The circle of wolves stared at the prey in the middle. Their breaths came rough and uneven, their eyes glowing faintly in the dark. With them already in their true forms, it was hard to hold their beasts back. Each one stared at the girl like she was already theirs, hunger rolling off them in waves.
Alpha Soier moved first.
He stepped forward slowly, each stride echoing across the silent courtyard. He planned to mount her the moment the clock struck twelve, claim her before the entire pack so she would have no choice but to submit.
But then one of his wolves spoke through the pack link, voice low and cautious in his head."Alpha. The tradition."
He froze.
He had almost forgotten. Almost. For one brief second, he was tempted to do away with it altogether- this old, useless custom of binding an omega with her own blood before the claiming. What did it matter now? She was already surrounded, already beaten, already his.
