Chapter 21
LEAH
Wolves don’t beg.
They don’t grovel or back down,
A pack’s value comes from its strength.
I tilt my chin up.
I may be on my knees, but it doesn’t make me weak.
My will is strong. So is my willingness to fix this mess I’ve made.
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If Aaron won’t be reasonable then I will rely on the mercy of this Council.
“Ma’am Karolina, are we not all wolves?” I say.
Her lips purse. It’s a not so subtle reminder that everyone here is a wolf-except me.
“Our numbers are low,” I press on. “Our strength is tied to our
unity as a species. There must be justice, yes, but also mercy
and understanding so that every member of every pack might thrive. So that we can prosper as a species.”
She inclines her head encouraging me to continue.
I don’t have much time left and maybe in making this sacrifice, I can give my life greater purpose and meaning. I’m dying. I can’t have children. I have no close friends or family.
“For this reason-for the betterment of our collective packs-1, Leah Roberts Rathborn would make one request.”
“Go ahead,” Council member Karolina tells me.
“I offer myself as tribute in place of my father.”
“Over my dead body!” Aaron screams.
AARON
Leah gasps.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask her.
She stares at the Council. “Alpha Aaron is a good man, and, of
course, he would want to shield me. But I stand by my vow. Please accept me as tribute in my father’s stead, and I beg you to show my father mercy.” Her gaze cuts to mine. “As
my husband can attest, I sometimes make mistakes with
accounting.”
Ah, there it is.
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She’s chosen wisely. Acknowledging I’m her husband and
setting aside whatever stupid ideas of divorce she may have been harboring.
Something dark and possessive washes over me upon seeing
her on her knees.
Upon hearing her choose me.
I want to twist my hands in her hair and hold her there.
I want to sink my teeth into her flesh and mark her skin so that
everyone in this room-in this world-will know she belongs to
Not that I’ll ever do such a thing.
No woman will ever be more than a partner in name only.
My father nearly led us to ruin with his obsession with my mother. A mating bond is nothing more than a liability. A
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physical and mental chain that brings only hardship and
suffering.
I grab Leah’s arm and move to lift her up, but she wrenches.
her arm away from me.
She stays there on her knees and to see her laid so low, it has
everyone in the room looking around nervously.
Several pack Alphas that I do business with are amused,
others are embarrassed by Leah’s actions.
“Get up,” I tell her.
“Promise me-”
“You first,” I cut her off.
“You have my word. I’ll do anything, Aaron.”
Those are dangerous words to say to a man like me…
B
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