KAEL

She snorted, then laughed. It was sharp and sudden. She rolled her eyes, and for the first time I saw a flaw in her mask. Something real moved beneath her control.

"I'm sorry," she said. "You're an alpha and you don't like balls? I don't buy it."

"Don't you?" I asked.

"Oh, come on." She flicked her hand. "Alphas love showing power. You do it in your own lands, with your packs, where no one can truly test you. But a ball is different. That's where it counts. Leading a pack is easy. At a ball, you all stand around and compare yourselves. Who matters most. Who is strongest. Who keeps the tightest hold on their wolf. They call it unity, but it's really just one long fight to see who stands on top."

She stopped talking. Her shoulders pulled tight. Then she looked down and scrunched her nose.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No," I said evenly. "You shouldn't have. But you aren't wrong. Balls serve no real purpose."

"To you."

I tilted my head. "Say that again."

"They're useless to you. And maybe to the other alphas too. But not to women." Her voice slowed, softer now. "You alphas make the rules. Some packs make those rules even harsher for women. Sometimes the only way to leave a pack is to marry into another one."

Her gaze drifted, distant.

That was when I understood. Aria was not breaking because Alaric Stonefang rejected her. She was breaking because her way out had disappeared.

"What pack are you from?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" she said. "They're all the same."

They were not. I let it pass.

"I'm not from here either," I said. "If you refuse to go home, I don't have advice for you."

"That's fine." She shrugged. "It's the same crap everywhere." Then, quieter, "Thanks for the clothes."

"Full moon tonight," I said. "After the ball, they plan to run together. Don't you want to go?"

She moved to the window. Moonlight spilled over her hair and skin. She stood still and let it touch her.

"No. I can control my wolf. I don't need to let it loose just because it's a full moon." She glanced at me. "Do you need to run?"

"I don't need to."

That answer made me look at her again.

"Do you want to run?"

"Not with them." She hesitated, then met my eyes. "I was thinking of another way to burn this off. Are you mated?"

Direct. Bold.

"No."

"I don't even know your name," she said. "Or your clan, Alpha."

"What makes you think I'm an alpha?"

She studied me, slow and thoughtful. "We're in the Grand Moon Hall. It's packed with alphas. You've been giving orders. This room costs too much for anyone else. Either you have a very kind alpha backing you, or you are one. There's power in you. It feels... wrong. Not like the others. Or maybe I just don't get out much."

She saw too much.

"All you need to know," I said, "is that I could kill you right now and no one would stop me."

I wanted her to understand exactly who stood in front of her.

She only shrugged.

"That doesn't make you special. Anyone in a pack could kill me. No one would care."

Interesting.

"I'm Kael," I said. "Goldenreach Pack."

I did not know why I said it. Or why I lied. If I had told her the truth, she would have fallen to her knees without question. I could have taken whatever I wanted. She would have learned soon enough anyway. Nearly every alpha in the region knew my name.

But when was the last time someone touched me without wanting power, safety, or status?

"Never heard of it," she said. "I don't know much about packs outside this place."

I let a small hint of my power fill the room. Not enough to frighten her. Just enough to see what she would do. Almost fifty alphas had come for Alaric's ball. If she truly believed she would be his mate, she would have studied every guest.

She would have known me.

I cursed under my breath. She made no sense. I could drag a wolf to the surface with a thought, yet hers barely stirred. She knew how to act around alphas, but she had not done any of it with me. Trained, yet resisting.

Aria was guarded. Sealed tight. And far from dull.

"If you had one night with no rules," she asked, "what would you do?"

I took my time answering.

"There was a time when I had nothing but freedom," I said. "My brother and I had no duties. No watchers. No one telling us what we had to be. It feels like another life now."

"That sounds nice," she said.

"It was," I said. "I didn't appreciate it. You never do until it's gone. If I had one night like that now, I'd do whatever made me feel like myself again. Like I was the one in control."

