ynn

clicked shut behind me, sealing

He braced both hands on the edge of the wood, leaning forwar

vibrating with danger. "Show me why this is a 'clumsy forgery

on the opposite side of the desk. Reaching out with t

y, cold-pressed vellum with a faint watermark of a running stag. It's

but his golden eyes

wolfless Omega like me wouldn't be allowed within ten feet of council-grade vellum, let alone receive personal correspondence on it. If Bra

field commander who handled logistics and intelligence, he knew military and adminis

pointing to the da

ils flaring as he caught the faint

xes it into her ink because she thinks it makes her seem sophisticated. She forged this le

etter is fake, it doesn't change reality. You still ended up i

king straight into the da

is pregnant. Wit

freezing. Clint's entire frame went rigid, the

ng a bastard with my promised mate is treason

e's bedroom door. It's an ancient remedy used specifically to stabilize early wolf pregnancies. Combine that with the metabolic shift in her s

. His mind was calculating, piecing th

s carrying another man's pup. They couldn't give her to a 'crippled, disgraced' Alpha without caus

broken goods, and I was garbage. A p

onor triggered his

massive desk. Before I could take half a step back

rame trapping me completely. The scent of cedar, snow, and

n until his lips were an inch from my ear. "Aren't you afraid I'l

, but I kept my chin up, feeling

poison this morning," I said, looking right into his golden eyes. "And I

A dark brow

ers the second your family kicks me out," I explained, lay

ontr

ts from the other packs, play the role of your mate in public, and use my k

e mention of his hidden inj

hs?" he asked, his vo

crossed you. You pay me enough gold to buy a small cottage in the

single flicker of deceit. His gaze lingered on my

strands of hair by my temple. "By pack oath. But break a singl

ed,"

desk. A faint glint of dark‑iron metal peeked through its

und of shattering ceramic echoed from the first f