Ember POV:

The Red Stone Pack House was a mansion built of stone and timber, standing imposing against the night sky. It used to feel like home. Now, it looked like a prison.

We entered the grand foyer. Servants bowed their heads as Chace and Karyn walked in.

"Move my things to the Alpha Suite," Karyn commanded a young Beta maid. "And burn whatever sheets were on the bed. I want everything new."

"Yes, Luna," the maid squeaked.

Chace turned to me. He was loosening his tie, looking relaxed, as if he hadn't just destroyed my life.

"Ember, go pack your things from your room. You're moving to the Omega Quarters in the basement. It's closer to the kitchens. It will be easier for you to work."

The Omega Quarters. Damp, windowless cells where the lowest of the pack slept.

"I understand," I said, my voice hollow.

"Good girl," Chace said, reaching out to pat my head. I flinched, and his hand froze in the air. He frowned. "Don't be difficult. You know you belong here. You're my Omega. You need the pack's protection."

Suddenly, a heavy, musky scent filled the room. It was Karyn. She was releasing pheromones that mimicked the early stages of Heat. It was artificial, chemically enhanced to drive Alphas crazy, but to me, it smelled like sulfur and desperation.

Chace's eyes dilated. His nostrils flared.

"You smell... intense," he groaned, pulling Karyn close.

Karyn smirked at me over his shoulder. "Unlike some people. You smell like nothing, Ember. Like tap water."

"I'm hungry," Chace muttered, nuzzling Karyn's neck.

"I made soup," I said automatically. It was a habit. I had spent all afternoon brewing a medicinal broth with herbs to help Chace's energy after the ceremony. "It's in the kitchen."

Karyn laughed. "Soup? We are wolves, Ember. We need meat."

"Throw it out," Chace ordered, his voice thick with lust. "Order us some raw steaks. And bring up a bottle of wine. The vintage red."

My heart sank. "That soup took six hours to make."

"I said throw it out!" Chace roared, using his Alpha Voice.

The command hit me like a physical blow. My knees buckled, and I fell to the floor. The power of an Alpha over an Omega was absolute. My body disobeyed my mind, forcing me into submission.

"And bring the Wolfsbane wine," Karyn added. "A little drop makes things... exciting."

Wolfsbane. Deadly to wolves in large doses, but a hallucinogen in small drops. For a weak Omega like me, even the fumes could make me sick.

"She can't handle Wolfsbane," Chace said, though he didn't sound concerned.

"She won't drink it, silly. She'll just pour it for us," Karyn giggled.

I struggled to my feet as the pressure of the Alpha command faded. "I... I need to go for a walk first. To get fresh air."

Chace waved his hand dismissively. He pulled a black credit card from his pocket and threw it at me. It landed on the floor.

"Fine. Go buy yourself some new cleaning clothes. You look pathetic in that dress."

I stared at the card. Then I looked at the stairs, where they were already ascending, hands all over each other. The sounds of their wet kisses echoed in the silence.

I picked up the card. Not because I wanted his money, but because I would need resources to escape.

I walked to the heavy oak door. I didn't go to the kitchen. I didn't go to the basement.

I stepped out into the night. The door clicked shut behind me, cutting off the sound of their laughter and the smell of their lust.

The air was crisp. I inhaled deeply, trying to clear the scent of betrayal from my nose.

This wasn't my home anymore. It was just a building full of ghosts.

Ember POV:

The Onyx Club was a pulsating headache of neon lights and bass that rattled your teeth. It was a place where high-ranking wolves came to indulge in their darker vices—gambling, fighting, and flesh.

I shouldn't be here. But an hour ago, my phone had buzzed.

Chace: I'm hurt. Silver burn. Come to Onyx. Now. Bring your kit.

Panic had overridden my anger. Silver burns were agonizing; they ate through flesh like acid and didn't heal. My instinct as a healer—and my stupid, lingering loyalty—had sent me running.

But when I pushed through the VIP doors, there was no blood. No smell of burnt flesh.

Chace was sitting on a velvet sofa, a drink in one hand, laughing. He was surrounded by his Beta friends and, of course, Karyn.

He wasn't hurt. He was partying.

"You made it!" Chace cheered, his speech slurred. He spotted the medical bag in my hand and laughed harder. "Look, guys! I told you she'd come running. Trained like a good little pet."

I stood frozen, the heavy bass thumping against my chest. "You lied."

"It was a test," Karyn purred from beside him. She was swirling a glass of dark purple liquid. "We're playing King's Game. And I'm the King."

She pointed a manicured nail at me. "I won the last round. My dare is for you."

The wolves around them snickered.

"Ember," Karyn commanded. "See that Rogue over there?" She pointed to a scarred, greasy wolf sitting alone in the corner. He was a hired thug, likely paid to be here for security. "Go let him bite your neck. Just a taste. Let's see if you can take a mark."

My stomach dropped. A mark was sacred. To let a stranger, a Rogue, bite my scent gland was a violation worse than rape in our culture.

"No," I whispered.

"Do it!" Karyn snapped.

I looked at Chace. "Chace, please. You can't let her do this."

Chace shrugged, his eyes glassy. "It's just a game, Ember. Don't be a spoil-sport. Besides, you need to learn your place. You're too proud for a servant."

