“Why would I need to be locked in,” I asked, my voice low and sharp, “if your pack is so welcoming?”
“They are eager for you to pledge yourself to me.” His knuckles brushed the bare column of my neck, and it took everything in me not to flinch. His touch lingered, possessive. “Accept me as your alpha. Accept OakFur Pass as your pack, and the rest will follow.”
Something cool and heavy settled between my cleavage. I looked down. Hanging from a delicate gold chain was a ruby pendant shaped like a crescent moon, blood-red and gleaming in the lamplight.
Then it hit me, his power, thick and suffocating, coiling through the air like smoke. It pressed into my skin, into my bones, wrapping around me until I could hardly breathe. He was pulling on every one of his pack bonds to force it through.
