“No!” My claws sink into his wrist as he tries to pull free from my grasp.
“Sienna,” he hisses, not sparing me a second glance. “Run.”
My body rebels against the thought of running, but I manage to stand. The moment I turn to face Alistair, liquid fire courses through my veins. I take a steady step forward, and Revyn shudders beside me, gripping my hand like a vice. His wounds heal rapidly, his blood freezing on his skin but slicking on mine. For the first time in our lives, I burn hotter than he does.
Something isn’t right.
“I’m not running.” I avoid telling him that every cell in my body revolts against the idea and focus on the enemy instead. He comes into view within a few heartbeats, steam rising off his body the same way it does from mine. Golden eyes flare as he stares at the two of us, our hands still intertwined.
Alistair works his jaw like he’s swallowing a mouthful of shrapnel, his fists clenching hard enough for his nails to pierce his palms. Blood drips down his knuckles and blows away in the harsh winter wind. Confusion flashes in his eyes the moment ours meet, and I finally detangle the emotions knotting inside my chest.
I want to be close to him. No, Ineedto be closer, but I’m just as confused about it as he is.
A frost-covered wolf jumps down from a rocky ledge and lunges for me, but Alistair is faster. With a snarl, he grabs the wolf’s throat and slams his spine into the rock face, crushing its windpipe and dropping its corpse to the ground. Ice catches on its fur as its dying whimper fades in the wind.
He makes killing a wolf look easy.
“Fuck,” Revyn breathes. “Fuck.”
My thoughts exactly.
Heat rushes from my head to my toes, my breath catching at the unmistakable lust rolling through my body.
Alistair’s gaze snaps to mine, and Revyn visibly tenses. “I’m going to shift,” he warns me, squeezing my hand before dropping it. “But you need to get out of here.”
I dig my claws into my forearm to clear my head with the pain. Blood beads beneath my fingertips and drips down my wrist. “You know I don’t run from a fight.”
“This once, Sienna.” His voice is barely more than a whisper, intended only for me. “Please.”
Ice floods my veins, dousing my desire in record time.Shit.I shouldn’t salivate over another man in front of Revyn, no matter the distance I’m trying to put between us. “I’m sorry. That’s—” I wince. “I don’t know what happened.”
Something’s seriously wrong with me if I’m attracted to a man whose family keeps trying to kill me.
“It’s okay,” Revyn whispers.
The last thing I feel isokay.
Steeling my resolve, I step up beside Revyn. “We’ll take him together. Then neither of us has to shift, and we can get the hell out of here.”
The headmaster’s light dims overhead, darkening the shadows and freezing the air. Alistair takes steady strides toward us, undeterred by the wind and ice. The heat in his gaze burns as hot as his body, steam rising off his skin the same way it does mine. Revyn widens his stance and bares his teeth, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “Get ready, gorgeous, because I’m about to win you back.”
I’d roll my eyes if they weren’t glued to Alistair. My heart beats in time with his steps, winding tighter and tighter thecloser he gets. His eyes don’t leave mine—not even when Revyn blocks his path. “Out of my way, wild wolf—” There’s asnap, and Alistair blips out of existence. Magic hums in the air, then Revyn disappears next.
“No,” I growl, glaring up at the sky. “You can’t do this?—”
Shadows smother the last remaining light.
I’m alone.
Chapter 5
Alistair
Most wolves dreamof finding their true mates. It becomes an obsession as time passes, the ache inside one’s chest growing stronger and stronger with each passing moon. It’s why some wolves choose to mate prematurely, binding their souls to one that’sgood enough, rather than wait for fate’s decree. Wandering through life imperfectly bound is better than dying alone. They convince themselves that this is a happy outcome; that any mate is better than none.
It’s a bittersweet lie that shifter packs have swallowed for centuries to keep their numbers up and their people happy enough. In reality, a shifter’s full strength is only accessible through a fated bond, not a false one. Denying one’s true mate for the convenience of another is one of the greatest sins of shifterkind—it damns not only the mated shifter but the entire pack as a whole.
Packs are weakened when their members forego waiting for their fated.
