Alpha's Regret: His Wrongful Rejection

People talk to me, I reply, and a second later, I don’t know what I’ve said. Seth steps in and takes over, and I sink behind my desk and stare at my laptop as my shoulders grow tighter and tighter. The button at my collar pops and flies onto the carpet. I’m bulking up in…

I approach the raised booths where the members of the five families sit. Cadoc notices me—I feel it—but he doesn’t acknowledge me until I’m standing on the floor right beneath him. Seth Rosser sits with his back to the room, facing Cadoc. Seth scoots aside, crowding Teagan Roberts and opening a direct line of sight…

I’m gonna pass out. Shift. Puke. Cry. All of the above, all at once. I’m gonna fight off Seth Rosser in the middle of the Commons because I can’t bear his touch and smell. I force myself on, holding my breath until I can’t anymore, retching when I’m forced to inhale a lungful of Seth’s…

We stop at the bluff where the river splits. I gaze down, and a silver-white wolf stares back, the ripples in the water ruffling her coat. Nia’s wolf trots over and collapses, panting. Bevan flops down beside her. It’s not until they’re next to me that it finally sinks in, and I fully realize what…

Smells slap me in the face. Chemicals in the meat. Bleach and tomato soup and all the human perfumes, vanilla and bergamot and cedarwood—all combined without regard for what makes sense, what grows together in nature. It’s all wrong. I get pizza because at least it smells like freezer burn and oven, not garbage. The…

I want to cry. It can’t be. I cannot be going into heat, and Cadoc Collins absolutely, positively cannot be my mate. It would never be allowed. Not in a million years. Fat, hot tears trickle down my cheek. My heart hurts and a wave of pure panic surges higher and higher, looming, about to…

I wait, trembling, until I hear wolves close by. They wouldn’t be running if the alpha heir was still roaming our territory. I screw up my courage and sprint back to the Bogs. The sun’s fully set, but the fading pink in the west is more than enough to navigate by. My heart doesn’t stop…

“Well, don’t talk crazy.” Drona twists a rubber band around the tip of the braid and gives Avalon a quick peck before pushing her off her lap to join the others. “Just go for the cash.” “Cash stinks.” “You get accustomed to it.” Drona pats her lap and Kadi climbs up, hair tangled and dripping….

Brody doesn’t waste a second. He darts forward and snags my pack by the strap. “So what do you have in here, thief?” Tears collect on the rim under my eyes, and it tickles so bad, I stifle a sneeze. He holds my bag over his head and gives it a vigorous shake. “Confess and…

Nia makes a show of dusting herself off. Bevan comes to stand by my side. Cadoc’s chest rumbles. Bevan trips back a few steps. “Well. Sorry again.” Cadoc flashes a rueful smile, not much more than a momentary softening of his harsh mouth. Then he strolls back to his table at the front of the…