Alpha Alec's Redemption by Kathy M

Chapter 250

The dining room is filled with tension so thick it's almost suffocating. The air is electric, a current of raw energy buzzing beneath my skin, through my veins, as if the entire room is pulsing in sync with the rising moon.

I adjust in my seat, trying to settle the anxiety churning in my gut. Across the room, Micah and Jason are quiet; the only indication of their tension is the set of

their jaws

Most of the pack is already here, while some are still eating, others are sprawled across the long wooden table or leaning against the walls, waiting for Alec's directive. It's a pack tradition that on the night of the full moon, every wolf joins in the run, led by the Alpha.

I never joined the full moon run while here in Alec's pack, but that was because I had not shifted by then. In the past three years, I've led every run, but those moments during the full moon didn't feel like this. I didn't have this burning ache inside me.

I grip the edge of my chair, trying to keep myself steady. The full moon is like an hour away, but its effects are already settling in, making my skin prickle and my breath come too fast. Everything feels heightened-senses on overdrive, every sound too loud, every scent too strong.

Around the room, mates are exchanging heated glances, eyes dark with barely contained desire. Their scents hang heavy in the air, a sweet, cloying mixture of lust and longing. Even unmated wolves are struggling, their eyes flicking nervously around the room, muscles coiled tight like they're seconds away from snapping.

fight against the pheromones saturating the air. Some are gripping their chairs so hard their knuckles

look away, focusing on my own breathing. Slow and steady.

building all day, a slow burn that has now become a wildfire raging beneath my skin. The need is intense, a pressure deep in my gut, pooling low and heavy until it's nearly unbearable. My thighs press together, and I

not just the moon that's

pacing in my head, fully driven by a mix

her. I understand

her need because I also need

my mind. He's been with Aspen for almost twenty minutes, reading her a bedtime story because she refused to sleep without

are put to sleep early during the full moon. We are more animals than humans, so things can get a

dark, smoky warmth that sinks deep into my lungs

I realize I haven't seen Raven since yesterday evening during dinner when she had a book in