Isabela POV:

The basement smelled of mold and decaying cardboard. There were no windows, only a single, flickering bulb that cast long, dancing shadows against the concrete walls.

I sat on the thin mattress I had dragged down the stairs, staring at the shattered remains of my mother's amulet. Kason must have stepped on it when he threw my boxes down here. It was made of dried herbs and resin, meant to keep a young wolf's spirit calm. Now, it was just dust.

We don't need it, my wolf whispered, though her voice was weak. We are leaving.

"Yes," I murmured. "We are leaving."

I stood up, ignoring the damp chill that seeped into my bones. I grabbed my duffel bag. I didn't pack the clothes the pack had bought me. I didn't pack the jewelry Kason had given me on my birthdays-the "charity" gifts, as he called them now.

I only took what was mine. A faded t-shirt. My sketchbook. A small stash of cash I had earned doing homework for the pack's rich teenagers.

I needed to get to the airport. My father had arranged the ticket, but I had to get there on my own.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Aunt May. She was the Pack Healer, the only one who had treated me with kindness since Kason turned cold.

"May," I said when she picked up. "I need a favor. I need a ride to the city limits."

"Isabela? Child, you sound terrible," her warm voice filled my ear. "Is it the Alpha? I saw the article."

I winced. The article. Werewolf Weekly had run the interview this morning. Kason had described me as a "clingy Omega who didn't understand her place." The comments section on the pack forum was worse. They called me a "Rogue in training" and a "gold-digger."

"I'm fine, May. I just need to get some supplies for... for the basement. Cleaning supplies."

I lied. If I told her I was running, she might be obligated to tell the Alpha. The Pack Law was absolute.

"I can't drive you, honey. The Alpha has all vehicles on lockdown for the preparation of the Mating Ceremony next week. But you can catch the bus at the depot near the border."

"Okay. Thank you, May."

I hung up. The border was five miles away. I would have to walk.

I pulled my hood up and slipped out the back door of the basement. The morning sun was blinding, but I kept my head down. I stuck to the tree line, moving silently. My Omega status meant I wasn't strong, but I was small and I knew how to disappear.

I made it to the edge of the territory, near the human-run coffee shop that marked the boundary between the Oneal lands and the neutral zone. My heart pounded against my ribs. Just a few more steps.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Or should I say, the wolf?"

I froze.

Sitting at the outdoor patio of the coffee shop, sipping a latte, was Dalia. And next to her, looking at his phone, was Kason.

I tried to back away, to melt into the bushes, but Kason's head snapped up. His nostrils flared. He had caught my scent.

"Isabela?" His voice was a low rumble.

He stood up, and the air pressure dropped instantly. He released his Alpha Aura. It wasn't a physical blow, but a psychic weight that forced my knees to buckle. It was the biological imperative: Submit.

I fell to the pavement, scraping my palms.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kason growled, walking over to me. He loomed over me, blocking out the sun. "You look like a beggar. You are shaming the Oneal name."

"I... I was just going for a walk," I stammered, fighting the urge to bare my neck in submission.

"With a duffel bag?" Dalia laughed, a high, tinkling sound that grated on my ears. She walked over and kicked my bag. "She's trying to run away, Kason. Like a coward."

"Is this true?" Kason grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. His fingers were rough. "You don't leave this pack until I say you leave. You belong to the pack. You are property."

Property. The word stung worse than the scrape on my hand.

Suddenly, Kason's phone rang. The ringtone was the specific alert for a High Council call. He released my chin abruptly and answered it, his posture straightening.

"Alpha Payne," Kason said, his tone shifting from aggression to respectful caution.

My heart skipped a beat. Payne. Hadley Payne. My future husband.

"Yes, Sir," Kason said into the phone. "We will be attending. The Mating Ceremony... yes. We are honored."

He hung up, looking pale.

"What did the Supreme Alpha want?" Dalia asked, looking bored.

"Hadley Payne is hosting a pre-ceremony gathering in the city today. He demands the presence of all allied Alphas and their... partners." Kason looked at me, then at Dalia. "He specifically asked to see the 'heart of the pack'."

Dalia preened. "That's me, obviously."

Kason looked at my dirty jeans and oversized hoodie with disgust. "We have to go. Now. And we can't leave her here to run off and cause a scandal."

Dalia's eyes lit up with malice. "I have an idea, baby. I don't have a personal maid for the trip. My dress has a long train. Someone needs to carry it."

Kason hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. Isabela, get in the car. You're coming with us."

"No," I whispered. "Please."

