Anais POV

The walk to the Great Hall felt like a march to the gallows. Two warriors flanked me, their grips firm but not bruising, guiding me through corridors that whispered of wealth and power I couldn't comprehend. I was acutely aware of my appearance—faded jeans that were fraying at the hems and a white t-shirt that had seen better days. I was a stain on their pristine tapestry.

When the massive oak doors swung open, the silence that rushed out to meet me was heavier than any noise.

The Great Hall was a cavernous space of stone and velvet, illuminated by iron chandeliers that cast long, dancing shadows. At the far end, seated on a throne carved from dark wood and lined with fur, sat Dimitri. He looked like a king from the old stories—lethal, beautiful, and utterly cold.

As I stepped onto the plush runner, the air in the room shifted. Hundreds of eyes landed on me. I could smell their judgment—a sharp, metallic tang that coated the back of my throat.

"What is that?!"

The shriek tore through the silence. A woman with perfectly coiffed blonde hair and diamonds dripping from her neck stepped forward near the dais. Beatrice. Her face was twisted in a mask of pure revulsion.

She pointed a manicured finger at me, trembling with rage. "You expect us to accept this... this wolfless trash as our Luna?"

A ripple of murmurs went through the crowd. I shrank in on myself, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole.

"Well done, brother," a voice sneered from beside Beatrice. A young man who looked like a softer, crueler version of Dimitri stepped forward. Bryson. His eyes raked over my body, lingering on my chest and legs with a slimy, predatory hunger that made my skin crawl. "Did you find her in a dumpster behind the Omega slums? She certainly smells like it."

Laughter, sharp and cruel, bubbled up from the gathered elite. Even a girl standing near them—Cassidy, I assumed—wrinkled her nose, looking at me with profound disappointment.

I looked at Dimitri. I didn't know why, but a foolish part of me hoped he would stop this. He was the Alpha. He had claimed me.

But he sat frozen on his throne, his ice-blue eyes staring right through me. He didn't look angry. He didn't look protective. He looked bored. To him, I wasn't a person being flayed alive by his family's cruelty; I was a prop. A piece of paper to be stamped and filed away to secure his crown.

The realization hit me like a physical blow. I was alone.

Tears pricked my eyes, hot and humiliating. I couldn't breathe. The scent of their disdain was suffocating. Before I could think, my body moved. I spun on my heel and ran.

"Hey!" someone shouted, but I didn't stop.

I sprinted back the way we came, my bare feet slapping against the cold stone. I burst through the main doors and into the night air, gasping for oxygen. The gravel of the driveway bit into my soles, but I pushed toward the main gate, toward freedom.

I was almost there when a wall of muscle materialized in front of me.

I skidded to a halt, my chest heaving. It was the man from the office—Davon. He didn't look malicious, but he stood with the immovable solidity of a mountain.

"I'm sorry, Luna," he said, his voice low and regretful. "My Alpha's orders are that you are not to leave the grounds."

"Don't call me that!" I choked out, backing away. "I'm not your Luna. I'm nobody!"

"You are what he says you are."

"Get in the car."

The voice came from behind me, dark and vibrating with power. I spun around to find Dimitri standing by the open door of the black armored SUV. I hadn't even heard him approach. The scent of blizzard and cedar enveloped me, instantly calming my racing heart against my will. I hated it. I hated that my body responded to him while my mind screamed in terror.

"Please," I whispered, my voice cracking. "I just want to go home. My mother... she'll be worried sick. She doesn't know where I am."

Dimitri stared down at me. For a second, the ice in his eyes seemed to crack. His jaw tightened, a muscle feathering in his cheek. He looked at my tear-streaked face, then at my trembling hands.

He stepped closer, invading my personal space until all I could see was him. He reached out, his hand wrapping around the back of my neck. The Physical Surge was instantaneous—a jolt of static electricity that made my knees weak. He wasn't hurting me, but the weight of his hand was a heavy claim.

"You can go," he said, his voice a rough growl that vibrated in my chest.

My eyes widened. "I... I can?"

"You have until sunrise." His grip tightened slightly, his thumb brushing the pulse point behind my ear. "Go check on your mother. Pack your things. Say your goodbyes."

He leaned down, his lips brushing the shell of my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. "But if you are not back on my territory by the time the sun clears the horizon, I will hunt you down myself. And trust me, Anais... you will not enjoy the chase."

He released me abruptly and stepped back, his face once again a mask of indifference. "Driver. Take her."

I scrambled into the backseat of the SUV, the door slamming shut like the lid of a coffin. As the car pulled away, I watched him standing in the driveway, a dark silhouette against the moonlight. I had been given a few hours of freedom, but the invisible leash around my neck had only been lengthened, not cut.

Anais POV

The SUV dropped me off at the edge of the Omega Sector, the black paint gleaming like an alien spaceship against the backdrop of peeling paint and sagging porches. I waited until the taillights disappeared before I ran the rest of the way to the small, weathered house I called home.

