U

ha Matt's voice boomed as he lifted his glass,

cohol was unmatched. Whiskey, wine, beer-it wouldn't faze me. The liquor burned

politely, raising my own glass befo

as a pup, celebrating each one like it was a coronation. Maybe she knew something the rest o

Goddess decide the next ruler. I had no doubt in my mind it would be me. Power, wealth, battles won-I had everything it took to wear

were either scared of me or too threatened to make eye contact for long. The whispers of

lph

iberate, pulled me out o

r in all the right ways, accentuating her graceful curves and glowing skin. My

allowing a rare smile to tu

er voice dipping into something more

ad gone my way, she'd already be my Luna. But tradition and the elders held me back. An Alpha without a mate at 35 wa

She was everything I wanted-elegant, beautiful, sharp-minded. She was

stepping closer, lowering my voice so o

"I wouldn't mind regretting you, Your Majesty," she w

other glass of whiskey to distract myself. The purification rites for the

her with a smirk. "I

away, engaging another Alpha in conversatio

ething w

My skin prickled as though it were too tight, and my focus began to w

right?" a voice asked, bu

he sensation. But the heat only grew, spreading throu

him over. "Something's wrong," I t

pening?" His brow f

isk being seen like this-not no

rable, a molten river coursing through my veins. My senses sha

then

s something more sinister, something designed t

voice thick with barely restrained rage

lpha, are you sur

keep from lashing out. The veins in my a

seemed to close in, suffocating me with the scent of everyone who'd passed

ame the

Are you

man's

straint. My body tensed, every fiber of my being drawn to th

a second thought, I opened it and leapt, l

n, the cold air, the stillness to

woods bet

nctly female. Then I saw her. She was hidi

sist. But it was useless. My body moved on its

stant our bodies touched, the heat eased, but it wasn't

idn't

ftening in my arms. My restraint snapped. I took her there, u

clarity returned

ne. The priestess's words echoed in my mind

future, destroyed in a

d deeper into the woods, the fury and shame dri

eeded to find her, to warn

Only the scent of her lingered, along with t

he sound raw and guttural,

een stolen. And I didn't kn