Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 506: The Animal Story

Roman was full of surprises.

"So, you can control animals?" Violet arched a brow at him. "How did I not know? You don’t seem to invest in that particular skill."

They sat on the bed with their backs to the wall. Sure, the room was wrecked, but where else could they go? It was just a gaping hole in the wall, not the apocalypse. Outside, night air slipped through the break, carrying the faint hum of the temple beyond. The bed at least was still intact, and that was enough.

Besides, the mating fever had cooled to a dull ember, no longer suffocating her thoughts. By morning, she’d be out of here. She couldn’t wait another hour. After that witch’s attack, Violet needed to see the rest of her men and make sure they were alive, breathing, and preferably not doing anything stupid. Then she’d figure out the rest of this madness.

One thing was clear: Angus hadn’t made a move until her powers were free. That alone made her pause and dulled whatever anger she’d been holding toward her birth mother. If Angus was this insane, she could only imagine the kind of fear her mother had lived with, probably the kind that drove her to bind her own daughter’s magic.

So yeah, Violet couldn’t exactly blame her.

Roman said, "My mother didn’t like it."

At the mention of his mother’s name, Violet shifted on the bed, bracing herself for the bitter turn this story was about to take. Alexa Draven had never been a steady presence in Roman’s life, and Violet could only imagine what she’d done to make him avoid honing this skill altogether.

shoulder, their fingers intertwining. A silent gesture meant to anchor him and offer the support she

store, and the animals would go haywire—not in a bad way

the laugh that followed was genuine or if it was the kind of laugh people used to cover a bruise they didn’t want touched. It was too quick, and thin around the edges. She didn’t call him on it though, and stayed quiet, letting him hold onto the humor if

them. Unfortunately, this

edging into sad territory, the way Roman said it

to find a deer asleep on my bed. Don’t even get me started on the birds? Flocks would follow me like I was Snow White, only they

head at the memory. "And then there was the day a lion decided to ’drop by.’ The pack had to full-on evacuate the pack house. The deltas were panicking because

too much. Before she knew it, her shoulders shook, and finally she burst into full-blown laughter, leaning

tears from her eyes, still catching her breath from

memory until his expression suddenly soured. "And then it

feel the story was about to turn, and whatever came next had ended

could entertain my ’friends.’ So they moved me into this smaller quarters on the estate, far enough

tugged at his lips. "And... I was also crushing on this girl in my pack. I went to

in her eyes. Someone had