For some reason, I couldn’t stop staring at Nigel. The steamy stare returned on his part was entrancing, and shivers rolled throughout my entire being with a low growled purr slipping from behind my lips.

“Tell me, Quail Wolf…”

Madilynn paced slowly behind Nigel while peering at me. A smile teased her lips. She stood on his other side, letting a finger slide down his forearm again with her gray eyes on me.

“Can you feel it? The strength in him?”

My eyes narrowed on her finger still grazing down Nigel’s forearm; all the way down to his wrist. I lifted my eyes to hers and clenched my jaw tightly.

Madilynn’s grin widened and with her touch still on him and a “Don’t touch him, Madilynn!” came out with a rough growl as I took a step forward.

The she-wolf lifted her finger off Nigel and raised a brow at me. She squinted, feigning a burn as she teased, “Oo... I hear a bite in your tone, Quail Wolf.”

Again, she circled Nigel, this time grazing her fingers from one of his shoulders to the other as she walked behind him.

“Does it bother you that I touch him?”

I didn’t answer. Just growled at her.

The blonde woman smiled, furrowing her brows as she gave a wave in Nigel’s direction.

“You’d be a fucking moron to not react as you are now. After all…” She gave a nod in Nigel’s direction while placing her hands on her hips and looked at me. “Nigel’s rightfully yours.”

Her gray eyes shifted behind me.

“Just as you are his.”

The snarl I heard made me glance at Nigel whose dark blue eyes illuminated to those of the Quail Wolf and he took a defensive stance to snarl back at the offender.

Whirling around, Ridge was growling and already started forward. He told Madilynn that she was out of line, and that Nigel wasn’t to lay a finger on me.

I immediately side stepped to stand in front of Ridge with a hand out and my Quail eyes took over, giving him a hard stare as I growled through grit teeth, “No.”

Ridge stopped, frowning at me while I growled again. This time giving him a warning of, “Don’t fucking touch him.”

Ridge’s eyes softened with hurt, like a realization hit him at the way I got defensive of another male.

I slowly lowered my defenses; letting my hand drop to my side before allowing my eyes to return to normal.

“I can’t let you hurt him, Ridge…” I warned softly.

The alpha was still hurt, still confused and his brows furrowed, jaw clenching as he shook his head. “Gianna…” he whispered.

The cackle from Madilynn made us both look over to her walking around a curled-lipped Nigel. She cried, “See?! You know what you want, Quail Wolf! And the alpha is not it!”

Swallowing as I stared at her chuckling again then turned back to Ridge. I shook my head, explaining to the alpha that I didn’t want anyone dictating who I could or couldn’t be with, especially from Ridge who didn’t even remember me. That he didn’t remember what we had but that was okay… and maybe it was better so he could heal the way he needs to.

“That’s not my fault!” the alpha argued. He grasped my wrists in his and tugged me closer to him.

The close proximity wasn’t appreciated by Nigel who growled, and it reached me, my body unable to keep from reacting. I closed my eyes, shivering at the appealing sound before opening my eyes to see Ridge frowning at me.

Blinking away the effect Nigel had on me, I shook my head and sighed, “Let go of me, Ridge.”

I meant physically but perhaps subconsciously I meant for him to let me go altogether.

“Gianna…” the alpha swallowed, shaking his head. Ridge’s green eyes watered as he lowered his voice to a whisper, “I feel—I feel it. That I know you. More than I was led to believe… and now that I know that… I want to have those memories back.”

I didn’t know how to take that. My eyes widened, curling my fingers though my wrists were still clutched in his hands.

Alpha Beaumont shook his head, a frustrated sigh coming out. “I might not have those missing memories but how am I at fault for that? How can I watch you go in someone else’s arms when I know now that something happened to take you from mine?”

I looked down, swallowing hard, as I thought this over.

It was my fault Ridge didn’t remember me. I was the one who caused the accident to injure his head. To erase me from his memories.

And the alpha had a point about how could he be blamed for those missing memories. When he woke up from his coma, Ridge didn’t realize that all those beautiful memories were being tainted with Molly replacing me in every single one of them.

I could see the plea in the alpha’s eyes and yet I didn’t know what to say.

The old Gianna was back at the moment. The one who wanted nothing more than to pick up where she left off with him. The one who just wanted a happily ever after of my own.

And all I could say was, “I don’t know what to say, Ridge. I… I really don’t.”

Ridge looked resistant but he swallowed hard, nodding that he respected that. But if there was any chance he’d hope I’d reconsider, he didn’t verbally say it. I think, despite the situation he was in with me, Ridge wanted to prove that he was hearing me, acknowledging my wants and needs… which I appreciated.

Others had a different opinion.

