Blood spattered across my face as I tore through another rogue wolf. The metallic taste filled my mouth, momentarily dulling my other senses. I whipped my head around just as another rogue charged at me, narrowly missing the brunt of its jagged ws.


    The rogue snarled, skidding to a stop a few feet away as it realized it had missed its mark. It whirled around and charged back at me, but this time, I was prepared.


    My ws shed on instinct, catching the rogue in the belly. Blood and guts spurted out before the beast even had a chance to stop. With a guttural howl, it crashed into the ground, kicking up dirt and debris with its momentum as it slid and mmed into the base of a nearby tree. Dead.


    I panted, looking around for others. In the distance, I could hear the sounds of my warriors fighting off more rogues. Goddess, how many were there? Dozens?


    The northern border of Ashw territory had always been a problem area. Rogues–wolves without packs, often stuck in wolf form andpletely feral–would asionally test our boundaries, hoping to im a small piece ofnd for themselves.


    Usually, a simple show of force was enough to send them scampering back into the wilderness, because rogues rarely banded together. Perhaps a few might join forces, but typically they were alone, unorganized, and easy to maintain.


    But not this time.


    This group had been more organized than usual. They’d killed the family living on the piece ofnd by the border and had taken it over as their home base during the night, then ambushed our patrol before the sun rose, killing two of my warriors and capturing


    several more.


    “Alpha!” Gabriel shouted from somewhere to my right. “There’s moreing from the east!”


    The forest blurred around me as I ran in that direction in wolf form, far faster than I ever could on human legs, dodging trees and leaping over fallen logs. The scent of unfamiliar wolves grew stronger, mingling with the smell of blood and sweat. They were close.


    I slowed, dropping into a crouch as I approached a small clearing. Five rogues were gathered there. They looked up as my scent inevitably reached them, their lips peeling back to reveal yellowed fangs dripping with foamy saliva.


    Before they had time to strategize, Iunched myself at the closest one with a missing ear, my jaws immediately finding his throat, His warm blood gushed into my mouth as I ripped and tore, then tossed his limp body aside.


    The other four attacked as <b>one</b>, surrounding me, circling me like prey. I spun, shing at anything that came too close,nding blows that sent the smaller ones flying. But they kepting, emboldened by their numbers.


    A set of teeth found my shoulder, sinking deep into muscle. I howled and twisted, trying to shake off my attacker, but another ched onto my back leg at the same time. Pain shot through me.


    For a moment, I faltered. There were too many of them, and they wereing at me from all sides. My strength was waning, blood loss making my movements sluggish. I might actually lose this fight.


    This was my fault, dammit. I hadn’t been sleeping well since E had gone to the hospital, I hadn’t been sleeping much at all, actually.


    The side of the bed where she normally slept was too empty, too cold. I spent my nightsying awake, staring at her untouched


    60%


    pillow, wondering how the hell I had gotten so used to her sleeping beside me already that I could no longer rest without herying there.


    E. My mate.


    I shut my eyes as the pain became too much to bear, and there was her face hovering in the darkness. She was smiling, head bent, over a chess board, slender fingers reaching for her queen.


    Suddenly and unexpectedly, the sight of her face in my mind sent a fresh surge of energy through me, burning away the fatigue and pain. With a roar, I shook off my attackers, sending them flying into the surrounding trees.


    The rest was a blur. I hardly noticed the flurry of fangs and ws–all I saw was that face. Those lips. My mate kissing me in the alley.


    When it was over, I stood panting in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by the bodies of my enemies. Blood dripped from my fur, some of it mine, most of it not. The forest had gone quiet.


    “Alpha?” Gabriel’s voice came from the edge of the trees. He limped out of the forest in human form. “The rest have fled. We’ve won.”


    I nodded, too exhausted to attempt shifting back to human form just yet. My wounds were already beginning to heal, the deep gashes closing up, leaving behind matted chestnut fur sticky with blood.


    As I followed Gabriel back toward the others, my mind kept wandering back to those final moments during the battle. I almost lost.


    I should have lost. I was exhausted, outnumbered… And yet, I had closed my eyes and there was her face.


    Why had I thought of E during those moments? Why had her face driven me to push through the pain and fight back?


    “Because she’s our mate,” my wolf snarled.


    Right. It was biology. Of course a wolf would think of his mate when he needed strength to survive. It didn’t mean anything.


    “Keep telling yourself that,” my wolf scoffed. “But we both know the truth.”


    What truth? That I was starting to care for her? That the sight of her in my sweatshirt made my fucking heart pound? That I looked forward to our nightly chess games more than I’d looked forward to anything in years?


    No. I shook my head in an attempt to dislodge the thoughts. I wasn’t falling for her couldn’t be. If her family had anything to do with my parents‘ death, if she was a spy… Besides, she had <b>said </b>she didn’t want me to mark her. She was the one who wanted a divorce. There was no future for us.


    “Alexander!”


    Ifroze as a familiar voice rang through the forest.


    “Alexander!”


    It was E’s voice, calling my name. But that couldn’t be right. E was in the hospital, miles away, I was hearing things, my exhausted mind ying tricks on me.


    “Alexander, where are you?”


    The voice was getting closer. Gabriel whipped his head toward me, his eyes widening in panic, and I knew I wasn’t just imagining it.


    16:33 Fri, 22 Aug


    E was… here? How? She belonged in the hospital, not in a fucking battle zone!


    Without thinking, I raced toward the sound, heart pounding. If there were still rogues out there, if she was in danger-


    ? ? 60%<b>B </b>


    Suddenly, she emerged from the trees on the far side of the clearing. Her hair was wild, her feet bare and bloody, her hospital gown pping around her legs beneath my oversized sweatshirt.


    What the hell was she doing here? How had she even found us? And why in the name of the Goddess had she left the hospital in her


    condition?


    She skidded to a stop at the edge of the clearing, her eyes widening as she took in the carnage around us. The blood, the bodies. Her face paled, and for a moment I thought she might faint again.


    Then her gazended on me, and relief washed over her face. “Alexander,” she gasped, stumbling forward, arms outstretched as if to reach for me. “You’re alive.”


    As she staggered toward me, I shifted back to human form, racing toward her just as she stumbled and began to pitch forward. But in my haste, I shifted too quickly and with too little control.


    E’s eyes widened, her gaze dropping for a brief moment before she quickly looked away, her cheeks turning bright pink.


    I looked down and realized that my clothes had shredded during my careless shift, leaving mepletely nude in the moonlight.