led to sla

wolf, back from the grav

a Hamilton. He stood near the orchestra, a predator in a perfectly tailored suit. He caught my ey

't loo

y eyes. Then, I turned my back on him and walked to