Sloane POV

The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by Finn’s ragged breathing. The sickening, chaotic blend of his rain-soaked grass scent and Delilah’s sweet orchid perfume clung to the walls, a physical manifestation of their betrayal.

"Sloane, I—" Finn started, his voice cracking as he took a step toward me, his eyes wide with a pathetic, desperate panic.

"Don't," I cut him off, my voice devoid of any warmth. The ten years of loyalty, the humiliating flight across the country—it all turned to ash in my mouth. "You dragged me here because you were losing your mind over her Mating Ceremony. A ceremony that is happening in two days, Finn."

Delilah let out a soft, mocking laugh. She casually adjusted the heavy diamond on her finger—the symbol of her alliance with the Crimson Fang Pack. Her cold eyes swept over my sensible clothes. "Oh, honey. This is between wolves. You can't even smell the truth, can you?"

Her words were designed to exclude me, to reduce me to a defective outsider.

Finn ignored her jab at me, turning to Delilah with a sickening, delusional hope lighting up his handsome face. "Tell her," he pleaded, grabbing Delilah's hand. "Tell her what that kiss meant. You're not going through with it. You're leaving Hunter for me."

Delilah’s amused expression vanished, replaced by a mask of absolute ice. She snatched her hand back. "The Mating Ceremony is in two days. It's a treaty, Finn. It's about the future of my Pack. It's happening."

Finn looked as if she had just plunged a silver blade into his chest. His Inner Wolf let out a phantom whine that I couldn't hear, but I could see it in the way his shoulders collapsed.

A fresh wave of fury ignited in my veins. "You're sick," I spat at Delilah. "You're just playing with him. You're torturing him for fun."

Delilah smirked, her gaze raking over me with pure venom. "He needs a she-wolf who can meet his Shift, whose howl can answer his. Not a silent, broken little thing who makes his Inner Wolf feel nothing."

*Broken.*

The word snapped the last thread of my restraint. A feral, entirely human roar tore from my throat. I lunged at her, my hands raised, ready to claw that smug look off her face.

I didn't even make it two steps.

A band of steel wrapped around my waist, jerking me backward so violently my feet left the floor. I crashed against a wall of solid muscle, instantly engulfed by the suffocating, terrifying scent of a violent thunderstorm and spent gunpowder.

"That's enough," Knox rumbles right next to my ear.

It wasn't just a command; it was an *Alpha's Command*. The sheer, crushing weight of his authority flooded the room, freezing Finn and Delilah in their tracks. He effortlessly hauled me out of the room, dragging me down the corridor and into the Great Hall.

He dropped me onto a leather sofa in front of the massive, unlit fireplace. I scrambled to my feet, my chest heaving, ready to scream at him. But Knox just stood there, casually crossing his arms over his broad chest. His dark eyes pinned me in place, stripping away every defense I had left.

"You love him," Knox stated. It wasn't a question. It was a clinical observation.

My heart stopped. "No, I—" I started to deny it, the heat of shame rushing to my cheeks.

Knox’s lips curved into a cruel, knowing smirk. "And I think, little one, he's always known."

The world tilted on its axis. My breath caught in my throat as the horrific realization washed over me. Ten years. Finn hadn't just been oblivious; he had weaponized my pathetic, one-sided devotion. He kept me around as a safe, *wolfless* emotional sponge, knowing exactly how I felt.

Before I could even process the devastation, heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs. Finn and Delilah burst into the Great Hall, their voices raised in another toxic argument. They didn't even look at us as they shoved past the heavy oak front doors, spilling out onto the dark terrace.

My body moved on pure, stupid instinct. I took a step toward the door, the ingrained need to save Finn flaring to life.

Knox stepped directly into my path.

"Move," I demanded, my voice shaking. "You're his Alpha. You're just going to let her destroy him?" I glared up at his granite profile. "And what about Hunter? You're a terrible friend. You should be Mind-Linking him right now. Tell him his fiancé is a cheating bitch."

Knox didn't flinch. He reached out, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the massive window overlooking the terrace. He pointed to the shadows where Finn and Delilah were still tearing each other apart.

"Hunter has known. For months," Knox said, his voice a dark, emotionless rumble.

I stared at him, my jaw dropping. "What? Then why—"

"They're a sickness they call fate," Knox interrupted, his eyes locked on the chaotic scene outside. "A toxic loop that never ends. I'd rather watch her burn her life down with my brother, so my friend can finally be free."

Sloane POV

"I'd rather watch her burn her life down with my brother, so my friend can finally be free."

