Abigail
“Thank you for joining us live, back on the Stalden University campus.”
I glance around the back room of my bakery. The two other people working dough on the long shared counter are also watching the TV mounted on the wall.
Screw it.
Wiping my hands on my apron, I snag the remote and turn up the volume.
“We got word an hour ago, from Nix, asking us to meet back on the front steps of the administrative building. We’re unsure if they want to talk about the events of the past week, the protests.
The special sessions that have occurred since the mass show of force from Alts around the globe.
Or if they’re planning to surprise us with something new. ” Her laugh is slightly manic.
I feel you, Stacy. I feel you.
Honestly, moving towns to take over my grandma’s bakery was stressful enough. But moving here, the place that seems to be the center of Alt chaos… There aren’t enough muffins in the world to calm my nerves at this point.
“There’s been a lot of—Ope. Here we go.”
The camera turns away from the reporter, focusing on the brick building behind her.
Before it zooms in, you can see a dusting of snow on the ground. And as it zooms in, you can see the door opening.
Volik steps out first. Then Nix.
Staying on the landing at the top of the steps, they move to the side as Vameer exits the building next, followed by Rune. The two of them stand on the other side of the door.
The university is miles from here, but it’s like I can feel their combined energy vibrating through the room.
The door starts to open again. And I expect to see Henry, the dean of the college.
Except the man emerging is not Henry.
A rounded shoulder, wrapped in a tight white T-shirt.
A chest and torso thick with muscle.
Worn jeans and bare feet.
The man steps past the doorway. And as he moves to the center of the group, I drag my gaze up his magnificent body.
My eyes lock on his vibrant green ones. And I…
Something tightens around my lungs.
His eyes… They’re staring into mine.
“Hello.” His voice is low and sultry. “I am here to introduce myself, but first, I would like to apologize for the delay. We have always known that the time would eventually come to reveal our existence. We just couldn’t quite agree on when.
But helping our friends, our allies, will always be our top priority.
So when Nix was taken, and Volik needed our help, Henry did what he had to do. He came to me.”
“Who are you?” a reporter calls into the silence.
The corner of the man’s mouth lifts into a smirk.
“I am Orion. Alpha of the Argus Pack. And the first wolf at Versailles.”
Murmurs sound from the TV and my employees, but I can’t look away.
He’s so handsome.
With pieces of his dark hair falling over his forehead.
That body.
Those eyes.
His smirk drops. “I was also at The Campsite.”
More murmurs.
“And although I regret the loss of life, I will not regret protecting the children. And I will not hesitate to call on my alliance with the vampire bros.” He lifts both arms and slaps the Vadas brothers on their backs.
They don’t so much as shift, and their expressions stay blank.
“I will do more in-depth interviews in the future. But for now, do not attempt to contact me at home or corner me on the street. Do not attempt to identify my pack. You will get your information as we give it. Pushing boundaries is the wrong tactic with wolves.”
“How do we know you are who you say you are?” a reporter asks.
Orion’s smirk is bigger this time.
And, gods… My core clenches.
A vision of me on my back, him over me, smirking down as he—
“If you won’t take my word for it.” Orion pulls. His. Shirt. Off. “Then I’ll show you.”
Lust dances down my spine as he…
His jeans…
He hooks his thumbs in the waistband of his green boxers.
Oh gods. Yes.
“Kidding.” He pulls his thumbs free.
My throat tightens, and I think I might cry.
“I’ll let this pair go.”
Orion rolls his shoulders back. And I watch every muscle in his stomach shift with the movement.
I want to lick those muscles.
Jealousy, sour and thick, fills my stomach.
So many women are seeing him right now.
Like this.
The urge to cry returns tenfold.
He’s mine.
Without another word.
Without a warning.
Orion takes two quick steps, then he jumps off the top of the stairs. Toward the camera.
The view stays on him.
But in less than a blink, in a fraction of a second, muscles change to fur.
And a giant wolf leaps toward the screen.
The camera tips as a person yelps.
I need—
“Uh, Abigail? You okay?”
Gasping, I startle back into myself.
I have both hands and one knee up on the counter. Literally crawling closer to the TV.
To get a better look at him.