Rejected Luna.

na's

ren roads of Oakland. Every footfall left crimson signatures on the pavement - breadcrumbs f

wentieth time. Nothing. Just ghosts

oak tree. I fell to the ground, chest rising and falling, my eyes focused on

distance, covered on bleeding feet and brok

lf cries echoed in the distance, primal, hunting. I pressed my palm into my sternum where my

bane had done

that. The temptation to retreat flashed through my mind, a brief cod

my breath. "Better die t

ther's sworn foe. The land known for its brutal king and his bloodthirsty wo

ediately. Someone-s

ripped through the sky, backlighting the forest in

a voice cut through the darknes

in the dark. Then the rest of him came out from

a De

features seeming chiseled from granite. His shoulders strained against a black shirt with impossible width, muscle

voice pulsed in my chest cavity, caus

nd him-his betas, snapping and foaming with ove

k over. I tu

reamed in my body, but survival was louder. Lightning flashed above, m

mand thundered over the forest,

der my feet. Every breath shredded my soot-damaged lungs. It

exposed root and I went sprawling, face-first, into the mud. I

ll I registered befor

iousness seeped back. Soft cloth running under my fi

broken ribs. Unfamiliar room. Unfamiliar bed. The

t surprise me - somehow I had kn

purposeful, balletic despite his mass - a predator at ease in his prowess. He

from me?" There was no heat in

to my chest defensively. Every story, every whispered warning about this ma

r. I shoved myself f

he said, his voice dropping

ward me. He hesitated, then pressed on slowly un

d in a whisper. "You're terrified.

heat radiated from his touch, traveling up my leg and into my core. My heart, w

'd spent too long in the snow - pulling my purse out of the freezing cold, until everything came back to life, my skin tingli

o reveal depths I hadn't seen before. Something pa

a

h my mind unbidden, u

ring the connection. His f

ld have been amusement. "If my intention was

nto a crystal tumbler. Its look - the casual way he raised it to his li

ne. "And you have wolfsbane coursing through your

Jaxon sprinkling poison in my food and drink. Seven years

hed for me, his fingers moved in a line from my hairline to my ch

no pity in his voice, only curio

courage I had l

between us, the words ba

, a brow rising sharply. "I'm normally

now, as if he could pry the

ened. "Actually, his daughter, Gerald's daug

tbeat s

ad and running from something that scared you more than I do,"

er? This Alpha with a centuries-long reputati

" The command crack

lied, failing

turning my gaze to his. "Don't. Lie. To. Me." Every wo

inside m

s tumbling out. "I no longer b

guess, Denver said with an infinitesimal change of expre

?" he asked, gesture enc

dded

menace that the candle

as I don't go back, I'm

ian

is lips gave me the

mother died when she was born.

w that story, he knew what everyo

r," I blurted, voice cra

kno

o casually delivere

shifted between us. There was almost t

I whispered, a headache b

. The contact set my heart racing again - not from

t mine. My dormant wolf woke for the first time in ye

anged. Did he not feel it?

ng, ruthless - would see that kind of bond as a weakness. His eyes, which were piercing,

his voice rusty. "I'll protect you. Y

idened in

aid, "you w

othing was f

give the Alpha of T

r gaze-something wild and territ

l know exactly what

epped to the door, his silhouett

You're in s

r shut behind him, leaving

residual warmth from his fi

truly safe hand

d I pay in the end