the moon. Others

of Ceremonial Fight Night-a ritual as ancient as the pack itself. The arena, an open-air dome carved into the heart of the compound, pulsed with a fierce

bled for honor, for dominance, for

n, a colossal, indifferent eye, sat like a voyeur, half-shrouded by wisps of fast-moving clouds. Pack members, a teeming mass of muscl

ent speed. Drinks-potent amber liquids and frothing ales-flowed

at, alcohol, and anticipati

lmost terrifying grace, a dance of destruction. Teeth, flecked with crimson, sprayed across the pit as a sickening crack echoed through the dome, signaling bone against bone. Claws, extended and sharpened, tore deep gashes, ra

. She wore black tonight: a slit gown of shimmering silk with subtle silver accents that caught the torchlight. One shoulder was bare, her collarbone glinting like a newly unsheathed blade. Her long, slender legs

his gaze, a tangible weight, even through

, his posture relaxed, almost casual, yet coiled with an underlying tension. His face was expressionless, a perfect mask of indifference-but his eyes, those startling molten gold eyes, dr

ushed reverence, their gazes sliding away quickly, afraid to linger. Ethan looked at her like a man planning to take the frame off the

of her head. Their eyes met across the chaos, a

between them, a

a beta, holding the gaze of an Alpha's daughter-and didn't look away. He a

ike static beneath her skin,

ly. But something he represented

ands. Bets were settled with shouts and shoves. Bodies were dragged away by grim-faced healers and burly guards, leaving cri

grier, entered the ring, their eyes

er. The crowd, a moment ago a swirling maelstrom of bodies, parted like tidewater aroun

ow and measured. The black fabric of her dress shimmered in the torchlight, hugging her body like

ok at Ethan a

but moving through the throng with a quiet pu

the ongoing fight. The raw noise of the pit was dulled here, muffled by thick, ancient stone, transformed into a distant, primal hum. Th

n the air, the faint scent of woodsmoke and something uni

serves to die," Ethan said from behind her, his voice l

g firelight of the torchwall. Her eyes, molten gold with a ring of copper near the i

stay silent," she replied coolly, her voice a low

le that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Silen

elegant disdain. "You're not the first wolf to try rid

ament to his unbreakable composure. "But I d

ced indifference in her eyes

ze never leaving his. "You're bold for a beta."

redators," he countered, his voice steady, devoid of any subservien

d, Ethan Hale?" Her voice was velvet di

nt-woodsmoke, worn leather, and something else, something unplaceable, subtly wrong, yet d

e dropping to a low, intimate rumb

head, a hint of

er lips. "Most men avoid

ens when you stop preten

und like a blade scraping against glass. It held

y, above the mess of your pack. To remain pure, a pristine relic. I think you ac

, searching his. The silence stretc

le shift, she stepped forward, c

perfume and something wild, un

this way," she murmured, her voice a low,

el the faint warmth of his breath against her skin. "You could

thick with unspoken desire an

" His convictio

cked, the distant sound of violence and roaring wolves fading into a mea

r spoken to her like that. Not even her father, who commanded absolute obedience. Every suitor who dared seek her attention had done so with bowed

wasn't silver

liked

ed and curved, not like a spine, but like a serpent's coil, dark and mysterious, ending at a smaller, private balcony that overlooked

carrying an edge of dismissal, a test. "Yo

lent on the ancient stone, a pre

k on the cold stone railing. Her slender fingers gripped the chill, rough surfa

rous curiosity. "What makes you worthy of remembering? What makes yo

to be thick as blood, a living entity in the air. "I don't want to be remembered,

to be

y gasp. He noticed. She noticed that he

h an almost scientific intensity. "I'm not some lonely girl waiting to be seduced

er defenses. "You're a caged moon pretending not to h

acknowledgment of the unex

y, though her eyes betrayed a deeper interest. "Is t

another notch, a raw, honest adm

honesty, was a surprise. Her instincts screamed at her to leave, to retreat from this man who

y, an internal luminescence that was captivating. Not in the supernatural w

hing forged in hardship

she said softly, stating a

ved," he confirmed, his

hy

, carried a profound weight. "Because I've seen predators in every form-men who kill, who rule, who kneel. But I've never seen a wolf who

ly charged. It stretched between them, a tangibl

n. Not arousal-not yet. But an intense, almost painful curiosity. The

p me," she said, testing him, watc

rly captivating smile that he

"I want to know what you sound like when you stop

ife cracked. Her gaze dropped to his lips, a sudd

et him see it. The wildness, the hunger she kept

s overshadowed by a far more potent desire to

her voice a low, breathy whisper, d

u're playing-it'l

their mouths to almost touch, for

a tiny, involuntary sound. The t

s voice a vow, a confession. "You're th

ng strength before erupting later, fiercer and hotter. She picked up her wine glass, he

der, her voice cool, collected, yet carrying an undeni

er disappear into the dark, a slow, tri

long, ragged sound like a man holding back an avalanche.

many women. Ki

re cunning than him. He'd walked t

a was d

er. Not even her f

anted to drown in her, to be consumed, even if it cost him eve

on the network of deep, jagged claw scars crisscrossing his abdomen, a brutal remind

one, his voice a low, fierce mu

carded skin. Her golden eyes glowed faintly in the moonlight streaming through the tall windows as she slowly lifted a han

her skull, clear as a

t thing I've wan

d. Mocked him. Dismiss

di

to her reflection, he

d it fe

er own wild, knowing

u want to b