"That was an Alpha Command, Isabela," Kason snarled, his eyes flashing red. "Get. In. The. Car."

My body moved before my mind could protest. The Command bypassed my will, forcing my legs to walk toward his sleek black SUV. I was a prisoner in my own body, trapped between the man who broke me and the monster I was promised to.

Isabela POV:

The boutique was an assault on the senses. Crystal chandeliers dripped from the ceiling, and the air smelled of silk and money. This was a shop exclusive to high-ranking wolves, a place where humans weren't allowed unless they were staff.

Dalia was in the changing room, and Kason was sitting on a velvet sofa, scrolling through his phone. I stood in the corner, holding Dalia's purse and three different pairs of shoes she had discarded.

"Isabela!" Dalia screeched from behind the curtain. "Get in here!"

I shuffled forward. She stepped out, wearing a crimson gown that clung to her curves. It was beautiful, but on her, it looked aggressive.

"It's tight," she complained. Then she smirked, picking up a garment from the floor. It was a dull, olive-green dress, cut like a servant's uniform. "Here. Put this on. If you're going to be my maid, you should look like one. That hoodie smells like the basement."

Kason didn't even look up. "Do as she says."

I took the dress and went into the small stall. My hands shook as I changed. The fabric was rough, but as I zipped it up, I looked in the mirror.

The green didn't make me look dull. It brought out the emerald flecks in my hazel eyes. It hugged my waist and flared at my hips. For a second, I didn't look like a downtrodden Omega. I looked... regal. My wolf lifted her head, a spark of pride flickering in the darkness.

I walked out.

The boutique went silent. Two other she-wolves browsing the racks stopped and stared. Even Kason looked up, his phone freezing in his hand. His eyes widened, and for a second, I saw the old Kason-the one who used to look at me with wonder.

Dalia saw it too. Her face twisted in jealousy.

"You look ridiculous," she spat, marching over to me. She was holding a glass of red wine she had been offered by the staff. "It doesn't fit right."

She pretended to trip. It was so obvious, a clumsy stumble. The wine glass tipped, and the dark red liquid splashed across the front of my dress, soaking into the fabric and chilling my skin.

"Oops," Dalia sneered. "Now you smell like cheap alcohol. Fitting."

She raised her phone to take a picture. "Smile for the forum, Rogue-trash."

I braced myself for the flash, for the humiliation.

But the flash never came.

Instead, the bell above the shop door chimed. And then, the scent hit me.

It wasn't just a smell; it was a physical force. It slammed into me like a tidal wave-the crisp, biting scent of pine needles crushed underfoot, mixed with the electric charge of a coming thunderstorm. Ozone and petrichor.

My heart stopped, then hammered against my ribs so hard it hurt. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. The blood in my veins turned to liquid fire.

My wolf, who had been cowering for months, suddenly stood on her hind legs and let out a roar that shook my very soul.

MATE.

The word echoed in my mind, absolute and undeniable.

I turned slowly toward the door.

A man stood there. He was massive, taller even than Kason. He wore a charcoal suit that strained against his muscles. His hair was dark as midnight, and his eyes... his eyes were the color of storm clouds, gray and swirling with power.

Hadley Payne.

He scanned the room, his gaze passing over Dalia, over Kason, as if they were furniture. Then, his eyes locked on mine.

A jolt of electricity arced through the air between us. My knees went weak, but not from fear. It was a magnetic pull, a gravity that anchored me to him. I felt a sudden, overwhelming sense of peace wash over me, silencing the chaos of the last few months.

He took a step forward. The air crackled.

Dalia, oblivious to the shift in the atmosphere, laughed. "Oh, look, the Supreme Alpha is here. Excuse my clumsy servant, Alpha Payne. She's a bit of a mess."

Hadley didn't look at her. He walked straight to me. He stopped inches away. He didn't touch me, but I could feel the heat radiating from him. He inhaled deeply, his eyes fluttering shut for a second as he took in my scent-vanilla and wildflowers, now tainted by wine.

His eyes snapped open, dark and dangerous. He looked at the wine stain on my chest.

"Who did this?" His voice was low, a rumble of thunder that vibrated in the floorboards.

Kason stood up, his own Alpha instincts flaring in defense, though he looked terrified. "Alpha Payne, this is just a domestic dispute within my pack. My... Omega... was clumsy."

Hadley turned his head slowly to look at Kason. The sheer weight of his dominance crashed down on the room. Kason flinched, his neck baring slightly in an involuntary submission reflex.

"I didn't ask you, boy," Hadley said, his voice dripping with contempt.

