I should have run the moment Alexander revealed he knew my true identity. Should have grabbed the nearest weapon and tried to complete my mission, or at least died fighting. Instead, I stood frozen in his war room, staring into those silver eyes that seemed to see straight through my soul.
"You're insane," I whispered. "You know I'm here to kill you, and you're keeping me as a pet?"
"Not a pet." Alexander's smile was all sharp edges and dark promises. "Something much more valuable than that."
"Then what?"
"Tomorrow night, you'll understand. There's a gathering - my pack needs to meet their future Luna."
The word hit me like a slap. Luna. The werewolf equivalent of a queen. The Alpha's mate.
"I am not your mate," I said through gritted teeth.
"Aren't you? Your body seems to think otherwise." His eyes traveled over me with possessive heat. "The way you respond to my touch, the way your pulse races when I'm near, the way you haven't actually tried to kill me despite having multiple opportunities."
"I'm planning my strategy."
"Are you? Because from where I stand, it looks like you're falling for the man you came to murder."
I wanted to deny it, wanted to tell him he was delusional. But the words stuck in my throat because there was too much truth in what he'd said.
"I won't be your trophy," I said instead.
"No," Alexander agreed, moving closer until I could feel the heat radiating from his bare chest. "You'll be my equal. My partner. My queen."
"I'll be your killer."
His laugh was genuinely amused. "We'll see."
The next evening, I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my bedroom, trying to work up the courage to follow through with my escape plan. Alexander had left for the afternoon to "prepare for tonight's festivities," giving me the perfect opportunity to contact Vincent and get extraction.
But my hands shook as I reached for my encrypted phone, and not from fear.
The truth was, I didn't want to leave. Didn't want to go back to Vincent's cold compound and pretend that the last few days hadn't changed everything. Alexander was supposed to be my enemy, but every interaction we'd had suggested something far more complicated.
And then there was the way my body reacted to him. The electricity I felt every time he touched me, the way my skin seemed to burn for hours after even the briefest contact. Vincent had trained me to resist interrogation, torture, even chemical manipulation. He'd never trained me to resist this.
A knock at my door interrupted my internal debate.
"Come in."
Alexander entered, and I forgot how to breathe. He was dressed in all black - expensive slacks and a silk shirt that emphasized every line of his perfectly sculpted torso. His dark hair was styled back from his face, highlighting the aristocratic bone structure that made him look like some dark prince from a fairy tale.
But it was his expression that made my pulse spike. Predatory satisfaction mixed with something that looked almost like anticipation.
"You look beautiful," he said, his silver eyes traveling over the cocktail dress he'd had delivered that afternoon. Black silk that hugged my curves and ended just above my knees, with a neckline that was modest but somehow still managed to be devastating.
"Thank you." I smoothed down the skirt with nervous hands. "Where exactly are we going?"
"The Moonrise Club. It's... a private establishment that caters to people like me."
People like him. Werewolves.
"And what exactly will be happening at this private establishment?"
Alexander's smile sharpened. "You'll be introduced to my pack. Officially."
Something in his tone made my stomach clench with dread. "What does that mean, exactly?"
"It means," Alexander said, moving close enough that I could smell his intoxicating cologne, "that by the end of tonight, everyone will know that you belong to me."
"I don't belong to anyone."
"Don't you?" His hand came up to trace the line of my throat, and I had to bite back a sound that was definitely not appropriate. "Your body says otherwise."
I jerked away from his touch, anger flaring to cover the heat he'd sparked. "Just because you can make me feel things doesn't mean you own me."
"We'll see."
The Moonrise Club was located in a building that looked like it had been transplanted from medieval Scotland. All stone and ironwork, with windows that glowed amber in the darkness. Valet attendants took Alexander's keys with the kind of deference usually reserved for royalty, and the doorman simply nodded as we approached.
No ID check. No guest list consultation. Alexander Blackfang was clearly expected.
"Stay close," Alexander murmured as we entered the club proper. "And whatever happens, don't run."
The interior was even more impressive than the exterior. High ceilings supported by massive wooden beams, a stone fireplace large enough to roast a whole pig, and furniture that looked like it had been crafted by master artisans. But it was the people that made my breath catch.
Everyone in the club moved with that same fluid grace I'd noticed in Alexander. Men and women who were too beautiful, too perfect, too dangerous. And when they looked at us - at me - their eyes held a predatory gleam that made my skin crawl.
