~ CASIMIR ~ There was a moment, a vision blooming in my mind of a different life—a different male. Given, peaceful, joyful… I could see myself as the mate and husband, the reluctant King. The delighted lover and mentor. Happy… and weak. Happy to be weak. Weak to her disapproval. Weak to the loss of her. Weak to her pain. I sucked in a sharp breath, fingers clawing into her hip, her legs, holding her tightly against my chest as if someone was about to rip her free. Then the terror rushed in on the back of the rest of that image: Me happy and weak, and failing. Impossible to lead the packs, to maintain my strength, to control anything if she held such power. Impossible. Utterly. Jesse made a small sound, as if she heard my thoughts, though I knew she couldn’t. Her arms tightened around my neck, her nose nuzzling under my jaw, and her body melted into mine. And then I heard them—the snarling and barking, the howls of distress and fury, the thuds and slams of heavy bodies in a last

~ JESSE ~With a soft growl, Rake turned and trotted back to the door, closing and locking it before he faced me again and started back, slower this time.“Jesse… talk to me,” he said quietly, soothingly. Like I was a scared little animal.“About what?” I laughed humorlessly.“What happened last night? I mean, I know what happened, but… how did it happen?”I blinked, frowning. “What do you mean, you know what happened?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.Rake turned his chin slightly away from me, but his eyes never left mine. “Cazz claimed you… didn’t he?”Relief rocked through me, and I nodded quickly to cover. “Yes. Yes, you’re right. He did. I just… I don’t understand exactly… exactly what happened. Or what it means.”“He didn’t tell you?”I was perilously close to tears, which I hated. This wasn’t how I lived! But something about Cazz had turned me into brittle glass. I felt like the wrong blow—even a soft one—would shatter me into too many pieces to ever hope to heal.I h

~ JESSE ~ Cazz pounding into me. His teeth in my flesh. His words growled, his hands grasping. I flinched away from the memories that were so confusing. Rake was watching me intently, so I kept my face as blank as I could. “It wouldn’t have been bad—it wasn’t bad. But there was… it was just confusing. He… he told me that he had no choice but to claim me. That they’d tear me—or him—apart if he didn’t. But he was angry. Blaming me.” “Because you enticed the males.” “I didn’t know that I was doing that!” I snapped. “I was thinking about him. I didn’t know how the packmind worked—he never explained it. And he didn’t even warn me that he was going to connect me to it. When it happened it made him happy—he encouraged me! I just… I was flying blind!” Rake sighed. “I know. It’s okay, Jesse. I’m not blaming you. I just… he definitely marked you, right? Declared his claim on you?” “Yes,” I said emphatically. “And somehow… somehow the wounds from it are already healed.” Rake didn’t seem

~ CASIMIR ~I sat on the throne, fuming, as two of the ancient alphas from the regions beyond the city argued in front of me about a territorial dispute.Both males were aggressive, bristling at each other, stifling growls, but unwilling to do more than bare teeth in front of me.They were still fit though they were both old enough for their hair to be mostly gray.Bringing the issue to me for judgment was better than tearing each other’s packs apart. But today of all days? Neither had been in the Palace last night. They were clueless as to what had happened, though they’d heard that I’d claimed my mate. And they approved.So generous of them…“…Sire, the river is an appropriate border—it makes things very clear so no wolves can claim they were unaware—”“And grows your reach without battle for it,” Aleric, the second alpha snarled. “Sire, you must see that we cannot simply allow a wolf to take what he has not earned. In my day—”“In your day I could take your throat for speaking out

~ JESSE ~I don’t know what I expected from Cazz when he next showed up, but it wasn’t that he would storm into my room in a rage.“What the fuck are you doing baring yourself to the fucking cleric!?”He’d surprised me, throwing the door open and stalking in. I jumped and whirled, hand to my chest. It took a moment to realize there was no threat, he was just standing in front of me, snarling.I took a deep breath. “It’s great to see you too, Cazz.”He growled and pursed his lips, but he folded his arms and lifted his chin.I swallowed hard. “Thank you. You don’t need to loom to get me to answer a question, you know. We’re mates. And claimed. Apparently that’s… that’s important,” I said carefully, because that yawning chasm in my chest now inhabited every inch where he used to be. And I wasn’t sure if he’d actually removed that bond, or was just so shut down that I couldn’t feel it.His eyes narrowed. “What happens between us is between us. Even I don’t speak of it. Why would you share