Chapter 2

By 11:00 PM, I walked out of the Bracken fortress.

I had one suitcase. I left everything else behind.

Freezing rain poured down the mountain paths.

"Valora," a sharp voice called out.

Graydon stood on the covered patio, holding a glass of scotch.

His shirt was open, showing his bare chest.

Where our mate-mark used to be, his skin was raw and burned.

He had covered the scar with a fresh tattoo of a black rose.

"You really are pathetic, Graydon," I said, letting the rain soak my hair.

"You burned your own skin with acid just to hide your wedding vows? Is this how an Alpha says goodbye?"

Graydon clutched his glass. He scoffed. "Think what you want. But you'll miss my scent in forty-eight hours. You'll come back on your knees, begging to be a consultant just to be near me. You can't survive without this pack."

"Forty-eight hours?" I laughed. "Graydon, I broke my craving for you years ago."

I turned my back on him and walked down the stone steps.

A black Rolls-Royce Phantom sat at the iron gates.

A towering man stood beside the open door, holding a massive umbrella.

Alpha King Malek Veyra.

The most feared Alpha on the continent.

He wasn't a hero coming to save me. He was a dangerous predator.

His amber eyes gleamed in the dark.

Centuries ago, we fought on opposite sides of a bloody war.

He owed me his life, and I knew secrets that could destroy him.

Malek looked past me. His gaze locked onto Graydon.

On the patio, Graydon's glass shattered against the stone floor. He looked terrified.

Malek looked down at me, a cruel smirk on his lips.

"I told you three centuries ago, Valora," he murmured, his deep voice cutting through the storm.

"You chose the wrong wolf. Have you finally come to collect on my debt?"

"The debt can wait, Malek," I said, stepping into the car.

"Tonight, I just want to watch his empire burn."

Malek flashed his fangs and smiled.

He closed the door, blocking out Graydon's angry screams, and drove me into the night.