Chapter 34
Blake
The moment we step into the hallway, I catch her scent.
Red hair. Too-tight dress. Predatory smile.
Crystal.
She's leaning against the wall outside the conference room, obviously waiting. Eavesdropping, probably. Hoping to catch something she can use as gossip currency.
Her rose perfume is so thick it makes my wolf snarl with irritation. She's trying to mask her Beta scent, trying to smell more appealing to Alphas.
It never worked on me. Not even before I knew what my mate smelled like.
Now it just makes me want to vomit.
"Apologies for interrupting, Alpha Marcus." Crystal straightens, her voice syrupy sweet. Fake as fuck. "But as tonight's event coordinator, I need to confirm the timeline for the midnight succession ceremony—"
Her gaze slides to Kara, and her smile sharpens into something venomous.
"Though I suppose I should mention—" She pauses for effect, the manipulative bitch. "—that your little pet has quite the mouth on her. She told her friends you three were all 'assholes and devils.' Actually, I believe her exact words were 'sadistic fucking psychopaths who deserve to rot in hell.'"
Crystal's smile widens. "Just thought you boys should know what she really thinks of you."
Kara goes rigid in my arms.
I can smell the spike of terror in her white musk and snow scent. Can feel her heart rate skyrocket against my palm. Her body temperature drops as blood drains from her face.
She thinks we're going to punish her for it.
She thinks we're going to drag her somewhere private and make her pay. Slap her. Choke her. Shove her face in the snow until she can't breathe.
All the things we used to do.
Fuck.
The guilt is a physical weight in my chest. Every terrible thing we ever did to her comes rushing back. Every time she flinched. Every time we made her cry. Every time she looked at us with that mix of fear and hate in her brown eyes.
Every time we broke her down a little more.
But then—
My wolf surges forward, hot and possessive and amused.
Because she's right.
We were assholes. We were devils. We were sadistic fucking psychopaths who tormented her because we didn't understand what she made us feel.
And I love that she had the guts to say it.
I bend down, putting my mouth right against Kara's ear. Let my gunpowder scent wrap around her, hot and protective and absolutely filthy with what I want to do to her.
"You were absolutely right, Princess." I keep my voice low, dangerous. Playful. "We are assholes. We were fucking devils."
My hand slides from her waist down to her hip. Lower. I cup her ass through the thin fabric of her dress—God, she's got the perfect fucking ass—and squeeze hard enough to make her gasp.
The sound goes straight to my cock.
"But now," I murmur against her ear, teeth grazing her earlobe, "we're your assholes. Your devils. Your sadistic fucking psychopaths who are going to spend the rest of our lives making you scream for all the right reasons."
Her pulse jumps beneath my palm. I can smell the confusion mixing with her fear, the way her scent shifts and changes as her body responds to mine despite her mind's protests.
Her thighs press together. I can smell it—the sweet, musky edge of arousal cutting through everything else.
Good girl.
Asher's voice cuts through the tension like a blade. "Crystal." His tone is Arctic. Final. "Your job is to coordinate logistics. Not to spread vicious lies about my mate. If I hear you've been gossiping about Kara again—if I hear you've so much as breathed her name in anything other than respectful tones—I will have you removed from pack lands. Permanently. Are we clear?"
It's not a suggestion.
It's an Alpha command backed by enough authority to make Crystal's knees visibly shake.
Her face flushes red—anger, embarrassment, fear, arousal, I don't give a fuck which. She glares at Kara one more time, jealousy and malice pouring off her in waves.
"Crystal." My voice drops lower. Dangerous. "I believe my brother asked you a question. Are. We. Clear?"
"Yes, Alpha." The words are choked. Humiliated.
Perfect.
"Then get the fuck out of my sight."
She turns on her heel and stalks away, her heels clacking angrily against the marble floor.
The moment she's gone, Cole moves to Kara's other side, his mint scent washing over her in soothing waves. "And we're changing," he says softly, one hand coming up to cup her face with devastating gentleness. "For you. Because of you."
Because we don't deserve you, but we're going to spend our lives trying to be worthy anyway.
I keep my hand on Kara's ass, thumb brushing the curve possessively. She's trembling, but she hasn't pulled away.
Her nipples are hard enough to see through her dress. Her breathing is shallow, rapid. Her scent is a chaotic mix of fear and arousal and confusion.
Progress.
"Come on." Asher's voice is gentle now, but his eyes are still that molten gold that means his wolf is riding him hard. "Midnight's approaching. Time for the ceremony."
Kara makes a small sound—protest, maybe, or just overwhelmed panic.
I lean down again, lips brushing the shell of her ear. "You can do this, Baby. We'll be right there with you. Won't let you fall."
Won't let you go.