"You're late."

Alpha Lucian stood in the center of the training grounds, his arms crossed over his broad chest. He wore simple training clothes-black pants and a tight-fitting shirt that showed off every muscle.

I tried not to stare.

"I'm five minutes late," I said, walking toward him. I'd changed out of his jacket and into my own training gear-fitted leggings and a sports bra. "That's hardly late at all."

"When an Alpha tells you to be somewhere at noon, you're there at eleven fifty-five. Not twelve-oh-five."

"Then maybe you should have said eleven fifty-five."

His eyes narrowed, but I saw the hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "Are you always this difficult?"

"Only when I'm annoyed."

"And what do you have to be annoyed about?"

"My mother came to see me this morning. She wanted me to forgive Lucy."

The smile disappeared from his face. "And?"

"And I told her to leave. That Lucy is dead to me."

He studied me for a long moment. "Good."

"Good?"

"Yes. Good. Your sister betrayed you in the worst way possible. You owe her nothing." He gestured to the training mat. "Now, let's see what you can do."

I blinked at him. "What?"

"You wanted my attention, didn't you? Well, you have it. But I need to know what I'm working with. So show me. Fight me."

"Fight you? But you're an Alpha. I can't-"

"Can't what? Can't possibly win?" His smile was sharp and dangerous. "You're probably right. But I want to see you try anyway."

My wolf perked up at the challenge. She wanted to prove ourselves to him, wanted to show him what we could do.

"Fine," I said, stepping onto the mat. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

"Warned. Noted. Now come at me."

I didn't give him time to prepare. I lunged forward, aiming a punch at his stomach. He blocked it easily, but I'd expected that. It was a feint. My real attack was the kick I aimed at his knee.

He moved faster than should have been possible, catching my leg mid-kick and twisting, throwing me off balance. I hit the mat hard but rolled, coming back to my feet immediately.

"Good reflexes," he said, circling me. "But predictable. Try again."

I did. Again and again. Each time, he countered my moves effortlessly, but he never went on the offensive. He was testing me, I realized. Seeing what I could do.

After ten minutes, I was breathing hard, sweat dripping down my back. He hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Had enough?" he asked.

"Not even close."

This time, instead of attacking head-on, I feinted left, then dropped low and swept his legs. To my shock, the move connected. He went down.

But before I could capitalize on it, he grabbed my ankle and pulled me down with him. Suddenly I was pinned beneath him, his body pressing mine into the mat, his hands holding my wrists above my head.

We were both breathing hard now, our faces inches apart.

"That was clever," he murmured. "I didn't see it coming."

"You're not the only one full of surprises," I managed to say, despite the fact that my heart was racing.

His eyes darkened. "No. I'm beginning to realize that."

The air between us crackled with tension. His body was warm and hard against mine, his scent overwhelming my senses. I was acutely aware of how little we were both wearing, of how easy it would be to-

"Alpha Lucian!"

We both jerked our heads toward the voice. Teddy stood at the edge of the training grounds, looking uncomfortable.

"What is it?" the Alpha growled, clearly annoyed at the interruption.

"There's a situation at the northern border. Beta Edward needs you immediately."

Alpha Lucian cursed under his breath. He pushed himself up, releasing me from his hold. I immediately felt the loss of his warmth.

"I have to go," he said, offering me his hand to help me up. I took it, trying to ignore the electric jolt that ran through me at the contact. "We'll continue this later."

"Continue what? The training or...?"

"Both." His silver eyes held a promise. "Definitely both."

Then he was gone, shifting mid-stride into his massive black wolf and disappearing into the forest with Teddy.

I stood there for a moment, trying to catch my breath and calm my racing heart.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here."

I spun around to find Lucy standing at the edge of the training grounds, her arms crossed. She looked different than she had a week ago. Thinner. Paler. Like she hadn't been sleeping.

Good.

"What do you want, Lucy?"

"I want to talk to you. Sister to sister."

"We're not sisters. Not anymore."

She flinched but didn't leave. Instead, she walked closer, her eyes pleading.

"Hailey, please. I know you're angry-"

"Angry doesn't even begin to cover it."

"But you have to understand. Jude and I didn't mean for this to happen. We fell in love. Real love. The kind that-"

"Stop." I held up my hand. "I don't want to hear it. I don't care about your excuses or your justifications. What you did was unforgivable."

"So you're just going to hate me forever?"

