"No."

It was the first time I had ever said no. It was also the first time I stood before Alpha Dante and could withstand the full Alpha aura rolling off him.

Even when his aura lashed through the room in a show of power that any other werewolf would have balked from and curved their shoulders inward, I found that all it only felt like a minor disturbance in my subconscious.

It made me feel strong.

But the thing was, Alpha Dante seemed pleased by this display. He smiled again. "You’re well aware of the implications of refusing a matebond, are you not?"

I stiffened, all the warmth and color draining from my face.

I felt a small touch by my left, and Soren’s voice curled with displeasure around the living room. "You do not threaten one of ours in our home, Dante."

Alpha Dante laughed. "One of yours? How is that, Your Highness, if she is a wolf? By the laws enforced by the Queen and those before her, Maisie Adams still answers to the Council of Wolves. Even you cannot contest that."

My gaze turned to Soren. His expression was void of emotion as he seemed to engage in a silent battle with Dante.

After a moment, Soren inclined his head to the left. "She will require some time to think about it. I’d highly suggest you placed your plans on hold until then."

Anger and frustration tightened my throat. "I have nothing to think about—"

But Alpha Dante smiled at Soren, pleased with his answer. "A perfect choice, Your Highness." His devious green eyes landed on mine. "But I must inform you that if you refuse, I will be left with no choice but to petition the Queen, which I am quite sure you do not want."

My blood began boiling.

Alpha Dante was playing a dangerous game of chess with my life.

Because he was an Alpha, the petition would surely reach the Queen’s council in no time. And I would be punished for refusing to be mated and marked by the bastard who had rejected me in the first place. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

My vision hazed red and a thirst filled my mouth. It tasted like hate and bloodthirst.

"Cole doesn’t even want me," I gritted out. "And I don’t want him, either. He rejected me. You can’t do this."

Alpha Dante’s eyes crinkled. "Can’t I?"

He stepped past me and my body trembled from the sheer restraint it took not to claw his eyes out. His car was barely out of the driveway before I whirled, eyes stinging as I stared at Soren. "You said I was under your protection."

Soren’s eyes were so cold, my skin felt like it had been frostbitten.

"You said he wouldn’t be able to lay claim to me," I rasped. "And neither would Cole. You promised. Don’t make me go back there."

My voice cracked on the last sentence.

Soren’s eyes tracked the tears welling in my eyes, then the coolness in his facade fractured down the middle. He let out an insufferable sigh as he walked down to the couch and dropped down on it. "Relax, Adams. Another thing you’ll learn with us is... there is always a bigger picture."

His eyes were lazy on mine. Something about the way he said it tickled at my subconscious. Like he was trying to convey something else.

But Mercer continued, "We assume Dante’s sudden change of heart has something to do with the fact that the entirety of Ashbourne now knows you are changing. He’s been trying for years for a chair on the Queen’s Council and Court. Having a full bred Lycan daughter-in-law gives him a political edge and an advantage over other packs."

"What advantage? Not sure if you’ve noticed, but I don’t exactly have lands or wealth to offer—"

Quinlan made a sound in his throat and his ice blue eyes pierced mine. "Do you know what transitioned Lycans are said to have in common with hybrids, Adams?"

I shook my head.

"Fertility."

My eyes widened, and my legs buckled. "What?!"

"It’s only a theory, of course," Jericho said dryly, plucking an apple off the center table, sinking his teeth into it.

For some weird reason, it reminded me that he had had his teeth buried in my neck only a few hours ago. As if the skin remembered, it tingled, and I fought the urge to slap a hand over it.

"Your body may change completely," Jericho murmured, "but there are certain things that stay the same. Wolves, no matter what forms they evolve into, have always proved to retain the ability to reproduce in litters."

My mouth fell open. "Are you saying—"

Soren nodded. "To test this crass, unfounded theory, Dante likely wants his son to lock you down before the transition is completed, to keep the claim legitimate. During which he will most likely push his son to impregnate you. Repeatedly."

Just thinking about being in bed with Cole made me feel like I had something bad for lunch. I started to hyperventilate. "And you didn’t think to tell me this before?!"

Soren’s lips pursed. "We didn’t expect that it’d happen this fast. Usually, the transition stretches over a span of many months, giving the body time to get used to these new changes. In the critical and decisive stages, the transitioning is usually protected and shielded in a safe location, completely inaccessible save for those she chooses to break her in."

"Break her in, how, exactly?"

An uncomfortable silence moved through the room. But Soren shook his head, choosing instead to ignore the question. "We didn’t think telling you that was important yet. An err on our part, considering you have always been a wild, unpredictable card. Still, this speed is impossible." He ran his fingers through his hair, which I now recognized Soren always did when he was agitated. "We could be looking at weeks."

My chest tightened with pressure and I tried to calm my raging heartbeat.

No pressure.

I mean, it wasn’t like there was a possibility was going die in weeks. "And Alpha Dante’s ultimatum? I know him. He doesn’t bluff."

Not to speak of the weird, smarmy smile he had given me. Alpha Dante was the most powerful Alpha in Ashbourne for a reason. He was devious. He was smart. He was always several steps ahead.

I had seen all the different ways he got his way—by hook or by crook—while living in that house and I had made a mental note never to get on his bad side.

Jericho stepped forward, halting a few inches away from me.. He smiled, sharp canines grazing his bottom lip. "You are scared of a demon when the devil stands in front of you." He clicked his tongue, and the scar running on his mouth stretched. "Dante doesn’t know who he’s fucking with, but he’ll find out soon enough."

Something volatile poured from it, and the tension went to the roof.

I suddenly realized why Jericho scared me so much. He might act the most civilized of the four and never engage in their petty quarrels. But he was the least sane of them. It was in his dark eyes. There was a madness in them.

He had the look of a cold-blooded killer.

Just then, the sound of light footsteps against marble drew our attention to the front door as a woman walked in.

She was a hybrid. She had amber eyes and streaks of grey in her black hair. But she was beautiful and her face had no creases, even if I could tell she was somewhere in her mid-fifties.

She didn’t smile. She had a stern air about her. And when she got to the center of the living room, she lowered her head in a bow so deep, I was surprised her forehead didn’t smack into the floor. "My lieges. I received your summons."

I blinked, eyebrows arching at the term at her display.

"Brynn." Soren waved her off. "No need for the formalities—"

"It is not a formality. It pleases me to serve my princes, Your Highness," she answered, before lifting her head and turning cold amber eyes to me. She catalogued me from head to toe, lips curling like she found something lacking. "This is she?"

Soren nodded. "I trust you will get her ready in time for Court."

Her eyes ran over me again. "There is much material to work with. But I aim to excel at making the girl... acceptable."

"Acceptable?" I echoed.

Soren glanced at me, amusement sparking in his eyes. "Adams, this is Brynn, the Royal Liaison, and she is here to prepare you for your life at Court."