Page 35 of The Forbidden Alpha

“Look at her,” Ethan spat, his voice dripping with malice. “Breathe in. That’s mine.”

Shane’s eyes darted to mine, filled with desperation.

“Take him away,” Ethan snarled. Odis, the man I’d met yesterday, appeared out of thin air, and pulled Shane to his feet. Ethan glared as they ushered him away.

My mate’s attention returned to me. His knees hit the dirt so hard the earth rumbled. His hands were everywhere—checking my wrists, my ribs, his fingers ghosting over the purple handprints Shane had left on my throat. A low, wounded sound—half-whimper, half-snarl—tore from his mask.

I’d been cold, my mind trying to protect myself. Frantic need took over as he pulled me flush against his blood-spattered chest. His palms were rough against my skin as he rubbed over where Shane’s mouth had been, a desperate attempt to scrub me clean until I smelled only of him.

Gabe stepped in front of me, blocking my view, his chest rising and falling with each breath. His eyes filled with concern as he yanked off his gray jacket. As Gabe’s jacket touched my shoulders, Ethan let out a sound that was pure animal. He ripped the gray fabric off me before Gabe could even tuck it around my arms, flinging it away. Gabe flinched, his hands hovering mid-air as his jacket slid across the dirt.

Ethan’s fingers dug into the silk of his heavy maroon jacket, and warmth dropped around my shoulders. He was reclaiming the space Gabe’s scent had touched, leaving no room for anyone but him.

“With all due respect, Alpha, I think my friend needs tending to,” Gabe said in a low, protective voice. “Her girlfriends and I will take her to her room, while you clean yourself up. She’s like my little sister and I think your appearance right now would do anything but settle her.”

“What she needs is me.”

Gabe swiped away a tear. I looked up at my best friend. His clothes were disheveled and his hair was a mess.

I opened my mouth and closed it again, finally finding my voice. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Gabby.”

A mix of guilt and agony filled his eyes.

“You don’t apologize,” my mate growled as he pulled me to my feet. “To no one.”

“He’s right, Ady. I told you I’d stay by your side and I…” he trailed off, his eyes filling with tears.

My mate pulled me into his side. “We leave now.”

A low horn call rolled through the canyon, answering him. Somewhere behind the shattered fountain, the first howls began, low and scattered, then rising into a chorus that swallowed the last of the music. The moon had reached its peak and every unmated wolf still standing was released into the dark to hunt for their mate using base instincts.

Ethan scooped me off the gravel, my cheek falling against his jacket.

Chapter 19

Ethan carried me past the living room toward a private elevator, the doors sliding open to reveal a mirrored interior that led directly into his penthouse suite. The air changed—cooler, thinner, smelling of expensive stone and the haunting trace of pomegranate and dark chocolate. It was a sharp contrast to the metallic tang of blood and the salt on my tongue. The floor beneath his heavy footsteps made no sound, the air growing colder as he carried me deeper into the heart of the tower, until the pressure of his grip vanished and I was placed on my feet. They were heavy and strange, wobbly beneath me. I moved toward massive floor-to-ceiling windows, my fingers trailing against the cold glass. The Desert Moon territory was spread out below, a sprawling empire of lights and power.

Somewhere out there in the dark, the festival’s Hunt was in full swing. A wolf howled in the distance. There was still a chance that mates would be united. Ethan was supposed to be down there leading them. Instead, he was by my side.

I wasn’t at the Half Moon packhouse. I wasn’t in my room. I was in a fortress in the sky.

“Rest.”

Ethan’s voice was magnetic, pulling at the frayed edges of my consciousness. He stood a few feet away, his silhouette a sharp edge of shredded material and shadow.

“I don’t want to,” I whispered, turning to face him. The remnants of my red silk dress still left me exposed, Ethan’s jacket hung open. My thoughts were a broken film strip set on highlighting the night’s events, looping through the horror in the garden and the electric, terrifying pull of the man standing before me.

I took a step toward him, my movements fueled by a misplaced need to feel anything other than the emptiness in my chest. I let the jacket fall off my shoulders, searching his eyes—a silent plea for him to drown out the memory of Shane’s hands with his own.

His gaze dropped, darkening until the pupils swallowed the color whole. For a heartbeat, the air in the room vanished, stretched thin by the sheer weight of his stare.

Ethan’s jaw set so tight I heard the bone click. A low, distorted rattle vibrated in his chest, a sound that was all beast. He was an Alpha thirsting for his mate, yet refusing to take a sip.

“No,” he growled, the word thick with a violent restraint that made his fingers twitch against my thighs. He closed the distance in a blur, but he didn’t reach for my waist. Instead, he dropped to one knee in a move that was both submission and claiming. When he straightened, his dark, tattooed hands held the jacket. He draped it over my shoulders again. Hunger burned in his eyes—a promise to eat me whole.

“Not like this. I won’t touch you while you’re still wearing the memory of his hands. I won’t take what was stolen from you tonight. I will wait until you give it.”

He didn’t give me a chance to argue. He swept me up, one arm hooking behind my knees and the other securing my spine, my head lolling against his chest. I could hear the frantic thrum of his heart—a warm drum beating for me. Tingles broke out against my cheek and spread to my toes, a soft warmth that tried to pull me out of my numbness.