In an instant the fire roared to life, swallowing the timber cabin, the fence, the courtyard whole. Something deep in my chest lurched — my wolf, silent for so long beneath the herbs I used to suppress my scent, throwing itself against the walls of my ribs in a soundless howl.
I gripped the fence and screamed. "No! Stop! Stop it!"
Seraphina pulled me away and pressed my thrashing body against her chest.
She held me there while I struggled and howled. Her scent washed over me — night-blooming jasmine over cold steel — and underneath it, something acrid that I had never let myself name until now.
"Fenris, when the time is right, I'll make you my secondary mate. Our pups can carry the title of a legitimate heir. We can be just like before."
But Seraphina, I am the Alpha Heir. How could I ever be your secondary mate?
The den was gone. There was no going back.
Three years ago, I had a fight with my father and stormed out of the pack stronghold in a fit of rage, chasing after my dream of a quiet life far from the howling and the hierarchy.