My thumb pressed the screen record button.
The red timer blinked in the top corner of the display, capturing every vulgar word echoing from my former bedroom.
"You like my cock, Selene?" Kael's voice grated through the phone speaker.
"Fill me up!" she screamed back, her face flushed on the screen. "Give me your pup!"
"I'm going to knot you so hard," Kael grunted.
I gave the recording ten seconds of indisputable proof.
"That is enough," I said quietly, tapping the red phone icon.
Silence flooded the cheap motel room.
I popped the SIM card tray open, pulled the plastic chip out, and snapped it in half.
"Track that, Alpha," I muttered, tossing the pieces into the trash.
At dawn, the border market buzzed with transient traders shouting over the roar of diesel generators.
"Fifty dollars for three days of dried meat," a stall owner grunted, tossing a vacuum-sealed bag onto his folding table.
"Make it four days," I said, sliding a crumpled bill across the scratched plastic. "I have a long drive ahead."
"Take it or leave it, stray." He snatched the cash. "Wolfless girls don't get to bargain here."
"I need protein, not an attitude," I countered, tapping the table. "Give me the extra day, or I take my money to the vendor next door."
The owner glared at me, his jaw clenching. "You think you can make demands? I smell the weakness on you."
"And I smell the desperation on you," I replied. "Hand over the food."
He grumbled under his breath, tossing a smaller pouch of jerky onto the pile. "Take it and get out of my sight."
"Pleasure doing business," I said, shoving the bags into my backpack.
I dragged my suitcase to a rusted metal counter. A man with a scarred jaw chewed on a matchstick, eyeing my luggage.
"I need passage out of the territory," I told him, leaning over the counter. "How much for a seat in the next smuggler transport?"
"Depends on who is asking," the man replied, spitting the matchstick onto the dirt. "You smell like an Alpha's property, but you don't have a mark."
"I am a free agent. I just need a ride."
"Two hundred dollars. Cash."
"I only have eighty," I said, sliding the bills forward.
He scoffed, pushing the money back. "Eighty gets you a map and a pat on the back. Get lost, stray."
"I have a silver necklace," I offered, reaching into my pocket. "Solid, enchanted metal. Worth at least five hundred."
"Show me," he demanded, holding out a dirty palm.
"Not until you confirm the transport time."
"Listen here, little girl," he growled, leaning closer. "You don't make the rules in my market."
"And you don't scam me," I shot back, holding my ground.
"Hey, boss!" a voice interrupted.
A young boy ran up to the counter, pointing frantically toward the south entrance. "The Alpha is here! Alpha Kael!"
The scarred man frowned. "What is the Alpha doing in the rogue market?"
"Buying ceremony gems for his new Luna," the boy panted. "They are at the jeweler's tent right now. She wanted the rare blood-diamonds."
My stomach tightened. I grabbed my eighty dollars and turned away from the counter.
"Where are you going?" the man shouted. "I'll take the necklace!"
"Deal is off," I replied, pulling my suitcase behind me.
I needed to leave before Kael spotted me. I wove through the crowded stalls, keeping my head down.
A sharp, metallic tang sliced through the scent of roasting meat.
Blood.
"Rogues!" a woman shrieked, grabbing her child. "Run!"
A fruit stand exploded into splinters. A mangy brown wolf crashed through the wooden crates, foam dripping from its jaws. Two more rabid wolves tore into the square, snapping at the fleeing crowd.
"Get out of the way!" a smuggler yelled, shoving me hard against a metal support pole.
I pushed off the cold steel, scanning the chaos.
My gaze snagged on a familiar matte-black SUV parked near the jewelers' tents.
"Kael, do something!" Selene's terrified voice pierced the screaming.
I turned. Ten yards away, Selene cowered behind Kael's wheelchair. She clutched a velvet jewelry box, her eyes wide as the largest Rogue locked its bloodshot gaze on her.
"Stay behind me," Kael ordered, gripping his armrests.
"It's going to kill us!" Selene sobbed. "Save me!"
"I said stay back!"
The Rogue lunged, clearing the distance in a single bound, jaws snapping straight for Selene's throat.
Kael vaulted out of the wheelchair.
"He's standing!" a trader gasped from behind a barrel.
The heavy woolen blanket fell to the dirt. Kael's tailored shirt ripped down the seams as his spine elongated. Bones snapped and reshaped in a violent blur. In less than a second, a massive gray wolf stood where the crippled Alpha had been.
He slammed into the Rogue, pinning the beast to the ground and tearing its throat out with one savage bite.
"The Alpha," the scarred man whispered from his counter, his voice trembling. "He healed his legs. He lied to the pack."
The gray wolf stood over the bleeding carcass, panting heavily. He nudged Selene with his snout, checking her for injuries.
"You saved me," Selene cried, throwing her arms around his thick furry neck. "You really are perfect."
He had exposed his greatest political secret just to shield her.
A low growl vibrated against my boots.
I whipped my head around. The second Rogue stalked toward me, yellow eyes fixated on my unprotected neck. It crouched low.
"Kael!" I shouted.
The gray wolf's ears twitched. He looked over his shoulder.
His golden eyes met mine. He saw the rabid beast digging its claws into the dirt, preparing to tear me apart.
"Help her!" a woman screamed from a nearby rooftop. "She's your mate!"
"He doesn't care," I yelled back, never taking my eyes off the Alpha. "Do you, Kael?"
Kael didn't move toward me. He turned his head away, nudging Selene toward the safety of the jewelry tent.
"Let the stray handle herself," Selene sneered, her voice carrying over the panic. "She deserves it."
The Rogue sprang forward.
"Fine," I whispered, planting my feet.
I dug my nails into my palms until the skin broke. I forced the dormant remnants of my Lycan core to ignite, ready to burn my own bloodline into a lethal shockwave.
"Die, you mutt," I hissed through my teeth.
Before the heat could rise in my veins, the air pressure vanished.
A suffocating, heavy aura slammed into the market square.
"What is that?" the scarred man choked out, collapsing to his knees.
"My chest," another trader gasped, clutching his shirt. "I can't breathe."
The pavement cracked under the sheer force of the pheromones. The Rogue froze mid-air, whining in sudden agony, its body slamming hard onto the concrete right at my feet.
A shadow blotted out the morning sun.
A pure black Lycan, easily the size of a small mountain, landed directly on top of the rabid wolf. One massive, razor-sharp paw swiped down, crushing the Rogue's skull with a sickening crunch.
The beast didn't even look at the corpse beneath its claws.
The giant Lycan slowly lifted its head, its terrifying golden eyes locking dead onto the gray wolf cowering in the center of the square.
