Chapter 2

2.

"Stop right there."

Caine's massive frame blocked the corridor.

The Alpha pressure of a high-ranking warrior slammed into me. His face, handsome once, was now twisted past recognition by raw fury.

The deadness in his eyes was gone. Replaced by something else. Rage. The rage of a man publicly rejected and humiliated by an Omega.

"Say that again."

"You need me to repeat myself?" I looked him up and down like I was evaluating a pile of rotting meat. "A defective with nothing in his head but power. A man who can toss his fated mate aside like garbage. What exactly do you think you are?"

"You're begging to die."

A beast's growl tore from Caine's throat. His eyes flooded gold. Wolf eyes. Claws punched through his fingertips. Muscles bulged. Swelling.

He was about to lunge.

And then a pressure hit the corridor. Suffocating. Terrifying.

The air temperature plummeted. It felt like the air itself could freeze into shards of ice in your lungs.

Low-ranked wolves at the edges screamed and collapsed to their knees. Instinct overriding everything. Throats bared. Submission.

A voice came from the end of the corridor. Low. Cold. Hard. Carrying the scent of blood.

"I support her right to challenge."

Silence. Absolute. Not respect. Pure, bone-deep terror.

Black hair. Gray eyes. The man walked in with the measured stride of a predator surveying his territory.

His towering frame radiated slaughter.

At his neck, strange black lines writhed beneath the skin. A witch's curse. Vicious. Malignant.

Lucian Voss.

The absolute tyrant of the Blood Moon pack. A monster tangled in a curse. Rumor said every enemy he tore apart cost him another piece of his heart. The curse devoured him from the inside. He was completely, utterly insane.

He stopped in front of me. His massive body blocked the space between me and Caine. Those abyss-dark eyes stared into me. Like he could see straight through to my reborn soul. Straight through my disguise to the violence underneath.

"I can smell what's really hiding in your blood, little wolf." His voice was low. Absolute control laced with dangerous temptation. "And it's not cheap healing."

He turned. His cold gaze swept across the approaching Alpha and every stunned pack member.

"My wager is the Moon Goddess Tear. As absolute surety for her participation in the Blood-Light Challenge."

A collective gasp ripped through the crowd. An artifact that could cleanse any bloodline curse. A relic that could drag a dying wolf back from the brink. Priceless beyond measure.

And he was using it to back an Omega walking onto a death platform?!

Caine's face went ashen. His fists clenched so tight the knuckles went white. Behind the crowd, Emily's jealous smile was cracking. She could barely hold it together.

I met Lucian's gaze.

There was no pity in his eyes. None of that sickening male protective instinct either. Just pure greed for power. And appreciation.

Good.

In this fucked-up world, I didn't need a knight. I just needed an ally who wouldn't get in my way.

That night. Someone slammed against my door.

Caine burst in. Reeking of cheap whiskey and violent male pheromones.

"What filthy trick did you use to crawl into Voss's bed?" He braced one hand against the doorframe. Looming over me. Like I was still his accessory. Still someone who had to orbit around him.

"Get out." I looked at him. Cold.

"Withdraw the challenge. Now." He stepped closer. Trying to crush me with dominant pheromone pressure. "Don't think Voss's backing means you'll survive. If you touch even one hair on Emily's head in that arena, I swear I will snap your neck myself. She is the future of this pack!"

Crack.

I didn't hesitate. I swung my arm full force. My palm slammed across his self-righteous face.

The slap echoed through the empty corridor. Five red welts bloomed across his cheek.

He was stunned. Pupils shaking. Disbelief all over his face. "You dare hit me―"

"I'm hitting a dumb mutt in heat. That's exactly what I'm doing." My voice came out like a blade of ice. Zero warmth. "Figure out your current status. A piece of trash I publicly discarded. What gives you the right to bark at my door?"

"Seraphine! You're dead!"

Cole roared and charged forward. He yanked Caine behind him. Fangs bared. "Emily is still pleading for you! And you not only refuse her grace, you dare throw hands―"

"Admit it." I didn't back down. I stepped closer and tore away their hypocritical mask. One word at a time. "You're scared. You're terrified that this worthless waste of space will stand in front of everyone and grind your precious 'golden key' to the throne under her boot. And prove that what you've been kneeling to worship is nothing but a joke."

The blood drained from both their faces. Their throats worked. But not a single word came out.

"Take your pathetic desperation. And get the hell out of my territory."

I slammed the solid oak door in their faces.