Knox's words hung in the air, cold and absolute. But ten years of deeply ingrained conditioning couldn't be erased by one brutal truth. My body moved before my brain could stop it. I spun away from the window and lunged toward the massive oak doors. I had to stop him. I had to be the one to pull Finn back from the ledge, just like I always did.

I didn't even make it three steps.

Knox's arm, thick and unyielding as a steel beam, banded around my waist. He jerked me backward, pinning my spine flush against his solid chest. The suffocating, intoxicating scent of a violent thunderstorm and spent gunpowder swallowed me whole, completely drowning out the faint smell of polished wood and old money that permeated the Great Hall.

"Let me go!" I thrashed against his grip, my nails digging uselessly into his forearm. "You're a monster! He's your brother, and he's in agony out there!"

Knox didn't budge. His jaw tightened, the rough stubble there grazing my temple as he leaned down. "He doesn't want to be saved, little one," he murmured, his dark baritone vibrating straight through my ribs. "He wants to drown, and you are not his life raft."

Tears of pure, human frustration burned my eyes. I was entirely powerless against him, physically and fundamentally. The fight drained out of me, leaving only a trembling, exhausted shell. His Alpha aura pressed down on the room, a suffocating weight I could feel but to which my wolfless soul owed no allegiance. It didn't work on me, not the way it would on a she-wolf. But his physical strength was absolute. I was trapped.

Sensing my stillness, Knox gripped my shoulders and turned me around to face him. His dark eyes were entirely black, the merciless gaze of an apex predator locking onto its chosen prey.

"You want to play the martyr for a male who doesn't even see you?" Knox challenged, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "Fine. Let's make a wager."

I stared up at him, my breath catching in my throat. "What?"

"If Delilah and Hunter's Mating Ceremony successfully takes place, I will walk away. I will never interfere with you again, and you can go back to your pathetic infatuation." He stepped closer, his massive frame forcing me to tilt my head back. "But if the ceremony fails..."

He reached out, a single, calloused knuckle tracing the line of my jaw. A violent shiver, purely physiological, wracked my body. My skin erupted in goosebumps. It was a reaction born of sheer, overwhelming proximity to a predator, a cocktail of fear, adrenaline, and a furious, defiant anger that he could affect me at all. There was nothing supernatural about it. I hated my body for reacting, for trembling under his touch when my mind screamed to run.

"You're mine," he growled, the possessive rumble vibrating in the floorboards. "I will pursue you. I will ruin you for anyone else. And you will forget my brother's name."

I was pinned by the sheer force of his presence, a human caught in an Alpha's sights. In a moment of sheer, panicked exhaustion, wanting nothing more than an escape from the crushing weight of the moment and knowing I was physically incapable of breaking free, I gave a stiff, jerky nod. It was a surrender of convenience, not belief. A gambit to make him release me. I didn't believe for a second his insane wager would ever come to pass.

A cruel, devastatingly handsome smirk curved his lips. "Good. Now I'm going to go make sure I win."

"You can't," I breathed, the realization of his trap crashing over me. "You can't hurt your friend just to—"

The heavy groan of the front doors swinging open cut me off.

The night air swept into the Great Hall, carrying the sour, heartbroken scent of rain-soaked grass. Finn stood in the threshold. He looked entirely hollowed out, his shoulders slumped and his eyes red-rimmed from whatever fresh hell Delilah had just put him through.

He looked up, instinctively seeking me out—his safe, reliable emotional sponge.

Instead, he found me trapped between Knox's arms and Knox's body. We were inches apart, the air between us practically crackling with the heavy, possessive pheromones of an Alpha asserting his claim.

Finn froze. The vulnerability in his eyes instantly shattered, replaced by a cold, jagged disbelief. His gaze darted from Knox's hands, which were still lingering near my waist, up to my flushed, panicked face.

"What..." Finn's voice was a ragged, sandpaper rasp. "What is going on here?"

I shoved Knox away, stumbling backward like a sinner caught in the light.

Knox POV

Sloane shoved me away, stumbling backward like a sinner caught in the light.

My Inner Wolf rumbled, a deep, vibrating purr of satisfaction at the flush staining her cheeks. I watched her tremble, thoroughly enjoying the chaotic aftermath of my wager. Then, my gaze shifted to the doorway.

Finn stood there, reeking of sour rain and heartbreak. His scent, usually just a pathetic whisper of wet grass, spiked into something sharp and acrid with sudden anger. He looked at us with those wide, accusing eyes—our mother's eyes—filled with a jagged disbelief.

