Thorn

oud in the silence. The same office workers who had jeered at me an hour ago pressed t

llowed Marcus and his warriors out through the sha

lights flashing across the crowded financial plaza. Dozens of visiting executives from neighboring corporate pa

ed a miniature high-frequency video recorder from my clutch

ck to her tear-stained, ink-smudged cheeks like wet weeds, while blisteri

of her life," I murmured to myself, holding the camera st

er head around, pressing her bruised face against the reinforced wire mesh o

ou limb from limb for this!" She bared her pointed wolf canines

p step, I arched one eyebrow and mouthed

ff her muffled howling. The transport van's engine roa

nd clip on the mini-screen. Every detail of her s

that's

d from right behind my shoulder,

from the top floor. He had not even put on his suit jacket; his

t heaved as he stared at the recorder in my palm. The humiliation in the

?" He took two heavy steps down the stairs toward me, holding out his hand as if he still owned m

retched hand as if it were covered in filth. "Apex's

nct is still to cover up the scandal to protect your fragile Alpha eg

e into what he clearly thought was a magnanimous offer. "I'm thinking of the pack's stock and stability! Hand over

d biting in the winter air. "Do you really think I stayed by y

r pity for my eighteen-year-old self. A man who measured loyalty i

way, Johnston." I wiped the smile off my face

around his eyes and the way his breath hitched in his chest, he looked like a man finally sensing that the invi

I turned and walked down the steps to

ed into my clutch and pulled out a thick, heavy manil

the short distance. It smacked squarely against the center of John

ack of Gold Reserve Notes totaling one hundred thousand, enough to

t and hit the stone steps at his boots, spilling half a d

ng in his throat. His brows drew together in utter confusion, clearly unable to process

his head up, his gray eyes blazing with humiliat