LL

collapse onto the cold stone floor outside the Alpha's quarters, my wet clothes clinging to my feverish

his can't

y body. My first transformation isn't finished-I can feel my wolf stirring beneath my skin, restless and confuse

rs. The Alpha's son, who never missed a chance to remi

he's m

ed. After overhearing him with Julia the other day, I should have kno

s father's commanding tone. And there, quieter than the others, is my own father's voice. Of course

drag myself away from thi

roots me to this spot. My wolf whimpers inside me, drawn to

gs open befor

the doorway, and the moment his gaze lands on me, his jaw tightens. He exhales slowly through

flaring as he sniffs the air. I see the exact moment it

Harlow says quiet

y still in the corner

s father. He just stares down a

, Lillian, as my mate." His voice rings out, formal and irreversible.

p and hot and all-consuming. The mate bond-barely formed, barely acknowledg

the agony, I feel so

ant to be bound to him. I don't want a mate

, barely a whisper. I force myse

That's al

le moment-a searing, tearing sensation that steals my breath-a

of my unfinished transformation and the severed mate bond is

ather, maybe-but it sounds dista

ess swallo

*

s no pa

. No aching bones. No ringing in my damaged ear. Just st

The ground beneath my feet feels like moonlight m

lli

erywhere and nowhere. I

ur eyes closed. She is luminous and ageless, draped in silver that moves like water, her ey

I m

My voice comes out s

ied. "You are resting. Your body has been t

hy am I

f me. Her expression

done to you. The rejection. The injury." Her gaze moves to my left ear.

palm. A warmth moves through that side of my

ys. "The thoughts people bury behind their faces. The truths the

're giving me the ab

and there is quiet gravity to the distinction. "Use it wise

the light around her

I step

of something-sorrow, maybe, or love, or both. And then

in the Ome

ays been. The blanket is thin. The room smells like c

up at nothing, letting the dream

ng in the chair beside the bed. He rea

ay before he

aws witho

hatever you came to say, save it. Go b

en he speaks, his voice

ll omen." He folds his hands in his lap. "You are to be exil

pes me. Of course. Of cou

it didn't go smoothly. Your wolf nature has been severely weak

ction-I could survive. But my wolf? She's the only par

ward the door. And the

om somewhere closer and quieter, l

thday. I should have been t

very

lips didn't move. But I

closes be

al? Or am I still half-delirious

felt more real than a

e didn't say them. He sat beside my bed and watched me flinch f

omething remains. But it has never been enough to matter. He hit me yesterday. He stood

sincere, doesn't

Y

oom like a

I had to do-what any Alpha in my position would hav

get her face

e to hold herself upright. The way she said, "I accept." No fighting, no begging.

at the

my mouth, I felt something shift the wrong way. My wolf has been snarl

ack's decision to ca

agree

me other territory, living as a rogue, vulnerable, and alone. And I especially don't want her shipped off to that

o

me with a force

for me. The idea of another Alpha anywhere near h

let it

rship. She belongs to this pack. She belongs where I can see her, where I control what happens

she