Page 90 of Roaring Flames

“Just listen!” He grabs my arm before I can stomp away, his touch feather-soft against my skin, his fingers burningeverywhere they touch. “We don’t think of Desiree like that. Most of us can’t stand her. But…”

“But?” I arch an eyebrow.

His shoulders deflate as if he’s carrying the weight of the world. “But—and the others are going to be so fucking pissed I’m telling you this—we’re supposed to mate with her.”

Shock practically plows me over. I feel lightheaded and weak at the knees. All I can do is gape at Emery, certain I misheard him. Pain whirls through me like a tornado.

I manage a choked, “What?”

“Something happened a while ago.” He hesitates. “It’s a story that I think Ethan needs to tell you. But anyway, something happened, and the four of us got into a lot of trouble. Desiree’s dad is an influential member of the community, so he offered us a deal. He would forgive us if we mated with his daughter.”

A cold chill seeps through my skin. It feels as if someone dumped a bucket of ice cubes down my shirt.

“Why?” I rasp out. “Doesn’t she have a mate of her own?”

“Not every shifter does,” Emery says, extending his wrist. He points to the mark that resembles a flame. “This is our pack mark. And this one? The tiny mark above it? This is our mating mark. All of us have the exact same mark on our skin, indicating that not only are we in the same pack, but we share the same mate. We got them when we reached puberty.” His expression falls. “But not every wolf receives a pack mark. If someone doesn’t receive one by their eighteenth birthday, they’re considered a lone wolf.”

“And Desiree…?”

He shakes his head sadly. “Never got one.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” My thoughts stray to Christian, the only other lone wolf I know.

Emery’s next words cease all coherent thoughts. “They usually go insane. Their wolf… It takes control. They can nolonger maintain their human form. Most times, lone wolves are sent into the wilderness to live out the rest of their lives.”

Oh…

Oh god.

Insane.

Insane.

Christian.

I think of his tiny smile, the stubble on his chin, that dark, spiky hair. My heart feels as if it’s being shoved straight into a meat grinder.

And Desiree…

“And mating with Desiree will stop her from going insane?” I ask quietly, putting the pieces together.

But Emery surprises me by shaking his head. “No. As of now, there have been no known cases of a lone wolf regaining their humanity. But that doesn’t stop Desiree’s father from hoping.”

“And what will happen if you refuse? If you don’t go through with it?” Rocks tumble through my chest.

Emery’s expression turns hard and unyielding, his eyes hewn from stone. “If we don’t mate with Desiree, then Ethan will be locked away for a very, very long time.”

Thirty-Five

GRAYSON

“Get up.”

Something cold is poured over my head.

I jerk upright, sputtering and gasping, to see Vlad standing above me, his eyes burning blood-red.

A shiver works its way through me as I force myself upright, force myself to my feet. My legs tremble, but I know it’s not from the chill. I’m painfully weak after days of starvation, only being granted the bare minimum of sustenance.

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