Mrs. Beaumont pleaded with me that it was unfair to ask of me to reconsider my decision to move on from Ridge but that her son’s feelings were true when it came to me. That she’d know from when Ridge spoke of our time together to her.

Another in my pack agreed that their alpha was not to be blamed for what happened to him. Another shouted that a reminder that True Mates were a rarity. The pack members pleaded that they didn’t want me taken away from their alpha again.

Ridge shouted an order for the pack to stand down, just as a snarling growl had Ridge’s green eyes darken over my head. A raspy voice retorted, “Your pack speaks out of line, Alpha.”

My body once again reacted to Nigel, only this time I shut my eyes and moaned at the sound of his voice. I heard Ridge growl back that despite what he felt for me back then was muddled by our situation but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to fight for what he wanted.

Ridge’s golden eyes shimmered, stepping around me to face off with a riled up Nigel who snapped, “We’ll see about that!”

Another growl interrupted the verbal altercation. One that resonated over their arguing and that had everyone turn their eyes to me; those in the both packs were lowering their heads and gazes.

My teeth elongated, my wolf eyes taking over while I stepped back, raising my voice in a snarled, “I belong to no one!”

Gnashing my teeth at the alpha, Ridge stepped back. The alpha went wide eyed. My glowing eyes wandered over everyone else behind him. My breathing was heavy and I tried to control it. The tingles in my fingertips seeped up my arms and into the rest of me.

“You will do well to remember that I am no one’s property! I do not bend to anyone’s will!”

There was a deep breath I took that allowed the tingles to become more profound. I realized what was happening. I realized what my wolf and I were doing at this precise moment. What we were sensing at this moment.

The Darkness was near.

“Gianna—” Ridge tried with panic in his voice.

Without looking, just hearing the number of steps it took him to get to me, my arm shot up to the side and my fingers gripped tight around the front of Ridge’s throat. The startled choke had my fingers tighten their clamp. Even with his hands trying to pry mine loose, I wouldn’t allow it.

“You will not refer to me so informally, low rank,” I growled, my gaze slowly turning to the side at the alpha.

His green eyes wide and struggled to say my name again.

Leaning closer, I bared my teeth, enjoying the panic in the alpha’s face.

“Don’t tempt me to strike you down … this very moment… should you step out of line in front of me again!”

Having enough, I tossed the alpha backwards. He fell over, coughing as he held his neck. I saw that a blonde female was starting to rush forward with an older male and female but my icy gaze landed on them; making them halt. Their eyes went wide, trembling as I stared them down.

Sneering, I lowered my chin. With a low warning, I growled, “Touch him… and I will show you the insides of your alpha.”

The two older couple’s eyes widened, suddenly in a panic as they were turning now to look over at a man with red hair and brown eyes.

This red haired man’s eyes widened and started to tear up. I raised a brow staring back at him. His gaze never left mine as he swallowed hard, his eyes watering.

The woman beside him had a hand to her mouth, choking out a sobbed, “Oh, God! No!” There were others around the man and woman with horrified looks.

I focused on the red haired man who stepped forward and whispered a name at me. I growled, repeating that I was to be spoken to with respect. That he was not my equal.

“Gianna, that is fucking enough!” the alpha ordered.

Snapping my head in the alpha’s direction, he rose to his feet and squared his shoulders back. I raised a brow at his defiance. His chin was lifted, green eyes hard as he ordered me to stand down.

“Stand down…?” I repeated with a grin tugging at my lips. I tilted my head to the side, taking a predatory step in his direction. “Is that what you want, dear alpha? For me to… stand down?”

Behind me, I heard the older man behind the alpha shout, “Son, don’t!”

Chuckling, my grin widened and I made a predatory paced semi circle around the alpha. His brows furrowed, staring me down in a cautious stance as he turned, watching me carefully.

“Yes… Listen to daddy dearest, alpha,” I sneered. “Don’t start what you can’t finish!” Baring my elongated teeth, I continued circling him.

The alpha narrowed his eyes, growling, “You can’t give into the Darkness, Gianna! You are stronger than it ever could be! So I am ordering you, as your alpha, to stand down!”

I eyed the way his chest heaved up and down, fists curled inward, and so I stopped pacing. I took in the cautious stance, the way his breathing was out of sync.

Pursing my lips, I squinted my gaze and huffed, “You’re frightened of me…”

The alpha’s jaw tightened. I took in the way he eyed me back as I did him then the alpha growled, “I don’t fear you, Gianna. Just the Darkness. And I won’t let you hurt this pack. Our pack.”

My brows shot up as my head craned forward. “Oh…” I kept my gaze on him as I circled him once again. “So now it’s our pack. Suddenly, I am your equal. I am worthy of your attention, is that it, Alpha?”

