“Is it not enough that I provide? That I’ve been loyal to you? That I’ve given my heart?” I shot back, trembling with fury. “Is that why you humiliate me in front of the whole pack? Don’t tell me these wolves are the reason you keep your distance instead of claiming the mate I offered you!”
He pulled a stack of papers from his cloak and slammed them against my chest. The edges cut into my skin, and when I touched my cheek, warm blood stained my fingers.
“They say it was noble to raise the pack’s renown under the full moon,” he growled, voice low and dangerous. “But I will not allow a disgrace like you to tarnish it—even if you are meant to be my mate.”
I looked up at him, steadying my shaking limbs. Surely he could see the truth if he just looked past the pictures. “Alaric, you know me. My achievements come from my own claws and fangs. Nothing in those images—nothing—changes that.”
Lilith’s laugh cut through the tension, dripping with venom. “Your own hard work?” she mocked. “And what kind of work would that be? Pleasing alpha clients? Everyone knows exactly how ‘deep’ your… collaborations go.”