"Yes."

She laughed, but there was no humor in it. "And sleeping with Jude's father? Is that your revenge? Because that's sick, Hailey. Even for you."

My wolf snarled inside me. "I'm not sleeping with him."

"Yet. But you want to. I can see it all over your face." She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a hiss. "You think you're so much better than me? You're not. You're doing the exact same thing I did. Going after someone you shouldn't have."

"No. What I'm doing is nothing like what you did. I'm not betraying anyone. Jude and I are done. The bond is broken. I owe him nothing."

"But the Alpha is his father-"

"I don't care!" The words exploded out of me. "I don't care about Jude's feelings. I don't care if it hurts him. He hurt me first. He destroyed me first."

"So this is about revenge then. Not love."

"Love?" I laughed bitterly. "What would you know about love? You slept with your sister's mate for six months. That's not love. That's selfishness."

Lucy's face crumpled. For a moment, she looked like the sister I used to know. The one I'd shared everything with. The one I'd trusted with my deepest secrets.

Then I remembered finding her in my bed with Jude, and my heart turned to ice again.

"Get away from me, Lucy. And don't come back."

"Hailey-"

"I said get away!"

My wolf surged forward, my eyes flashing, claws extending. Lucy stumbled backward, fear written across her face.

"You're different," she whispered. "You've changed."

"You made me change. You and Jude. You killed the old Hailey. This is who I am now."

Lucy turned and ran. I watched her go, feeling nothing. Not sadness. Not regret. Nothing.

My phone buzzed. A text from the Alpha: Northern border secured. Meet me at my house tonight. 8pm. We have things to discuss.

My heart started racing again. His house. Not his office. His house.

This was it. The point of no return.

I texted back: I'll be there.

Because I was done running from this. Done denying what I wanted.

If the Alpha wanted to play with fire, then I would burn him alive. 

"Are you sure about this?"

Petra watched me get ready, her face a mixture of concern and curiosity. I'd come to her house to prepare for tonight, too nervous to stay at my own cabin.

"No," I admitted, applying lipstick in her bathroom mirror. "But I'm doing it anyway."

"What do you think is going to happen tonight?"

"I don't know." That was a lie. I had a pretty good idea of what Alpha Lucian wanted. The question was whether I was ready to give it to him.

"You know the whole pack is going to know about this by tomorrow, right? If you go to his house, if you spend the night there..."

"I know."

"And Jude will know."

"Good. Let him know. Let him feel what I felt."

Petra was quiet for a moment. Then she said softly, "Hailey, I need to ask you something. And I need you to be honest with me."

"What?"

"Is this really about revenge? Or is there something more happening here?"

I met her eyes in the mirror. "I don't know," I admitted. "I thought it was just revenge. But when I'm around him, when he looks at me, when he touches me..." I trailed off, not knowing how to explain it.

"You feel something," Petra finished for me.

"Yes. And I don't know if it's real or if it's just my broken bond making me seek out any connection I can find."

"What does your wolf say?"

I closed my eyes, reaching for my wolf. She was there immediately, stronger than she'd been in days.

He's ours, she said simply. The Alpha is ours.

"She wants him," I told Petra. "She's wanted him since that first night at the pack meeting."

"And what do you want? Not your wolf. You."

That was the question, wasn't it? What did I want?

Revenge, yes. But also... connection. Understanding. Someone who saw me not as the broken, rejected mate, but as something more. Something powerful.

"I want him," I said finally. "I want the Alpha."

Petra nodded slowly. "Then go get him. But Hailey?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. Alphas are possessive. Territorial. Once you're his, he won't let you go easily. And if this really is just revenge for you, if you don't actually want him for keeps... it could get messy."

"It's already messy."

"It could get messier."

She was right, of course. But I was past the point of being careful.

I arrived at the Alpha's house at exactly eight o'clock. It was a large cabin on the outskirts of the pack lands, surrounded by forest. Private. Isolated.

My hands were shaking as I knocked on the door.

It opened almost immediately. Alpha Lucian stood there, dressed in dark jeans and a simple black shirt. He looked relaxed, but his eyes were intense as they traveled over me.

I'd worn a simple green dress, one that hugged my curves without being too obvious. My hair was down, and I'd kept my makeup natural.

"You came," he said, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"You doubted I would?"

"I thought you might lose your nerve."

"I don't lose my nerve."

