Chapter 1

"Ethan, I've combed through every second of the Crescent Club security footage. I still can't find the girl you described — tall, pale skin, short hair. Is there any chance you remembered wrong? Maybe it was… a boy?"

The man who asked the question did it carefully. He was scared to set off Ethan's temper.

Ethan Blackwood kept his brow cold and his voice flat.

"Not possible. A man's waist can't be that soft."

His thumb rolled a tiny jeweled earring between his fingers. His expression eased for half a breath, caught somewhere in a memory.

"I found this under the pillow. It's a woman's earring. And I also — with my own hands — never mind. Put more wolves on it. Dig every inch of the club until you find her."

I sat off to the side in one of the leather chairs. I shifted carefully, trying to find a position that didn't pull at my bandages. The tear on my chest still brushed against the shirt fabric. A thin line of pain shot through me.

My mind dragged itself back to that night, no matter how hard I fought it —

A suite lit only by the amber of the bedside lamps. A man with the drug blown out of his eyes, dragging me up onto the mattress. Me, at first — clawing, cursing, fighting like a wild cat. And later — crying, broken, begging him to stop.

Ethan Blackwood had been like a starved wolf that had just tasted blood. Teeth sinking in. Weight crushing me down.

"You smell so good… little mate, you smell so good."

"Little mate, be mine. Say yes."

…

The memory punched a cold laugh out of my throat.

Ethan's eyes flicked over. Whatever softness had slipped into his face was gone. Only ice remained.

"Young Master Ashford. You walked in uninvited. Are you here to help me hunt down the bastard who drugged me?"

I pulled off a lazy shrug. "I was at the club that night too. I'd rather you stop suspecting me by default, Mr. Blackwood. I don't fancy being the scapegoat."

We had bad blood between us. Years of it. I had every motive in the world.

Ethan leaned back into his chair. Half his face sank into shadow. The darkness cut him into sharp blades. His mouth pulled into a smile that never reached his eyes. One word at a time.

"Relax, Ashford. Whoever drugged me — I'll tear them apart myself. I won't make an innocent wolf pay for it."

As he said it, his cold gaze raked down my body. I gave him a matching fake smile and refused to flinch. I pulled my collar higher. I stood up and walked out.

Ethan was suspicious of me. His gut was right. I was the one who'd drugged him. I'd planned to set him up for something much bigger. The problem was — the drug hit him faster and harder than anyone predicted. And I ended up paying for it. Every inch of my body had been chewed raw. I had almost exposed the one secret I'd buried my whole life.

The only reason I'd walked into his office today was to confirm whether Ethan actually remembered the night.

Good. He was dead certain it had been a woman. Tsk. Idiot.

"Pregnant?"

"Me?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn't get it. How had a Pack Physician on a five-figure monthly retainer suddenly turned into a quack?

The quack on a five-figure retainer nodded at his own slow pace.

"Yes. Congratulations. You're going to be a fa— mmm… a mo— mmm… you're going to be a parent."

I caught the number on the report sheet. Bond-markers: 858.21.

A vein jumped on my forehead. No wonder I couldn't scrub the smell of Ethan Blackwood off my skin after that night. Washing didn't work. Turned out I'd been seeded.

I made the decision on the spot, no hesitation.

"Get rid of it."

The quack looked at me. He looked at the report. Looked at the report. He looked at me.

"Difficult."

I frowned, opening my mouth to argue. A phone cut me off. Sharp, rushed.

Caleb Sterling. My closest packmate.

"Milo. We have a problem."

"Ethan knows it was you. The Crescent Club footage you had me wipe — there was a backup. He found it."

My head went hollow with a single tone of static. Only one thought survived.

He knew. Ethan had remembered. He knew my secret.

I pictured Ethan's nature — the kind of wolf who paid back every debt with blood. If he exposed me in front of the packs —

Cold prickled up my spine. Even Caleb's voice sounded distorted through the speaker.

"The bartender who took your money got shredded by Ethan's enforcers. You're next, probably."

Wait. My heart jumped.

"Does he know who I was with in the suite that night?"

Caleb spoke fast. "Still searching. He already knows you drugged him. He reported it to your Elder, to old Silas. You need to think of a way out, fast."