Page 66 of The Forbidden Wolf

“Stop!” Evan waved his hands in front of his ears as if they were on fire. “Gross!”

“That is enough, Sebastian!” I glared at him as I pushed Evan out into the laundry room. “You’re being an ass.”

“He needs to know the rules.” Sebastian caught Evan’s elbow and continued urgently, “As Alpha Heir, I have already claimed Elyse, so she is not eligible. However, our pack has a surplus of low-ranking females you are welcome to choose from.” He smiled magnanimously. “Their fathers are quite anxious about their prospects, so it shouldn’t be hard to secure a mate.”

Evan recoiled, one hand on his chest. “Did I die and go back to Georgia? Elyse, what the hell is this man saying?”

“Male,” Sebastian corrected. “We’re not human, so we don’t use terms like man and woman. We use male and female. That’s all.”

Evan tucked his chin and wrinkled his nose. “Thanks, I hate it.”

“You will adjust,” Sebastian said. An order, not an encouragement.

“I will not,” Evan said. “Because that is some bullshit. Elyse, you said this was an arranged marriage, but it sounds to me like he arranged it. What is this claiming nonsense? Did he just, what? Point at you and say, ‘She’s mine!’”

“Um… yes.” My ears burned with embarrassment. “Pretty much.”

Evan grabbed my shoulders, searching my eyes. “And you agreed?”

I looked down at my bare, bloody feet. “My father agreed. And then he tried to take it back but not for my sake. For Kiana’s. Sebastian was supposed to mate with my sister instead, but during the ceremony, he decided I was his fated mate, and I don’t feel it—”

Evan’s fingers dug into my flesh as his eyes widened with furious horror. He pulled me to his side and a little bit behind him. As Charlie had done barely more than an hour ago when her body still felt warm and safe like his.

“And what if I do claim her?” Evan said.

Sebastian growled. “You can’t.”

“I do.” Evan squeezed me tight. “She’s mine.”

“Then that’s where I have to hurt you.” Sebastian took a threatening step out of the elevator. “Please take it back so I don’t have to.”

Bristling, Evan stepped forward, a truly menacing look in his eyes. “Fine. I take it back. I claim you instead. You’re mine.”

Sebastian grimaced. “You can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Evan raked his eyes over Sebastian’s shiftskin-covered form. “You’re pretty. I want you. You’re mine.”

“That’s not how this works,” Sebastian sputtered. “Only females can be claimed. And only by males.” He cleared his throat and stood even taller. “I realize this is not how things are done in the human world anymore, but this is how our species survives.”

“Not anymore,” Evan laughed.

“Yes,” Sebastian said. “Always. You have no right to change that just because you… because… stop looking at me like that!” Sebastian stamped his foot

“Newsflash, handsome.” Evan gestured flamboyantly at himself. “Elyse doesn’t need your services anymore.”

Sebastian’s unflappable Alpha Heir mask began to flap. His brow scrunched, eyes sliding off to one side as if calculating the odds of his own obsolescence ruining his plans. Finally, his features hardened into my least favorite version of him. “That doesn’t matter. My claim still stands.” He stepped back into the elevator, glaring at me. “Your helpmaid will fetch you when we’re ready. Come alone.”

The patient doors swiftly slammed shut, leaving Evan and I alone with the gentle rumbling of the laundry machines. My friend looked down at me, a horrible mixture of outrage and pity etched into the lines around his puckered mouth and seething eyes. I cringed, waiting for the lecture on how this wasn’t okay, but after a long, charged moment, Evan simply opened his arms.

I flung myself onto his chest, unable to hold back the sobs any longer. They ripped from my chest like infant xenomorphs, one after the other, tearing me to shreds, but somehow, Evan’s strong arms held the pieces together. His musky new wolf scent filled my nostrils. I did that. I made him like that.

“I’m so sorry,” I whimpered. “I’m so sorry I dragged you into this.”

“Shhh.” He kissed the top of my head. “I’m sorry you’ve been alone in this.”

Alone. I had always been so alone.

“We have to find Jayla,” he said quietly. “I lost my phone.”

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