I knew Alina admired her Alpha.

Still didn't make sense to me.

How could a man ask a woman to marry him without wanting her?

Without loving her?

Arranged marriages belonged in another century. Half the couples in Seattle couldn't survive with love involved. A mating built on duty alone?

Yeah. That sounded doomed.

Men really were unbelievable.

Give them power long enough and suddenly feelings became optional.

At least Vaelor had agreed to let Alina leave for a while.

That gave us time.

Time to kill this whole insane arrangement before it became permanent.

I scanned the forest again.

Nothing moved between the trees.

Still—

something watched me.

I could feel it.

Not surprising, honestly. I was standing dangerously close to pack territory. Wolves probably caught my scent the second I crossed the boundary.

A chill crawled slowly down my spine.

The sun was already disappearing behind the mountains.

No way did I want to be alone out here after dark.

A low growl rolled through the forest.

My breath caught instantly.

Slowly, I turned.

A massive wolf stood between the trees.

Dark gray fur.

Broad chest.

Bright eyes fixed on me.

For one horrible second, panic locked my body in place.

What if it wasn't one of them?

What if there were actual wild wolves out here too?

How the hell was I supposed to tell the difference?

The wolf stared at my face.

Then lower.

A slow, very human kind of look.

Relief hit me hard.

Okay.

Definitely a werewolf.

More wolves emerged from the trees behind him.

Silent.

Huge.

One after another until they formed a loose circle around me.

No escape.

Not that I planned on running.

I straightened my shoulders anyway.

The first wolf stopped in front of me.

Bones cracked.

Muscle shifted.

A second later a man stood there completely naked.

And honestly?

That was a problem.

Not the shifting.

I'd seen Alina transform before.

No.

The problem was him.

Tall.

Dark hair.

Lean muscle everywhere.

Light eyes.

Very, very naked.

"Well," he said slowly, "you're calmer than I expected."

His gaze dragged over me carefully.

"We were expecting Alina."

The man stepped closer.

"So why are you wearing her clothes?"

I blinked once.

"Alina?" I tilted my head innocently. "No idea who that is."

One eyebrow lifted immediately.

"These are my clothes."

"No," he said flatly. "They're not."

He leaned closer.

Inhaled near my throat.

Right.

Wolf senses.

A grin pulled slowly at his mouth.

"You girls really thought this would work?"

At a single nod from him, three wolves sprinted deeper into the forest.

Tracking Alina.

Damn it.

"I'll admit," he said, "it was cute."

Then he grabbed my arm.

Firm.

Controlled.

Strong enough to remind me exactly what he was.

"Where are you taking me?"

"You're going to answer a few questions."

My heartbeat kicked harder.

His mouth twitched slightly when he noticed.

Then he let go of me completely.

"If I wanted to hurt you, Claire Dawson, we wouldn't be talking."

Okay.

Definitely not helping.

I walked beside him through the trees while the others followed behind us.

"So," I said carefully, "are you the Alpha?"

That earned a low laugh.

"No."

Interesting.

Because he carried himself like somebody important.

"I'm Kaelen Ward."

"Claire Dawson."

"I know."

Of course he did.

Supernatural tracking wolves. Right.

Kaelen glanced sideways at me again.

"You weren't scared."

"I was a little scared."

"Not enough."

He leaned slightly closer again.

"And all I smell is Alina."

I smiled sweetly.

"My laundry situation got tragic."

That almost made him laugh.

"So she lent me clothes."

"You should save the jokes for later." Kaelen shook his head slowly. "Vaelor's not known for his patience."

The knot in my stomach tightened instantly.

Right.

The terrifying Alpha.

I cleared my throat.

"I already knew about werewolves."

Kaelen stopped walking for half a second.

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"How long?"

Instead of answering, I glanced toward the wolves behind us.

Several had shifted back into human form already, pulling jeans and shirts from hidden bags near the trees.

None of them stopped watching me.

"I think you're incredible," I admitted quietly.

Kaelen snorted softly.

"That's a new one."

"You protect each other." I shrugged. "That matters."

"You realize you're contradicting yourself."

I frowned.

"How?"

"You claim to admire the pack." His expression sharpened slightly. "Then help Alina deceive our Alpha."

"I'm helping my friend."

"Same thing."

"No." I stopped walking entirely. "It's not."

The wolves behind us went still.

"She saved my life." My voice came out harder this time. "I'd do anything for her."

Kaelen studied me quietly after that.

Something changed in his expression.

"She was attacked?" he asked finally.

"By a human."

My throat still burned if I touched it wrong.

His eyes dropped to the fading cut near my neck.

A growl rumbled low in his chest.

"You understand now?"

"Yes."

The answer came rough.

"But she shouldn't involve a human in pack business."

"She didn't." I crossed my arms. "I chose this."

"You don't understand what you're stepping into."

"Maybe not." I shrugged lightly. "Still here."

Kaelen exhaled slowly through his nose.

"You really think Vaelor's the villain?"

"I think forcing someone into a political marriage is insane."

"That marriage protects the pack."

"It traps Alina."

Silence.

Then Kaelen laughed quietly under his breath.

"Oh, this is going to go badly."

I frowned.

"What is?"

"Your mouth." He grabbed my arm again gently, leading me toward the edge of the forest. "And my Alpha's temper."

The first house appeared through the trees moments later.

Large.

Dark.

Built into the mountainside like something ancient.

My stomach tightened immediately.

No turning back now.

Time to meet the Big Bad Wolf.