Werewolves. Dozens of them.
"Alexander." A woman approached us, her movements liquid and hypnotic. She was stunning in an otherworldly way, with silver-blonde hair and pale blue eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light. "You brought a guest."
"Luna, meet Sarah Collins." Alexander's hand settled possessively on the small of my back. "Sarah, this is Luna Blackfang. My sister."
Sister. That explained the family resemblance, though Luna's beauty was colder, more alien than Alexander's dark magnetism.
"How... interesting." Luna's gaze traveled over me with the kind of thoroughness usually reserved for livestock evaluation. "She's smaller than I expected."
"Size isn't everything," Alexander replied mildly.
"No, but breeding is. And this one..." Luna wrinkled her nose slightly, as if I smelled bad. "This one is human."
The way she said it made it sound like a disease.
"Appearances can be deceiving," Alexander said, his hand pressing more firmly against my back. "I think you'll find Sarah is full of surprises."
More werewolves had gathered around us, forming a loose circle that felt distinctly like a trap. They whispered among themselves, their voices too low for human ears to catch. But their expressions ranged from curious to disgusted to openly hostile.
"Why?" Luna's voice cut through the whispers. "Why her? Why this weak little human when you could have any female in the pack? When you could have me?"
The last words were spoken with naked longing, and I felt my stomach turn. Sister or not, Luna wanted Alexander in ways that were definitely not familial.
"Because she's mine," Alexander said simply. "Because I choose her."
"The pack won't accept her," an older man stepped forward, his graying hair and lined face suggesting he held some position of authority. "A human Luna? It's unthinkable."
"Is it?" Alexander's voice carried that edge of command that made everyone present straighten automatically. "Because I seem to recall that pack law states the Alpha's choice of mate is absolute. Regardless of species."
"That law was written when interspecies mating was impossible," Luna snapped. "Not when Alphas started thinking with their—"
"Careful." Alexander's single word carried enough menace to make Luna step back. "You're talking about your future Luna."
"She is not Luna material," Luna said, but her voice was more subdued now. "Look at her. She's terrified. She's weak. She doesn't even know what we are."
That last part wasn't true, but I couldn't correct her without blowing my cover completely. So I stood there, trying to look appropriately human and overwhelmed while internally cataloguing escape routes and weapons.
"Then perhaps," Alexander said, his arm sliding around my waist to pull me against his side, "it's time for a proper introduction."
Before I could ask what he meant, Alexander's other hand was in my hair, tilting my head back to expose my throat. I had a split second to realize what was happening before his mouth descended on my neck.
The sensation was like being struck by lightning. Alexander's lips found the sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder, and when his teeth grazed my skin, every nerve ending in my body exploded with sensation.
"No," I gasped, trying to pull away. But his arm around my waist held me firmly in place, and his hand in my hair prevented me from moving my head.
This was happening in front of everyone. In front of his pack, his sister, dozens of werewolves who were watching with expressions ranging from fascination to revulsion. I was being claimed like a possession, marked like territory.
"Don't fight it," Alexander murmured against my skin, his voice rough with something that might have been desire or triumph. "This will be easier if you don't fight."
But fighting was all I knew how to do. I pressed my hands against his chest, trying to push him away, but it was like trying to move a mountain. His body was solid muscle and immovable will.
"Please," I whispered, hating how the word sounded like begging. "Not like this. Not in front of them."
"Especially in front of them." Alexander pulled back to look at me, his silver eyes molten with heat. "They need to see. They need to understand."
"Understand what?"
"That you're mine."
His teeth pierced my skin.
The pain was immediate and sharp, but it lasted only a second before being replaced by something else entirely. Heat flooded my system, starting at the point where his teeth broke my skin and spreading through my body like wildfire. My vision went white at the edges, and my knees buckled.
Only Alexander's arms kept me upright as sensations I had no name for crashed through me. It felt like every cell in my body was being rewritten, like something fundamental about my existence was changing.
And underneath it all, I could feel him. Not just his physical presence, but something deeper. His emotions, his thoughts, his very essence bleeding into mine until I couldn't tell where I ended and he began.
"What's happening to me?" I gasped against his chest, my hands fisting in his shirt.
"Shh," Alexander soothed, one hand stroking my hair while the other held me steady. "Let it happen. Don't fight it."
