Christina's POV

I must not be their daughter.

How else could my own parents treat me like some expendable omega when I carried the same Crescent blood as Beatrice?

Akira, my wolf, snarled inside my mind. "They don't deserve us, Chrissy."

The moment I got back to my apartment, I collapsed into bed. I didn't move until my phone started ringing.

It was Ysolde.

"You ditched family dinner night?" she asked before I could even say hello. "Your father just called my dad and asked almost every pack member in the entire Carlisle pack, demanding to know if you were hiding out with me."

"Well, hello to you too," I groaned. "And no, I'm not hiding. I'm staging a tactical retreat after declaring independence."

"What happened? Wait,don't tell me. Niall did something spectacularly stupid again?"

I didn't wait for her to speculate further,I just blurted out everything.The final fight with Niall. My parents making me publicly confess to "cheating".

And, yes... I also told her about the one-night stand.

I left out the proposal.

Ysolde let out a howl so loud I had to pull the phone away from my ear.

"You had a one-night stand with your neighbor?! The one who looks like he stepped out of a Calvin Klein billboard? And you didn't send me a single picture?"

I switched the phone to speaker and tossed it onto the couch.

"He's not just hot, Ysolde. He's an Alpha."

"An Alpha?!" Her voice reached a pitch only dogs or werewolves could hear. "From which pack?"

"I don't know. I didn't exactly ask for his pack credentials while he was taking off my-"

"Don't you dare stop there, Christina Vance! Details. Now."

I dragged a pillow over my face. "You are the worst best friend in the history of werewolf friendships."

"And you're dodging," she shot back.

Yes, I was.

I never hid things from Ysolde. Not even when Niall started showing his true colors last year. Not even when Beatrice "accidentally" ruined my portfolio before the design competition.

But last night...

I slept with a man whose pack I couldn't identify.Just to wash Niall's memory off my skin-for a minute, an hour, a night.Whatever it took to feel free again.

"At least tell me this," Ysolde pressed. "Did your wolves recognize each other? Any... mating pull?"

My hand unconsciously went to my neck where his teeth had grazed my skin.

"I don't know," I muttered. "Akira was... unusually quiet."

"Holy moon goddess," Ysolde breathed. "You need to find out who he is."

"What I need is to figure out how to deal with my parents trying to auction me off to the next available Alpha now that Niall's rejected me."

Ysolde went quiet for a moment. "You know you always have a place with our pack if things get ugly."

I swallowed hard.

"Thanks," I managed. "I might need it sooner than you think."

I glanced at the time and cursed.

"I've got to go to work."

Now that my parents had made it clear I was as useful as a declawed cat in a hunt, my job was the one thing I couldn't afford to screw up.

Of course, they believed I worked as a barista at Ground & Pound.

In their minds, once mated to Niall, I should be home full-time-a perfect little Luna with no ambitions beyond pack politics and eventual pup-bearing.

They had no idea I was actually Nyx Collective's rising star jewelry designer.

The coffee shop was just my cover-my way of explaining where I disappeared to every day without revealing I was doing something my controlling parents would consider beneath them.

I dragged my exhausted body to Ground & Pound, already planning my escape route to my studio afterward.

"Chrissy."

My boss, Benny, greeted me like I was an IRS agent with a warrant-nervous, sweaty, practically whimpering.

"You don't need to be here today. I was just about to call you..." He stared at the floor as if it might open up and swallow him. "You're not on the schedule anymore."

My wolf bristled. "Excuse me?"

"You've been... fired. I'm really sorry. I didn't want to, but..." He finally looked up, his eyes wide with genuine fear. "Your father came by."

My stomach dropped faster than a stone in a lake.

"Said he'd have every werewolf in Highrise boycott us if I kept you on staff." Benny's nose couldn't pick up pack politics, but even he knew Alpha Franklin wasn't someone to cross. "I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything."

"He's just Alpha, Benny. Not the Alpha King of all the packs."

