After speaking, I lifted the full glass in front of me. The smell alone made my stomach turn, but I forced it down and drank. Then another. And another. I didn't stop, even when my body started rejecting it.
By the third glass, a dull pain settled low in my abdomen, sharp enough to make my hand hesitate mid-air.
Jared noticed immediately. He grabbed my wrist, firm but controlled, like he was trying to stop something already slipping.
He looked toward Ashton. "She's still your mate under pack law. You know she can't handle this in her current state. If something happens, you won't be able to undo it."
"Let me go!" My head was already spinning, anger mixing with the heat in my stomach. I shoved Jared's hand away and reached for another glass anyway.
But before I could touch it, a stronger force pulled me back.
I crashed into a familiar chest, held firmly like I had been anchored there without permission.
Joe froze. His voice cracked slightly. "Ashton?"
