A Desperate Plea

Two robust werewolf guards blocked the rugged dirt path leading into the territory, their imposing frames forming a wall of muscle.

"This is Iron Fang territory. Any uninvited werewolf is considered an intruder. You need to turn back and leave right now."

Sloane dug her boots into the damp earth and refused to step back. "I am Sloane, from the Crystal Creek Pack. I need to speak to Alpha Darius. Please let me pass."

The guards exchanged a dark look and did not budge an inch. "We have no idea who you are. Leave, now."

Sloane pressed forward, desperation tightening her chest. "It is about Valeria's death. I have vital information to tell Alpha Darius. I must see him. Please, I am begging you."

Heavy footsteps crunched on the gravel behind the guards. "Keep your mouth shut. You do not have the right to say her name."

The guards parted and bowed their heads. "Beta Kaelen!"

Kaelen was the Beta of the Iron Fang Pack. He stepped into the harsh sunlight, his eyes holding nothing but raw hostility as he glared at her.

Sloane stepped toward him. "Beta Kaelen, you have to hear me out. I had nothing to do with Valeria's death."

Kaelen sneered. "Seize her. This female is a rogue. She is trying to blend into our pack with malicious intent."

The guards hesitated.

Kaelen stepped closer, dropping the crushing weight of his rank on the space between them. "What are you waiting for? Grab her!"

Large hands clamped onto Sloane’s shoulders. She thrashed against their iron grip, digging her heels into the dirt. "My father is the Alpha of the Crystal Creek Pack! I came here to see Alpha Darius. Are you trying to break the peace between our packs?"

Kaelen closed the distance between them and leaned in close. "If you want to see Alpha Darius, you will stop struggling."

Sloane froze. The threat hung heavy in the air, wrapping around her throat like a noose. She let her muscles go slack and ceased her struggles.

Kaelen took a step back and waved a dismissive hand. "Drag her to the pack square. Bind her to a pillar."

The guards did not hesitate this time. They hauled her roughly through the sprawling territory and shoved her against a massive wooden post in the center of the dusty square. Coarse ropes wrapped around her wrists and torso, pulling tight. A fiery burn seared into her flesh.

Wolfsbane. The ropes were coated in it.

Her inner wolf whimpered, retreating deep into the dark corners of her mind. The toxic poison stripped away her supernatural strength and locked her firmly in her human form. The guards marched away, leaving her to the brutal mercy of the elements.

The sun climbed high into the cloudless sky, beating down on the open square with unforgiving intensity. Heat radiated from the hard-packed dirt. Sloane baked under the relentless glare. Hours dragged by in a haze of agony. Her throat turned to sandpaper. The wolfsbane continued to eat into her sensitive skin, leaving raw blisters wherever the rough fibers dug in. Hunger gnawed at her empty stomach, but the agonizing thirst eclipsed everything else.

She sagged against the bindings, her head dropping forward. Every ragged breath was a battle to stay conscious. She spent an entire day enduring the blinding sun, the starvation, and the suffocating scent of the poison.

Just as her vision began to blur with dark spots, the oppressive heat broke. Thick clouds rolled over the horizon, swallowing the sun whole. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

A drop of water struck her bruised cheek. Then another. The sky opened up, dumping a torrential, freezing downpour over the square.

Through the roaring curtain of rain, the hum of a heavy engine pierced the air. Blinding headlights cut through the gloom. A sleek black car crawled toward the square, its tires splashing through the rising puddles.

She raised her heavy head. It was Darius's car. The Alpha of the Iron Fang Pack had finally arrived.

Sloane yanked her arms forward. The wolf-poisoned ropes bit deeper, tearing the skin right off her wrists. Blood mixed with the rain, running down her trembling fingers. She ignored the blinding pain. She braced her boots against the slippery pillar and pulled with every ounce of her remaining human strength.

The thick fibers groaned, frayed, and snapped.

Sloane stumbled forward, her legs shaking. She practically fell toward the approaching vehicle, waving her bloody hands in the air.

The heavy car ground to a halt.

Sloane slammed her palms against the slick glass and stared through the rain-streaked window at the shadowed face inside. "I did not do it! You must believe me. Darius, please listen to me. Just this once!"

The back door swung open. A massive hand shot out into the freezing rain, grabbing the collar of her soaked shirt. Sloane was hauled into the pristine interior of the vehicle in a single motion.

Sloane collapsed onto the leather seat, shivering as freezing water dripped from her matted hair. "Darius, I did not ask those rogues to hurt Valeria."

Darius clamped his fingers around her jaw, squeezing with merciless force. "Why are you so obsessed with me?"

Sloane blinked through the pain of his grip. "What?"

A heavy scent of pine and dark thunder filled her lungs. Her battered wolf clawed its way to the surface, howling a single word in her mind.

Mate.

She and her wolf had recognized him right away at the mating gathering. Darius was her fated mate.

Darius held her chin firmly in place while he reached out his other hand. He traced the line of her cheekbone with his thumb. His touch was deceitfully gentle against her freezing face. For a fleeting second, Sloane stared into his deep eyes and became lost. She imagined he cared. She imagined he was asking if she was cold.

His expression hardened into a mask of pure ice. "Sloane. Did you want me that much that you had to kill Valeria?"

The words hit her harder than any physical blow. A brutal chill settled into her bones, as if a bucket of icy water had been poured directly over her head. She let out a bitter laugh as the realization washed over her.

Darius, her fated mate, had always been this way. How could she ever forget that he had always been cold to her? His gentleness had never been meant for her. It was not genuine care, but the cruel smile of a demon.

He shoved her backward with brutal force.

Sloane tumbled backward, screaming as she was thrown out of the open door. She hit the wet, muddy ground hard, scraping her knees and elbows on the rough pavement. The freezing rain swallowed her gasp of pain.

Darius stared down at her from the dry warmth of the car. "In the name of the Moon Goddess, I, Darius Rousseau, Alpha of the Iron Fang Pack, reject Sloane Falkner as my mate."

The formal rejection severed the sacred bond. Agony ripped through Sloane's chest, as if her heart had been physically torn in two. Her wolf screamed in pure heartbreak, curling into a ball of misery inside her soul.

Sloane pushed herself up onto her bleeding knees and grabbed the edge of the open car door. "Darius! You cannot reject me. You do not know how much I love you! Please, let me explain. Please..."

Darius looked down at her miserable form and tilted his head. "Miss Falkner, I may consider listening to you, if..."

He cast a cold glance over her shivering body. "If you stay in the square in the rain till morning. Then, perhaps, I'll give you a chance."