"What is going on here?" Finn demanded, his voice scraping like sandpaper.

Sloane, my brave but terrible little liar, panicked. "I—I tripped," she stammered, her voice a breathless squeak. "I lost my balance, and Knox just..."

Her defense sounded like the whimper of a cornered kitten. My Inner Wolf found it incredibly amusing. I didn't expose her lie. Instead, I stepped closer, deliberately positioning my massive frame half-in-front of hers in a blatant display of possession.

"She needed someone to catch her," I drawled, my tone dripping with dark mockery. "You weren't here."

The words hit exactly where I aimed. Finn flinched, the reminder of his absence and inadequacy striking him like a physical blow. His fragile sanity began to crumble.

Desperate to change the subject, Sloane looked at Finn. "What happened outside? Is Delilah..."

"The wedding is still on," Finn choked out, his fists trembling at his sides.

A microscopic sigh of relief slipped past Sloane's lips. She tried to hide it, but Finn caught it. That tiny, involuntary reaction was the final straw for his fragile Inner Wolf. He glared at her, his chest heaving.

"Go upstairs, Sloane," Finn ordered, his voice trembling with a pathetic attempt at authority. "I need to speak with my brother. Alone."

Sloane shot me a terrified, warning look before hurrying up the grand staircase. The moment she was out of sight, Finn turned his pathetic fury on me.

"Stay away from her," Finn snarled, though he wisely kept his distance. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to use her to get to me. Just like Lydia."

The name grated against my wolf's patience. He was so incredibly blind. He thought this was about our ugly history. He thought Sloane was just a pawn.

I took a slow step forward, letting the crushing weight of my Alpha aura flood the Great Hall. The scent of a violent thunderstorm and spent gunpowder swallowed his weak rain scent whole. Finn's knees buckled slightly, his Inner Wolf whining in immediate submission.

"You don't see her, little brother," I growled, my baritone vibrating in the floorboards. "You see a wolfless pet to lick your wounds. I see a queen."

Finn's eyes widened in sheer terror as the truth finally penetrated his thick skull.

"I am going to pursue her," I continued, stepping into his personal space. "I am going to claim her. And I am going to ruin her for anyone else until she forgets your name entirely."

Utterly defeated by my aura and my declaration, Finn let out a frustrated, strangled sound. He spun on his heel and stomped up the stairs like a petulant child whose toy had just been snatched away.

My goal had never been clearer: win the wager, claim my Fated Mate, and shatter my brother's pathetic delusions in the process.

Thirty minutes later, I parked my Shelby outside a high-end hotel in downtown Asheville. The sterile, human scent of carpet cleaner in the hallway did nothing to mask the sweet, calculating orchid perfume leaking from the presidential suite.

I knocked once. The door swung open.

Delilah stood there in a sheer silk robe, her scent laced with a bitter edge of fear. She tried to block the doorway, offering me a sultry, practiced smile that made my Inner Wolf bare its teeth in disgust.

"Knox," she purred, though her eyes darted nervously down the hall. "If you're here to tell Hunter about Finn, let's make a deal. I can make it worth your while."

I didn't waste my breath. I hit her with a fraction of my Alpha aura, forcing her to stumble back, and strode into the suite.

"Mating Ceremonies are sacred," I said coldly, staring down at her. "You defiled yours two days before it even began."

Before she could beg again, the bathroom door opened. Hunter Strickland walked out, a towel slung low on his hips, his hair damp. Delilah instantly slithered to his side, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing a kiss to his chest, playing the perfect, devoted Luna.

"Knox," Hunter said, his brow furrowing in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Get dressed," I told him, ignoring the venomous glare Delilah shot me. "We need to talk."

Once Delilah was banished to the bedroom, Hunter poured us both a glass of whiskey. I looked at my best friend, seeing the exhaustion beneath his Alpha exterior.

"You know she doesn't love you, right?" I asked bluntly. "Her scent is a lie."

Hunter stared into his glass, his jaw tight. "I'm not a fool, Knox. I know about her history with Finn. But my wolf... my wolf chose her. The alliance makes sense."

He was blinded by a false bond and pack politics. Direct intervention wasn't going to work. If I wanted to save my friend—and win my wager for Sloane—I needed to force his hand.

"Then let's celebrate your impending doom properly," I said, downing my whiskey. "I'm taking you to Obsidian tonight. There's one on the edge of the neutral zone. A real bachelor party. Just you, me, and a place where primal instincts don't lie."

Hunter hesitated, then nodded. The trap was set.