Summer’s POV
My mood instantly darkened at the mention of Alexander’s ex–fling–the wolf who had tried repeatedly to undermine me and sabotage my relationship with Alexander.
“What about her?” I asked warily.
Lyra’s smile turned wicked. “She’s been completely disgraced. Someone leaked evidence that she was behind the poisoning of several she–wolves at the Eastern Council meeting last spring–wolves who had turned down her brother for mating. And that’s not all–there’s proof she embezzled from her family’s pack funds to pay for all those designer clothes she loves flaunting.”
My eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. She’s been stripped of her position in her father’s pack and practically exiled from wolf society. No one will even look at her now.”
I processed this information, a mixture of satisfaction and suspicion washing over me. “That’s… quite the downfall.”
“I’m convinced Alexander had something to do with it,” Lyra whispered, glancing toward where her brother stood deep in conversation with Ethan. “No one else has the connections or resources to uncover all that dirt and make it stick. The timing is too perfect.”
A warm feeling spread through my chest. While I would never approve of such tactics openly, I couldn’t deny the sweet satisfaction of knowing Natalia had finally faced consequences for her actions- especially her role in trying to destroy my reputation at the charity gala.
“He would never admit it,” I murmured, watching my mate across the room.
“Of course not,” Lyra agreed. “He can’t be seen targeting another Alpha’s daughter so directly. But privately? For you?” She squeezed my arm. “There’s nothing my brother wouldn’t do to protect his mate.”
As I watched Alexander across the room–his powerful presence commanding attention, his strategic mind always three steps ahead–I felt a surge of love so powerful it nearly took my breath away. He’d created a safe haven for me when I had nothing. Given me a home when I was lost. Loved me when I thought I was unlovable.
And now, it seemed, he’d quietly eliminated a threat to my happiness without ever letting on.
Alexander caught my gaze across the room, a slow smile spreading across his face that made my heart race. In two months, we would be bound together in the most sacred way wolves could be joined. But in all the ways that truly mattered, I was already his.
And he was mine.
1/2
Chapter 127
+15 BONUS
For the first time since losing Felix, I felt like perhaps the universe wasn’t entirely against me. That maybe, just maybe, happiness was possible again.
Later that night, as Alexander and I lay tangled together in our bed, the moonlight streaming through the windows painting his muscular body in silver and shadow,I traced the intricate tattoo on his chest.
It was beautiful–wildflowers and cedar branches intertwined in an elegant design that flowed across his
skin.
“What are you thinking about, sweetheart?” he murmured, his fingers running lazily through my hair.
“I’ve always meant to ask about this,” I murmured, my fingers following the delicate lines. “It’s stunning.”
Alexander’s hand covered mine, pressing it against his heart. “You don’t recognize it?” he asked, his voice low and intimate in the darkness.
I shook my head, studying the artwork more closely. “Should I?”
His lips curved into a smile that held secrets. “Wildflowers and cedar,” he said softly. “Your scent and mine, intertwined.”
My breath caught as understanding dawned. “You had this done… for me?”
“I was eighteen,” he admitted, a rare hint of vulnerability in his eyes. “It was that summer we spent almost every day together at the lake, remember?”
I nodded, memory warming my cheeks. I had been sixteen that summer, it had been innocent-
swimming, talking for hours, watching sunsets.
“I went home that night after our last day together,” he continued, his voice taking on a husky quality.” Your scent was all over me. I couldn’t stop thinking about you–how you looked with water droplets on your skin, how your laugh made something in my chest tighten.”
His confession sent heat spiraling through me. “Alexander…”
“I touched myself that night,” he said bluntly, his eyes darkening at the memory. “Thinking of you. It was the first time I’d ever done that. The next day, I went to the pack’s tattoo artist and had this designed.”
“All these years…” I whispered, awed by the revelation. Even before we’d recognized each other as mates, even when fate seemed determined to keep us apart, he had carried a piece of me with him.
“All these years,” he confirmed, rolling us so that he hovered above me, his powerful body caging mine.” I’ve been yours, Summer, Long before you knew it.”
And that night, he proved it–again and again.
God, I had no idea where Alexander got his stamina from, but I wasn’t about to complain. Wrapped in his arms, breathless and aching in the best way possible, I let myself fall deeper than ever before.