The alpha frowned, shaking his head, “That’s not fair, Gianna! I didn’t know that I had lost memories! Or that those lost memories was about everything between us! But I know that I care about you! That I love you!”

Sneering, I craned my neck back and scoffed, “Love…”

Flicking my gaze to the blonde female being guarded as she trembled between them, I saw fear in her blue eyes. My nose scrunched, eyeing her before directing to the alpha, “Is that what you feel for her too?”

The man frowned, looking over his shoulder to the blonde girl then back at me. He swallowed, shaking his head that everything he’d been told wasn’t the truth! That if—

I cut him off by narrowing my eyes and snapped, “What you feel is not love, I assure you. And I can tell you now that you cross the line for claiming such a fucking ridiculous emotion for someone like me.”

Straightening, I made sure that the alpha knew who I was to him.

“I own you. You were meant to falter to someone more superior. Someone who has more strength than you ever could possibly imagine!”

My eyes brightened as I growled out, “And you need to be put in place for your impudence!”

The alpha was startled for a moment before widening his eyes too late in seeing my arm swiftly swing around my hand to claw across his chest. The sound of his shirt shredding, along with his flesh, was satisfying. He cried out, stumbling a bit to the side with a hand to his chest. I stared at him calmly through narrowed eyes.

The alpha huffed, “Gianna… Gianna, stop it!” before looking at me.

I growled and used my other hand to claw the side of his face. Another anguish cry escaped as he fell to his knees.

My eyes flicked upward to his pack wanting to defend their alpha. Stepping around him, I shouted, “Try me! Try and defend your insolent alpha! I will kill each and every one of you if you come any closer!”

My gaze landed on the older man standing in a panic with a woman. The man shared the same green eyes as the alpha so I assumed he was the father. The man looked so torn between listening to my warning and trying to help his son.

“Something you’d like to say, Daddy Dearest?” I raised a brow.

The man was hesitant, but then shook his head as he begged me to stop what I was doing. That it was not his son’s fault for forgetting me. Nor was it mine. He assured me that this ‘Molly’ person was the one who had egged on the Quail Wolf inside me the day of his son’s accident. And that the former alpha took advantage of the situation because of his selfish ways.

The father took responsibility for what agony he put me and the rest of my family through. He pleaded for me to stop. That if anyone is to blame for everything it was him.

He glanced at his son breathing heavily beside me before the former alpha settled his attention back on me. Straightening his shoulders back, the father offered, “I will take my son’s place if you will allow it.”

Raising a brow, I looked upward and pursed my lips to the side, feigning thought.

“Hm. Such a noble father we are…”

I scrunched my nose at him, commending him for being so willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his heir. Then I deadpanned, “But no.” and whipped around to claw at his precious son once more.

The alpha cried out, knocked forward after my nails clawed deeply into his back. I slowly paced to his side, using my foot to shove him onto his back. He arched, groaning and huffing out desperate, pained gasps while clinging his hands to the sides of his head. He groaned, crying out again.

Facing the alpha’s father, I shouted, “I AM MERCILESS!” making him and the others step back.

Growling, I snapped that I had always been nothing to them. I was looked down on, and now that I had the upper-hand, they all suddenly wanted me to be so compliant. So forgiving.

“You have no idea how good this feels,” I grinned, daintily lifting a bloody hand as I stared at it so fondly. I rubbed my fingertips together of the crimson color.

My eyes flicked over to the former alpha as I smirked, “Who knew blood could feel like velvet?”

I chuckled and lowered my hands to my sides before hearing a cackle behind me.

Narrowing my eyes, I slowly turned around. My brow lowered as a tall, silvery-blonde began to slowly clap. She grinned, shaking her head and was clearly impressed with me as she cried, “Beautiful! You’re more than I imagined, Quail Wolf!”

She looked to the side at an older man standing nearby.

“Didn’t I tell you, Hannibal, that she would be remarkable? That she was everything we’d want?!”

My brow shot up, eyeing this woman who went on to tell the frowning older man with growing panic in his eyes that with control over me they’d now be unstoppable.

I made sure to put a stop to that shit real quick with a warning growl. Her gray eyes widened a second then shifted to meet mine.

The woman eyed me as I stared back at her with a curled lip. She shook her head, raising a hand as she said, “Calm yourself, Quail Wolf. I only meant—”

“Oh… I know what you meant,” I interjected, taking my predatory steps towards her. “But I shall have to remind you as well where you stand when it comes to me.”

The closer I got, the more fearful her eyes were. She frowned, glancing to the side and shrieked, “Nigel! Do something! You have the upper hand here as a male! Put her in her place!”

