THE ALPHA'S FATED BEAST

a's

ing room and mumble phone conversations. Seraphina was alive.

years spent creating a life in Seattle fit into two suitcases. Fantast

nocked on the bedroom

he frigid calm I had learned at my father's knee had

past him, "There's nothing to

. Not without-" "Without letting you explain why you've been u

s features confirmed it enough.

wasn't li

e something, Damien. Whose name did you want to whisper when you mad

it, then hung his head. "I

I was enough when I was just a consolation prize. I approached the door. alive. Vi

ated more emotion-rage, devastation, the crushing weight of heartache. Instead, all that was left w

unidentified number: *Safe travels

me, the letter instead sent an unanticipated thrill through my body. When was the last

th my arrival time, and he reacted with characteristic

at the temples, he had the kind of constant presence that put you at ease. I recogn

ou. City life has gotten you slender. Your father

Marcus. I managed a gri

about you. Marcus grabbed my suitcase. "He's been pa

orgeous Oregon was, how the ancient forests appeared to mumble secrets in the wind.

want to share what

h on someone in love with a ghost. I realized over four years th

someone who will never genuinely see me. I swivelle

to hear that. He has been patient, but the pack has t

n what it really meant-not only marriage but also leadership

hadn't known I'd been carrying. At sixteen, I attended my first pack meeting in the grand hall, where I had learned t

tainside; its windows shone warmly in the evening. Through t

office. warning-he's been in Alpha mode s

the third floor. The door to my father's office was open; he was silhoue

midable man. Through sheer force of will and strategic brilliance, he had transformed the Silverstone Pa

said, "Hel

ho had taught me to hunt, who had held me when I cried over my first hea

the room; then he drew me int

istinctive musk that distinguished him as my Alpha, my fat

. sorry for running away. Regrets for wasting four

ospect of charting your own course," he added

houlders. "Tell me about Seattle. Tell me

merely a replacement for a dead lady. I told him how the terrible discovery t

nance darkening with every detail. His eyes were se

ne to you, for the disrespect he's shown to this p

t worth it. He's not worth s

ter. You justify

y, as a child, I had always felt safe. Alpha Marcus B

to concentrate on the pack, the future, a

There is no going back once we announce your comeback and th

time in four years, I felt as thou

call Alpha Kane in the morning

I mean. Once I met him, I was so preoccupied

g. He has developed the Shadowmere Pack into something powerful. But h

ike patience. " Arrog

mpanion he wanted, though.

w. "Why? We barel

ed toward the window and gazed out at the pack grounds. Kane Shadowmere only acts for

e query came out before

e, Maya. What matters now are respect, working together, and common goal

ove-or so I thought-and it had almost broken me. Maybe respect and w

ne will be here by nightfall tomorrow. He wants to see

t tight. "

years, Maya. He will

ing into. From my window, I could hear the group settling for the night-talk from the sh

amien: *Please don't do this.

hen I blocked his number. Som

one from Kane: *I am happy to

it. Tomorrow, I will face the man I was promised to fr

of hope, wildly in love with a man who never really saw her.

be an Alp