Two weeks later, Kieran stood at the mouth of a cave so dark it seemed to swallow the torchlight. Beside him, Elise vibrated with excitement.

"She's in there," Elise whispered. "The most powerful witch in the western territories."

Kieran hesitated. Every instinct warned him to turn back, but the memory of Laura walking away from him and getting entangled with the four alphas, the whispers of his pack members behind his back, the disrespect from the other Alphas—it all pushed him forward.

The cave twisted downward, the air growing colder with each step. Finally, they emerged into a chamber lit by strange blue flames that danced in stone bowls.

In...