Kain POV

The scent of aged mahogany, expensive leather, and centuries of absolute power hung heavy in the air of the top-floor office at Blackstone Tower.

I stood before the massive obsidian desk. Behind it sat Almon Blackwell, the former Lycan King and my father. He swirled the amber liquid in his crystal decanter, his ancient eyes narrowing at me.

"I married Adelina Wolfe," I stated, my voice a low rumble that vibrated against the glass windows overlooking Manhattan.

Almon paused, the glass halting near his lips. "A wolfless Omega? You've rejected every highborn female on this continent for centuries, Kain. And you bind yourself to a broken stray?"

I didn't bother explaining. Instead, I pushed a single, heavily guarded phrase through our mind-link.

*White Wolf.*

The crystal glass shattered in Almon's grip. The amber liquor spilled across the desk, but he didn't notice. His eyes flared with a sudden, ravenous hunger. The Moon Goddess's direct bloodline.

"Her inner wolf is dormant," I continued, my Lycan pacing restlessly beneath my skin at the thought of her. "She's like a cornered animal. If a Lycan approaches her directly, she'll bolt. The mating contract was the only way to leash her legally and keep her close."

Almon stood up, a predatory grin spreading across his face. He instantly saw the empire-building potential—the invincible heirs she would give us.

"I need the Blackstone network to erase 'Babe Vincent' completely," I demanded. "Build an impenetrable firewall around her. Jase Davenport and the Parrish family are not to touch a single hair on her head."

"Consider it done," Almon agreed, his voice thick with dark excitement. "The highest protection protocol for Adelina Blackwell is active."

*

Adelina POV

The cramped back seat of the yellow cab smelled of cheap pine air freshener and worn vinyl, a stark contrast to the thunderstorm aura Kain had left on my skin.

Suddenly, my phone chimed—a deep, encrypted ping I had never heard before.

I opened the screen. It was a notification from an exclusive Swiss private bank, the kind that only dealt with the highest-ranking Packs.

*Account Activated. Credit Limit: $12,000,000.00. Guarantor: Blackstone Financial Empire.*

I stared at the zeros, my heart slamming against my ribs. *Blackstone.* Kain Blackwell. He must have cashed in some forgotten, obscure family trust to get this. I had assumed he was just a disgraced rogue drowning in debt, but he actually had hidden leverage.

Twelve million dollars.

A breathless laugh escaped my lips. For the first time in my life, I wasn't a helpless, wolfless Omega waiting for scraps. I had a weapon. I had freedom.

I didn't waste a second. I tapped the screen, immediately booking the penthouse suite at The Plaza Hotel. Next, I wired a massive retainer to an elite private security firm, ordering a 24-hour detail and a high-end moving crew to extract the rest of my belongings from Jase's building.

An hour later, I stood in the center of my new suite. Cream walls, gilded molding, and the clean scent of fresh-cut flowers filled the air. It was a true, safe den.

My phone buzzed with an update from the security captain: *Extraction complete. A black Davenport SUV approached the perimeter but retreated upon seeing our numbers.*

A triumphant smile touched my lips. Jase was already looking for me, but he couldn't touch me now. I was untouchable.

I walked over to the massive window overlooking Central Park, wrapping my arms around myself. I was physically free, but as the adrenaline faded, the blood of a former Alpha that ran in my veins reminded me of my duty.

I still had one final tie to sever. The physical "Henderson Pack Alliance" file—a document crucial to the stability of several Packs—was still locked in my desk at Davenport Tech. I couldn't trust Jase not to ruin the alliance out of sheer arrogance.

Tomorrow morning, I would walk into that office, hand over the file, and then I would be done with Jase Davenport forever.

Adelina POV

The next morning, the breakroom at Davenport Tech felt more like a sterile laboratory than a place for coffee. Brushed steel and white Corian surfaces gleamed under harsh fluorescent lights, trapping the aggressive, metallic scent of Jase's cologne that always seemed to linger in the air.

I stood in the corner by the high-end espresso machine, clutching the physical "Henderson Pack Alliance" file against my chest. I just needed to drop it on his desk and leave.

