In a primal world that favors the strong and punishes the weak, Aria knew that her family's pack would not survive long when her father's health began to fail. Her fears come to life when the Intonat Nocte Pack attacks, demanding that they surrender...
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|MALIK|
Red lined my vision as my brother lifted his hand to touch my mate.
My mate.
Mine.
I'd known it the moment she walked into the formal meeting hall, head bowed and demure. Pliant and obedient. Submissive to another male.
My hands balled into trembling fists as familiar, volatile anger simmered in my veins. I inhaled once, desperate to draw the scent of her, a tantalizing combination of honeysuckle and pear, into my lungs. It consumed me, momentarily taming my burning need to punish every fucking male in the room who looked at her with desire in their eyes.
I resisted the urge to storm off of the dais and rip my brother and alpha away from her. I could, and, Goddess, in that moment, I wanted to. I'd never wanted to harm him before. I'd devoted my entire life to protecting him– serving him.
And this female, a blessing from the Moon Goddess herself, eclipsed any sense of duty that I possessed for my brother. She was mine.
And he wanted to claim her for himself.
A low, rasping growl grumbled from my chest, and pain grated at my throat as a result, but I didn't care. I needed to stop this.
My brother immediately responded to my raw warning, his fingers pausing mere centimeters from Aria Knox's rosy cheeks. The muscles in his back went still, a predator that had been temporarily leashed.
I could scent little Aria's relief. Saw her round, blue eyes wrench open to find me.
Yes. Search for me, little dove, I wanted to say. Wanted to beckon her to me, tuck her against my side and take her far, far away from this place.
This innate urge to protect and possess her increased tenfold when her gaze finally found me, drinking in the sight of me from bottom to top. The world stood still as her eyes traveled up my legs, grazed the length of my torso and studied my shoulders, and finally...
She stiffened, fear pooling in her blue eyes and permeating off of her in waves.
I almost flinched. Almost.
I'd been a fool to believe that my fate-given mate would be unaffected by my scarred face. I'd seen enough disgust and alarm on the faces of those I cross to know that most people found my appearance repulsive.
A bitter smile twisted on my lips. If you think I'm so ugly now, little dove, you should've seen me when the attack first happened.
I looked like a fuckin' prince by comparison. Twenty-four years prior, the right side of my head had been reduced to a mangled mess of skin and muscle and bone...
I shouldn't have felt the impact of her revulsion so profoundly. Should've been accustomed to the fear-inducing effects I had on others by now.
Malik? Roman's voice filled my head through our mindlink, a bond shared among all werewolves of the same pack, demanding and impatient. The voice of an alpha who had been interrupted by a subordinate.
