Jenna POV:
The taxi smelled of stale tobacco. I checked my pulse points. The masking agent was holding.
My phone buzzed incessantly. Corbett.
Where are you? The pack is talking. Come home immediately.
Without his voice, the Alpha's Command was just text on a screen.
I removed the SIM card, rolled down the window, and tossed the chip onto the highway.
Twelve hours later, I stepped off the plane in Nice, France. The air smelled of salt, sun-baked earth, and thousands of flowers.
Grasse. Territory of the Royal Lycan Pack.
A black sedan waited. The driver wasn't human. "Ms. Jarvis," he nodded. "His Majesty is expecting you."
We drove up to a fortress of ancient stone overlooking lavender fields. My wolf lifted her head. Safe.
I was led into a massive library. Standing by the fireplace was a man who made Corbett look like a boy. King Kain Solomon.
He turned. Amber eyes. Broad shoulders.
And the scent. Deep, snowy forests and crushed wild roses.
Kain walked toward me. His nostrils flared. He looked past the fading masking agent.
"You are hurt," he said softly.
"I am healing."
"Your wolf," Kain murmured. "She is... quiet. But not weak."
"My former Alpha thought she was broken."
"Your former Alpha was a fool with a blocked nose," Kain said, voice hardening. "Welcome to the Royal Pack, Jenna. Here, we do not break things. We mend them."
Corbett POV:
New York was too loud.
I sat in my office, staring at the empty chair. A dull ache sat in my chest.
"She's just throwing a tantrum," Ivana said from the couch, eating grapes. "She wants you to chase her."
My secretary, Arthur, walked in, pale. He placed a thick envelope on my desk. "Sir. From France."
I frowned. "Jenna probably went crying to the King to get her job back."
I tore it open. I didn't read the text. I just looked for the signature line.
My eyes caught the bold header.
NOTICE OF REJECTION AND DISSOLUTION OF MATING BOND
PETITIONER: JENNA JARVIS
The air left the room.
"What is it?" Ivana asked.
I couldn't speak. A sharp, jagged pain ripped through my chest.
"Argh!" I doubled over.
"Corbett?"
I stared at the paper. She was cutting me out.
And for the first time, through the haze of my own arrogance, my wolf threw back his head and howled in agony.
