e Davi

al ashtray, leaned back in the leathe

into my temporary office, you'd

he desk, voice steady."Mr. Ashley, my name is Colette Davis

gers tapping the mahogany. "I

nstead, I looked straigh

do need a legal Luna to silence the Council of

is eyes as he rose and rounded the desk in three stride

e to eavesdrop on my p

t my sides, my fingernails digging into the fabric of my t

And right now, I am the most suit

female whose inner wolf aura is so nonexistent you might as well b

es from the side of my throat to scent t

l away. This was the openi

te Wolf bloodline beneath herbal

thread of the crisp white cedarwood scent of my hidden bloo

gray-blue eyes sharpened with suspicion. He inhaled aga

sparks of electricity danced across the s

cognition, though without a completed bite mark and with my aura hea

on my chin slackened, and his Adam'

n. "My background is clean, I have no pack backing me, and I

and laid my final

edical funding right now. In two years, when the Council is

d me as if solving a puzzle. The white cedarwood seemed to

ink the position of Blackwood's Luna i

plied without looking away, letting him see t

lled open a heavy desk drawer, drew out a blank sheet of anci

t understand this clearly-this arrangement only grants you pack resources and the

chment, my heart pounde

uits me

silver-alloy letter opener f

fe, kept only for weapons or sacred blood rituals because its burn sto

r, ignoring the faint sizzle, and let a drop

with warning."Sign the Blood Oath. The price of brea

and reached out to tak

r, my phone vibrated hard. The caller ID re

swer and press

er's vitals just crashed-they're

l blade slipped from my fingers and clattered onto th

the ICU wing, terror clamping

my mother's chest. Her body jolted once, twice, then fell limp. The ca

s outside the glass, tears blinding me

please, don'

cold glass, sobbing until my

road suit jacket carrying the smoky scent of aged ceda

urred tears, I saw Hardin stan

his gray-blue eyes, then his deep voi

d to the hospital's account. Tell them to use