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I pulled her closer to me, until her eyes met mine again. “Selena struggles with her faith in our traditions. Do you?”

With my fingers on her chin, she managed to shake her head. “No, my convictions remain steadfast.”

“Then you should believe she made no mistake when she blessed our bond. I know things are… awkward, to say the least. Dating your sister was a mistake, I see that now. It only set her up for heartbreak. But that doesn’t mean I am not or cannot be devoted to you, tous.” I paused, releasing her, waiting to see if I had said the wrong thing.

She didn’t pull back, leaving our faces inches apart. Her eyes traveled the length of my face as she considered my words.

At that moment, I couldn’t breathe for fear of her rejection.

Then she closed that short gap between us, and her lips were on mine. Her fingers threaded through my hair, and I hungrily devoured her lips in return. She was a sweet breath of life, promise,redemption.

And in that moment, I realized a singular truth. I could never have made Selena happy. Because it was alwaysDiana.

DIANA

When we finally broke away from the kiss, gasping for air, I was dizzy and lightheaded as a new warmth flooded my senses and threatened to sweep me away. Orionwantedto commit to us.

He leaned in to kiss me again, but this time, I held him back with a hand.

His eyes darkened with a hint of confusion. “Do you not want to…” He left the question hanging.

My chuckle was silent, breathless. “Of course, I do. But you’re hurt. And we have to return to the compound and let them know what’s happened.”

“I’ll be careful,” he grinned, wagging his eyebrows. “They can wait a little longer.”

I returned his grin, leaned in for a kiss, and then pulled back quickly, sending a playful air punch to his gut. This was not how I’d planned to lose my virginity. “We have to get back,” I said firmly, smiling as Orion gave a pretendooph!

There was nothing make-believe about his struggle to make it back, though. I positioned myself as his crutch, and we moved slowly, deliberately. We didn’t risk him shifting from his human form, knowing that could affect the healing process. After a while, when he could walk on his own, I led the way. Orion allowed me to take point without complaint, and it felt good to know that he trusted me.

As I guided our path, I relied mostly on my hearing and the faint waning moonlight filtering through the trees to see us through the forest. We were slower on foot, so it took a few hours for the familiar shapes of the compound’s buildings to come into view. A shrill whistle in the distance informed me that the nighttime guards saw our approach.

They met us as we reached the compound’s perimeter, and I was surprised to see that Jesse was with them. A sudden flashlight beam blinded me as he looked between us. When he lowered it and I blinked away the white spots, the garish light cast angry shadows across his face. Or maybe he was just angry.

“Whatare you doing back here?” he all but growled. An undercurrent of energy rippled through his words, as if he would use his beta authority to send us back. “You’re supposed to be watching those humans.”

I pushed my shoulders back and straightened. Jesse might be battle-hardened and experienced as beta, but he had no right to speak to us, to speak to his alpha’s son in such a way. “We were attacked,” I hissed. “Orion was injured.”

Jesse’s face softened only slightly. He turned the flashlight to Orion again, to look him over closely. “What happened?”

I responded again. “Another wolf ambushed him, but not one I’d ever seen before. Not from our pack, and it was alone, so not with another pack either. It didn’t communicate and it smelled…” My nose wrinkled as I struggled to describe it.

“Smelled what?” Jesse prodded, relieving Orion of his inspection as he turned those hard, flinty eyes back to me.

“He didn’t smell natural. More like plastic trash and human chemicals. I’m not sure how to describe it.”

I wasn’t sure if my information helped, but Jesse nodded, taking it in stride. “We should alert the alpha.”

Together we headed to Orion’s house at the center of the compound, the Alpha House and the largest by a quick comparison. Lights flicked on inside, illuminating the first floor windows as some of the guards hurried ahead of us. One lingered, I could not see who, to help support Orion’s weight as he walked. Jesse soldiered on ahead with a purposeful march that propelled him to reach the house faster than anyone else. I didn’t bother catching up, remaining next to Orion so I could be sure he wasn’t in pain.

The meeting room was large enough to fit most of Nathaniel’s prominent warriors, but only three of the night guards and Jesse waited inside. Orion, the guard assisting him, and I stepped inside, followed a few moments later, by a bleary-eyed Cara still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

Inside your werewolf compound, there is an amulet that once belonged to me.

The witch’s words clanged around in my head like a piercing echo. This was the first time I’d been in the Alpha House since meeting with Cersey. If there was an amulet stolen from her, it would be here. I turned my head around to look at the doors, wondering which of the rooms hid her amulet.

But I was no thief. Especially from our alpha.

When Nathaniel stepped through the door with Jesse’s brother Noah in tow, he looked wide awake and freshly dressed. His eyes first went to Orion next to me, and he made a beeline to his son, checking him over and examining the now-dried salves I had applied.