DARIUS POV I wake up early in the morning, feeling the light rays of the sun over my eyelids. I feel her warm body curled into mine. I hear her light breathing and her heartbeat is steady, matching my own. Her face is pressed into my chest, and I can feel her starting to drool on me. I try to hold back my laughter, so I don’t wake her. I gently stroke my hand through her hair, which is pretty messy after our evening activities. I replay the moment we looked into each other’s eyes and said we loved one another at the same time. That moment only confirms that we were made for each other. We didn’t mark each other last night. I know I wanted to, and my wolf was clawing at the front of my mind to put our mark on her beautiful neck. But we still don’t know what will happen if we complete the mate bond. Is the Fated Plague really over? I’m not ready to risk Daya’s safety and I don’t need to mark her to know that she is totally mine. I feel her beginning to stir and I wrap my arms tig

DARIUS POV Three. I’ve only fought three of Justin’s lemmings so far and I’m huffing and puffing. They are not as skilled as me. Not even close. But they are quick and unpredictable. The second fighter slashed me down my ribs, and even though I was able to rip his throat out seconds later, he still got me. Before I could fully heal, the third challenger, Danny, my own pack member, stepped forward and lunged at me. He was a strong guy. I didn’t want to kill him. I was able to knock the first guy out. But the second challenger and Danny didn’t give me the option. I shift back to my human form, blood coating my face and neck. The slash on my ribs is almost completely healed. But I’m already tired. The fourth challenger steps forward. He announces himself and that he’s challenging me. I don’t listen to his name. This is all a game to Justin. This is not a game. But I have no choice, I have to play. I look back quickly at Lucas and Aurelian. I can tell they are ready to shift and fig

DAYA POV We raced to the border and sure enough, a group of eight wolves was waiting for us. I was met with two familiar faces. Mara. She is looking smug and portrays the illusion that she is in charge. And Leslie. Poor Leslie looked scared, and her face was covered in dirt, with two streaks down her cheeks from crying. They hadn’t dressed her. She stood naked- her body bruised and shaking. Mara held Leslie by the back of her head, and Leslie’s eyes were wincing from the pain of her hair being pulled from her scalp. “Shift back now!” Mara yells at us. We ignored her command and continued approaching. She unsheaths a silver blade. She presses the tip of the blade to Leslie’s throat and Leslie tries to hold back tears and tries to stay still. “I said, shift,” Mara repeats herself, putting more emphasis on her tone. We all shift back to our human forms and stand in front of her, and her goons. We all stand there naked, except for Sage, who is still in her black leggings and grey lo

DARIUS POV Two days. It has been two days since everything changed. I haven’t left the dungeons in these two days. I only know how much time has passed because Lucas comes down here and updates me on what’s happening around the pack. We had no casualties, despite several small attacks at the borders. We did lose Danny. One of our newest and youngest warriors on the squad. Apparently, Justin was able to sink his claws into that kid and got him so twisted. It pained me to kill him. It hurts me, even more, to know that Danny died, and Justin lived. I let Justin live. Ten more seconds. I just had to squeeze his throat for ten more seconds and he would have died. All the worst moments of my life are decided in ten fucking seconds. If I was ten seconds faster, I could have saved Calvin. And now, Justin. I’m standing outside his cell, watching him slowly regain consciousness. My fists are throbbing from punching him, but I welcome the pain. I don’t want to think about anything

DAYA POV I stepped into the cool, evening air with a sense of satisfaction washing over me. I could care less about Mara being dead. She hurt my family too many times. Marking Darius was not part of my agenda. My wolf took over at that moment with the need to show the world that Darius is mine. I am terrified about what could happen now that I marked him. Will he mark me too? What about the plague? How long do we have together until one of us dies? All these thoughts are racing through my head. I don’t hear him walking up behind me. He wraps his strong, calloused hand around my upper arm and spins me around to face him. I run my tongue over my dry lips. I can taste the remnants of his blood. We don’t say anything to each other. It feels like hours pass before he opens his mouth to speak. “What did you do, Troublemaker?” His deep, sexy voice drips out and it’s sending shockwaves to my core. He runs the back of his other hand down the side of my face. I lean into