Page 8 of Wanted By the Cartel

I let my magic rise, just a little, feeling it sing through my blood. The water in the bowl rippled, showing me glimpses—the SUVs outside, the men watching my building, and in his office across town, Zoren looking at my picture, his expression not predatory but... searching. Longing. What was he thinking? I couldn't help but wonder.

The sight made my heart stutter. This wasn't just a hunt for him either. He felt it too.

If he were right here with me, would he admit it?

Dawn was breaking when I made my decision. Hours passed, and I didn't even realize it until it was almost too late.

I wouldn't run this time, but I wouldn't surrender either. If Zoren wanted me, he would have to prove he was worthy of not just my power, but my trust. And if the Nightshade Wolves thought they could simply collect me like another magical artifact, they would learn why moon-blessed omegas were both revered and feared.

There was only one of me, but I wasn't going to be afraid. Not anymore. Not ever again.

I touched my birthmark again, feeling it pulse under my fingers. For the first time in years, I smiled at its warmth instead of fearing it. The moon was growing full, my power was rising, and instead of running from it, I would embrace it. This time, it was going to be different.

Let them watch. Let them wonder. Let them try to understand what they were really dealing with. I wasn't just some prize to be won—I was a force of nature waiting to be unleashed.

And if Zoren truly was my mate, he would have to prove he could handle that power. Not control it, but stand beside it as an equal. The thought sent a thrill through me that was part challenge, part anticipation.

It was as though my body was rewarding me for finally doing the right thing, as though I had been lying to myself this entire time.

And the biggest difference this time was that I was going to set the rules.

Chapter 6

Zoren

I hadn't planned for this to happen tonight. I'd intended to keep watching, gathering information, strategizing. It was supposed to be the natural course of events, after all. But when Lyrian's magic had flared an hour ago—a brilliant burst of power that had every supernatural being in a ten-mile radius looking toward the Howling Pine—I couldn't stay away.

Something had to be done, and it had to be done as soon as possible. I couldn't lose my window of opportunity.

I found him in the bar's storage room, surrounded by shattered bottles and crackling energy. His platinum hair was wild, eyes glowing with lunar power he couldn't contain anymore. The scent of distress and raw magic filled the surrounding air, making my wolf surge forward with the need to protect, to claim, to soothe. Maybe even more than that…

"Stay back," he warned, but his voice trembled. Another wave of power rolled off him, and I felt it resonate with my own magic. "I can't... I can't control it tonight. I'm not going to keep trying to do that. It's been hurting me."

"Because you've been suppressing it too long," I said, closing the door behind me. We needed privacy for this, and I was hoping that my actions were going to do most of the talking. I needed him to understand me and my reasons. "Fighting what you are. Fighting this." I gestured between us, acknowledging the mate bond that had been pulling us together since that first night.

He could feel it too. It was in the way he was looking at me. He had been suppressing the feeling for too long, but now, it was finally coming out.

His eyes met mine, defiant despite his vulnerability. "You don't understand what it's like, having to hide all the time, having to—" His words cut off as another surge hit him. This time, I moved forward, catching him before he could fall.

I didn't have to say it. I understood how he felt. I had to hide as well, but for different reasons.

The moment I touched him, our magics intertwined. The sensation was overwhelming—like diving into moonlight, like touching the rawest of all powers. My wolf howled in recognition, and I felt his omega respond even as he tried to pull away.

"Let me help you," I murmured, one hand cupping his face. His skin burned beneath my touch, fever-hot with contained power. Even if he kept fighting me, I didn't think I would stop. I wouldn't feel good if I did. "Stop fighting it, Lyrian. Stop fighting me."

"I don't need—" he started, but I could feel him leaning into my touch, his body betraying his words.

"You do," I said, sliding my hand to the nape of his neck, feeling the raised edges of his crescent mark. "And so do I. There's no point in pretending otherwise."

His eyes widened at the admission. I wasn't supposed to need anyone—I was Alpha Nightshade, leader of the mostpowerful shifter cartel in North America. But this moon-blessed omega had worked his way under my skin, past all my walls, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. He unearthed something in me I thought would never come out.

"Zoren," he breathed, and the sound of my name on his lips broke something loose inside me. The next surge of his power met no resistance—instead, it flowed into me, through me, amplified by my own magic before returning to him.

The feedback loop of power had us both gasping. I backed him against the shelves, aware of every point where our bodies touched, of how perfectly he fit against me. His hands fisted in my shirt, no longer pushing me away but pulling me closer. He wanted me so much.

"This is dangerous," he whispered, even as his head tilted back, exposing his throat in an unconscious gesture of submission that made my wolf growl with approval. He was behaving better than I thought he was going to be.

"Everything about you is dangerous," I replied, lowering my head to trace the line of his neck with my nose, scenting him. Under the magic and power, he smelled like moonlight and surrender, like everything I'd ever wanted. "But I'm not letting you run anymore. It's not good for you."

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