Beyond The Empty Altar, My Reign

a P

ding the heavy off-road vehicle surging forw

ering wheel in the opposite direction. The heavy chassis shuddered, the tires biting into the packed snow just inches from a deadly drop. I did

he dashboard. The heater sp

ather wheel, turned stiff and pale. Yet, beneath my freezing skin, something ancient and dormant began to stir. The marrow in my bones felt like it was catchin

d in protest, a high-pitched mechanical whine that vibrated through the floorboards. I reached

e massive, hulking shadows d

. Rogue wolves. My right hand instinctively released the steering wheel and dropped to the tactical dagger strapped to my thi

a sickening crunch. Five razor-sharp claws pierced the steel right above my hea

feet onto the

. The rogue wolf on the roof was launched forward by the sheer momen

hine slammed head-on into a massive, snow-covered boulder. The airbags deployed with an explosive bang,

or open with both boots and tumbled out into the knee-deep sn

a triangular hunting formation, trapping me in the center. Low, guttural

o my full height, rolling my shoulders. A true Alpha

assive jaws snapped open, ai

to the right, letting the beast's momentum carry it past me. In the same

sever the carotid artery. Boiling hot blood sprayed across my pale cheek. I di

thin Southern coat. I spun around, dropping my center of gravity, and drove my elbow straight upward into the beast's snou

the first wolf's neck, and plunged it straight down into the second wolf's heart. Clean. Eff

between my bloody blade and its dead packmates

the exposed pavement, and hurled it with devastating force. The rock s

cally in the snow. I planted my heel firmly on the back of its neck, pinning it to t

ade down, endi

ood alone among the corpses, casually wiping the h

l, broad-shouldered figure stood perfectly still. Kaelen's golden eye

enhanced senses caught something else. A scent so rare it was almost a myth. The crisp, f

owed, fierce and territorial. Years of living in a hostile environment had honed my paranoia into a weapon.

oss the cliff face. There was nothing there. I fro

I popped the trunk and dragged out a heavy, black tactical backpack. It was my e

around my neck-the electronic leash of a married Southern Omega. I dug my finge

ice, then went completely dark. The connection to the Thorne family's

breath. The freezing air burned my lungs, a sharp pain that made me feel more alive than I had in th

waded into the knee-deep snow, marching straight into t

f a frosted pine, landing in the snow without making a single

to his nose and inhaled. He could read the entire fight in that single drop of blood-the lack of hesitation, the br

a low, gravelly hum that vibrated in the empty air

ading silhouette. He didn't rush to follow.

p a blinding cloud of white. When the snow settled, Kaelen

never slowed. Finally, the storm parted just enough to reveal the massive, loomin

acked lips curved upwa

, I'm