Leon’s POV

The training ground echoed with grunts and the dull thuds of bodies hitting frozen earth. Around me, Frostshadow Pack’s young warriors paired off in combat exercises.

I should have been focused, correcting stances and offering guidance as the Alpha’s son. Instead, my mind kept drifting back to the hunting night.

My fingers grazed between her thighs, feeling her excitement mirror my own.

My body craved to claim her, to press her against the frozen earth, to feel her surrender completely. But reason clawed me back—her fragility, her lack of a wolf, the pack’s future.

Choosing a female warrior as my Breeder seemed like the perfect solution.

I couldn’t understand why Skye was so furious. She’d been spoiled by her family, completely clueless about responsibility.

What shocked me the most, though, was that she actually accepted my rejection.

“Leon! You’re wide open!”

The warning came too late.

Ethan’s shoulder slammed into my chest, sending me sprawling onto my back. For a moment, all I could do was stare up at the pale winter sky.

Ethan loomed over me, extending his hand. “That’s the third time today. Where’s your head at?”

“Just tired,” I muttered.

Around us, the other warriors had paused their training to watch. Maya didn’t bother hiding her interest, her blonde hair pulled back in a tight braid, her gaze tracking my movements with barely disguised hunger.

“Again,” I commanded, resuming my stance.

As Ethan and I circled each other, my mind drifted to a memory from last month.

Skye had been watching our training session from the sidelines, wrapped in that oversized blue coat she loved. When Ethan executed a perfect takedown on one of our newer recruits, she’d jumped up, clapping and cheering like it was the most impressive thing she’d ever seen.

“Soon I’ll be right there with you guys,” she’d called out, her silver hair catching the light of the season’s first snowfall. “Just wait until I shift!”

But she had just turned eighteen last week, and she still hadn’t shifted.

I’m three years older than Skye, I had already shifted when I was fifteen.

My distraction cost me again. Ethan’s leg swept mine from under me, and I found myself staring at the sky for the second time.

“Seriously, Leon,” Ethan said.

“Water break!” I called out to the group, needing a moment to collect myself.

Seven years ago, I watched as a vampire’s claws tore through my mother’s chest. I was only fourteen, frozen in horror as she placed herself between the vampire and a group of pups—Ethan and Skye among them. Her last words to me, blood bubbling from her lips: “Become Alpha King. Protect them all.”

The memory had burned away any childish notions of romance or infatuation.

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