Calvin’s POVI needed to get away for a while, if only to hide my un Alpha-like emotion. Elation was mixed with the sudden urge to weep with relief and I couldn’t allow anyone to see me in such a state. Who was this she-wolf to unman me like this?The woman I loved beyond reason or sense.She was enormously fragile and could break at any time, despite the tough front. And I’d used her like a booty call. Mom would be ashamed of me, my father less so; in fact, he’d have probably cautioned me against claiming her.I phoned Isabel to let her know the good news. It was Guy who answered her mobile. She was having one of her spells and I was disappointed to learn that she may not be fit enough to come to our wedding. I told him I would delay the ceremony and insisted he bring her to stay for a while.Pulling rank could be useful sometimes. No, make that every time.I should probably have insisted Issy make the effort to attend the ball as I knew how much music cheered her.“You’ll be next,”

Calvin’s POVActing wasn’t a strength of mine but I knew how to appear cold and calculating. Vicious would be a learning curve. Should I pre-warn her? Tori had enough to deal with in any case.The way she was eyeing me now, with suspicion, made me realise how much this could set her back. I had to tell her what to expect, even if that meant admitting I didn’t know the half of it, either.Reluctantly, I showed her the flyer which had come through the mail once I’d approached Tommy. I hadn’t been entirely sure what I was going to do, who I would take, if I would go, and was even less certain of the wisdom of this now.“‘Gore Theme Weekend’. Ugh. You do realise he could be setting his own trap for us?”“It had crossed my mind,” I said. “That may mean he drops his guard.”“I know just where to hit him if he does. ‘The ultimate aim is to make a mess of your slave’. Great. How do they dream them up?” Tori went quiet then. I reckoned she’d reached the so-called good bit. It got even worse ov

Tori’s POVHis designer shirt was already in tatters from the lashes meted out by Alpha Archer yet Calvin never made a sound. He was still unconscious, the head wound needing all of his wolf’s attention in order for him to heal.If there was a scar, so what? I already had my own, both inside and out.What had the flyer said? Something about gore. Calvin would just hate it when he learned he’d been treated like a male submissive and in public, too. Sick remarks were already doing the rounds about him being a switch.I really hoped, for his sake, this wasn’t being filmed.Suddenly I realised that this could mean war. And I had sounded the alarm. I refused to feel guilty. Us females had been in turmoil far too long.My companion was the next to wield a whip. This one was studded with silver and I heard Calvin’s moans with relief – he was coming round! – and an element of trepidation as to how much longer he could last. Pride didn’t kill you, or losing face, and I knew how incredibly stro

Calvin’s POVI came round to see I was in a medical facility and my back hurt. Where the fuck was Tori?The first of several mind links alerted me to the seriousness of our situation. She’d contacted Ellie Cooper who had informed Travis we were in trouble and my Beta was concerned as to my welfare.In response to my question, the medic informed me she’d heard I’d been whipped in public. Thaddeus was steaming rather than whimpering. I was just glad I’d missed the whole thing.I thought about my mate, then. That must have been tough on her and she was all alone with these savage monsters. Well, not quite thrown to the wolves. Jason was on our side, and probably Tobias. And I knew my fated mate was stronger than she believed.I cursed myself for bringing us into this unprepared. What had I been thinking? Endangering my fated mate and Luna. It could mean all out war. If that was what it took to stop this kind of thing happening in future, I was prepared to give the go-ahead to start it.M

Tori’s POVMaybe I’d gone too far, but I wanted people to know. Fran was crying openly. Soon, she slumped to her knees, taking me with her.“With no current owner, that won’t be possible, sweet girl. I say Alpha Archer should exclude himself from the bidding? How about it, Tommy?”“You don’t dictate what I do and don’t do, Mrs King.”“Then we’ll just have to offer up a higher price than you. Toby.”So our nightmare continued. Because Travis had dropped out for some reason and, however much I strained, I couldn’t see him.Alpha Dante played his part, suggesting a sum in a half-hearted way which I assumed was meant to up the price. Was Tommy going to profit? Did he hope to ‘sell’ us and then reclaim us via the orgy?I was trying not to think about what Jason had disclosed regarding the wearers of the black mask. Maybe Fran wouldn’t have to tussle with her rapist in a life or death struggle afterwards.There was soon a clear favourite in the race to become our owner. Then I saw Travis ha