Page 17 of Forsaken By Fate

They’re my Alphas.

And I’m about to have one of my biggest dreams come true. I’m about to be an Apex pack member. Lowly orphaned prey shifter me! I’m moving up in the world.

Chapter 6

Aurora

Ibarely remember the rest of lunch, my mind on the impending blood oath and what it will entail. I don’t know what’s involved, but I can imagine.

I’m not afraid of blood, but I also don’t have much experience with it, being a deer, and not a predator.

As the staff clear off the table, Zane pulls out my chair and leads me away from the dining room and down the hall to the temple. I haven’t had a chance to explore this massive estate yet, but I’m already getting a sense that it’s an entire village in this house.

Zane told me that every Alpha estate has a temple to hold rituals, presumably like this one, but I wouldn’t know. This is all beyond me.

But I hope I get to learn it all.

The stained glass skylight casts vibrant patterns across the smooth stone benches in the intimate yet grand chamber. I’m too nervous to notice the beauty of the place, my mind on what’s coming up as they circle me around the altar. I’m distinctly aware of their closeness now, the three of them so near me, I’m vibrating with anticipation. Suddenly, I want them all touching me, but I don’t dare ask.

Fenris produces a bejeweled dagger as Victor stands at the sanctuary, flipping through a dog-eared book. Without warning, Zane lifts me up to drop me gracefully on the altar to sit. I gasp and laugh as he deposits me effortlessly on the cold surface of the granite. Nervously, I perch on the edge, my knees swinging as I wait.

Zane smiles reassuringly at me, brushing a strand of hair out of my face, and I try to smile back at him. “You don’t have anything to worry about,” he tells me as Victor settles on a page. “As long as you want to do this, it’s painless. If you’re going against your will, this is going to be a problem. Clear your mind.”

“I’m not worried,” I answer quickly. “I want this.”

Fenris slides up onto the altar beside me, reaching for my palm, and Victor finds the page.

“Got the passage,” the leader of the trio intones, raising his head, his golden gaze locking on me. “Are you ready?”

Swallowing, I nod. “I am.”

It happens so fast, I don’t have time to process it. Victor’s sonorous tone floods the temple, and Zane extends his hand as the three Alphas circle around me. I catch bits of Victor’s words—something about the promise of my bond to them, my commitment sealed with the spilling of my blood—but my attention shifts as Fenris swiftly cuts his hand, then Zane’s, and finally Victor’s in quick, precise motions. My instinct is to clean them up and stop the bleeding, but of course, we need the flow.

A stream of blood appears, but my palm splits open under the blade of Fenris’s dagger, and I yelp aloud, caught off guard, although I don’t know why I’m shocked by the sudden motion.

Victor doesn’t stop his incantation, his voice growing louder, our blood mixing over the altar, confirming my allegiance to the Texas Apexes—and to the Golden brothers.

My pulse rushes wildly as I fall back against Zane, suddenly lightheaded, his uncut hand catching my shoulders to hold me up, his breath warm against my neck.

“Easy there,” he whispers. “Let him finish.”

I close my eyes, willing Victor to end the blood oath and confirm my position in his pack.

“Open your eyes, Aurora,” Victor orders me, his breath on my lips.

Zane’s hold around my shoulders tightens, his breathing quickening against the bare skin of my neck and causing the hairs to rise deliciously. I’m distinctly aware of how close Fenris is to me on the altar, but Victor’s bright amber stare in my direct vision is blocking out everything else for the moment, his mouth too close.

“You belong to us now, the Apex pack of Texas,” Victor explains, his voice carrying a depth of authority that sends shivers down my spine. He brushes his lips over mine, the gentleness of the gesture contrasting with the raw power I sense beneath his control.

He pulls back, and my mouth immediately misses his warmth.

“Do you kiss all of your pack members?” I tease, trying to mask my vulnerability with humor. Deep down, I’m terrified this moment will shatter like all my other dreams of belonging.

“No, Little Prey,” Fenris growls, and I see the desire in his eyes. The blood oath we just completed pulses between us, a tangible reminder that my intentions were always pure, that the trust I’ve earned is real.

The heat in their eyes mirrors the longing that’s building inside me, and the realization sends a shiver down my spine. I’m just a prey shifter—a nobody—but here I am, desired by Apex Alphas who stand at the pinnacle of power, like royalty.

Zane quickly wraps up my hand in a cloth, and the ceremony is done almost as quickly as it began. His arm tightens around my shoulders again, and I relax against him, as if in surrender without speaking.

---