But I could feel my body changing, responding to whatever he'd done to me in ways that terrified me. Heat pooled low in my belly, and my skin felt too tight, too sensitive. Every breath brought his scent deeper into my lungs, and I found myself wanting to press closer, to lose myself in his warmth.
This wasn't normal. Wasn't human.
"What did you do to me?" I demanded, though my voice came out breathier than I'd intended.
"I marked you." Alexander's voice held deep satisfaction. "I claimed you as mine."
"I feel... strange."
"The bond is settling. It will pass."
Bond. The word sent ice through my veins even as my body continued to burn. "What bond?"
"The mating bond. The connection between Alpha and Luna." Alexander's smile was pure male satisfaction. "We're linked now, Scarlett. Forever."
The use of my real name in front of his pack made several werewolves gasp, but I was too focused on his words to care about blown covers.
"That's impossible. I'm human."
"Are you?" Alexander's eyes held secrets I couldn't read. "Because your body is responding to the mark like a werewolf's would. Interesting, don't you think?"
It was impossible. I was human. Vincent had raised me, trained me, spent fifteen years preparing me for this mission. He would have told me if I was anything else.
Wouldn't he?
"This is ridiculous," Luna's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. "You can't just bite a human and call her Luna. That's not how it works."
"Isn't it?" Alexander turned to face his sister, but his arms remained around me. "Look at her, Luna. Really look."
I could feel dozens of eyes on me, studying me with an intensity that made my skin crawl. What were they seeing? What was Alexander seeing?
"Impossible," the older man breathed. "Her scent... it's changing."
"Changing how?" I demanded, but no one answered me.
"The mark is taking," someone else said. "But that's not possible with a human."
"Unless she's not human," Alexander said quietly. "Unless she's something else entirely."
"I am human," I insisted, though even as I said it, I could feel that something fundamental had shifted inside me. My senses seemed sharper, more acute. I could smell individual scents from everyone in the room, could hear conversations from across the club that should have been too quiet to catch.
"Then explain this," Alexander said, tilting my chin up so that everyone could see my neck.
I didn't need a mirror to know what they were seeing. I could feel it - the mark Alexander had left, but it wasn't just a bite wound. It was glowing. Warm, pulsing light emanated from the spot where his teeth had broken my skin, visible even in the dim lighting of the club.
"What is that?" I whispered.
"That," Alexander said with deep satisfaction, "is proof that you're exactly where you belong."
The glowing mark pulsed in time with my heartbeat, and I could feel an answering pulse from Alexander. We were connected now, linked by something primal and unbreakable.
And the terrifying part was that despite my anger, despite my humiliation at being claimed like a possession in front of his pack, part of me liked it.
Part of me felt... complete.
"This doesn't change anything," I said, though my voice lacked conviction. "I'm still going to kill you."
Alexander's laugh was rich with amusement. "Good luck with that, little huntress. You can't kill your mate without destroying yourself."
"Watch me."
"I intend to." His silver eyes promised things that made heat race through my body. "But first, let's see how you handle the rest of the night."
"What do you mean?"
Alexander's smile was all predator. "The pack has accepted you as Luna. Now we celebrate."
The celebration, as it turned out, involved enough alcohol to float a ship and enough raw sexuality to power a small city. Werewolves, I learned, celebrated everything with the same intensity they brought to violence - completely and without reservation.
I spent the evening pressed against Alexander's side, his mark burning against my throat and his hand possessively placed wherever he could reach. He introduced me to pack members whose names I immediately forgot, but whose predatory stares I'd remember forever.
And through it all, I could feel the bond he'd created settling deeper into my consciousness. His emotions bled through the connection - satisfaction, possessiveness, and underneath it all, something that felt suspiciously like affection.
He was pleased with himself. Pleased with me. Pleased with the way his pack was grudgingly accepting their new Luna.
"How are you feeling?" Alexander murmured in my ear during a lull in the conversation.
"Like I want to murder you slowly and painfully."
"Anything else?"
I was quiet for a moment, taking inventory of the sensations coursing through my body. "Hot. Restless. Like my skin doesn't fit properly."
"That's normal. The bond is still settling."
"How long does it last?"
"The discomfort? A few hours." Alexander's smile promised trouble. "The bond itself? Forever."
"I didn't agree to this."
"Didn't you? You could have run last night when I told you who you were. You could have tried to kill me in the apartment. You could have refused to come tonight." His hand traced the mark on my throat, making me shiver despite my anger. "But you didn't. You chose to stay."