He wasn't going to stop it. He wanted to see me broken.

"I choose the punishment," I said, my voice shaking but clear. In King's Game, you could refuse the dare if you took the punishment.

Karyn's eyes narrowed. She held up her glass. "Fine. Drink this."

It was the Wolfsbane wine. A full glass.

"That will kill her," a Beta friend muttered, looking uneasy. "That's 80 proof with pure extract."

"She has no wolf," Karyn spat. "It won't affect her like it does us. It'll just make her sleep."

That was a lie. Wolfsbane was poison to anyone with wolf blood, shifted or not.

Chace looked worried for a second. "Maybe just half a glass, Karyn?"

"Are you defending her?" Karyn challenged him.

Chace's jaw tightened. He looked at me, then back at Karyn. "No. Drink up, buttercup."

I looked at the purple liquid. It smelled like death and licorice.

If I drank this, it might kill me. But if I didn't, they would force me to the Rogue.

I grabbed the glass.

Keith, I thought, sending a desperate prayer through the dormant link. If I die, burn this place to the ground.

I tipped the glass back and swallowed.

Liquid fire slashed down my throat. It felt like swallowing razor blades. My stomach convulsed instantly.

I dropped the glass. It shattered on the floor.

"See?" Karyn laughed. "She's fine."

The world tilted. My vision swam. Grey spots danced in front of my eyes. I fell to my knees, gasping for air that wouldn't come.

But then, something strange happened.

Instead of stopping my heart, the poison hit the seal my mother had placed on me. The barrier that held back my White Wolf blood was already cracked from the heartbreak. The Wolfsbane acted like acid, dissolving the rest of it.

Thump-thump.

My heart didn't stop. It accelerated.

A heat, hotter than the poison, exploded from my core. It wasn't the heat of fever. It was the heat of a star being born.

I looked up through the haze. I saw Chace and Karyn dancing, ignoring my body on the floor.

Darkness took me, but in the silence of my mind, I heard a sound I had never heard before.

A growl.

And it was coming from inside me.

Ember POV:

I woke up to the smell of antiseptic and the beep of machines. The hospital.

My body felt strange. My skin was sensitive, every sheet feeling like sandpaper. My hearing was dialed up to eleven—I could hear the hum of the electricity in the walls and the heartbeat of the nurse down the hall.

The Wolfsbane hadn't killed me. It had changed me.

"She's awake."

I turned my head. Chace was sitting in the chair next to the bed. Karyn was standing by the window, looking at her phone.

"You're lucky," Chace said, his voice annoyed. "The doctors pumped your stomach. You embarrassed us, Ember. Passing out like that."

I tried to sit up. My muscles felt dense, powerful. "You told me to drink it."

"You should have stronger tolerance," Chace scoffed. He was feeding me spoonfuls of cold porridge, shoving it at my mouth. "Eat. You look like a skeleton. It reflects poorly on the Pack."

Karyn turned around, fake tears in her eyes. "Chace, my mother just called."

Chace dropped the spoon. "What is it, babe?"

"It's about... that woman. Liana Ford." Karyn pointed a trembling finger at me. "My mom found old records. Liana wasn't just a nobody. She was a homewrecker. She seduced my father years ago and tried to steal pack resources. She was a Rogue whore!"

Rage, pure and white-hot, flared in my chest. My mother was a saint. She was a high-born Ford who went into hiding to save me.

"That's a lie," I rasped.

"Don't you dare call my Luna a liar!" Chace snarled. He stood up, looming over me. "I knew your blood was tainted. Your mother was a Rogue slut, and you're just like her."

"I'm going to find where she's buried," Chace continued, his eyes manic. "I'll dig up her bones and throw them in the river. No traitor deserves a grave in our territory."

My hands clenched the bedsheets. The fabric tore with a loud rip.

They didn't notice.

"We have the Charity Auction tonight," Chace said, checking his watch. "The Alpha King, Keith Mosley, is rumored to be attending. We need to make a good impression."

He looked at me with disgust. "Get dressed. You're coming with us."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because we need an Omega to hold our coats and fetch our drinks," Karyn smirked. "And to show everyone how benevolent we are to the children of traitors."

The Alpha King. Keith.

He was coming.

A calm settled over me. It was the calm of the eye of the storm.

"Okay," I said softly. "I'll come."

Chace looked surprised by my obedience. "Good. At least you know your place."

They left the room to let me change.

I reached for my phone on the bedside table. My fingers were trembling, not from fear, but from adrenaline.

I opened the message app. There was only one saved number. It had appeared on my phone the moment I made the Blood Oath deal.

To: Keith Mosley

Message: They are taking me to the Auction tonight. Chace. Karyn. Everyone.

I waited. Three seconds later, the phone buzzed.

From: Keith Mosley

Message: I will be there. Wear red.

I stared at the screen. Red. The color of a Luna. The color of war.

I walked to the window and looked at my reflection. My eyes, usually a soft brown, had flecks of gold in them now.

I wasn't the girl who cooked soup and cried in the dark anymore.

I was the bride of the Alpha King. And tonight, Red Stone Pack was going to learn exactly what that meant.