"Like sleeping with a woman who wants you?" she asked. "No strings."

I held her gaze.

"I never lack willing women, Aria. Many of them are beautiful."

Her mouth tightened. I saw real disappointment flash before she hid it.

"Then I guess I don't have anything you want."

"You want to spend your night with someone?" I asked softly.

"I just want to feel something good." She breathed out and walked to the bed, picking up the jeans.

Something twisted in my chest before I knew why.

"What are you doing?"

"I thought it was clear. I'm going to find a little pleasure." She looked at me. "I should probably be dressed for that."

"No."

She stopped and turned back.

"I want a choice," she said. "What happened earlier taught me not to walk up to men half-dressed."

Was she really planning to leave and find a stranger? My wolf pressed hard against my control. I hated the idea. I hated how much I cared.

She stepped past me toward the bathroom. I reached out and caught her arm.

"You think going out alone to find someone is smart?" I asked.

"What do you care?" she whispered.

Heat stirred low in my body. I lifted her and set her on the back of the couch. The jeans slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor. I ran my hands down her bare thighs, slow enough to stretch the moment.

"I leave tomorrow," I said.

"Then I won't be in your way," she answered.

This trip was meant to be business. Simple. Controlled. Now my focus was gone. My teeth ached to mark her, to claim something I could not name.

My hands moved to her hips. I felt it at once.

"No bra. No panties." My voice dropped. "Under that dress. Did you come here to test wolves? Don't expect me to be soft."

"I'm not asking for soft." She opened her thighs and held my gaze. Calm. Sure.

"Hard and fast," she said. "That's what you want, right?"

ARIA

I was pretending to be brave. I did not really know how to be rough or quick. I did not know how to be soft or slow either.

All I knew was that his gaze kept coming back to me, over and over, and my heart had not slowed since the instant I noticed him.

This was the first decision I had ever made without fear. I wanted Kael. I would never see him again, and he would be the only one who knew the truth.

A secret. I barely had any. I wanted this one. I needed it. Something to keep. A memory that was mine alone.

And Kael Nightborne of Goldenreach would be enough.

His hands moved over my skin, light but sure, and my breath began to falter. When he leaned closer, my body trembled without my permission.

"Are you changing your mind?" he asked softly as his hands slid under my shirt.

I did not answer. I lifted the shirt over my head and let it fall to the floor. I wet my lips, afraid to speak. If I did, I might tell him to stop. Or I might beg him to keep going.

He was very good at pulling me out of my head. I caught his shirt and tried to pull it off him. The height difference made it clumsy, but he did not comment. He simply raised his arms and let me do it.

Most shifters were strong. Power was part of the change. His body was firm, solid. That was not what held my attention.

It was the scars.

Shifters healed quickly. Marks usually faded. But one long scar crossed his chest from shoulder to ribs. It matched the mark slicing through his eyebrow.

"Do you want me to put it back on?" he asked gently.

I reached up and traced the scar with my fingertip. I wanted to ask how he got it. But I had scars too. Smaller, quieter ones. In the low light, I hoped he would not see them. And if he did, I did not want questions.

So I shook my head and tilted my face up to him.

A low snarl left him, sharp enough to send a chill through me. He grabbed the back of my head and kissed me hard. I gasped, and he took advantage, his tongue pushing into my mouth. When he pulled away, his eyes burned gold. My stomach flipped.

"Your taste. Your scent. There is something about you," he murmured, lifting my chin and studying my face before kissing me again.

This time I was not afraid. I was waiting. Curious. Wanting to know what would come next.

I moaned and reached for his waistband. I opened his pants and touched him. The size did not shock me. I had seen arousal before. But this was the first time I felt it. Warm, solid, alive. My whole body shivered.

He made a rough sound and pressed into my hand. I closed my fingers without thinking.

He caught my wrist and pulled my hand away. "If you learn anything tonight," he said, low and steady, "it is that you do not touch me without asking. If you want me, you ask. You beg."