He turned back to me. He reached out, his large hand hovering near my face. I didn't pull away. I leaned into it. His knuckles brushed my cheek, and sparks-literal, blinding sparks-danced across my skin.

"She is not a servant," Hadley said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. He pulled a black credit card from his pocket and handed it to the stunned shop manager. "Get her the finest dress you have. Put it on my tab. And burn this green rag."

He looked at Dalia, who was trembling, her glass slipping from her fingers.

"And you," Hadley said, his gray eyes narrowing. "If you ever spill anything on her again, I will ensure you never hold a glass in this city again."

He looked back at me, and for a fleeting second, the storm in his eyes cleared, replaced by a burning intensity.

"Go change," he murmured, his voice soft only for me. "I'll wait."

Isabela POV:

The drive back to the Oneal territory was silent, but it was a silence charged with violence.

Kason drove with white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. Dalia was sobbing quietly in the passenger seat, her ego bruised, but I barely heard her. I was still vibrating. My skin still tingled where Hadley had touched me. The scent of pine and storm still clung to my senses, overpowering the stale air of the car.

He was my Mate. The Supreme Alpha was my Fated Mate.

When we arrived at the Pack House, Kason didn't let me go to the basement.

"Get inside," he ordered, grabbing my arm the moment I stepped out of the car. His grip was bruising.

He dragged me past the main hall, ignoring the curious looks of the pack members, and shoved me toward his private apartment on the top floor.

"Kason, stop! You're hurting me!" I cried out, trying to pry his fingers off.

He threw the door open and hurled me inside. I stumbled, catching myself on the edge of his mahogany desk. The room smelled overwhelmingly of him-cedar and aggression.

He slammed the door and locked it. When he turned to face me, his eyes were glowing a sickly yellow. He was losing control. His wolf was near the surface, feral and confused.

"You smell like him," Kason hissed. He stalked toward me, sniffing the air. "Why do you smell like Hadley Payne?"

"He helped me," I said, backing away until my back hit the wall. "He was just being a gentleman. Something you've forgotten how to be."

Slap.

The sound cracked through the room. My head snapped to the side. My cheek burned, tears springing to my eyes instantly. He had never hit me. Not once in ten years.

"Don't you dare lecture me!" Kason roared. "I smelled the way the air changed! I saw the way he looked at you! Did you seduce him? Is that your plan? To climb the ladder by spreading your legs for a higher Alpha?"

"You're crazy," I whispered, holding my cheek. "You rejected me, Kason. You chose Dalia. You don't get to be jealous."

"I am not jealous!" he screamed, but the lie was palpable in the air. "You are mine! You are Oneal property! You don't get to have another Alpha's scent on you!"

He lunged at me. He didn't strike me this time; he grabbed me, burying his face in my neck, right over my scent gland. He was trying to rub his scent onto me, to mask Hadley's mark. It was a violation. His teeth scraped against my sensitive skin.

"Stay," he used the Alpha Command.

My body froze. My muscles locked up against my will. I couldn't move my arms to push him away. I was a statue, forced to endure his aggressive claiming.

No! my wolf screamed. Fight him! He is not our Alpha! He is not our Mate!

The command was strong, but my wolf was desperate. And somewhere, deep down, the bond I had felt with Hadley gave me a sliver of strength. The connection to a Supreme Alpha trumped the command of a regular Alpha.

My hand twitched.

Kason was distracted, growling against my neck, his hand fumbling with the zipper of my dress. He intended to mark me. If he bit me now, against my will, it would cause a rejected bond-a pain worse than death.

My fingers curled around the heavy silver base of the desk lamp next to me.

Silver.

To a wolf, silver burned like acid. It weakened us, sapped our strength.

With a scream of effort that tore at my throat, I broke through the paralysis of the Command. I swung the lamp.

CRACK.

The heavy silver base connected with the side of Kason's head.

He didn't just stumble; he howled. The silver seared his skin upon contact. He fell back, clutching his temple, blood trickling through his fingers. The smell of burnt flesh filled the room.

"You..." he gasped, his eyes rolling back. He slumped to the floor, unconscious.

I dropped the lamp. My hand, which had touched the silver, was blistering, red and angry. The pain was blinding.

I slid down the wall, curling into a ball in the corner of the room. The adrenaline crashed. The proximity to the silver lamp, combined with the trauma of the Alpha Command and the physical assault, was too much for my weak Omega body.

Black spots danced in my vision.

Hadley, I thought, the name a prayer, before the darkness took me.