THE ALPHA NEXT DOOR

into the fragile sense of peace the safehouse offered. Lily was fine, recovering quickly from her ordeal, her parents

e in exchange for Lily's life felt less like a strategic manoeuvre and more like abandoning a drowning person after they'd thrown you a

felt like a stone added to the weight in my gut. They saw the rescuer; I saw the one who

ponsibility to fix her life. But the words of the Beta, Ronan, echoed in my head "You have a place here, regardless of whatev

breathing of wolves a quiet lullaby. I slipped out of my room, dressed in the same worn clothes, and byp

and decaying leaves. My senses, heightened beyond the norm, drank it all in. I moved swiftly, guided by memor

es. Three distinct presences, radiating malice. My steps faltered. Fear, cold and sharp, pierced through m

. I scrambled down the familiar slope, my heart hammer

s, larger and rougher than the safehouse wolves, circled her, their teeth bared in grotesque grins, their eye

y were going to touch her. The young woman who just wanted to belong, who had

no hesitation. Just

ound and sensation. Bone ground against bone, muscle expanded and reshaped. My perspecti

t black, absorbing the moonlight rather than reflecting it. My nature manifested not just in my

nt, deadly projectile. The rogues, focused on their ter

e he could even howl in surprise. My teeth met bone and sinew, a satisfying, vis

They were big, experienced fighters by the looks of them, scarred and harden

d against fur, teeth snapped in the darkness. I felt a searing pain in my shoulder as one of his claws found p

vulnerable point. He thrashed wildly, trying to dislodge me, but my grip was iron. I felt the tearing of flesh, heard hi

do

d form. He saw something in me, something that went beyond just a hostile wolf. Perhaps it was the colour of my fur, the intensity in my eyes, or th

grey fur disappearing back up the slope and into the dark

st the rock, her eyes wide and unseeing, trembling violently. M

e ground, gasping for breath, the pain in my shoulder now a burn

pushing myself up on

h dazed terror. Then, slowly, recognition dawned, fol

e whispered, her vo

d, ignoring the throbb

e together. The trauma was etched on her face, in the way her body trembled. She wasn't physically inju

rotest of my body. "It's over," I sai

st stared at the two d

tly placing it on her arm. Her skin was cold. "We need t

g. "No! I can't! They're wolves! Like t

lves at the safehouse protect. They don

d. "They won

And part of that means dealing with the complications."

helping her to her feet, supporting her weight as we slowly made our way back up the ravine. My

t an arm around her, offering quiet reassurances, my senses strained, listening for any sign of the third rogue or other

dawn painting the horizon in soft hues. The guards at the gate, different ones from the nigh

tones. Before I could even begin to explain, the air shift

mit, his presence radiating authority and concern. He took one look at me, covered in blood and supporting the trauma

emanding answers, but there wa

me. I sagged slightly, still holding onto Eliza. "Al

clothes, the way I was holding my shoulder, the state of Eliza.

he asked, his voi

, filling my lungs. "Rogues," I said, the single word

ed, his gaze in

orward slightly. She flinched away from his i

ing, then returned to me, focusing on m

tacking her,"

into mine. "Feei

whisper but clear in the hushed morning air. "She saved me," she said, looking up at Draven with t

exchanged stunned glances. Ronan, who had app

and intelligent, went from

ing to sound nonchalant despite the pain radiating through my

r of something I couldn't quite read cross

ry," he murmured, more

verwhelming. He looked at Eliza with a gentleness I hadn't expected. "Bring h

rtain glances back at me, Draven turned his full

r her," he stated

" I con

e kidnapped a pup

ing his gaze squarely. "And d

ow, a silent invit

austion that threatened to buckle my knees. "Because she wanted to belong. And I p

gical inconsistencies, the sheer audacity of the deal

wolf stood close to the surface, its power a tangible

territory," he said finally

said, my voice hardening. "T

pite the pain. "There's a lot y

flinched back instinctively, years of avoiding touch ingrained in my r

voice. "Wraithbane, rescuer, and you strike deals with ferals in the woods."

simply. "She's traumatize

ha responsibilities. "A feral girl. In the safehouse.

snark returning, sharper now. "You knew I w

ession unreadable. The early morning light was st

der looked at. We will talk later. We have a lot to discuss." He g

exposure. I had brought the wildness of my life, and the desperation of another's, into the heart of the safehouse. And I had no idea what the cost would be, for me, for Eliza, or for the pack that had dared to offer me belo