Page 6

It would be so easy to give in to him. My body is begging me to let it have what it’s always wanted, but my heart is not convinced. “Stop,” I croak, and Ferris steps further away as his body trembles with restraint. “Are you ready to finally claim me, Ferris? Are you going to stand in front of the assembly, River, and everyone you know and tell them that I’m your scent-match? Will you revoke your position in River’s pack for me?”

I watch as the fire in his eyes dies, the mask of composure taking over yet again. It’s so disappointing, so heartbreaking; I could cry. Unfortunately, this pain is one I’ve carried for years, and even though I’m disappointed, I’m no longer surprised, and all the tears I have for Ferris have long been shed.

“That’s what I thought,” I hiss, and then I walk away, leaving him standing alone.

[ 4 ]

FERRIS

Grand Prairie Compound

Days Since Last Attack: 83

Ilie in bed, staring at the streaks of moonlight across the ceiling. My mind is a whirlwind of tumultuous emotions and bad memories, all tormenting me and making it impossible to sleep.

When Raine got home from work, my pheromones and dominance rose in a terrifying wave, ready to sweep me away. For a moment, I instinctively fought it to avoid the inevitable punishment that used to come from such outbursts, but I’ve never been able to keep myself caged when it comes to her. All of my control, all of the constant mental gymnastics I play to keep myself less, dissolve into mist.

She makes me want more.

I can still taste Raine’s skin on my tongue and hear her whines and moans. Things got out of hand tonight. Despite how euphoric it feels to give in to my instincts, part of me knows that I should have maintained the control my father worked so hard to beat into me. She’s going to be mated to a random alpha, touched by them, kissed by them, maybe even bred if her heat is triggered. I have to learn to be okay with it, or neither of us will survive.

The leash on my instincts is always perilously clinched, but tonight, under the waning full moon, everything between me and the cage my alpha lives in feels too thin. I’m needy, wanting. I launch myself out of bed. I blink, and then I’m standing in front of Raine’s door, silently turning the knob. Her scent floods around me in a cloud of bliss as the door cracks open. My whole body aches, especially my rapidly swelling dick.

Moonlight spills over her body where it’s tucked into her nest. Like this, she looks so small and precious, and nothing like the brave, stubborn omega I know. She looks like a buried treasure. I burn the image of her looking so soft into my head, willing her scent to soak into my body and never dissipate. Just being in her presence makes the noise in my head stop. My brain is finally quiet, but I’m scared it’s only the calm before the storm. And so, before I do something foolish, I walk away.

Back in my room, I drop my shorts then pull my shirt up over my face like a mask. I breathe deep, getting the barest hint of Raine’s perfume that’s still caught in the threads. I take my aching cock in hand and begin to stroke myself to the memory of licking Raine’s skin. My mouth pools with saliva, and my teeth ache with the reminder of how close I was to biting her when she offered me her neck in submission. I slip my shirt back down long enough to spit the copious excess of saliva onto my heated flesh and begin to jerk myself harder. I tell myself the wetness is Raine’s slick, and my knot begins to swell.

With my free hand, I position my shirt back over my face, but it’s not enough. I push the fabric into my mouth and suck on the fiber. Raine’s pheromones burst on my tongue, and I moan into the now-soaked fabric of my shirt.

My hand chokes my dick, jerking faster and harder while I fantasize about drinking her slick straight from her pussy. In my fantasy, Raine calls me alpha as she comes on my tongue, and that’s all it takes for cum to forcefully spurt from my dick, covering my hand and the floor in pearly streaks. I snarl my release as my canines lengthen into my shirt in a poor mimicry of the bite I long to give Raine.

I squeeze my knot, and with one final shudder, the pleasure fizzles out, and I’m left feeling cold and alone. These fleeting moments will never be enough, but they’re all I’m doomed to have.

I remove my shirt from my mouth to find it shredded by my teeth. Now ruined, I use it to wipe the sheen of sweat from my skin and clean up my cum. I should throw it away, or better yet, burn it, but the darkest part of me whispers another plan that has my chest growling with twisted possession.

When I leave Raine’s room for the second time, all I feel is the burning satisfaction that my saliva and cum-soaked shirt is now tucked deep into her nest.

[ 5 ]

RAINE

Grand Prairie Compound

Days Since Last Attack: 84

The small closet that has been modified into Soline’s library is one of my favorite places in the compound. The smell of books permeates the air, and I can shut the door to block out the sounds of my coworkers and the radio static. I tucked myself in here first thing this morning, eager to lock myself away and ruminate on my problems.

I pick up a book to reshelve it and the door bursts open, scaring me out of my mental spiral. Vale comes into the room, eyes wild, and says, “River is here. He wants to speak with you about something.” Anxious, I put down the book, give her a quick thanks, and head toward the entrance. Has he somehow found out about my run-in with Ferris last night despite him staying elsewhere for the evening?

Outside, River waits for me against the wall of the archive building. He straightens as I approach. “The guards just alerted me that the delegation’s approaching. They’ll be here any minute. I would really like you there to greet them and be my second nose to sniff out any deception.” His eyes are somber, his face is stern, and I can smell the smallest hint of nerves in his scent.

I know how desperately River wants this alliance. He’s been talking nonstop about something the Northern Pacific Clans have, and he wants in on it. Aside from that, I know both parties are hoping for a new network of trade, information, and migration. The petty monster inside of me wants to argue that he’d made his stance clear on where I stood in his pack and I don’t have to help or listen to him, but I swallow the bitter anger.

“Fine,” I croak. My scent burns a little, but he nods, and I follow him away from the archive building.

River deposits me with a small group of other residents, and as the gates to the southern wall open slowly, he steps forward to greet the delegation from the Northern Pacific Territory.

Irritated and a little nervous, I keep my head mostly down, but from my peripherals I watch as the delegation enters the compound with the guards closing the gates behind them. I’ve never met shifters before, but River told me that the visiting alpha is one. Intrigued, I inhale deeply to take in their combined scent so that I can begin parsing each unique scent apart from the others.