ALPHA'S HUMAN SURROGATE 13

JAYDEN

I stormed out of my bedroom, leaving Catriona breathless and needy behind me. I hated walking away from her like that, especially with my pants tight and painful from how badly I wanted her. But Jerome had mind-linked me mid-thrust, saying there was something I needed to see.

I followed his signal down to the second basement—the torture room.

He stood beside a body sprawled on the floor. A dead wolf. The look on Jerome’s face? Worried. And that was rare for him.

“Jerome, what is it?” I asked, approaching him.

He didn’t meet my eyes. “Alpha… come here. You need to see this.”

I knelt beside the body. Thick fur matted with blood, the scent of death lingering heavy in the air. But under the neck… there it was.

A mark I knew too well.

“That’s Alfredo’s crest,” Jerome said lowly. “The vampire kin……