My mouth opened in surprise. He released me and smiled, knowing exactly what he was doing.

"Well?"

"May I touch you, Alpha?" I asked.

"Almost," he said. "Try again."

"Please let me touch you," I whispered. "I want to make you feel good."

"Better." He took my hand, licked my palm slowly, then pressed it back against him. "Hold me. Make me hard for you."

He bent down and bit my lip before kissing me again. This kiss was rough, hungry. He broke it only to pull the rest of my clothes away.

I was bare. Exposed. Standing in front of someone I barely knew.

For a moment, I wondered if my wolf would panic and flee.

He did not stop. His hand moved down my neck, slow and careful. I waited to see if he would grip my throat. I had known monsters before. I suspected Kael was the most dangerous wolf I had ever met.

And still, I stood there. Naked. Willing.

He could end my life in that room. No one knew where I was. And after tonight, I was not sure anyone would look for me.

His hands continued, over my collarbone, over my chest. I gasped when his fingers brushed a sensitive spot.

He went still.

A wild growl ripped from his chest. He grabbed my hips and dragged me back. Before I could react, I was on the couch, my head sinking into the cushions. He lifted my legs and lowered his mouth between them.

When I cried out, it was not fear.

The pleasure struck hard and sudden as his mouth worked on me. I had only ever been alone before. The heat of him left me dizzy and weak.

"This taste," he growled, biting my thigh. "You are sweet."

His tongue found me, and my body arched toward him. I gasped. "Wait."

He stopped at once. "Why?"

"I will finish too fast."

"Fast and hard," he said. "That is what you asked for. And do not worry. I can go again." His eyes glowed as he looked up at me. "You are mine until morning. Come for me, Aria."

I swallowed and nodded. I shut my eyes and lifted myself as he continued. Everything was too intense. Too real.

When it hit me, my body lifted off the couch.

He picked me up easily, holding me while I shook, then laid me down on something soft.

A bed.

He joined me a moment later, his clothes gone. He kissed me, and I tasted myself on his mouth. He settled between my legs, and I whimpered.

"Still want more," he murmured, his tongue tracing my skin. His hand slipped between my thighs. "You are already wet."

I was. Even after breaking apart, I still wanted him. I wanted him inside me.

I wanted to give something back.

"Please," I whispered, dragging my nails over his chest.

"That mouth," he said softly. "Let me hear you say it."

His eyes flashed as he guided himself into place and pressed into me.

I lifted my knees, breathing hard, trying to adjust. I knew pleasure. I owned toys.

None of them felt like this.

None of them felt like him.

He paused, breathing fast. "You are tight," he said. "Perfect."

"I can handle it."

"You will take all of me." He kissed me deeply, pinned my hands above my head, pulled back, then thrust in again and again until with a harsh sound he filled me completely.

I cried out.

He did not slow. He did not give me time to think. He pulled out and drove back in, over and over.

Hard. Fast.

Exactly what I asked for.

Heat and motion surrounded us. The bed shook. Sheets twisted. I came again, my nails breaking his skin.

His roar filled the room as he finished inside me.

He pulled free and turned me over, holding me down, spreading me open as he pressed close. His breath was hot against my ear. His body trembled.

The bed was soaked.

I shifted, trying to find a dry place.

He was hard again.

He swore softly.

"Again," he whispered. "Stay like this. I want to feel you react when I touch you."

My breath caught.

"Say it," he said. "Tell me what you want."

"Please," I said. "I want you."

He slid into me once more.

And I held on.

KAEL

Her scent was everywhere in the hotel room. It hung in the air and soaked into every surface. The couch where I had first made her come.

The bed where I had taken her again and again until the night blurred into morning. The shower where I carried her before dawn because we had ruined the sheets, pressing her against the cold tile and not stopping.

The towel on the bathroom counter where I bent her over and drove into her until my hands shook.