"Anais!"

My mother, Amber, dropped the basket of laundry she was holding and rushed to embrace me. She smelled of cheap soap and comfort, a scent that made my eyes sting.

"Where have you been?" she asked, pulling back to inspect me, her brow furrowed with worry. "I heard rumors... people saying the new Alpha took you."

"It's okay, Mom," I lied, forcing a smile that felt like glass shattering in my mouth. "I... I got a job. At the Pack House. In the kitchens."

Her face softened, relief washing away the fear. "Oh, honey. That's wonderful. It's safe there."

Safe. The word tasted like ash. If only she knew I was walking back into the lion's den to keep his claws away from her.

We spent the evening in a bubble of false normalcy. I watched her cook, memorizing the way her hands moved, the hum of her voice. I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't tell her that I was the Alpha's unwanted mate, or that I had to leave before the sun touched the horizon or risk being hunted down like prey.

I didn't sleep. I lay in my narrow bed, watching the sky turn from black to a bruised purple.

It's time.

With a heavy heart, I slipped out of bed. I needed to leave now to make it back to the estate by sunrise. I tiptoed to my mother's room to whisper a silent goodbye.

The door was slightly ajar.

"Mom?" I whispered, pushing it open.

The metallic stench hit me before my eyes adjusted to the gloom. It was a smell I knew from the butcher shop—thick, coppery, and overwhelming.

My mother wasn't in bed. She was on the floor.

"Mom!"

I rushed forward, my knees skidding in something wet and sticky. I shook her shoulders, desperate for her to wake up, but her eyes were wide open, staring at nothing. Her throat...

A scream tore from my throat, a raw, animalistic sound that shattered the morning silence.

Dimitri POV

The air in my father's study was stale, preserved by stasis runes and the weight of secrets. I sat behind his massive mahogany desk, the leather chair creaking under my shifting weight.

In my hand, I held the Sacred Bonding Contract. The parchment hummed with the Moon Goddess's energy, binding my fate to a girl who had no wolf, no status, and no power.

Why?

I traced the signature of my father, Grafton. He had been a visionary, a Lycan of immense power. He wouldn't have shackled his heir to a wolfless Omega without a reason.

"You will understand in time why she is the only one who can save us."

His final letter burned in my memory. Save us? From what? And how could a girl who smelled like rain-washed lilies and fear save a Pack of predators?

She smells good, my Lycan, Ragnar, grumbled in my head. She is ours.

She is a liability, I countered, though I couldn't deny the way my blood heated when I thought of her terrified eyes.

I stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. The sky was lightening. The sun was crowning the distant hills, painting the forest in hues of blood and gold.

Sunrise.

I waited. One minute. Five minutes. Ten.

She wasn't here.

A low growl vibrated in my chest. She had defied me. The little mouse had found a spine, or perhaps she was simply foolish enough to think I wouldn't follow through on my threat.

She mocks us! Ragnar roared, pacing in the cage of my mind. Fetch her!

I opened the Mind-Link, my mental voice projecting with the force of a thunderclap. "Davon."

"Alpha?" My Beta's voice was instant.

"She isn't here. Take a squad. Go to the Omega Sector. Drag her back to me."

"On it."

I turned away from the window, my claws lengthening, scratching deep grooves into the windowsill. I would teach Anais Moreno that my word was law.

Thirty minutes later, Davon's voice returned through the link, but the confidence was gone. It was replaced by a grim hesitation.

"Alpha... we found her. But we can't bring her in."

"What do you mean you can't?" I snarled, my patience snapping. "Is she dead?"

"No. She's in custody. The human police arrested her ten minutes ago."

I froze. "Explain."

"She was found covered in blood, screaming over her mother's body. Amber Moreno was murdered last night. The humans think Anais did it."

The world tilted on its axis. Murdered?

Mate is hurt. Mate is in danger! Ragnar was frantic now, clawing at my ribs. Protect!

I didn't care about the murder. I didn't care about the human police. What I cared about was that my mate was in a cage that I didn't build.

"Get her out," I commanded, my voice dropping to a lethal whisper.

"Alpha, it's a homicide investigation. The humans—"

"I don't care about their laws!" I roared, the power of my Alpha Command shaking the link. "She belongs to the Pack. She belongs to me. Call the Mayor. Bribe the Chief. Burn the station down if you have to. Bring her to me. Now."

An hour later, the double doors of my private suite opened.

Davon walked in, guiding Anais. She looked small. Broken. Her clothes were stained with dried blood that wasn't hers. Her eyes were hollow, void of the light I had seen yesterday.

The scent of her hit me—not the sweet lilies I remembered, but a sharp, acrid mix of grief and terror that made my nose wrinkle.

She didn't even look at me. She just stood there, a puppet with its strings cut.

"The police released her into our custody," Davon said quietly. "But they're still building a case."

I walked over to her. Ragnar was whining, urging me to lick the blood from her skin, to comfort her. But I didn't know how to comfort. I only knew how to control.

