Chapter 2

Clara Snyder POV:

I locked myself in the attic bathroom and scrubbed my skin with freezing water, trying to wash away the lingering cedarwood scent. Before I could even dry off, my father Gustav's furious roar shook the floorboards downstairs.

I rushed downstairs. Gustav was waiting for me in the living room, his gray-brown eyes cold and calculating. In his eyes, his own daughter was no different from a corporate asset.

Gustav slammed a thick investment contract onto the glass coffee table.

"Pack your bags. Dejuan Puckett is coming to collect you tonight. He agreed to inject fifty million dollars to save our supply chain."

I stared at him, my stomach twisting.

"Dejuan is a fifty-year-old rogue pervert from the badlands! You're selling your own daughter for cash?"

Debra sat beside him, rubbing her belly as she sighed.

"Clara, darling, you're just a useless Omega whose wolf hasn't even awakened. Contributing to the Pack's finances is the only value you have."

I ignored them and stormed out the front door. My only hope was Ayden Garrison, my university boyfriend of two years. He had lost his memory after a car accident during a territorial conflict.

I drove my battered sedan straight to the private hospital owned by the Garrison Pack. The moment I pushed open the door to the VIP recovery suite, I froze.

Ayden was sitting up in bed, gently feeding a peeled grape into Jalyn's mouth.

The instant he saw me, his expression turned icy, and his smile vanished.

"What are you doing here?"

My chest tightened, but I forced myself to step forward.

"Ayden, my father is forcing me to marry Dejuan tonight. Please, if you would just step in—"

Before I could finish, Ayden grabbed his water glass and hurled it at my feet. Glass shattered across the floor, and a shard sliced a bloody gash into my ankle.

He pulled Jalyn behind him and glared at me as though I were something filthy.

"You shameless social climber! Are you still trying to drag me into your pathetic lies?"

Jalyn hid behind him, digging her nails into her palms before squeezing out two tears.

"Clara, stop upsetting Ayden! He hasn't fully recovered yet."

I pointed at her face, my voice trembling.

"She stole my medical journal, Ayden! I was the one who stayed in the ICU for two months, giving up my blood and pheromones to wake you up!"

Ayden pressed a hand against his surgical scar, his expression darkening.

"Enough! Jalyn is my only savior. You aren't even worth a single strand of her hair."

He unleashed his Alpha aura, forcing me backward toward the door.

"Security! Throw this lying lunatic out and never let her set foot in here again!"

Two burly Beta guards rushed in, roughly twisting my arms behind my back. They dragged me down the corridor and threw me out of the hospital's main entrance.

I hit the freezing ground. Through the revolving glass doors, I watched Ayden bow his head and wipe Jalyn's tears. After two seconds, I turned away.

The autumn wind dried the tears on my face. I steadied myself against a streetlamp, stood up, brushed the dust off my coat, and pulled out my phone.

I logged into the encrypted pan-Pack dark web, bypassed my family's surveillance, and opened the emergency bounty board.

My fingers flew across the screen.

Offering $4,000 per month. Urgently seeking a background-free male companion for immediate Mate registration. Must be available on call 24/7 and completely obedient.

The post went live with a notification chime that echoed across the empty sidewalk. I curled my lips into a faint smile.

Carlyle Douglas POV:

Miles away, on the top floor of the Apex Zenith Syndicate skyscraper, I sat behind my obsidian desk, tapping my fingers impatiently against its surface. The sweet scent of the little wolf from last night still clung to my skin, leaving my inner wolf restless and difficult to control.

My Gamma assistant, Gaston Powell, pushed open the door. With a peculiar expression, he handed me a tablet.

"Boss, our dark web crawler just intercepted an unusual marriage bounty."

I gave the screen a casual glance, but my eyes immediately locked onto the poster's IP trace and the encrypted white-wolf watermark in the corner.

I pushed back my leather chair and stood.

"Get the car ready. Take me to this meeting address."

Gaston stared at me in surprise.

"Sir, the multinational merger video conference starts in ten minutes—"

I snatched my dark jacket off the rack and strode toward the private elevator.

"Postpone it. I have a job interview to attend."