pha

ed you? In public? Who

ffee. We were sitting at a small table in an outdoor café at the

about his encounter with Arla. M

a fool, Delpha," he com

a flash of movement I'd seen earlier. A glimpse of

lurted out, my voice filled with a b

own self-pity momentar

you think he saw Arla? Oh gods, what if he saw her? Yo

ody, with the most powerful Alpha in the region? I

bin

r of c

my side. We stood in the shadows of an alley, watching as Foste

the spot where the other one

aired woman.

ight. "The one who just left. That's Arla Hancock. The patr

ould make Foster Dean, an Alpha heir, tremble w

rest

was a flicker I hadn't felt in a very long time. There was a scent on the air, faint and almost gon

ought away. It

hetic scene. "And Blake? Get me a full report on t

books held more secrets

a P

orgotten corner of the neutral zone. The lock

ona of the weak, downtr

through the long nights of planning, a gift from an unlikely ally in the exile colony. It w

. Lines of code scrolled across the screen, a language I knew better than my own. The Hancock Pa

-the-books account. And the steady stream of transfers into it from Andra. M

s smile spread

ost in their machine. It rerouted the funds through a dozen shell corporations and offshore account

was just over ten

t was done. It felt like taking my first deep

neutral zone. The sales staff looked down their noses at my sha

hours later, a

t were both practical and deadly. I had them cut my hair, shaping the wild silver mane into something sleek and dangerous. For the f

hiding

motorcycle. A black, snarling beast o

ing to life beneath me with a satisfying roar.

toward the Gil

s time for The Surgeon

pha

E! IT'S A

ands shaking. The balance in my shopping

ed the pa

ed it aga

of my room and down the grand sta

parlor, her face a mask of alarm. "What ar

one! Ten million dollars!" I was sobbing n

nk manager, her voice sharp and commanding. After a few minu

," she said, her voice a strained whisper. "A le

ing thought dawning on us at the same tim

the name tasting like poison

cker of fear in her eyes. "That wolfless trash d

he doorway, his expression flustered.

n she w

like a vengeful goddess. She was holding a small, ornate silver lighter

aces, and a slow, terrifyin