"Did you see *The Howl* this morning?" a voice snickered.

I froze. Two young Davenport Pack members walked in, their eyes glued to a smartphone. They didn't even notice me standing in the shadows.

"Yeah. Alpha Jase is officially introducing Kira Parrish as the new Luna at the Annual Gala tonight," the taller one said, leaning against the counter. "About time. I don't know how much longer we were supposed to pretend that wolfless Omega was anything more than a placeholder."

"Exactly," the other scoffed. "She was just a convenient bed-warmer. An Alpha like Jase was never going to actually complete the Marking with a stray. Kira is highborn. She's what this Pack needs."

Their words were like silver blades sliding between my ribs. A *placeholder*. A *stray*. In the eyes of the entire Davenport Pack, I had never been an equal. I was just an object to be used and discarded. The sheer humiliation of it burned away the last pathetic shreds of loyalty I held for Jase.

My hands trembled with a sudden, violent surge of anger. I blindly reached for my mug, but my shaking fingers knocked it askew.

*Hiss.*

Scalding water and steam shot from the machine, splashing directly over the back of my left hand.

I gasped, stumbling back as the ceramic mug shattered on the floor. Because I was wolfless, I didn't have the rapid healing of a normal wolf. The skin instantly turned an angry, blistering red, the pain searing through my nerve endings.

"Lina!"

Mandy, the human receptionist and the only person in this building who actually treated me like a person, rushed into the breakroom. She grabbed a stack of paper towels, her eyes wide with concern. "Oh my god, let me get some ice—"

"No," I breathed out, gritting my teeth against the throbbing pain. I reached into my blazer pocket with my good hand and pulled out a crisp, sealed envelope. "Mandy, I need a favor. Take this to HR."

She looked at the envelope, then up at me. "Is this...?"

"My resignation," I confirmed, my voice steadying. "Make sure it's processed and time-stamped before the Annual Gala tonight."

Mandy swallowed hard, taking the envelope. "Lina, when Jase finds out you did this right before his big announcement... his inner wolf is going to go ballistic."

"That's the point," I whispered.

Before Mandy could say anything else, the heavy, oppressive scent of Jase's metallic cologne spiked in the hallway. He was coming.

I didn't want to face him. Not yet. I slipped out the side door and ducked into the emergency stairwell. The heavy metal door clicked shut just as Jase's footsteps echoed in the corridor.

The stairwell was claustrophobic, smelling of cold concrete and stale dust. I pressed my back against the wall, peering through the narrow glass slit in the door.

Jase was striding down the hall, flanked by two Beta subordinates. He looked furious.

"Where is she?" Jase snapped, his voice vibrating with that undeniable Alpha's Command that made the Betas lower their heads. "I don't care if she's clearing out her desk. Tell Adelina she is to deliver the Henderson Alliance file to me, personally, at the Gala tonight."

"Yes, Alpha," one of the Betas murmured.

"She thinks she can just quietly slip away?" Jase sneered, adjusting his expensive cuffs. "She works for me until I say otherwise. She will bring that file, and she will stand there and watch me take my true Luna."

He walked out of sight, leaving a suffocating silence in his wake.

It was a power play. A final, public humiliation. He wanted to parade me in front of the entire Pack elite as his broken, obedient servant.

In the dim light of the stairwell, my phone buzzed. A secure text illuminated the screen.

*Kain: Where are you? I'm sending a car.*

The urge to say yes was intoxicating. To let the Lycan King's Maybach sweep me away to the safety of my penthouse. But the blood of a former Alpha ran in my veins, and my pride refused to let Kain see me cowering in a dusty stairwell, hiding from my ex.

*Adelina: Dealing with a Pack emergency. I'll handle it.*

I hit send, knowing the word 'emergency' would keep him at bay, at least for tonight. I looked down at my left hand. The burn was swelling into a painful, fluid-filled blister.

I wasn't going to run. I would walk into that ballroom tonight, hand over the file, and look Jase Davenport in the eye as I walked out of his life forever.

Adelina POV

The cab ride to The Pierre Hotel was a blur of throbbing pain and cold resolve. I had wrapped my blistered hand in a makeshift bandage from the office first-aid kit, the stark white gauze a glaring contrast against my charcoal gray blazer.

