The room darkened. Not with shadow, but with weight as the air thickened—charged, dense. My Will was rising, and I was no longer holding back.
Corrin’s mouth opened. To plead? To stall? I didn’t care, I was tired of waiting.
Kneel.
Instantly, the body complied, and I heard Rowen’s soft gasp beside me, but I ignored her, my focus solely on the traitor at my feet. My alpha power uncurled, ancient and alive—the bondbetween alpha and pack. The thread that let me command. Protect. Break.
I pushed.
“Tell me your truth,” I said, my voice layered with Will, low and resonant in a room that had probably seen far worse than this. “Hold nothing back.”
Corrin jerked like he’d been struck. His spine stiffened, lip curling in a snarl as his eyes shone with hate—but he was bending. I let more power bleed out, a sliver licking up my spine, electric and eager.
“Speak,” I growled. “Tell me what you’ve done.”
Corrin gasped, sweat beading at his temples. His back bowed, just slightly, but I held my Will steady—not enough to destroy, just enough to bend.
“I—I passed the patrol schedules,” he choked out. “To someone outside. I didn’t know who. They left messages. Instructions. Payment came later.”
Payment?
I didn’t look at Rowen. She’d already seen what I had—guilt buried under arrogance, rotting slowly beneath the surface.
Corrin bent over, his head almost on the stones. “I didn’t mean for it to go this far,” he whispered. “I thought…pressure on the new alpha would force you to rely on the council of the pack elders again. On me. I never thought any of my pack would die.”
“Who else?” I asked him. “Who else in the pack is working with you?”
“I don’t know,” Corrin mumbled feebly. “I know there’s more, but I don’t know who. We are kept separate.” He whimpered. “Please, Alpha, I know nothing else.”
I pulled my Will back, and Corrin felt it leave him as he collapsed forward, breathing hard, trembling.
Coward.
You can come in,I sent Diesel, who stood just outside the door. He walked in silently, took one glance at the three of us, and I knew he didn’t need to be told anything further. “Take him to the cells. Keep him breathing. For now.”
Diesel nodded and hauled Corrin up without ceremony. When the door shut behind them, I looked at Rowen. Her expression was unreadable. But I felt her wolf rise beneath her skin—watchful.
Burning.
“Ofhispack,” Rowen mumbled. “I don’t think he cared if Stonefang bled,” she told me bitterly.
“I doubt it.” My Will still thrummed beneath my skin, pulsing along my nerves. Wanting release. Raw. Wild.Unspent.“This doesn’t end with Corrin,” I told her. “Whoever was giving him orders—they’re still out there.”
“And they probably know you’ve started digging,” she said with a sigh, and I nodded in agreement. Her gaze wandered over me, tight, heated.Wanting.
“Mate?” My voice was a rough growl, and I heard her sharp intake of breath. “You look…agitated.”
Rowen blushed but kept my gaze. “I can feel you,” she said, pressing a hand against her stomach. “Your power, it’s strengthening the bond. I can feel your need.”
My need? The need to fuck her. That’s what I needed. I needed to sink into my mate’s wet heat and fuck. Rut like an animal.
“Rowen…” I didn’t know what to ask for. It had never been like this. I’d never felt this wild, this unhinged.
I reached for her, and she took my hand without question. We walked up the corridor quickly, my eyes on the open door to her father’s old office. My office now.
Rowen didn’t say anything as I slammed the door shut behind us. Didn’t flinch when I backed her against her father’sold desk, my hands on either side of her on the desk, my face in the crook of her neck, breathing her in. My tongue darted out, tasting her, right at her pulse, my knees buckling as I felt her desire for me peak, and the bond between us answered.
Her chest rose and fell in sharp, uneven bursts, and I saw my own eyes burning silver, reflected in her gaze.
