EMBER
He pauses, hovering above me, his body heavy, his heat sinking into my skin. Gods, I want it. Every nerve in me is begging for him to finish what he started. But my mind betrays me.
Roman.
If I give in now, I’m not just sealing my fate. I’m sealing his too. What will it mean for him if I choose this?
Crap, why is this so hard?
Literally, so hard because it’s staring me right in the face, thick and ready, and I want it inside me. My body aches for it, but my heart and my head…are at war.
A flash of movement.
Something gray blurs between us, ripping Thorn off of me with a snarl. My breath catches as he and the gray wolf tumble across the grass.
Thorn shifts mid-roll, his massive white wolf exploding into the fight. He launches, leaping off his attacker, landing with fangs bared. The gray wolf crouches low, teeth gleaming in the moonlight. Eyes narrowed. Dangerous.
Olcan.
Thorn’s white wolf’s chest heaving, muscles taut. His voice is a low snarl. “So, this is it, Olcan? You’re challenging me?”
From the underbrush, another wolf emerges, fur a lighter gray, body rippling with malice. Koa. He slinks up beside his brother, their bodies in perfect symmetry. A pack within the pack.
My breath catches as I rise to my feet. A Challenge — two against one. Under a full moon and so close to the Sacred Tree, the air practically thrums with power. The priest’s words echo in my head: no blood inside the temple. But this isn’t the temple. Out here, anything goes.
My heart races. This is happening. My mind flashes back to Cullen’s Challenge, the night everything changed for me, all that I lost that day. I shudder.
Back and forth, they circle and clash. Thorn is relentless, his body a blur of power — shifting in and out of his wolf form so seamlessly it looks like water pouring into two vessels.
One moment claws, the next fists, the next snapping jaws.
He’s hitting, spinning, striking both wolves in turn.
It’s a very powerful technique when fighting.
I’ve never seen it done so flawlessly. It’s as if he were born to do this.
He’s not just surviving. He’s dominating, even playing with them. Gods, he’s an Alpha in every right. Watching him fight — wild, merciless, beautiful — it makes heat coil low in my belly, even through the fear. Mine.
Olcan lunges first. Thorn grabs him by the neck mid-shift, tossing him like a rag doll. Koa seizes the opening, raking across Thorn’s flank. Thorn pivots, claws out, slashing deep across Koa’s ribs. Blood sprays in the moonlight.
A sharp snap of wood to my left causes my head to jerk. The shadows shift. A wolf emerges, fur light brown, shoulders hunched, red eyes gleaming with hunger. His stare pins me, his muzzle lifting as he catches the scent. My dried blood.
A growl reverberates from his chest. He steps forward.
He’s not here for Thorn. He’s here for me.
I take a careful step back, every muscle trembling. Thorn is still locked with Olcan and Koa, too far away to see what’s stalking me now.
The brown wolf emerges fully, massive and deadly, saliva dripping from his teeth. His eyes never leave mine.
I glance back — the Sacred Circle. So close. If I run, maybe, just maybe, I can make it.
My attacker tracks my eyes, his lips curling. He knows. I shift in a blink and bolt.
Paw steps thunder behind me, shaking the earth. My lungs burn as my heart slams in my chest. Faster, faster, the world blurring. I can hear him — closer, closer.
I risk a glance over my shoulder. He’s there, jaws open. So close the heat of his breath is on the scruff of my neck. But it’s no more than a few feet away.
The Sacred Tree looms, its blood-red leaves glowing in the moonlight. Safety. Freedom.
I leap.
He leaps with me.
We crash. His weight slams me into the dirt, my muzzle smashing the earth. I shift back mid-twist to fight, but his wolf is stronger, heavier. His knee pins my back. His paw gripping my hair, shoving my face back into the ground.
I buck, assaulting him with elbows and heels, but he only snarls, shifting to his human form. I spin to see his face. I don’t recognize him. His eyes are dark, hair curly, and his disheveled face half hidden behind a beard.
His voice is harsh in my ear, “Stop fighting. You’re mine now.”
Panic claws at me. My heart shrieks in my chest.
“No!” I thrash, screaming, nails ripping the dirt. Rocks and earth tear my skin. The circle is right here, just out of reach. If I can just touch it with my fingers, it’ll count, and the gods can save me.
He laughs, low and cruel. “You’ve got spirit, I’ll give you that. Good. I’ll enjoy breaking you. Long winters in Maine give me plenty of time to fuck it out of you.”
Rage flares. I growl, digging my fingers deeper into the earth, dragging myself millimeter by millimeter toward the stones. The grit packs under my nails, blood mixing with dirt.
He presses harder, slipping a leg between mine. I buck, thrashing, every nerve screaming in defiance.
Shit. Shit. This can’t be happening. Why didn’t I just let Thorn mate me? Why did I hesitate?
Now I’m going to be claimed by some stranger. Owned. Used. Just what I didn’t want to happen. And will Thorn even survive being attacked by Olcan and Koa?
“No!” My scream rips the night.
Just as my fingers brush something cold and hard.