Page 44 of Wolves of the Rising Moon

“You leave Titus alone!” Sunny hisses, and I’m now completely flat on the ground, hands splayed out in front of me in complete submission.

Rafe!

Hold fast, Omega. She’s got him backed in a corner.

Alpha! I can’t take her dominance. Please, I need you.

Omega! You’re bound only to me, to my will. No other dominance can touch you.

The command unlocks me, and I can finally breathe. I hop off the ground, march myself up to the alpha killer himself, and grab a fistful of his shirt.

Those slate eyes stare down at me, a mixture of dark spices swirling in my nose.

I yank him down closer to my level. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not welcome here. I want to talk to therealDrago.”

I almost don’t catch the glint of humor in his gray gaze before the scent in the air changes to a crisp ozone and Drago’s eyes are dark brown once more.

The muzzle vanishes entirely, replaced with a smiling, human mouth. “You see me, don’t you?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know what any of this is. But you’re not hurting any of my mates or my friends.”

Drago gives me a swift nod.

“I’m sorry I ignored you for months. I’m sorry I left without thinking about how that might hurt you. It was selfish and cruel of me.”

His face relaxes. Tension I hadn’t noticed fades, and maybe it’s the darkness of the quarter moon, maybe it’s my adrenaline and dominance-addled brain, but beneath all the alpha posturing, Drago’s features are incredibly attractive.

The scars even seem to highlight his attractiveness, arching over and through his eyebrow and carving out his high cheekbones and strong jaw even further.

Before long, I’m not just scenting ozone, but caramel as well.

I forget myself and lean into him, breathing in his scent that reminds me so much of home.

Rafe’s snarl behind me puts my senses back in my head, and I release his shirt and get myself together real quick. “If you’d like to stay somewhere—anywhere that’s not here—that’s fine. But keep your murder mittens and that blade away from the alphas of this land,” I say with a surprising amount of conviction. Almost like I wasn’t just eating the cobblestone ground.

And there it is again. As clear as day and just like in the cottage that first night, Drago’s eyes fill with pain. “Your opinion of me is so low you think I kill alphas for fun?”

I stare him dead in the eye and lift my chin. “Isn’t that your whole gig? Killing and collecting power so you can be the monster that kills other monsters?”

Drago’s brows pull together, puckering the scarred skin. “You judge me harshly, Willa Stocklin. Unfairly so. I hope in time you’ll come to see that for yourself.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I just keep staring at him.

“I’m in a motel close to the pack lands. Please inform me before you leave.”

“She doesn’t have to tell you anything, asshole,” Jonah growls.

Drago shakes his head. “Look at me. I’m suffering without my mate. Willa is saved from the same fate because of you two, but I have no one else. She is my one and only, so if you care at all about keeping me sane, please inform me before you head home.” And with that, Drago leaves the way he came, vaulting himself high into the air and onto the roofline of the compound, before disappearing into the inky darkness of night.

The moment he’s out of sight, I collapse to the ground.

Rafe is at my side instantly. “Whoa, whoa, hey! Are you OK?”

Jonah’s right there too, smoothing his hand down my sweat-soaked hair.

No. I’m definitely not OK.

Is Drago right? Am I judging him too harshly? Am I doing what I always do and manufacturing reasons to keep my happiness at arm’s length?

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