Page 7

ARIA

I could fight.

Of course, I could fight. But that didn’t mean I was particularly good at it.

As the daughter of an alpha, I had more strength and athletic-prowess than most females in my class back home. For the first twelve years of my life, I excelled physically. I could’ve easily become one of the best warriors in the pack.

And yet, the violence and physicality… They felt wrong.

I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want to cause pain. It disagreed with the very center of my being—the basic fibers that bound my blood and bone.

So, when I turned thirteen, I asked my father for another path. He’d offered me a gentle smile, the corners of his eyes wrinkling as he pressed a kiss to my forehead, and escorted me to the infirmary. From that day on, I honed a different sort of expertise. Healing.

I’d apprenticed under our pack’s doctor and learned by healing small wounds, conducting routine check-ups on the ill and injured, and studying his medical books. Every day, I’d thrown myself into this peaceful practice, honing my mind rather than my muscles.

I tried explaining this to Anders as he led me to the training field, but my words fell on deaf ears.

“Moon Goddess,” I sighed in exasperation, racing to keep up with his long strides. “Will you please listen to me? I’m not trained as a warrior. Not really. Your alpha will only–”

My words dried up as we rounded a corner and arrived at a well-organized outdoor training facility.

A dozen wolves stood around various fighting rings, some engaged in active brawls or receiving instruction from superiors.

And, standing at the center of the action, Alpha Roman observed his pack with hard eyes.

Those eyes snapped toward me, and my heart lurched uncomfortably into my throat. He wielded a wicked grin.

My feet stumbled to a halt, every instinct warning me to turn heel and run.

Anders prodded me forward with a rough shove. “Hurry up.”

With the blonde muscle at my back, I had no choice but to step closer to the center of the training facility. Somehow, I forced myself to hold Roman’s gaze with every step.

By traditional standards, any woman would’ve considered him handsome. With an impeccably groomed, dark crown atop his head and chiseled features, he stood with the confidence of a man accustomed to stealing the gaze of every woman and man in a room. And yet…

With every step I drew nearer, my body recoiled.

To continue onward, I found myself conjuring fleeting memories of Malik’s face instead.

Even just the thought of his strong features, concealed under a thick, short beard and marred by three scars, was enough to make my heart palpate with renewed vigor.

I remembered the intense warmth that spread across my skin where his fingers clasped my own, and it gave me strength.

This is Malik’s brother, I reminded myself as I arrived in front of Roman. He won’t hurt you.

Roman towered over me, yet, after spending the night tucked against my colossal-sized mate, he didn’t seem all that large. Innate dominance pulsed off of him in waves, appealing to my natural inclination to serve an alpha. I fought it, holding his gaze.

He stepped forward, and I knew what he wanted from me. Without a word, he demanded submission.

I ground my teeth together. The satisfied gleam in Roman’s eyes made me keen to resist the unspoken order, and I realized with startling clarity that I could withstand the urge to show deference to this man.

Confusion muddled my brain. Yes, Roman exuded enough power that I felt drawn to obey him, as was sown into my biology. But… An alpha’s authority should’ve been impossible to ignore.

I blinked. How could I resist him?

A low growl rumbled from behind me, snapping me from my thoughts. Anders. “Bow before your alpha, she-wolf.”

At last, I tore my gaze from Roman’s and glared at the dirt.

For some reason, every bone in my body protested as I dipped my head in a small, subtle display of respect.

Despite my body’s strange resistance to him, Roman was still the Intonat Nocte Pack alpha.

Further resistance would only cause problems for me—or Malik.

With my concession, Roman finally deigned to speak. “I’m pleased to see you healthy and unscathed this morning, Aria.”

My eyebrows scrunched together, stomach twisting at the insinuation of his snide words. As if he’d expected Malik to harm me the night before… Irrational fear and disgust ch urned in my chest, at once afraid and irritated by his assumption.

Malik wouldn’t hurt me.

“You wanted to see me fight?” I questioned, hoping to steer the conversation away from my fated mate. I didn’t need to disclose anything about my relationship with his brother.

A flash of white teeth. “Yes. Every new pack member must be tested before being sorted into units. As my brother’s mate, I thought I’d personally oversee your testing.”

“How thoughtful of you,” I bit back, too quick. Too confrontational. Roman’s gaze flickered with poorly veiled anger, and I swallowed before continuing in a hurry.

“But I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time. I’ve been training as a healer and nurse for the last seven years,” I announced, my hands balled into fists at my sides to control their shaking. “I’d be much better suited in your infirmary, assisting a doctor or–”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” I echoed, blinking away my surprise.

