Chasen took a step forward, but Hunter’s hand shot out to stop him. He looked at the alpha, eyes dead and cold.
“That’s not my problem,” Hunter said. “You got what you wanted.”
Hunter turned his back on the whole scene. Blaze howled inside him, the pain a raw, burning emptiness. His wolf hadwanted Kristy more than anything, had imagined a life, a future, pups of their own. Now that future was just a bitter memory.
Hunter walked down the hall as Chasen lingered at the door. “How could you do that to him?” Chasen’s voice was flat, simmering with anger. “He would have moved the world for you.”
Kristy shook her head, fingers digging into her temples. “You don’t understand,” she whispered. “He wouldn’t have known. He was never supposed to know.” Kristy’s mouth trembled. “I was going to change the scent. The baby would have had Hunter’s scent, not his. By the time the pup was born, no one would suspect?—”
Chasen’s claws popped from his fingertips, long and shining. He let them catch the light, just so she would see. “You were going to trick him,” he said, voice thick with disgust.
Kristy flinched, then nodded, tears streaming down her face.
Chasen turned to the alpha, who sat up straighter, bare chest heaving. “You’re both pathetic,” Chasen said. “He should kill you, but then again, he’s better than that. But I’m not.” His eyes turned black as he growled at Alpha Will.
“Chasen, we’re leaving!” Hunter yelled from down the stairs. At that moment, Beta Henry walked back into the house.
Chasen turned to leave before stopping as a new scent entered the house. He looked back in the room, a smirk spreading over his lips before he yelled out, “Beta Henry, your daughter is up here and has a surprise for you.” He grinned as Alpha Will scrambled to move. Chasen shoved him back with one hand, claws pressing just enough to break the skin. “Move another step and you’ll be killed where you stand,”
Beta Henry reached the doorway and froze. “What the hell is going on?!”
Chasen shrugged. “My alpha won’t be taking your pregnant daughter as a mate,” he said, voice heavy with finality.
He walked away, leaving the sound of Henry’s shouting and Kristy’s weeping to echo through the hall.
They didn’t speak for the first mile, or the second, or the third. The silence inside the car was suffocating. It was so dense it almost had weight, pressing the air out of Hunter’s lungs. He stared out the windshield, watching the world blur by. Finally, once they were safely in Black Ice territory, he pulled over and walked to the edge of the trees. He stood there, hunched, arms braced on the rough bark of a pine. His breath came in ragged, silent bursts. After a minute, he buried his face in his sleeve and let himself break. There was no pride left, no stoic front. Just the raw, aching sound of a wolf grieving his lost mate.
He’d always imagined that when he met his mate, she would be everything his parents were to each other … steadfast, loyal, wild with love. He’d pictured her beside him at every battle, every moonlit night, every moment of triumph or loss. And now there was nothing but emptiness where that dream used to be.
Chasen came up behind him, his big arms gentle as he wrapped them around Hunter’s trembling shoulders. He pressed Hunter’s head to his chest and let him sob, rocking him in the quiet, endless cold.
“Let it out, little brother,” Chasen whispered. “She hurt you. Let the pain out.” Chasen stood there, holding Hunter as they both cried. Hunter’s pain was his pain, too.
Hunter shook, fists clenched tight in the fabric of Chasen’s shirt.
He let himself feel all of it, the betrayal, the humiliation, the burning ache in his empty heart.
“Dammit,” he choked, voice muffled. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way. She was supposed to be mine.” The pain of being rejected and unwanted was tearing him up inside. He needed this moment to let out what had happened to him. Tomorrow would be another day. He would hold his head high as theAlpha of the Black Ice Pack. He would be the strong leader that they needed him to be. But right now, he felt like a little boy who’d just had his dreams shattered. A little boy who needed his family. At least he had Chasen. He was the one person who would never leave him.
Alone … Deserted … Neglected … Unwanted …
A dangerous creature. An existence that shouldn’t be. Powerful … Unknown. And thus feared.
She stared up at the night sky. Was this all there would ever be to her existence? How long had she actually welcomed death? No one knew the depths of her loneliness. She could see the cloud from her breath as she exhaled. The night air embraced her, but she didn’t shiver from it. She was used to being cold and alone. Even the crickets and tree frogs were quiet around her tonight.
As she gazed upward, her gaze fell upon the moon, which was shining brightly. Loved and adored. The precious gem in the sky. It was as if it mocked her. She was an abomination on the earth.
There was only one thing she was good for ... killing. Which was why she was here now. She was only really alive when she was fighting.
She looked over the demons in the area, who were preparing for war.
She scoffed.What does it matter? We are all born to die anyway. A war will just help expedite the trip.Why not go to war? Why not fight? At least then she would feel like she was truly living. And if she fell in battle, she would die while feeling alive. It wouldn’t hurt her to watch the world burn … this worldhad turned its back on her anyway. There was no such thing as a happy ending—there were only endings.
As she watched the demons begin to move out and deeper into the forest, she took in a silent breath, rising to her feet. A small smile spread over her face.Time to feel alive.
CHAPTER ONE
The door to Hunter’s room opened without a sound, and ninja footsteps made their way to the sleeping man. The sunlight from his window stretched over his torso. A man stood above him, and a slow smile formed on his mouth. In an instant, Hunter was pinned to the bed, his arm held behind him and a knee wedged into his back.
