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“My answer remains that you can go fuck yourself.”

“Samuel,” Celeste says, drawing her fellow alpha’s attention toward her. “Enough.”

Avery keeps his eyes on Sascha’s father—Samuel—forseveral seconds more, ensuring the arrogant shifter reallyfeels it, before shifting his attention to Celeste.

Celeste looks back at Avery, her gold wolf eyes flashing. “Werecreature. If you’d prefer to not die, this is your last chance to accept my offer. Otherwise, I’ll greatly enjoy having my wolves hold you down so I can rip you to shreds.”

“Celeste, you can’t trust a?—”

Head whipping toward Samuel, she growls, “I know what I’m doing. Don’t forget that I’m not subservient to you,cougar. You have no authority over me or my pack.”

Avery remains silent while the alphas bare their teeth at each other, scratching more forcefully against Beryl’s shoulder to keep himself from visibly shaking. They lean their weight against him briefly.

Celeste snaps her fingers. “Zuhr. Come forward.”

The stocky werecreature moves out of the shadows where she and the rest of Celeste’s bitch pack were lurking. Memories of her hand around Sascha’s throat have Avery’s fangs dropping, and he curls his lip with a growl. Samuel takes a step aside, putting additional space between himself and the werecreatures. Fucking coward. Avery opens his mouth to call Samuel a piece of shit bigot who bases his self-superiority on irrational fear, but closes it when Celeste speaks first.

“As you can see by the actions of myformerenforcer, I’m aware that loyalty can be bought and shifted. Thus, if the ursine makes the wise decision to submit to me, I’ll accept him only with insurance.”

“Are you gonna take out a State Farm policy?” Avery snarks.

Shockingly, Celeste laughs. “In a way. Zuhr is skilled in applied magic, as you might have noticed. There are techniques designed to subdue carriers of the werevirus.” Zuhr’s spine straightens, her eyes widening in alarm. “You’llallow Zuhr to imprint her magic onto yours, tethering you to my control.”

Beryl’s entire body vibrates in a deafening snarl. Avery curls his fingers into their fur, lips parted wordlessly as he processes the implications of such magic existing.

“Alpha,” Zuhr says, her voice surprisingly timid despite her fierceness during physical conflict. “I wouldn’t—Can’tperform those techniques.”

“Nonsense. The magic can only be used by other werecreatures, and you’re more than capable. You’ll do it if I say you will.” When Zuhr hesitates, Celeste adds, “Think of your brother.”

Avery raises his voice to ensure Celeste’s attention diverts to him, away from the werecreature. “Weaponizing someone’s family to get them to obey you? Definitely seems like your pack follows you out of respect.”

“Limiting your power to respect is weak.”

“Is that why your strongest enforcer is currently protecting me, not you?”

Celeste slams her fist on the metal railing, the clanging sound running along the support rods. “You have thirty seconds to make your decision, werecreature.”

“I don’t need them. You both can drown, for all I care. Leave Sascha and me the fuck alone.”

“Fine.” Celeste bares her teeth, her voice grating when she says, “Samuel. Call your pack. We’ll end this.”

“Gladly,” Samuel says.

Finally giving in to the fear he’s been fighting, Avery takes a step back. He’s useless right now. Will Beryl be able to take on both packs indefinitely by themself? He doesn’t want to risk their safety like that. “Beryl,” he whispers, preparing to tell them they should leave him to his fate. Before he can make any other decisions beyond giving Sascha his final goodbyes, the man himself cuts in front of Avery, wrapped in nothing but one of Petra’s medical blankets.

“Dad, don’t you dare!” he yells.

Avery grabs Sascha’s arm, shaking him. “Get out of the way!” Beryl rushes to threaten a few wolves advancing from the side, leaving nothing between Avery and Celeste’s claws other than his barely upright boyfriend.

Celeste’s dress flutters in the wind as she leaps from the overhead platform. The morning sun, rays beating down like a rainfall of punishing heat, reflects off the white fabric, briefly blinding. Despite Avery’s attempts to force Sascha out of the way, Sascha merely spreads his arms to hold him back without so much as a flinch.

“Cease your attack, Celeste, that’s myson!” Samuel’s voice echoes, but Celeste’s eyes are linked with Avery’s as she cuts through the foliage underfoot with single-minded purpose.

Beryl snaps and misses. Petra screams, sharp and piercing. Celeste’s claws—sharper, ready to rend—flex in preparation for a killing blow.

Seconds before impact, Samuel comes down, a booted foot colliding with the unguarded side of Celeste’s head before she can connect with Sascha’s exposed throat. She turns on him with a snarl, dodges a swipe of his claws. Sascha stumbles as he herds Avery several steps backward, and Petra grabs both of their shoulders from behind, all three of them clustering together with a chorus of gasps.

Under Arch Rock’s shadow, sheltered from the judgment of the radiant sun, Avery watches Samuel kick Celeste square in the chest, flinging her directly into Beryl’s waiting jaws. A sickening, wet crunch silences the small space as they all, both shifter and werecreature, hold their breath as one. Beryl thrashes their head, crushing Celeste’s skull against the rock at the base of the arch, then flings her body across the sun-dappled ground. Celeste collides with the stone wall supporting the viewing platform, rolls a few feet, then catches the base of a sapling under her arm.