"Maybe not, but he's got The Crescent pack wrapped around his finger. And they're half our customer base."

I took a deep breath. Yelling at Benny wouldn't do anything. This wasn't his fault.

Before Akira could urge me to do something stupid,like shift right there and tear up the espresso machine,I stormed out.

I didn't hate that job. Being a barista was just my alibi.

What really paid my bills,what no one in my pack knew except Ysolde,was my jewelry design work.

Ever since I was a pup,my father had told me I was average.Ordinary. Unexceptional. Every time I tried to shine, he dragged me back into Beatrice's shadow.

Eventually, I learned to hide. I buried my ambition, wore gray feathers.

So no, I didn't care about losing the coffee shop job.

What infuriated me was that this was clearly a power move. My father's influence was all over it.

It was his punishment. His response to me rejecting Niall. Rejecting the arrangement that would have bound our packs. But Beatrice had already taken my place in this ridiculous marriage. Why couldn't he just leave me alone?

He was sending me a message,"You don't get to walk away from the pack's plans. I can destroy any independence you think you've earned with just one word."

If he thought I would come crawling back, belly-up like I used to, begging for the pack's approval...

He could go howl at the moon.

I wasn't his obedient pup anymore.

I was done playing the good little daughter.

Thirty minutes later, I shoved open the front door of the pack house.

No knocking. No announcing myself through the pack mind-link. I didn't care.

I had come ready to start round two of our family dispute.

What I found instead was something far worse.

My parents were sitting on the couch, sipping blood-red wine worth more than my rent, laughing-actually laughing-with a man I didn't recognize.

The scene was picturesque. Like they'd stepped right out of How to Host the Perfect Alpha-Wannabe Dinner.

He was a sleazy, off-brand version of an old-school pack boss. Custom suit, shirt open too far-revealing a pasted-on looking thicket of chest hair, like holiday decor gone wrong. Everything about him was overdone: the bleach-white teeth, the polished, pointless smile.

"Darling," my mother cooed, "come meet Mr. Leonard Shaw, Alpha of the Silver Heights pack. A true self-made wolf.There's so much you could learn from him,about turning wolf talent into real pack success."

It hit like a silver bullet to the face.

Leonard grinned ear to ear. His eyes went straight to my neck, searching for mating marks.

"Lovely to meet you, Miss Vance," he said. "I do hope we get to run together soon. I always enjoy taking young she-wolves under my wing. Especially unmated, beautiful ones like yourself."

I didn't bother hiding my expression.

It wasn't disgust. It was the look a wolf gives right before it tears out a throat.

He was practically drooling.

I could hear his wolf howling mating calls in his head.

"Christina," my father warned in that threat tone, "don't be rude. Show Mr. Shaw proper respect as an Alpha."

I didn't move. I didn't even blink.

My mom's laugh rang out, high and brittle, like a fox caught in a trap.

"Young she-wolves are so temperamental these days, aren't they?" she said to Leonard, with the practiced tone of a Luna placating an Alpha.

Leonard just waved it off. "I like a female with spirit.Makes the chase more interesting."

Yeah, and I like hunters who don't use silver bullets. We can't all get what we want.

And my father, the same man who had told me "we'll handle everything" just days ago, was now nodding at Leonard like a hotel concierge hoping for a good tip.

That's when I understood.

This wasn't an introduction.

It was an offering.

I was the sacrifice on display tonight.

This wasn't about meeting a 'promising Alpha male', but a pack alliance negotiation. I was being marketed like a breeding female with a bonus dowry.

When Leonard finally left,I turned to face them.

"What the hell was that?"

My mother raised her wine glass, took a triumphant sip.

"That," she said, "was your future mate."

Christina's POV

Interesting, introducing me to a man who's clearly over sixty and has buried several wives. The kind of man who would definitely make headlines in the human world as a textbook example of 'husband is usually the killer' in those spousal murder cases.

