If she'd needed proof of how little she meant to her father, this was it. "So you're just going to rape me?"

"You're in your Burning Moon. I doubt there'll be much rape involved. Though if you want to play rough…" Magic rose, surging around him, glowing to Elena's senses. Mystical energies twisted bone and muscle, sending a wave of golden fur across his skin. When the forces finally died, something not even remotely human towered over Elena, almost seven and a half feet of golden fur, massive muscle, and razored claws.

Fangs gleamed as he grinned at her, and his pointed ears brushed the ceiling. "Now, you're welcome to shift, too," Stephen said, in a deep, growling voice that sounded nothing like his own. "I'd be more than happy to demonstrate just what little chance you have against me in a fight." He spread his fingers, making his claws flex. "Though it's safe to say you won't enjoy the demonstration nearly as much as I will."

Elena backed away, silently cursing both him and her father. At least they'd made her decision easier. If Stephen would do something like this to her—a woman he was supposed to marry—anybody was fair game. He had to be stopped, whatever it took. Even if it meant risking the life of an innocent man. "Where's your Chosen sense of honor, Stephen?"

"Where's yours? Your Alpha gave you an order, and you refused to obey."

Her Burning Moon temper exploded. "It's my body. I have a right—"

"To nothing!" Stephen roared back. "You are not some human female who can put on a pretense of equality! You're a Direwolf. You obey your Alpha. And as of tonight, that's me."

She bared her teeth, refusing to cower. "You're not my Alpha!"

A clawed hand flashed out and wrapped in the tough blue fabric of her polo shirt, jerking her closer. "I say I am. And I say we're going to fuck. Now. Tonight. Tomorrow. Every damned day for the rest of the month until you're pregnant!"