Exposed To The Pack

Vesperia's POV

Air caught sharply in my throat as my inner wolf stirred awake. I stared up at Lycan Valerius while that demand hung between us, watching his gaze deepen under the fading sunset.

"You will give me that," he repeated. He halted in his tracks, his hold around me tightening until I was locked securely against his chest.

Whether it was a strict command or a promise of violence, I couldn't tell. Either way, his grip sent a violent shudder through my frame.

Heat crept up my cheeks as the reality of my position hit me—cradled in his arms, barely clothed, and entirely at his mercy. My fingers bunched the dark fabric of the cloak against my chest to keep myself covered, though the desperate grip did nothing to slow my racing thoughts.

I parted my lips to answer, only to find I had nothing to say.

Fury had driven me to make that vow to Tamsin, and now my own words had cornered me. Still, what choice did I truly have? Letting her brand me with such filthy lies in front of everyone was out of the question.

I wasn't barren. Considering I had never even shared a bed with a man, what reason did I have to fear her accusation?

Even so, his sudden insistence on a child threw me completely off balance. Why demand an heir from me when he had countless women at his beck and call? Nothing could have prepared me for that.

Rumors of his reputation had reached even my ears—powerful she-wolves throwing themselves at his feet, desperate for a scrap of his attention, and mighty Alphas eagerly offering up their daughters.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I risked a quick look up at him. Perhaps he was only testing me to keep me on edge. Surely a man like him could tell that I wasn't quite... normal?

Yet those piercing amber eyes seemed to look right through me, daring me to back out of my vow. Tearing my gaze away, I wet my dry lips and gave a frantic nod.

"Y-yes," I stammered, ducking to avoid his crushing glare.

He resumed walking, the steady motion bouncing me lightly in his hold. Between the movement and the sheer chaos of the day, my head spun.

First my father's brutal torture, then Roderick's sickening betrayal and rejection. And now, here I was, carried off in the arms of a new mate.

A dark carriage rolled into view ahead of us, arriving with uncanny timing. Asking where it would take us was pointless; there was only one destination for Lycan Valerius.

The Valerion Pack.

"Lycan Valerius," a voice called out nearby.

Glancing over his broad shoulder, I recognized the man who had handed over the cloak currently hiding my bare skin. He leaned in close, murmuring something into Valerius's ear too low for me to catch.

Valerius answered with a low grunt. His gaze dropped to me for a beat before lifting toward the darkening sky. Eyes slipping shut, his nose twitched slightly as I watched him in confusion.

What on earth was he doing?

A chill evening wind swept past, making me shiver and burrow deeper into the heat of his embrace. Taking advantage of the closeness, I drew in a quiet breath of his scent. It was just as potent as earlier—no, even more intoxicating than before.

That brief comfort vanished the second I felt his eyes drop back to me, making me flinch back in alarm.

How had I let my wolf take the reins like that? It took everything in me to fight down the sudden urge to press my face into the crook of his neck and breathe him in.

"Gather them here," he commanded.

I had no idea what he intended to say to them, yet within moments, the entire pack was herded outside. Through the crowd, I spotted my family standing near Alpha Bramwell. Right at their feet lay Roderick, still bleeding out and completely ignored, just as Valerius had ordered.

Looking at his motionless form, I began to wonder if he was already dead.

Hushed, panicked murmurs rippled through the gathered pack, their faces drained of color. Everyone knew Mooncrag lacked the means to settle such a massive debt, not even if given a whole year.

Or did he demand more than mere coin? What did this debt actually entail—gold, supplies, or slaves?

Mooncrag wasn't destitute by any means, though Alpha Bramwell's greed was no secret, a flaw Lycan Valerius clearly knew all too well.

As Valerius shifted to face the assembly, his broad chest rose and fell against my side, his body heat seeping straight into my chilled skin.

Then the gruesome stories of what he had done to another pack last year flashed through my mind. Was Mooncrag about to suffer the exact same fate, wiped completely off the map?

Instead of ordering a slaughter, he looked down at me. "Call out a seamstress," he instructed.

I blinked up at him.

A seamstress? Confusion knotted my brow as I stared at him. What use could he possibly have for one right now, and had he truly dragged the entire pack outside just for that? Knowing better than to question him aloud, I held my tongue.

Turning my attention to the crowd, I found every single pack member cowering, several openly weeping in terror. My gaze briefly clashed with my father's bitter glare before sliding past him to land on a familiar woman.

She was the sole capable seamstress in Mooncrag—a spiteful woman who would sooner die than spare me even a scrap of rag, and who had once deliberately flung a sharp needle at my bare feet. If the Lycan demanded clothing made, she was the only one skilled enough for the task.

I lifted a hand and pointed straight at her. A blood-curdling shriek tore from her throat, her eyes bulging in sheer terror as she dropped to beg for her life.

"Spare my life, please!" she wailed, trembling from head to toe. "I'll do anything, just don't kill me!"

Watching her grovel, I couldn't muster an ounce of pity.

"Shut up and get her proper clothes!" Valerius barked, his deep voice vibrating against my ribs.

Glancing down at myself, I let out a sharp gasp. The heavy cloak wrapped around me had shifted, failing miserably to keep me modest.

No wonder his gaze had lingered on me earlier. My bare breast and nipple were completely exposed to the open air.

While the terrified woman scrambled off to obey, I tried to tug the fabric closed, quickly realizing the only way to hide myself was to press my chest directly against Valerius's solid torso. Yet with my nipples pebbled hard from the cold air, I couldn't bring myself to lean into him like that.

I tried to keep a fraction of space between us, only for Valerius to ruin my careful effort. His hold clamped tighter around my bare waist, hauling me flush against him as though he thought I might slip from his grasp.

Crushed against the solid wall of his chest, my entire body went rigid, my heart hammering so violently it felt ready to burst. His warmth enveloped my bare skin, the steady, powerful rhythm of his heartbeat thudding right against mine. There was no doubt he could feel my own pulse racing frantically against his chest like a wild drum.

Reaching up to brace my free hand against his broad shoulder for balance, I felt the heavy cloak slip even lower, baring more of my skin. Valerius reached over to tug the fabric back into place, and I whipped my head away, a hot flush burning across my cheeks.

What was wrong with me? By the Goddess, why was my body reacting like this when I had no business feeling drawn to him?

Swallowing hard, I forced myself to take slow, deep breaths, desperate to settle the sudden flutter in my stomach that had no right being there.

It was nothing more than the mate bond acting up. Just the wolf bond, nothing deeper than that.

Without warning, ragged screams tore through the gathered crowd. Valerius shifted his stance and adjusted his grip on me just as a splash of thick, warm liquid splattered across my bare back. Whipping my head around, I found a pair of wide eyes staring straight into mine, making me gasp at the horrifying closeness.