Wow, it's a miracle I've survived to 24 without being poisoned by my own parents.

I snorted."You've officially lost your mind. You're pimping me off to a man who probably qualifies for a senior discount."

"Watch your tone," my father snapped, his Alpha voice making the glasses on the table vibrate. "Leonard Shaw is a shipping magnate who controls three major port terminals in Highrise City. His pack may be smaller than ours, but his business acumen is unparalleled."

I stared at him. "So, this is it? I dump Niall and suddenly you're throwing me at the next Alpha with a functioning heart valve?"

Dad's jaw tightened. "The Crescent pack invested in you for twenty-four years, Christina. Elite education. Social training. That lavish coming-of-age ceremony. Do you think any of that came for free?"

"Send me an invoice then," I shot back. "I'll pay back every penny, but I'm not selling myself to the highest bidder just so you can get your money's worth."

"You misunderstand your position," he said ruthlessly. "This isn't a negotiation. The pack needs stability after your little... tantrum with Niall. Leonard provides that opportunity."

My mother sat beside him, silent as a museum exhibit, stirring her tea like she was trying to create a whirlpool to escape into. Supportive in the way that meant she'd watch him throw me under the bus for his business deals and then hand me a bandage for the damage.

"That wasn't why I came back," I said, redirecting. "Why the hell did you call my boss? You got me fired."

"That was the price of disobedience," Dad replied coolly. "You don't get to disrespect the pack's arrangements and walk away unscathed. Actions have consequences, Christina."

"I'm never marrying Shaw. Or any other creep you drag out of your Alpha contact list."

Dad's expression didn't change, but the room temperature seemed to drop. "You'll fall in line. You always do."

"You've already cost me my job. I don't even live at home anymore. There's nothing else you can take from me."

His smile was slow and cold - he kind that reminded everyone why he was Alpha. "Don't be so sure. You like your apartment, don't you? Shame if your landlord suddenly received an offer he couldn't refuse for that building."

My stomach dropped faster than an elevator with cut cables.

"And that best friend of yours... Ysolde? Her parents' little family business still depends on our supplier network and territory protection. The Carlisle pack is what-a tenth our size? They'd never survive winter without our support."

I stared at him, stunned. "You wouldn't."

"Would you be willing to risk it?"

The way he said it made me certain that he meant every vile syllable.

Franklin Vance didn't just run The Crescent pack; he was a shrewd businessman with connections throughout Highrise City's corporate world. The kind of man who turned networking into an art form, building alliances that stretched from pack politics to boardroom deals. If he wanted to destroy someone's livelihood, one phone call was all it took. And my father had never hesitated to weaponize those connections.

As his daughter, I was just another commodity in his portfolio-something to be traded, leveraged, or liquidated for the right price. He was basically running a high-end escort service, except instead of a street corner, his office had mahogany furniture and a killer view.

So unfortunately, I didn't have a choice.Not really. I couldn't let Ysolde get caught in the crossfire of my family's twisted drama. If someone had to go down, it wasn't going to be her.

So I went on the offensive.

"I can't marry that old creep," I said, with all the conviction of someone who just bet their life savings on a horse named 'Maybe Tomorrow.'"Because I'm already engaged."

My fatherr's teacup froze midway to his lips. "You what?"

"Found a new mate," I repeated, casually inspecting my nails like I wasn't making this up on the spot. "Met someone incredible. Very powerful Alpha. We've been... making it official."

Even my mother looked up at that, her eyes wide as dinner plates.

Dad set down his cup with a sharp clink. "That's not possible. You were engaged to Niall for years. You broke it off last week."

"Well, it's been a productive week," I said, flashing my most deranged pageant smile. "Turns out, I'm quite decisive when I finally get a say."

"Who is he?" Mom finally spoke.

"You'll meet him soon enough," I said, lifting my bag and stepping toward the door. "I'll bring him home for dinner sometime. And I promise, he'll make your Leonard Shaw look like a small-time player trying to run with the big dogs."