Stepping into the lavish ballroom felt like walking into a lion's den. The sheer scale of the room was suffocating. Massive crystal chandeliers hung from the soaring ceilings, casting a warm, blinding gold light over the Davenport Pack's elite. My senses were immediately assaulted by the overwhelming scents of hundreds of powerful wolves—heavy musks, expensive colognes, designer perfumes, and beneath it all, the raw, primal undercurrent of apex predators.

I stood out like a sore thumb in my sensible office attire, clutching the Henderson Pack Alliance file. But I wasn't here to mingle. I was here to sever the final thread.

I spotted Jase near the center of the room, holding court among a circle of visiting Alphas. He looked devastatingly handsome in a tailored black tuxedo, exuding absolute power.

Taking a deep breath, I marched toward him.

The moment Jase's eyes locked onto mine, the charismatic, victorious smile vanished from his face. It was replaced by a mask of cold, unadulterated contempt. The Alphas around him fell silent, sensing the sudden shift in the room's atmosphere.

"Alpha," I said, keeping my voice steady as I held out the thick folder. "The Henderson Pack Alliance file. As requested."

Jase didn't reach for it. His gaze slowly raked over my wrinkled blazer, my sensible flats, and finally, the clumsy bandage on my hand. A low, vibrating growl rumbled in his chest, meant only for me.

"You dare show up to my Pack's Gala looking like a street vagrant?" he murmured, his Alpha tone dripping with disdain. "You are an insult to this room."

"I'm just delivering the file, Jase. Take it, and I'll leave."

He scoffed, refusing to dirty his hands by taking it from me. Instead, he jutted his chin toward a small side table littered with discarded, half-eaten appetizers and dirty napkins. "Leave it there."

My jaw tightened, but I walked over and dropped the highly confidential file next to a smeared cocktail glass. He was reducing me to a lowly servant in front of the most powerful men in the state.

Before I could turn and walk away, a cloying scent of jasmine and vanilla suffocated the air.

"Adelina! Oh, you actually came!"

Kira Parrish slithered through the crowd, her stunning platinum-gold gown clinging to her perfect curves. She threw her arms around me in a sickeningly sweet, fake embrace. As she pulled back, her eyes darted to my left hand.

"Oh my goddess, what happened to your hand?" Kira gasped loudly, drawing the attention of the surrounding guests.

Before I could pull away, she grabbed my bandaged hand. Under the guise of concern, her perfectly manicured thumb found the exact center of my burn. And then, she pressed down. Hard.

Because I was wolfless, I didn't have the rapid healing to protect me. The blister beneath the gauze ruptured under her malicious pressure. White-hot, blinding agony shot up my arm.

I gasped, my knees buckling slightly from the sheer shock of the pain. I looked at Jase, silently pleading for him to stop her.

Instead, Jase's eyes darkened with warning. "Don't disrespect my Luna, Omega," he warned, his voice a low, cruel rumble.

*Omega.*

The word shattered whatever was left of my heart.

Driven by pure, agonizing physical instinct, I violently yanked my hand out of Kira's grip.

The movement was too fast, too reckless. My elbow slammed hard into a passing waiter.

Time seemed to slow down. The silver tray tipped. Crystal champagne flutes launched into the air, raining down in a spectacular, disastrous crash.

The sound of shattering glass was magnified by the sensitive hearing of every wolf in the room. The bustling ballroom plunged into a dead, horrifying silence.

Expensive vintage champagne splashed directly across the front of Kira's pristine platinum gown.

Kira let out a dramatic, wounded gasp, covering her mouth as she looked at her ruined dress, then up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes. "Adelina, are you drunk? Why would you do that?!"

The air in the room turned to ice. The metallic, ozone scent of Jase's fury spiked so hard it burned my lungs. His Inner Wolf was clawing at the surface, enraged by the public attack on his chosen mate.

Jase stepped forward, his face twisted in absolute rage. Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of Pack elites, he unleashed a deafening roar that carried the crushing weight of an Alpha's Command.

"What the hell are you doing?!"