Page 55 of Shadow of Fury

Weird.

Wren put the file back and moved on to the next and then the next. She frowned as she began to see a pattern. The files at the front of the drawer weren’t in alphabetical order but they did all have something in common. They were no longer Shadow Pines pack members. They were files for the families who had left town but stranger was that at least one sheet in each packet featured one of those hand-drawn stars next to a name… and all the names belonged to the daughters in the families.

Her hand was just reaching for the file labeled Rose when she heard the bell on the front door jingle. Shit. A cold chill swept through her and panic clogged her throat. She heard footsteps and hurriedly shoved the files back into the drawer and pushed it shut. She was on her feet and all but racing for the door back out into the main office when a large figure blocked her path.

“Oh!” She put her hand to her chest as she skidded to a stop just a foot in front of the Alpha. “You scared me.”

“Did I?” His eyes narrowed on her and she forced what she hoped passed for a pleasant smile onto her face.

“I was just checking your calendar to see if there was anything I needed to cancel for you. I heard about your wife’s passing and assumed you’d be taking the day off to make arrangements.” She tucked her hair behind her ear, trying to look innocent. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you Wren.” His eyes stayed on her and she realized they were a strange gray color, dull and lifeless. He looked terrible but considering he was ill and he’d just lost his mate, she was sure he felt it. She looked away.

“Since you’re here now, I’ll just get back to my desk and…”

“Wait a second.” He caught her arm as she attempted to step past him.

Her breath caught, “Sir?”

“There’s something different about you this morning?” His head tilted, and his eyes raked over her in that way that always made her stomach churn.

Oh no. She felt the panic kick in and her heart began to thud too fast and too loud. Could he smell Logan on her? She’d showered twice but they’d done more than just have sex. They’d sealed the human half of the bond and that meant their scents were mixed now. She would smell different to any shifter now, a warning to other males that she was mated and belonged to another. She hadn’t even considered that new reality until she saw something dangerous spark in those cold gray eyes.

“You’re mated now.” He bared his teeth in some semblance of a smile. “I’d know the mating scent anywhere.”

Wren took a step back, forcing him to release his grip on her arm. It didn’t help. He still blocked the doorway and she felt suddenly trapped. He was looking at her like a wild animal who had just found prey.

“Not a virgin anymore, not pure and untouched.” He chuckled when her mouth fell open in outrage. “You’re a mated woman now, a grown woman, and you know what that means?”

She didn’t and she shook her head wildly. She’d never felt safe when she was alone with this man. She had never trusted him. But she’d never truly feared him either, not until now. Not until he moved closer to her despite her backing away and her wolf shrank from him, unsure of how to react to the advancing man who seemed to be a threat but was also their Alpha.

“I… Alpha, I should…” She tried to sidestep him but he let out a growl that dried up the words in her mouth.

“That’s right. I’m your Alpha and that means it’s my right to take what’s mine from the women of this pack, including you.”

She felt dizzy, as if she’d forgotten to breathe and she shook her head, “Yours? No. I’m mated to…”

“I don’t give a fuck who you’re mated to.” he hissed. “The women of this pack lie with me before their wedding ceremony.”

“No.” A gasp of horror escaped her.

He couldn’t be serious. Wren’s body revolted at the very idea and she gagged as bile rose in her throat. That was an ancient tradition that had been left behind a century ago according to their histories. Alphas didn’t abuse their power and take advantage of their female pack members anymore. They didn’t attempt to spread their seed far and wide by taking every female to bed before her mating ceremony. It was barbaric but she could see from the cruel gleam in his eyes that he fully intended to do just that.

There had been rumors in the pack, whispers, but they’d never been confirmed. She’d never given them much thought either. They always died off as soon as they began and nobody she knew had ever said a word against the Alpha. But she realized now that the whispers had been true and he must have forced anyone who dared speak against him into silence.

A puzzle she hadn’t realized was missing a piece came together and her heart ached as the truth hit her in the chest like a wrecking ball. Forced silence. The Alpha had the ability to use his voice to force members to do as he said. If he was willing to abuse his power to rape the females of the pack, he wouldn’t be above using his power to silence any who could hurt him with the truth.

The truth. The answers she’d demanded from Logan. He’d said he couldn’t tell her more. He’d said he couldn’t talk about it. He had said he wished he could give her what she wanted but he couldn’t. She’d thought he was being secretive and deceptive on purpose, to protect himself or his family, but what if he literally couldn’t speak about Lark because he had been ordered by his father, using his Alpha voice, to keep quiet?

This man had willfully abused his power. He had hurt his pack. He had raped the females. Not only that, but he had demanded loyalty and silence from them after. And he had even silenced his own son to keep him quiet about Lark…

And poor Lark… Oh God, she felt like she might throw up. This monster was the one who had hurt her. She was absolutely certain of it now and her hatred for this man filled her with a fury that threatened to consume her from the inside out.

She shook her head as she continued to back away from him until she ran into the large desk. She bit off a whimper when he continued to prowl towards her. She was trapped with nowhere to go and despite the gray skin and sunken eyes, Byron Kemp was still the Pack Alpha and he could overpower her with ease if he wanted to.

It was clear he did and she put her hands behind her on the desk, searching for any sort of weapon to use against him.

“I’ll have you or you won’t be mated. I won’t give permission for the ceremony and how will your mate feel about that? I’ll tell him that you’re not worthy of him, that you’re a little slut who didn’t wait for her mate and I can’t in good conscience give my blessing.”