He smiled. "No. I don't suppose you do. Come in."

I stepped inside, and he closed the door behind me. The house was warm and inviting, with a fire crackling in the fireplace. It smelled like him-pine and earth and something uniquely Alpha.

"Wine?" he offered, gesturing to the kitchen.

"Please."

He poured us each a glass of red wine, and we moved to sit on the couch in front of the fire. For a moment, neither of us spoke. We just sat there, the crackle of the fire the only sound.

"Why am I here?" I asked finally, needing to break the silence.

"Because I asked you to come."

"That's not an answer."

He took a sip of his wine, considering his words. "You're here because we have unfinished business. Because there's something between us that neither of us can ignore."

"The only thing between us is revenge."

"Is it?" He set his wine glass down and turned to face me fully. "Then why is your heart racing right now? Why can I smell your arousal from here? Why did you spend an hour getting ready for a simple conversation?"

Heat flooded my face. "How did you-"

"Petra texted me. She wanted to make sure my intentions were honorable." He smiled. "I told her they absolutely weren't."

"And she still let me come?"

"She said it was your choice to make. That you're a grown woman who can make her own decisions." He reached out and traced his finger along my jaw, just like he had in his office. "So make your decision, Hailey. Are you here for revenge? Or are you here for me?"

"Both," I whispered.

"That's not good enough. I need to know-"

"I don't know!" The words burst out of me. "I don't know what I want anymore. I came here tonight planning to seduce you, to use you to hurt Jude. But now I'm sitting here and all I can think about is how much I want you to kiss me. How much I want you to touch me. And I don't know if that's real or if it's just my broken bond making me desperate for any connection."

He was quiet for a long moment. Then he stood up and held out his hand.

"Come with me."

"Where?"

"Just trust me."

I took his hand and let him lead me through the house to a door at the back. He opened it, revealing a deck that overlooked the forest. The moon was full tonight, huge and silver in the sky.

"Look at the moon," he said, standing behind me. "What do you feel?"

I looked up at the moon, letting its light wash over me. "I feel... calm. Centered."

"That's because the moon doesn't lie. It shows us the truth, strips away our pretenses and our fears. So I'm going to ask you one more time, Hailey Moreno, and I want you to answer with complete honesty. Why are you here?"

I closed my eyes, letting the moonlight guide me to the truth.

"I'm here because I want you," I said finally. "Not just for revenge. Not just to hurt Jude. I want you because when you look at me, I feel seen. Really seen. And when you touch me, I feel alive in a way I haven't felt since the bond broke. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe this is all wrong. But I want you anyway."

He turned me around to face him, his silver eyes glowing in the moonlight.

"That's all I needed to hear."

Then he kissed me.

It wasn't gentle. It wasn't soft. It was claiming, possessive, demanding. His hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer as his mouth moved against mine with an intensity that made my knees weak.

I kissed him back with everything I had, pouring all my pain and rage and desire into it. My hands gripped his shirt, pulling him closer, wanting more.

He broke the kiss, both of us breathing hard.

"If we do this," he said, his voice rough, "there's no going back. You'll be mine, Hailey. Not just for tonight. Not just until you've had your revenge. Mine."

"What if I don't want to be anyone's?"

"Too bad. Because I've waited two years for this. Two years of watching you, wanting you, hating myself for wanting my son's mate. I'm not letting you go now."

"That's very presumptuous of you."

"I'm an Alpha. Presumption comes with the territory." He kissed me again, softer this time. "Say yes, Hailey. Say you're mine."

I should have said no. Should have walked away. This was dangerous and complicated and wrong in so many ways.

But my wolf was singing inside me, and for the first time since the bond broke, I felt whole.

"Yes," I whispered against his lips. "I'm yours."

He growled, a sound of pure satisfaction, and lifted me into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me back inside, heading for what I assumed was his bedroom.

"Wait," I said suddenly.

He stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just... I need you to know something."

"What?"

"This started as revenge. But it's not anymore. Whatever happens between us, whatever this becomes, I need you to know that it's real for me now. You're real for me."

His expression softened. "I know, little wolf. I know."

Then he carried me to his bedroom, and the rest of the night became a blur of hands and mouths and whispered words that sounded almost like promises.

When I woke up the next morning, wrapped in his arms with the sun streaming through the windows, I knew everything had changed.

I'd come here for revenge.

But I'd ended up finding something I hadn't expected.

Hope.