Dad rose from his chair, his Alpha presence filling the room. "Christina Vance, you are not walking out of this house until-"

"Until what?" I turned, summoning every bit of courage I'd never known I had. "Until you threaten more of my friends? Go ahead. But then I'll make sure my new mate knows exactly how you treated his chosen female. I wonder how that would play out at the Elder Council."

The bluff was so enormous it practically had its own gravitational pull. But the mention of the Elder Council, where Alphas settled territory disputes, made my father hesitate just long enough.

"This discussion isn't over," he growled.

"It is for today," I replied, and walked out before he could use his Alpha command on me.

Back at my apartment, I collapsed onto the sofa like a house of cards in a hurricane.

"FUCK!" I screamed into a pillow.

I was seething not only at my father and his Machiavellian maneuvering which earned him a top-tier spot on my shit list, but also, bitterly, at myself.

Because after all these years of therapy,self-help books and telling myself I was immune to his manipulations... he still got under my skin like a splinter you can't quite dig out.

And now I'd gone and thrown a bloody mate into the mix like I was auditioning for a supernatural rom-com, minus the romance, the comedy, or the actual mate. My father would sniff out the lie in three business days, max. Probably sooner if he bothered to check with his connections.

Akira paced nervously in my mind. "We need to find someone. Fast."

"I know, I know," I muttered aloud.

I needed to make my little lie true. Somehow. I needed an Alpha who oozed enough power and dominance to make my father think twice about his precious Leonard Shaw alliance. Someone untouchable. Impressive. Preferably with enough bite to make my father second-guess every threat out of his mouth.

Too bad every eligible Alpha I knew who fit the bill was either mated, morally bankrupt, or part of Niall's inner circle.

"Moon goddess help me," I groaned, burying my face in a throw pillow.

Then, just as I was ready to spiral into a full-blown panic attack, a face floated into my mind.

Blue eyes and sharp jawline.

My next-door neighbor who had proposed to me just hours ago.

Christina's POV

I stood outside his door. Drawing in a breath that felt more like preparation for a firing squad than a conversation, I knocked.

Well, that was it. Point of no return. Unless I suddenly faked my own death in the next five seconds.

The door swung open almost immediately, as if he'd been waiting. There he stood in all his commanding presence, wearing what had to be a custom suit. Not the kind you grab off the rack for job interviews, but the kind that announces "I own the building, the block, and possibly your soul."

Perfect timing. He looked like he was headed out,probably to acquire a small country or make another billion before dinner.

"Well, look who it is. Cinderella coming back for her glass slipper?" His voice was teasing.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. It's not like it was my fault I had to bolt from his hotel suite the moment my dad called.

Well anyway. Since when do fairy tales make it into an Alpha's reading collection? Next you'll tell me he curls up with Little Red Riding Hood before bedtime, though I suspect he'd identify more with the wolf than the girl.

"Can I come in?" I asked, trying to sound casual while my nervous system was having a full-blown meltdown.

He stepped aside with a fluid grace that reminded me of large cats in wildlife documentaries, deceptively relaxed but ready to pounce at any moment.

His apartment had the same layout as mine, but that's where the similarities ended. Where mine was a messy reflection of "young professional with IKEA addiction and no eye for design," his was straight out of Architectural Digest. Minimalist furniture that probably had six-month waitlists, sleek surfaces that had never known the touch of a takeout container, and absolutely zero clutter.

It looked expensive but impersonal, like he hadn't bothered to actually move in. No personal photos, no random trinkets, nothing that said "a person with emotions lives here." Just a gorgeous, soulless showcase that whispered "I have money and excellent taste, but I'm just passing through."

"Can I get you something to drink?" he asked, gesturing toward what I assumed was a kitchen that had never seen actual cooking.

"Anything that's not alcoholic," I replied quickly. "I need a clear head."

A smile passed over his face. "Water it is."

