ie Whit

rystal chandelier, its cold light reflecting across the unfamiliar room. The air

at once: Jared's rejection, my escape from Blackwood Pack, the Forbidden Forest, the a

and I was no longer i

ck. My hand immediately covered the injured area as I

y reflection, my e

ngers hovered over it as the memory of strong arms holding me in the forest surfaced again, along

unds from my escape through the forest had been carefully treated. Some

aside from the mark on my neck and the injuries I already kne

h the fear, although the memory of that man's c

se of everything, a kno

s calm and powerful, carrying the distinct scent of a Beta. He stopped when

ha's Beta. The Alpha ordered me t

ghtened as I opened it, and the title on the first page immedia

in Bloodmoon Pack territory, follow the Alpha's work arrangements, keep his affairs confidential, and obey the rules governing his

sold or forced into a mate bond. Still, I couldn't ignore the mark on my neck or

paper. "What is this? And what

ondition was critical. The mark allowed him to transfer his energy i

d as worthless, and now a stranger had marked me when I was at my most helpl

x. "And if I r

ission, you are considered an outsider. Until your identity and circumstances are clarified, leaving the territory wi

otect me, and no safe place I could return to. Cornelius had already decided to trade me away afte

't know why the Alpha had saved me or why he wanted me to stay, but at least this agr

offered and signed the

rie Wh

a brief nod. "Good. Follow me. I'l

old, modern corridors of the building. We passed several guarded

lowly disappeared, and I realized that the guest room had b

x led me through a quieter corridor a

window. Compared with the luxurious guest room upstairs, it felt p

Alpha's schedule will be sent to your terminal. If you need medical assistance or anything related to y

left without

rd the window. The view outside wasn't the city skyline I had seen from the gu

s, suddenly aware of how far I wa

ed unconsciously to

d beneath my fingert

beneath my cheek. The warmth that had flowed through my body when I was certain I was going to die.

t I couldn't assume he ha

rejection and Cornelius's plan to sell me, only to end up under the control of anoth

eft me to die in th

ve, and as long as I was alive, I s

und me in the forest, the steady beat of his heart beneath my

tand why I coul