the kitchen with a sheepish expression on her face. "Yeah, well i

hands wringing the hem of her shirt. There's an awkward tension in the air, and I can feel it weighing

n lowers her voice to barely a wh

I exclaim, unable to mask my shock. The whole thing seems absurd. Bryce, that asshole from the Silver Fang Pack, want

darting nervously around the room. She shakes her hea

im, Lana. You know what will happen if you do. He'll force you to move to his pack, or he'

e weight of the decision is too much to bear. "I know," she murmurs. "Which

ere's something in her tone now that makes me feel like she's lost all sense of control over the

I realize how selfish it would be to try and convince her to stay with me, but then I begin to r

conflict in them. "I want to be marked," she whispers, so softly that

s! He's only after power, and you're going to let him claim you?" I step forward, my fists cle

Maddi, look. I don't want to rule in power. I don't care about my ranking. You want power, I wan

at? How can she be so naïve? "You're betraying me and my pack!" My voice is sharp, my al

spoken. But there's no taking it back now. She needs to understand the gravity of the situ

with a mixture of hurt and frustration. "I will never, ever forgive you!" She spits the words out like venom, her eyes blazing with a fie

I didn't expect this. I thought I could convince her. I thought I could make her see tha

d, only to come face to face with the o

I know what she's going to say. She always has something to

e, and her lips press into a thi

ng a hand through my hair. "

leave. You can easily find another wolf to be your beta. Quit being selfish and go fix this, be

rotect my pack, to protect her, to protect us. But maybe... maybe she's right. Maybe I'm just afraid of losing my cousin, my be

eyes. "I know you're scared, Maddi. But sometimes, being an alpha means maki

sn't just about me. It's about my family, my pack. And maybe, just maybe,

ead for the door. I have a mess to clean up.