He moved to the kitchen, giving me a moment to collect my thoughts and rehearse my insane proposition one last time. I could do this. Just a simple business arrangement between neighbors. Nothing weird about proposing a fake mateship to the walking embodiment of dangerous attraction who happened to live next door.

When he returned with two glasses of water, I pulled out the check I'd written and held it out like a peace offering.

"For the shirt," I explained. "The one I accidentally ripped during our... time together."

"You mean the shirt you ripped off me like a kid tearing into Christmas wrapping?"

His words made me flush, and then he glanced at the check with the interest of someone being offered Monopoly money. "I don't need it."

"Maybe not, but I do. Need to give it, I mean." I placed it on his glass coffee table, where it looked pathetically out of place.

The silence that followed felt heavy enough to sink through the floor. I suddenly felt like every cell in my body had received the memo to panic at exactly the same time.

He moved closer,barely half a step, but enough to make Akira stir restlessly.

"What's the real reason you're here?"

My body reacted instinctively to his proximity. Not fear exactly, but that primal awareness you get around someone who clearly runs things. With his well-built body, he was displaying a strong sense of authority.

My pulse quickened, my mouth went dry, and every sense heightened.He radiated that unmistakable Alpha energy that made me want to low my head.

Finally,I spoke."You mentioned a proposal.Back at the hotel? I was a bit... distracted at the time."

He raised his eyebrow, "Interesting. But you still haven't answered my question."

"I want to marry you.", the words tumbled out before I could stop them.

His expression shifted minutely,the barest flicker of surprise breaking through his composed facade.

"Not really marry you," I clarified in a rush, words spilling like I'd knocked over a dam. "I mean yes, technically, legally, but not... you know, for real. My father is basically trying to pimp me out to some creep,old Alpha named Leonard Shaw who controls half the shipping terminals in Highrise City and is looking for Wife Number God-Knows-What. And if I don't show up with someone even more powerful and intimidating, my father will make good on his threats to ruin my best friend's family business and probably kick me out of my apartment. So I need a fake mate who radiates enough 'don't fuck with me' energy to make my father back off, and my list of candidates is currently... just you."

I finally paused to inhale, my chest heaving like I'd run a marathon.

He didn't laugh or call security. He simply studied me with that unnerving intensity, like a chess master considering an unexpected but intriguing move.

Then he nodded once. "Alright."

I blinked rapidly. "I'm sorry - what?"

"I said alright. I'll do it." He said it so casually, like I'd asked to borrow a cup of sugar instead of asking him to pretend to be my mate.

"Just like that?" My voice had climbed to operatic heights.

"My family's been pressuring me to find a mate," he explained, taking a casual sip of water. "Like I told you yesterday, I need a Luna.Your proposal solves both our problems."

I stared at him, completely dumbfounded. I need a fake mate at exactly the same time him need one? What are the odds?

I narrowed my eyes. "Wait, just to be clear.It is a fake mate you're looking for, right? Not a real one?"

"Fake, of course," He replied, but there was something in his eyes that didn't quite match his casual tone. "And arranged mateship for mutual benefit happen more often than you think in our world. We're just skipping the courtship and going straight to the contract."

I stared at him. "You're serious."

"Deadly."

"And you just... decided this after one night?"

He smiled meaningfully, then shrugged. "You left before I could discuss it properly. I figured you weren't interested."

"I thought you were joking!"

"I rarely joke, Christina."

Wait, I didn't remember telling him my name. Whatever, it didn't matter.

"What's the catch?" I asked.He'd agreed too quickly. I was starting to suspect this was some new type of scam.

"No catch. Just terms." With that, he gestured for me to sit on his couch. I perched on the edge, feeling out of place.

He reached into a drawer and pulled out a black notebook. He clicked an expensive-looking pen like someone who regularly drafted contracts before breakfast.

"If we're doing this, we're doing it properly."

"You already have terms written down?" I asked incredulously.

"I like to be prepared." He flipped open the notebook. "Shall we?"