Tangled

100 Clayton: Clashing Alphas

CLAYTON

Lucas’s voice booms through the room, frustration palpable in every syllable. The scouts cower under his scrutiny, and I can’t blame them. The Blackwood

leaders have proven more elusive than any of us anticipated.

I should be focused on the task at hand, strategizing our next move, but my mind drifts to Ava. Is she healing well? Has she found any measure of peace. after the trauma she’s endured?

Even though the mating bond didn’t take, my wolf and I feel bonded toward her. It’s one–sided and fragile, -but it consumes my thoughts. I long to see her, to offer comfort and support. But Lucas guards any

information about her whereabouts with a

possessiveness that borders on obsession.

I don’t blame him, but after a week of knowing nothing, the frustration is getting to me.

As the meeting concludes, Lucas and I make our way back to the alpha’s house. The promise of paperwork

100 Clayton: Clashing Alphas

and hacked computer files looms ahead, a necessary evil in our quest for answers. Yet, even as I try to

center my thoughts on the investigation, Ava’s face flickers through my mind.

I glance at Lucas, wondering how to broach the subject of contacting her. His jaw is set, eyes hard with determination. I know he sees me as a threat, a rival for Ava’s affections. And perhaps I am. Everything I feel toward her is undeniable, something I’ve never felt toward a woman before. It’s like a whisper of fate that I

can’t ignore.

And yet I’m not the one she’s fated for.

I don’t want to come between them, not if Ava has truly chosen Lucas. I respect her choices, her

autonomy.

committed to him, that she hasn’t borne his mark, and that he doesn’t have

my request, but the words die on my tongue. Lucas’s posture is rigid, his eyes fixed

Clayton Clashing Alphas

time. I need to tread carefully, to find the right moment to express my desire

Lucas’s voice cuts through my reverie, his

to shove thoughts of Ava to the back of my mind, focusing on the task at hand. “We’ve been over this

is steady despite the turmoil within. “We don’t know anything. Our best bet is that Renard is going to try to

wolves back.”

tumultuous process, to say the least. While many have embraced the change, seeking a fresh start and a more

to fall along gender lines. The men, proud and stubborn, struggle to let go of their ties to Renard Blackwood. I can sense their

not true of Westwood, Aspen, or any of the surrounding large packs, where male and female live with

IT

Clashing

equality.

remain rogue, unsworn to

In a society where a female’s loyalty is expected to lie with her mate above all else, these she–wolves are breaking the mold. They gather their cubs close, eyes bright with determination as they step forward to pledge their allegiance to

in most shifter communities. A female, leaving her mate behind to join a

keep several of their mates separated and under guard,

to forge a new path for themselves and their young. I can only imagine the strength it takes, the courage to

he runs his hands through his hair. The

he speaks. “Ava asked

Clashing

been able to talk to her in days.”

stutters in my chest, a flicker of hope igniting before I can quash it. Guilt follows swiftly on its heels. I

mine.

every time I see you.” He meets my gaze, eyes flashing with barely restrained anger. “But I don’t want to upset

The

bonded?” Lucas asks, his

that ignites the powder keg. But I can’t lie, not about this. “I tried to mark her,” I admit, my voice barely above a

instantaneous. He lunges at me, a snarl ripping from his throat as his wolf takes over. I

wolf surges to the

Clayton Clashing

we tumble across the ground in a tangle of fur and