My consort's secret scent-mate took advantage of my absence from the territory to brazenly move into my pack estate. He wore my clothes, drank from my private reserve of aged moonwine, and dared to dream of climbing into my bed to claim my mate.

What he didn't expect was that my foster-dam caught him in the act. She sent word for me to return immediately. When I arrived, I had my enforcers strip the clothes from his body and snap one of his legs before throwing him out beyond the territory markers.

When my consort learned what happened, she didn't blame me at all. Instead, she slapped herself across the face and apologized to me: "I'm sorry, my Alpha. I only supported him because I pitied his circumstances. I never imagined he would try to take your place, nearly causing such disaster. I'll have him driven from the city at once and ban him from ever returning."

Since my consort admitted her wrongdoing so readily, I forgave her. She didn't disappoint me either, devoting herself completely to playing the role of a perfect mate.

That lasted until six months later, when I drank the moonwine she handed me. After a few sips, I collapsed onto the bed.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself bound to a chair with silver-threaded ropes. My foster-dam was locked inside an iron cage. My beloved consort sat with her legs crossed, one arm wrapped around her little scent-mate, while she ordered her wolves to throw water over my foster-dam's body.

"Didn't your foster-dam love to run her mouth and meddle? And didn't you enjoy stripping people bare?" Her voice dripped with mockery.

"Since that's the case, let's play a little dominance wager involving stripped clothes. If you lose, your precious foster-dam will be stripped naked and thrown to a den of unmated rogues!"

——

The moment she finished speaking, the iron cage was opened. A wolf stepped inside and grabbed my foster-dam, delivering a vicious slap across her face.

"Stop it! Selene Frostveil, what exactly do you want?"

Selene looked at me with amusement, then gently stroked the place where I had broken Darian's leg. Her expression turned cold as ice.

"Obviously, I'm getting justice for Darian. Whatever you did to him that day, I'll repay you double."

"Repay me? So you're saying you've already shifted your affections to this pretty-faced rogue?"

"Yes!"

I finally understood. All her kindness toward me these past six months had been an act of endurance. She had been waiting for me to lower my guard completely before striking.

But I never imagined she would drag my foster-dam into this, making her suffer alongside me.

Darian Frostveil fixed me with a gaze full of hatred. Then he rose to his feet and limped toward me, one leg dragging uselessly. He drove his fist into my face.

"Kael Nightthorne, you dared to break my leg and turn me into a cripple. I'm going to torture you and your foster-dam slowly, bit by bit. Just you wait!"

I glared at them both with fury burning in my eyes. "Selene Frostveil, kidnapping us and bringing us here by force is a violation of pack law. You know my temper and my methods. Once I get out of here, I will reject our bond and leave you with nothing—"

"Ha! Kael Nightthorne, oh Kael Nightthorne." She laughed without a trace of fear. "I stopped being afraid of you long ago. Over these past six months, I've already seized control of your pack. Even the Pack Elders have been bought off and now stand with me."

I narrowed my eyes at Selene. "What do you mean by that?"

Selene smiled radiantly and clapped her hands. Through the door walked a group of familiar faces—my own Pack Elders, every one of them.

"You? What are you all doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're here to overthrow you. Can't you see?"

"Selene Frostveil, how dare you?"

"When your Frostveil bloodline fell into ruin years ago, who was it that reached out and saved your entire house? And now, for the sake of some young rogue, you scheme against me like this?"

If I weren't bound to this chair, I would have lunged forward and killed this treacherous pair with my own claws.

A wave of rage surged through my chest, refusing to subside.

The angrier I became, the more excited Selene and Darian grew.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention something." Selene's smile widened. "We're in the Warded Sea-Den now—neutral ground in open waters. Pack law doesn't apply here. If you want to save your meddlesome foster-dam, you'll have no choice but to play our dominance wager to the very end!"

I stared at the mate I had once cherished above all others, and a wave of bitter self-mockery washed through me.

This was the female I had loved with everything I had. She had turned herself into a blade and driven it straight through my heart.

"Oh my! Kael Nightthorne's eyes have gone red! It seems he really does love Sister Selene so much!"

"Ha! Too bad his precious Selene threw him away long ago—and plotted against him too."

After Darian Frostveil finished mocking me, he splashed his goblet of blood-wine across my face.

"Pathetic. Back then, I drank a few extra cups of your wine, and you nearly tore me apart."

"Now look at you—trussed up on this silver-bound slab like a gutted deer, waiting for me to carve you up."

Selene Frostveil watched my humiliated face with an amused smile. "Why are you looking at us like that? We're simply returning the favor—your methods turned back on you."

"I'm being merciful, really. I haven't ordered your legs broken. You just have to win your way out, if you have the skill."

At her words, the pack elders who had betrayed me and the other wolves gathered in this sea-den burst into laughter.

"Ha! How could he possibly win his way out? To make sure he dies here, Alpha Selene invited the new Tidefang King to be his opponent."

"That one has never lost a dominance wager. Kael Nightthorne is just a territory holder—how could he possibly beat him?"

"Alpha Selene is so cruel. She gives him hope on purpose, then crushes it."

Only then did I understand. Her so-called mercy was nothing but a poisoned blade. She had calculated everything from the start—to make me lose here, to have my foster-dam stripped of her dignity and thrown out naked before the pack. Now she controlled my territory and tribute networks. I had nothing left. There was no one I could call upon for help.

Rage made me thrash against my silver-threaded bindings. I roared at her, "Selene Frostveil! Search your heart and tell me—how did I ever treat you?"