In the end, we had fallen asleep on the couch. I woke the moment she shifted her weight and slid away from me, but I stayed still.

I kept my eyes closed and listened as she moved carefully, trying not to make a sound. The door opened. Then closed.

When I finally stood and checked the room, I saw she had left everything behind. She had not taken the clothes I offered. Not the dress either. That meant she must have shifted and gone home as a wolf.

I picked up the torn dress and laid it across the bed. I stared at it, waiting for it to tell me something it never would.

Last night had not been normal. It had been different in a way I did not like. I had never lost control like that before. Not once. I had pushed too far. I could have hurt her. She had been overwhelming. Her scent. Her reactions. The way my body answered without asking me first.

When I finally forced my thoughts into order, I made a call.

Two hours later, Alpha Alaric and his new mate were sitting across from me in one of the hotel's conference rooms. They smelled strongly of each other. But there was no mating bond between them.

That was not unusual. True bonds were rare now.

"I wanted to apologize in person for missing the celebration in the Grand Moon Hall," I said, keeping my voice even as I motioned for them to sit. "Something came up."

"No apology needed, Your Majesty," Alaric said, bowing low. "It was an honor that you accepted the invitation at all. I know your time is limited."

"It is," I said. "But meeting the alphas matters. I intended to speak with many of them last night. Instead, I will be here for another month and invite them one by one while I assess them and their packs."

"I'm sure they'll welcome the chance to meet the new king," he said quietly, pride clear in his tone.

They sat. Lyra's chair rolled back a few inches with a small squeak. She murmured an apology. Alaric immediately grabbed the arm of her chair and dragged it closer to him.

"Tell me about the woman you rejected," I said.

There were other issues that should have come first. Serious ones. Letting myself get pulled into a night like that had thrown everything off. I should have been finished with these meetings already. Instead, I would be stuck here for weeks.

The last thing I needed was to think about her again. And yet, she was all I could think about.

I had showered until my skin felt raw. I had wrapped my fist around my cock and worked myself empty more than once, trying to get her out of my head. I had run hard this morning, fast and far, until her scent no longer clung to me. None of it helped.

I needed to focus.

"Aria?" Alaric frowned. "Aria Blackwood. She's the daughter of Victor Blackwood. Lyra's cousin, on her mother's side."

"She was your intended before Lyra," I said.

"Nothing official," he replied. "But Victor and I had discussed joining our packs through marriage. Everyone knew I planned to mate with her. Then I learned what kind of woman she really is."

"And that is?"

"She sleeps around. With anyone. That's not who I want beside me."

My stomach tightened. "When you say infidelity, you mean to you. Were you faithful to her?"

"I was."

It was a lie. A lazy one. His grin told me he expected me to accept it as normal.

"So you rejected her," I said slowly. "And you chose to do it publicly."

"I rejected her because she betrayed me," he said. "I humiliated her because she humiliated me. Apparently every man in the hall had already had her."

Lyra started to speak. Alaric's hand closed hard around hers. She went quiet at once.

I looked at her. "You're Aria's cousin. Are you part of the Blackthorn Clan?"

"She belongs to Ironwill Basin now," Alaric cut in. "She is mine."

So Aria had left the hall with nothing. No alliance. No mate. No victory.

Had she known who I was last night? I had not told her I was king. I had only named my old clan. If she failed with Alaric, had she aimed higher instead?

I had been careless. I was too close to what I wanted to risk that. I had not clawed my way to the throne just to lose control over a woman in lace.

Anger pushed down hard on the obsession. I forced it to settle, to turn cold and sharp.

I would not lose my head over this.

I had not cared about her past last night. Caring now meant the night mattered more than I wanted to admit.

She had used me. That much was clear. There was no point pretending otherwise. Being one more body in her history should not matter to me.

And yet.

I could not respect a wolf who could not respect loyalty. It was the core of who we were.

And she clearly did not have it.