"That doesn't mean I chose this."
"Doesn't it?"
Before I could answer, Luna appeared at our table, her pale eyes glittering with malice.
"Brother," she said, settling into the chair across from us. "Your new mate is quite the topic of conversation."
"Is she?"
"Oh yes. Everyone's wondering how long she'll last." Luna's smile was sharp enough to cut glass. "Human Lunas have such short lifespans."
"Is that a threat?" I asked quietly.
"It's a fact." Luna leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper that somehow still carried the menace of a shout. "You don't belong here. You don't understand our ways, our laws, our needs. You're a weak little human playing at being a wolf, and eventually, that's going to get you killed."
"Let me worry about that."
"Oh, I will. Because when you inevitably fail, when you prove that you're not worthy of the position Alexander has forced on you, I'll be there to pick up the pieces."
The threat was clear, and I felt my killer instincts finally kick in. Luna wanted me gone, preferably dead, so she could take my place at Alexander's side.
Too bad for her that I'd been trained by the best.
"Luna," I said sweetly, loud enough for nearby pack members to hear. "Thank you for the warning. But I think you'll find that I'm much harder to kill than I look."
Something flickered in Luna's pale eyes - surprise, maybe, or recognition. For just a moment, her mask of disdain slipped, and I saw calculation underneath.
"We'll see," she said finally.
"Yes," I agreed. "We will."
The rest of the evening passed in a blur of introductions and veiled threats. By the time Alexander finally declared it was time to leave, my head was spinning from more than just the alcohol.
"That went well," Alexander said as we rode back to his penthouse.
"Your sister wants me dead."
"Luna wants to be Luna. There's a difference."
"Not from where I'm sitting."
Alexander was quiet for a moment, studying my profile in the dim light of the car. "Are you afraid of her?"
I thought about it seriously. Luna was dangerous, no question. She was a werewolf, which gave her physical advantages I couldn't match. She had the loyalty of at least some of the pack, which meant potential allies in any conflict.
But she'd also never spent fifteen years learning every possible way to kill someone.
"No," I said finally. "But she should be afraid of me."
Alexander's smile was proud and predatory. "That's my girl."
Back at the penthouse, I stood in the bathroom staring at my reflection in the mirror. The mark on my throat had stopped glowing, but it was still visible - two small puncture wounds surrounded by what looked like an intricate tattoo. The design was beautiful and alien, definitely not human in origin.
And I could feel it. Not just physically, but on some deeper level. Like a warm weight against my consciousness, pulsing in time with my heartbeat.
"Regretting it yet?" Alexander appeared in the doorway, having changed from his formal clothes into black pajama pants and nothing else.
"The mark? The fake marriage? Or the fact that I haven't killed you yet?"
"Any of it. All of it."
I touched the mark gently, surprised by how sensitive it was. Just the light pressure of my fingertips sent heat racing through my body.
"I don't know," I said honestly. "Ask me again when I figure out what you've actually done to me."
"I've claimed you. Protected you. Given you a place at my side."
"You've marked me like property."
"Have I? Or have I given you exactly what you've been looking for your whole life?"
"And what's that?"
Alexander moved behind me, his hands coming to rest on my shoulders. In the mirror, we looked like a matched set - dark and light, predator and prey, though I was beginning to suspect those roles weren't as clear-cut as I'd originally thought.
"A place to belong," he said quietly. "A pack. A mate. A purpose beyond killing."
"I like killing."
"I know. So do I." His smile in the mirror was sharp and dangerous. "But there are better things to do with all that passion."
His hands moved to my throat, tracing the mark he'd left there. The touch sent electricity racing through my nervous system, and I had to grip the edge of the sink to stay upright.
"This doesn't change anything," I said, though my voice came out breathier than I'd intended.
"Doesn't it?"
"I'm still going to complete my mission."
"What mission?" Alexander's voice was amused. "Killing me? Good luck with that. The bond won't let you."
"We'll see."
"Yes," Alexander agreed, his hands moving to my waist. "We will."
He was right behind me now, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his bare chest. In the mirror, his silver eyes met mine, and I saw promises there that made my pulse race for reasons that had nothing to do with fear.
"Tomorrow," he said, his voice rough with something that might have been desire, "we start your real education."
"What kind of education?"
"The kind that teaches you exactly what it means to be mine."