One corner of Roman’s lips curled in a barely-there smile, and I could hardly believe my ears.

“If you believe you’d be better suited in a position with the pack doctors, I won’t force you to fight.” He waved his hand, still wearing that easy smirk. “I’ll tell our lead nurse, Estelle, to expect you tomorrow.”

“I–” My mouth hung open for one long moment before I corrected myself. “Thank you.”

Maybe I read Alpha Roman wrong? Perhaps he wasn’t quite the heartless, unworthy male I first deemed him to be.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, his voice smooth like honey.

We stared at each other for one long moment. Then another. I felt the eyes of the surrounding pack members weighing heavy on us and Anders hovering suspiciously close to my back. Even so, I kept my gaze on Roman .

Willing myself to forget the way he’d spoken to me the evening prior, when he’d stared at me with unashamed desire and proclaimed his intent to breed me for an heir, I forced a small smile on my lips. “Well… If that’s all?—”

“Not quite.”

And, just like that, those two clipped words snuffed the hope from my heart. I didn’t dare to breathe.

“There’s the matter of your scent,” Roman drawled, casual, as if he was discussing a simple matter of business with his second-in-command.

“My scent?” I echoed, eyeing him dubiously.

He took a step forward, and, like a repelling magnet, I took a step back, only to brush against Anders’ front. Cornered.

“It appears my brother failed to perform his duty last night.” He gave a low, deriding chuckle that made my blood warm in anger and embarrassment. My cheeks flushed as I felt the eye of every shifter land on my neck, bare and unclaimed. “You continue to carry your old pack’s scent.”

“I don’t see how that is anyone’s business,” I countered, although I failed to hold Roman’s gaze. My eyes found my feet, and my hands curled into tight fists, fingernails biting into my palm.

“As your alpha,” he hummed, and I felt the vibration of his words in my bones. “It is my business.”

He prowled ever closer, his feet coming to a halt directly in front of mine, but I didn’t dare look up. Every instinct urged me to run.

“You’re a member of the Intonat Nocte now. Carrying our scent— my scent—is a matter of protection. No one dares to touch what is mine.” His hot breath fanned against the side of my cheek.

I knew if I lifted my head, I’d find him bearing down on me, our faces inches apart, so I kept myself bowed. It was clear what Alpha Roman wanted. He wanted to give me his scent.

“I-I won’t leave Malik’s home. I won’t be in any danger there, so it won’t matter whether I have my old scent.” I tried reasoning with him, shaking my head. “I won’t leave until I’ve been initiated with the rest of my old pack.”

Then, with a touch that sent spindles of ice shooting down my spine, his big fingers grasped my chin and pulled my head up. Just as I anticipated, mere inches separated his body from mine. I tried to lean back, but Anders’ unrelenting form pressed into my back, holding me in place.

“The initiation won’t take place for weeks. It is my duty to protect you. To mark you for the Intonat Nocte, ” Roman whispered with nausea-inducing tenderness.

I started to tremble but mustered my strength. A muscle in my jaw clenched. “Only Malik can mark me. As my fated mate. Only him.”

“Only Malik can give you a true mark, yes,” Roman agreed, stroking my cheek and jaw, then down to my neck. “But there are other ways to give you my scent.”

He closed the distance between us. I immediately tried to retreat, but Anders clamped his arms around mine like a steel chain. Even if I thrashed, I couldn’t move.

With rough, impossibly strong hands, Roman took a fistful of hair at the back of my neck and tilted my head to the side, exposing the column of my neck to him.

“I won’t hurt you, Aria,” he soothed, his lips brushing the thin skin just above my clavicle.

I clamped my eyes shut, a whimper slipping from my lips as I prepared for the inevitable. My only consolation was that he wouldn’t truly mark me. Like he said, he was merely protecting me by giving me his scent…

Surrounded by an audience, Roman’s mouth sealed over my lower neck. His lips curled over his teeth, protecting me from his punishing canines, but his tongue lapped at my skin. Thorough. Wet.

Complete and utter wrongness consumed my body, and his tongue stroked up the column of my neck. Tears stung the surface of my eyes, but I wouldn’t cry. I would bear it. It would be over soon and I would carry the Intonat Nocte Pack’s scent.

Moon Goddess help me, I pleaded, squeezing my eyes together.

Then, Roman’s grip on my hair tightened. A low, grumbling groan vibrated from his chest, and his lips peeled back. His canines dared to scrape against the sensitive skin at the base of my throat. No.

And then I sensed it.

Thundering paws. A dangerous, electrifying tension settling over the clearing. And, finally, a growl, so low and menacing that it could’ve been pulled from the pits of hell itself.