Ariella flinched slightly at his touch, a shiver running down her spine that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the possessive heat in his gaze.
“I’m not some fragile thing, Grimshaw,” she retorted, her voice a little breathless despite herself.
“I can handle myself.”
He chuckled, a dark, low sound that vibrated through the car.
“Oh, I know, kitten.
That’s precisely why I let you play.
But even the sharpest claws can get dulled if they’re not protected.” His thumb moved from her neck, sweeping along her jawline, his touch light but firm, a silent claim.
“Vane learned a valuable lesson tonight, didn’t he?
That some things are not to be touched.”
Ariella met his eyes, a spark of defiance mixing with something undeniably drawn to him.
“And what exactly are those ‘things,’ Alpha?” she challenged, her voice a low murmur.
His gaze intensified, a predatory gleam in the depths of his dark eyes.
“You, for one,” he rumbled, his voice dropping to a near growl.
“And anyone who thinks otherwise will regret it.
Consider this a friendly reminder, kitten, of where you belong.” He leaned closer, his scent, rich and earthy, filling her senses, making her pulse quicken.
“Don’t make me have to remind them again.”
Ironfang Spire – The Medical Wing
The hours after the Ball were a blur of blood, silver salve, and the sharp, antiseptic bite of wolfbane medicine.
Ariella lay on a reinforced examination table, her emerald gown discarded in a heap on the floor, her body wrapped in a medical gown that did nothing to hide the tremors still wracking her frame.
The iron collar around her neck was scorched black, the circuitry fused, smoke still curling from the engravings.
“It was a Siphoner’s probe,” Dr.
Selene, the pack healer said, her voice clipped and clinical as she examined the burns on Ariella’s wrists where her own power had tried to force its way out.
“Vane wasn’t testing your ‘purity.’ He was trying to force a premature awakening.
If the collar hadn’t grounded you, he would have ripped your Primal spark out through your nervous system.
Ariella are you sure you’ve never awakened even once?”
“No.
I haven’t.
My dad said I never for once showed signs of having a wolf even as child, despite my brothers shifting at fourteen. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
But, is that why he screamed?” Ariella asked, her voice hoarse.
“I mean Vane.”
“That’s why he screamed,” Dr.
Selene confirmed, dabbing a cooling salve on the burns.
“You didn’t just challenge him.
You inverted his own technique.
You used his probe as a weapon and fed him a taste of Alpha Grimshaw’s Void energy.
For a siphoner, that would be like drinking poison while bleeding out.”
Ariella closed her eyes, remembering the moment.
The way she had reached for Grimshaw’s hand not as a husband, but as an anchor.
The way his Void had answered her Primal call like a lock finding its key.
“He’ll retaliate,” Ariella whispered.
“Vane.”
“He’ll try,” Dr.
Selene said, packing away her supplies.
“But the Council witnessed his ‘test.’ He can’t touch you without starting a war with three major packs.
For now, you’re untouchable.” She paused at the door, looking back with a rare, almost sympathetic expression.
“Rest, Luna.
The Void-Primal bond is a two-edged sword.
It’s keeping you alive, but it’s also burning through your reserves.
If you keep pulling that much energy, your heart will give out before your enemies do.”
The door clicked shut, leaving Ariella alone in the sterile silence.
Ironfang Spire – The Master Suite
Grimshaw stood on the balcony of the master suite, the cold wind off the Fracture whipping his dark hair across his face.
He was shirtless, the scars on his back a proof of violence, the fresh bite mark on his shoulder still seeping a faint, clear purple.
He hadn’t gone to bed.
He couldn’t.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Ariella standing in the hall, her eyes blazing silver, her hand reaching for him like he was the only solid thing in a collapsing world.
And he had answered.
It wasn’t just a mating bond.
It was like a collapse, like he lived through it.
He was losing himself to her.
And the worst part?
He didn’t want to stop.
The balcony door slid open behind him.
“You’re not sleeping,” Ariella’s voice said.
Grimshaw didn’t turn.
He heard her bare feet on the stone, felt the heat of her body as she stopped beside him.
She was wearing a thin, black silk robe, her hair still damp from the shower, her skin smelling of antiseptic and that wild, electric scent he had come to associate with her Primal fire.
“Neither are you,” he replied, his voice a low, gravelly rumble.
Ariella leaned against the balcony railing, her golden-silver eyes fixed on the jagged horizon.
The moon was a thin, pale crescent, barely visible through the industrial haze of the Fracture.
“I can’t stop shaking.”
Grimshaw turned to look at her.
In the dim light, she looked fragile—a sharp contrast to the woman who had brought a Siphoner Alpha to his knees.
He reached out, his fingers brushing a strand of wet hair from her face.
“That was reckless,” he said, though his voice lacked any real heat.
“Using my Void without training.
You could have burned your nervous system to ash.”
“But I didn’t.” Ariella looked up at him, her jaw set with that stubborn defiance he both loved and hated.
“I felt you.
When I reached for your hand…
it was like falling and being caught at the same time.”
Grimshaw’s hand stilled on her cheek.
His grey eyes searched hers, looking for fear, for weakness, for the girl who had jumped out of a moving car rather than be sold.
What he found instead was a woman standing on the edge of a cliff, deciding whether to jump or fly.