Beckett

Devany whipped her head back and forth like a wild animal searching for sanctuary. If she had transitioned, her eyes would be glowing and hair would be sprouting through her skin. Her calm acceptance of her werewolf status crumbled, and I waited patiently for her to comb through all the options of escape. No matter what she thought, it would end with one way forward.

"Please," her voice shook. It infuriated me to hear her sound so weak. "Please, let me go. You don't have to report this to anyone. I've lived under the radar for years. Just let me leave here."

It was such a simple request, and I god, I wished I could grant it. "Others already know. Jack...Jack told others. He told his father who is a General and a member of the Council. If I let you go, I risk being punished for breaking Council law, and that would leave my pack without an Alpha."

She glanced at the door. "Where is this place?"

"You're in my house, which is on pack land. I'm telling you that in case you think you could sneak out of here. There are nearly three hundred werewolves coming and going from the Black Fang Clan. If by some miracle you made it out of here, every pack on the continent would be looking for you, and the kindness you've experienced here would not be extended again."

"Then..." Devany smoothed her hands over her thighs and tucked a tangled strand of purple hair behind her ear. "Then claim me. Don't send me out to complete strangers."

My wolf howled in agreement. His thoughts overwhelmed my own. Take her. Breed her. Make her ours. Mark her so that every male knows who she belongs to.

"Beckett?"

I pulled myself out of the gutter and shook my head. "I truly would, but I can't. I've met my mate. We're to be bound at the end of the summer."

Fire rushed back into Devany, and she moved so fast, I didn't register her intent until her palm cracked across my face.

"You cheating asshole. You're going to tell me that knowing you had every intention of fucking me tonight?"

With a growl that rumbled through the room like thunder, I grabbed her hand as she raised it, and pushed her onto the bed. Straddling her hips, I pinned both her arms above her head. Her skin paled–from fear or pain, I wasn't sure–but I couldn't stop myself. A hit like that was a challenge, and she had to be put in her place.

"You get a pass because you don't understand the hierarchy here yet, but any physical attack against another wolf is a challenge for dominance. Had anyone else done that, they would already be bleeding out on the floor. Do you understand?"

Devany glared and thrashed in my grip. Was her human personality so strong it refused to submit, or was this display of disobedience an echo of her wolf's presence? Just more confirmation that she would have been magnificent. The potent anger that came with being an Alpha fated to grim admiration, which became a feverish desire to bend her to my will in a different way. And the realization that the blanket separating me from her body was very thin.

My knuckles whitened as I gripped her wrists tighter and lowered my chest to hers. With only centimeters between our lips, I whispered, "It would be in your best interest to stop moving like that. Do you understand?"

"Like this?"

She rolled her hips, and I saw stars. But when I rocked back against her, a gasp knocked the triumphant smirk off her lips. I didn't give her time to process what I'd done before I jutted my hips forward again, instinctively connecting with the spot that had her arching off the bed with a moan.

"Do you want to keep going?" I asked her. "All it would take is for me to rip a hole in those leggings, and I could be inside you. Fuck you until you screamed."

Claim her.

Breathing heavily, she forced her lust glazed eyes to meet mine. "I don't want your cheating cock anywhere near me."

Releasing her hands, I rolled off her before the wolf took over and did something I could never forgive myself for. He might not give a shit, but I didn't care how much she was into it. If she didn't want me, I wouldn't manipulate her into taking me.

"For the record, I wasn't cheating. My mate and I... it's complicated."

Devany snorted as she sat up. "Isn't that what they always say?"

"Believe what you want. I don't care." I grabbed my shirt from the floor and pulled it over my head. Holding the blanket secure around my hips, I turned to face her. "Like I said, you really only have one choice. When you're healed, someone will come and prepare you for the auction."

With those words, I rushed out of the room, unable to handle the hurt in her expression. I barely knew her, but I felt like I'd betrayed her somehow. If only Jack and his merry band of assholes had gone elsewhere tonight to get wasted and laid, her entire life wouldn't be turned upside down. All I could do now was pray the wolf that won her was a good man.

I was zipping up a new pair of jeans in my bedroom when a knock sounded on my door. Pria's scent drifted over to me, sweet and soft as always. She sat on the armchair by the window, her hands on her knees, and her golden eyes bright with curiosity.

"It's gonna be like that, then?"

"I don't feel like talking about this right now, P."

"Too bad. It's all anyone is talking about. When was the last time we found a packless wolf that hadn't shifted? Since before the Royal family disappeared, right?"

"Maybe. I don't know. That was before our time."

"Right." She stood up and looked in the standing mirror by the closet, ruffling her fingers through the short, spiky strands of her black hair. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" I leaned against the wall and folded my arms over my chest. When she got like this, it was always best to let her get it out of her system.

"That they're upholding that barbaric custom? Why can't we just let her go? She could even get witch wiped if they were afraid of her spilling the beans to the normals."

"Yes, they're upholding the custom. You know why."

Her cheeks turned red. "The fucking Council."

"Hey." I slapped a hand over her mouth. In her eyes, I could see the electric blue glow of my eyes reflected as I exerted my will over hers. "You may be my mate, but that won't save you if they hear you talk like that. Especially since you mentioned the others earlier. Watch yourself. Understood?"

Only when she nodded did I remove my hand. "Now, it's best if we forget she ever even existed. By the end of the week, she will belong to another pack, and she will become the wife of an Alpha."

"Such a polite way of saying baby machine..." She held up her hands and stepped back in a sign of submission. "I'm sorry. Why don't...why don't you claim her? It would be perfect."

"P." I gave her a flat look. "You know why. Mated Alphas don't bid in the auction."

"Alpha Kade has a wife and a mate."

"That's because he married her before the Goddess sent him his mate. It doesn't work the other way around."

"Is that a rule or just the way it's always been done?"

"It doesn't matter. That's the way it's going to be. Now get out of here."

I slammed the door behind her and fell back into bed. Pria's suggestion was absurd. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't save Devany.