I immediately flicked my eyes to this ‘Nigel’ who turned from looking at the blonde woman to me. My gaze eyed him and sensed that he was sizing me up as well. His eyes suddenly shimmered to the identical color of mine, and I growled; lowering my chin as a defense. With my fingers curled, I bared my teeth and dared the other Quail to challenge me.

His own teeth bared back at me, the growl slithering through was a sign of him feeling appeased. Lowering a brow, Nigel grinned, “Your dominating demeanor is quite beautiful, Miss Gianna. I cannot deny this.”

Reluctantly, I shut my eyes a moment from the shivers on my skin at his voice. When I reopened them, he clearly saw the effect he had on me and his eyes shimmered more. Nigel stepped towards me and the way he locked eyes with me had my mind fighting my body to move, to show this other Quail who was supposed to be in control here.

Nigel now paced around me. His velvety tone caressing me as he murmured, “I’ve heard so much about you. The strength you had that was unnatural for a Quail…”

I frowned, swallowing, but stayed still and listened to him while he lifted a hand to touch my arm. His fingertips grazed up my arm and caressed my shoulder, hooking a finger under the spaghetti strap in its way.

“I was sure I’d be jealous… but no. No, I could not. Not when I heard about how long you’ve fought the Darkness. How much you’ve deflected it without knowing.”

Narrowing my eyes straight forward, I could see the blonde woman’s smirk while Nigel went on.

“Someone who could do that…” His breath hit the back of my neck and I shivered again. “—had to be gifted with a human most deserving of a Quail Wolf title.”

My body suddenly stiffened at Nigel’s hands on the sides of my arms. His fingers drifted up and down, and I turned my chin away, narrowing my eyes off to the side.

“Tell me, Miss Gianna,” Nigel mumbled. He lowered his head enough that I felt the breath of his words against my ear.

“How…” He gave a soft kiss to the shell of my ear. “Did you manage to remain so kind…?”

Nigel lowered his lips to my neck, pressing a chaste kiss there. “So in control…?”

I couldn’t help it. My body reacted to his touch. When his lips touched my skin, leaving a patch of heat in its wake, my head tipped back. A small moan came out as Nigel nipped the skin of my neck before muttering against it, “A woman like that is meant to be treated like a queen.”

My back arched at his hand sliding down my side and swept in front of my stomach to pull me back against him. There was no hesitation on my part, my hand drifting up and sliding against the side of his neck. My fingers raked into the back of his hair and I leaned my head back onto his shoulder. Another moan was earned when Nigel suckled lightly at my neck. The purr from my chest made Nigel growl and pull me back further against him.

“Show me, Miss Gianna,” Nigel whispered into my ear. “Show me the queen you are. What kind of queen you are…”

I gasped at those words, my eyes snapping open to the ominous dark sky and with my wolf eyes back in control. I could feel my irises pulsing as the color intensified.

Slowly straightening my head, I locked my sights on the manic blonde woman in front of me. Her grin suddenly went slack when the she-wolf saw the look in my eyes. She glanced at the male behind me, his arms still around me.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see his eyes had locked on her as well.

Keeping his narrowed gaze on the she-wolf, Nigel turned his chin just enough for his lips lean against the shell of my ear, to ask through grit teeth, “What kind of queen are you…?”

The growl that resonated around us made the packs fidget. I stepped forward, out of the male’s warm embrace, and made my way towards the she-wolf.

The fear flashing across her face made me growl again. Her voice filled with panic as she was demanding to know what Nigel said to me that would make me turn against her! That this wasn’t part of the plan! That it wasn’t funny!

The blonde woman returned her focus to me as Nigel remained silent.

“See here, Quail Wolf! I am the one you should be thanking! I am the only reason you have reached your full potential! I am the reason you are able to stand up for yourself after everything!”

She backed up, shouting at the others to not just stand there. But they didn’t seem too keen on interfering with me. A smart choice, really.

My gaze never left the she-wolf. I even stepped slower just to watch her squirm some more. The mental picture of seeing this woman’s blood drain from the open wound I was going to tear into her neck was exciting. Her scream would be cut off with the sound of her choking on blood.

Once she was in my reach, I snagged the woman by the throat. Her eyes wide, fingers trying to pry my hand loose. But that wasn’t going to happen. Not when I could almost smell and taste her blood.

“You—Gah!” she was trying to speak through the strangled gasp. Her eyes bulged, choking out, “—Can’t— do this!”

Her choking grunts made me squeeze her throat tighter as I chuckled, “Oh, but I can… I can do whatever I want…”

My wolf eyes shimmered, leaning closer to her wide-eyed trembling look, and gave her a wicked grinned, “Because I’m the Queen of Darkness.”