Selene let out a cold laugh. "Wonderfully, of course!"

"But what does that have to do with me? I never asked you to love me. You're old now, and your body can't compare to a young Beta's. Did you expect me to live like a widow for the rest of my days?"

Hearing her heartless mockery, I clenched my fists until my claws drew blood from my palms, forcing down a fury I had never known before.

Then the doors opened, and a figure walked in. The newcomer studied me for a long moment before curling their lip in disdain.

"Tch. Alpha Selene thinks highly of you, bringing me—the Tidefang King—to wager against you."

"The new Tidefang King is here!"

"Kael Nightthorne's fate is sealed now."

Selene didn't rise from her seat. She simply watched me with that amused expression.

"Kael Nightthorne, I'll say it once more. If you want you and your foster-dam to leave this sea-den alive, beat them."

The moment she finished speaking, the crowd erupted.

Some laughed that I could never defeat the Tidefang King. Others cursed me as a worthless Alpha whose mate had taken another wolf to her bed while I was bound here like prey.

Facing all their humiliation and insults, I turned to look at my foster-dam, tears streaming down her face.

"Mother, don't worry. We will walk out of here safely."

But the moment I spoke, the wolf beside her received a signal from Darian. He reached out and tore away her outer robe.

"Well, well! This old she-wolf still has some charm!"

"Look at that smooth, pale skin—no worse than a female in her twenties."

"Come on, I'm placing a wager. They say older Omegas have the most spirit—experience counts, after all!"

"Ha! Yes, yes! We'll bet too. All on the Tidefang King winning. When he wins, that she-wolf is ours."

Those vile, unbearable words reached our ears. My foster-dam tried to end her own life, but the male holding her seized her wrists with brutal force.

My face drained of all color. I had no more useless words to waste. Begging Selene Frostveil would do nothing.

“Very well,” Selene Frostveil announced lazily. “The wager begins.”

She tilted her head, smiling as if granting mercy.

“Kael Nightthorne, don’t say I left you no way out. We’ll play the one game you claim to know best—a Dominance Draw.”

Did I have a choice?

Every path before me had already been sealed by Selene Frostveil.

Silver-threaded restraints pinned me to the stone table. Only one hand was released—just enough for me to flip the bone-cards when ordered.

Selene lifted her goblet and addressed the sea-den with a languid wave of her fingers.

“Everyone here—when he loses, you’re free to enjoy that old she-wolf however you please. I’ll even distribute blood-coin and moonwine afterward.”

A thunderous roar of approval erupted.

The rogues’ eyes burned with feral hunger as they stared at my foster-dam, licking their lips like starving beasts.

Darian Frostveil sat beside the so-called Tidefang King, watching me with open provocation. The scar across his face glistened in the firelight—the mark I had carved into him years ago.

“Kael Nightthorne,” Darian sneered, “rules are simple. Every time you lose a round, we strip one piece of clothing from your foster-dam.”

He leaned closer, voice dripping with cruelty.

“Unless you want to beg?”

“Can we begin?” I interrupted coldly.

Ignoring him was the only way not to give him what he wanted.

Darian wasn’t here just to win. He wanted to break me, inch by inch—until fear replaced reason.

The dealer stepped forward and cast the first bones. Around us, every wolf placed their wagers—all on Darian and the Tidefang King.

Selene swirled her blood-wine, her scent thick with confidence.

When the bones were dealt, I lifted my freed hand and turned over my visible card—the Red Moon Seven.

Across from me, the Tidefang King revealed a Black Claw King, his expression filled with disdain.

“Careful, Kael Nightthorne,” he said mockingly.

The crowd laughed and applauded.

“My hand is higher,” Darian declared casually. “I wager your foster-dam’s second garment.”

I had no choice but to call.

But Selene raised her hand.

“Wait.”

For a brief, foolish second, I thought she had reconsidered.

Instead, she smiled wider.

“You don’t actually have chips left to wager, do you? I control your territory now—but not the tribute vaults you hoarded over the years.”

Her gaze sharpened.

“So if you want to continue, you’ll need to stake those reserves. Otherwise…”

She shrugged lightly. “We’ll just start tearing.”

My claws dug into my palm.

How meticulous. Using my foster-dam as leverage—forcing me to place everything on the table.

“I call,” I said hoarsely.

Laughter exploded around us.

The vault guardians were summoned. I recited the seal-chant to my hidden reserves. Only after confirmation was I allowed to continue.

Second draw.

I revealed a Black Claw Seven.

They revealed a Black Bloom Six.

“My hand,” I said calmly. “I wager her safety.”

Darian smirked, utterly unconcerned.

Third draw.

I turned over a Red Moon King.

They revealed a Black Claw King.

Darian pushed half the pile forward.

“I wager half your remaining wealth. You don’t get to refuse.”

My foster-dam sobbed helplessly.

“Kael… my child, stop. Let me go—”

“Mother,” I said softly. “It’s alright.”

Fourth draw.

I received a Black Bloom Seven.

They revealed a Red Moon King.

Darian lit a roll of bitterleaf and exhaled slowly.

“Still calling, Alpha?”

I stared at my paired Sevens and the hidden bone beneath my hand.

“I call.”

“Reveal.”

I had believed they couldn’t possibly hold three Kings.

I was wrong.

When the final bones were turned, my three Sevens were crushed beneath their three Kings.

The restraints cut into my flesh as I slumped back.

For the first time, despair outweighed pain.