Page 9 of Red Hood, Bad Wolf

Rowan held up her hands, letting magic shimmer between them. "We can sense the difference between regular moon-fever and true moon-madness. Between natural aggression and loup garou corruption. If she was being poisoned..."

"The tests you do would have shown it." Alder's power flared, making the air heavy. "They didn't even try."

"No. They didn't." She met his gaze steadily. "I'm sorry."

He moved closer, drawn by something neither of them could fight anymore.

“This can’t be happening,” he said.

“And yet, it is.” Her hand trembled.

“You are not who I would have picked.”

Hurt sang through the connection between them, sent before she could try to block the emotion. “You’re not who I would have picked either.”

Jealousy flared. “Is there another?” he demanded.

“No.” She shook her head. “For you?”

“No.”

“We can try and deny the bond,” she said.

“But that would weaken us.”

“At the very least, we’d be distracted and vulnerable.”

“I will not be vulnerable,” he said. “But I will not force you.”

Rowan closed her eyes and let his emotions wash over her. He was a good man. She could tell that because of the way their magic entwined and connected. She could see his soul and it was pure. He could feel her thoughts and he knew while she had her doubts, there was also need and desire there as well.

“I always thought my mate would be a wolf. Or a shifter,” he said.

“I never thought I’d bond with a shifter, and an Alpha at that. Will your pack accept the bond?”

“If I do, they have no choice.”

“You have a choice too,” she said.

“I’m not displeased.”

At this point in their relationship, it was probably the best they could hope for. Affection and maybe love would come later. But right now, it was pure need. Need that would grow to a madness of its own if denied. A mate bond sang between them, pushing away professional distance, pushing away the weight of their pasts. His hand cupped her cheek, and her magic reached for his automatically.

"Rowan." Her name was a growl of need.

She rose on her toes as he bent down, their lips meeting in a kiss that felt like coming home. Heat exploded through the bond. His power wrapped around her as her magic sank into him, marking, claiming, connecting them on a level that transcended physical touch. She felt his wolf rise to meet her magic, felt the ancient power of the mate bond crystallizing between them.

Alder pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. His tongue swept into her mouth as she wound her arms around his neck, lost in the sensation of rightness. This was what the bond had been pushing them toward—this recognition of what they could be together. Through their connection, she felt his wonder matching her own. Felt his fierce need to protect, to claim, to make her his.

A sharp knock shattered the moment. They broke apart as Serenity burst in, her face grave. The beta's eyes widened at their obvious dishevelment, but she focused on her alpha.

"We found something. At the old quarry."

Alder's hand stayed on Rowan's waist, his touch grounding them both. "What?"

"Another body." Serenity's eyes darted between them. "And this time, there are claw marks. Deliberate ones. It’s definitely a werewolf’s kill."

The world seemed to tilt as Rowan felt Alder's horror through their newly acknowledged bond. A part of him hadn’t believed that there was truly a loup garou in his territory. That one of his pack might be hiding a terrible secret.

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