Mated to the Father, Claimed by His Son.

ed myself, my wolf yipping in my h

wolf didn't care that he hated me. She didn't care about the disgust i

e was star

der the harsh light of the moon. His nostrils flared, and the air around us thickened.

arled, stomp

at like a drum in my ears. Around us, whispers erupted, a current of excitement and mali

have come. Wh

ate to run to him, to bask in his presence. But Rio's face

shot out. His fingers closed around my throat, squee

t you?" His voice wa

to the floor. Agony pierced my back as I touch

in the silence. "No chance in hell the goddess woul

l his face was inches from mine. His breat

wled. "My Luna wouldn't be som

d in cheers fro

eered, his voice loud and mocking. "Bound you

ack long ago," another voice chime

t the words were locked away as always. My hands trembled as I

voice rising. "Admit you fo

again, tears s

it i

n't take the pain, the humiliation. His eyes lit with a twisted sort of sati

ay. "You're pathetic. Coveting some

eight, looking down at me lik

'll never a

any blow. My chest ached, a

ha of the Maple Grove pac

bent forward, gripping my chest as the connection shattered. My

pelted me, sharp and cold, the

oste

ait

t of ou

urden of their animosity. I started to

lieve you're hea

st time, I didn't avert my gaze. I stared intensely, channeling a

not fon

red after your actions?" Rio growled.

yet I remained silent.

ips curling into a cruel smile. "But I'll le

were never quick or clean. They were calculate

, I didn't wait for him to dis

g. Didn't care. Just knew i ne

ght barely reached this far, leaving shadows to twist and shift on the ground like res

to myself. I must've wandered so far that I found

d outcasts bartered secrets, power, and things better left unnamed. Like lonely witches sett

or this pain." My wolf mumble

wouldn't h

or a weak omega like myself. B

eeded there-or if I'd even make it out

ay hit me like a wall. Then came the noise. Voices overlapped, some raised in argum

alls. Wooden crates piled high with strange, glittering objects. Furs, herbs, weapons, and artifacts that hummed

shadowed by hoods or scarves. A few pack wolves were mixed in, their clean-cut appearances out of place here. Most

he background. My bare feet were silent on the dirt path

ttle wolf?" a vendor raspe

ad quickly an

ther muttered, his yellowed teet

ear a stall selling charms and trinkets. Her eyes were dull

gning as best as I co

in front. "That's where the witch hides, if she's still here. But if

lump forming in my throat, an

ere the stalls were ramshackle and chaotic, this building was precise. Polished. Its wa

o live in a hotel. But I

uard, their stances firm. They didn't recognize me as

was suspended above, its crystals reflecting the dim light from the wall sconces. I

s scanned the space, searching for anything that might belong to a

in draped in the entrance, glimmering softly. The space

y breath hitching as I absorbed the surroundings. Apart from the pr

chair in the vacant room, my legs shaking as

weight of Rio's rejection settling in again. My wolf

might have erred, a noise disrupted the calm. A door swung

ating a stooped, elderly

all, his shoulders broad, his torso bare except for the tattoos that snaked across his skin like living art. His gray

des

observed me. His brows tightening as tho

be here," he remarked,

o noise emerged. My throat constr

ng his head and sniffing t

ptly, but the lack of blood in my head had me s

s in front of me, catching me

t was wh

" he husked, wrapping

ind was a chaotic jumble. His touch was overpoweri

on for something else as a lazy

into something perilous. "Walking into m

ic clawing at me. I wasn't t

is face inches from mine. "It's

g around us disappeared. It was just him-his sce

ouched mine, my t