I reached out, tilting her chin up with a finger. Her skin was ice cold.

"Who did this?" I asked, my voice rough.

She blinked, a single tear cutting a clean track through the grime on her cheek. "I don't know," she whispered, her voice shattered. "I went to say goodbye... and she was gone."

A surge of protective rage, darker and deeper than anything I had ever felt, coiled in my gut. This wasn't a random attack. Rogues didn't leave bodies behind; they ate them. This was a message.

I looked at Davon over her head.

"Forget the human police," I ordered. "Use our trackers. I want to know who murdered her mother. Find them. And bring them to me. Alive."

I looked back down at Anais. She was mine to torment, mine to reject, mine to break. And no one else was allowed to touch what was mine.

Dimitri POV

Forty-eight hours.

That was how long Anais had been in my suite, and she hadn't eaten a single crumb. Her scent, usually a field of fresh lilies, had soured into something that smelled like wilted flowers and rain-soaked earth. It permeated every inch of the Alpha Wing, a constant, suffocating reminder of her grief that clawed at my sanity.

She is fading, Ragnar paced in the back of my mind, his claws scraping against my skull. Fix it. Feed her.

I sat in my private study, the air thick with the scent of cedar and my own agitation. A pile of documents regarding the transition of power lay ignored on the mahogany desk.

"Alpha." Davon's voice broke through the Mind-Link, sharp and hesitant. "The police report is in. They're ruling it a random Rogue attack. A robbery gone wrong."

My grip on the fountain pen tightened until the plastic barrel snapped, ink bleeding onto my fingers like black blood.

"That's a lie," I projected back, my mental voice cold enough to freeze the link. "Rogues are scavengers, not assassins. They kill for food or territory, not to silence a lone Omega woman in her own home. This was an execution. Find the truth, Davon. Our truth."

"Understood," Davon replied instantly. "I'll deploy the trackers."

I wiped the ink from my hand, my eyes narrowing at the map of the territory on the wall. Someone had walked into my city, slaughtered the mother of my Mate, and thought they could hide behind a lazy police report.

By the afternoon, Davon stood before my desk in the flesh. He looked grim.

"We found them," he said, his voice low. "Two human mercenaries trying to cross the border into the next county. They had cash—untraceable bills. They admitted to the hit but claim they don't know the employer. Everything was done through dead drops."

A low growl vibrated in my chest, deep and dangerous. Mercenaries. This was calculated.

"The police are asking for them to be handed over," Davon continued, watching me carefully.

I stood up, my shadow stretching long across the floor. "They will not see the inside of a human court. Bring them to the cells. They will face Pack justice."

The Warrior standing guard by the door stiffened, his eyes widening in shock. To interfere with a human homicide investigation was risky; to take the suspects for ourselves was a declaration of war against the system. But I didn't care.

"Alpha..." Davon started, but I cut him off with a look.

"Do it."

Once he left, the silence of the study became unbearable. Ragnar was whining, urging me to go to her. I found myself walking down the hallway toward the guest room, drawn by the magnetic pull of the bond.

I stopped outside her door. I could hear nothing, but the scent of her sorrow was so potent it tasted like ash on my tongue. I raised my hand to knock, but my arm froze.

What would I say? I knew how to command armies. I knew how to break bones. I did not know how to mend a shattered girl.

Cowardice, bitter and unfamiliar, coated my throat.

"The ones who hurt your mother have been found," I said to the closed door, my voice harsh and devoid of the emotion churning inside me. "They will pay."

I didn't wait for a response. I turned and walked away, my footsteps heavy, just as a soft, broken sob echoed from behind the wood.

Ayesha POV

The Alpha's estate was terrifying. It was a fortress of stone and glass, smelling of power and predators. When the guards had "escorted" me from my apartment, I thought I was going to die. Instead, they brought me here, to a guest room that was bigger than my entire house.

"She's inside," the guard grunted, opening the door.

I stepped in, and my heart broke.

Anais was sitting on the edge of a massive bed, looking like a doll that had been dropped and forgotten. Her eyes were red and swollen, staring at a spot on the floor.

"Anais?"

Her head snapped up. "Ayesha?"

I rushed over and sat beside her, grabbing her ice-cold hands. "Oh, god. I heard... I heard about Amber. I'm so sorry."

She didn't speak. She just trembled, her lower lip quivering as she tried to hold it back.

"I know it hurts," I whispered, squeezing her hands. "When I lost my parents to that Rogue attack... I thought I would stop breathing. My Elder told me something then." I brushed a stray hair from her face. "He said we have to live for them now. We have to be strong enough for the both of us, because they'd want us to."

It was a simple thing to say, but it seemed to cut the strings holding her together.

Anais let out a strangled cry and collapsed into me. I wrapped my arms around her, rocking her as she screamed her grief into my shoulder. It was a raw, ugly sound, but it was better than the silence.

In this cold, terrifying castle, we held onto each other—two girls against a world that wanted to crush us.