Chapter 3 The Alpha's Ultimatum

The press room erupted.

Cameras flashed like a firing squad. Reporters surged forward, microphones thrust toward the stage like weapons. The hum of their voices rose to a deafening roar, drowning out the thundering beat of my own heart.

"Mr. Vance! Mr. Vance! Does this mean you're relocating to the city?"

"Is it true you've been estranged from your daughter for five years?"

"Tala! Tala, how do you feel about your father buying the team?"

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I stood frozen on the stage, my hockey bag slipping from my numb fingers and hitting the floor with a heavy thud.

My father-the man who had banished me from the pack for refusing an arranged mating-stood in the front row, his golden eyes gleaming with cold satisfaction. He looked exactly as he had five years ago. Immaculate. Powerful. Utterly ruthless.

Beside him, Kael leaned back in his chair, his expression one of lazy amusement. He was enjoying this. The bastard had set me up. He hadn't just come to drag me back to the pack. He had brought the pack to me.

"Dad," I choked out, my voice caught by the microphone and amplified across the room. "What are you doing?"

Alpha Vance stepped onto the stage with the grace of a predator. He took the microphone from my trembling hand, his smile polished for the cameras.

"My daughter and I have had a... difference of opinion over the years," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "But family is family. When I heard she had been injured, I realized it was time to mend fences. I purchased the team to ensure she has the resources she needs to be the best. Starting with the upcoming championships."

The lie was so smooth, so perfectly delivered, that even I almost believed it. He hadn't bought this team for my benefit. He had bought it to control me.

The press conference continued in a blur. My coach took over, answering questions about the franchise's future. My teammates stared at me with wide eyes, whispering behind their hands. I stood on the stage like a condemned prisoner, waiting for the executioner's axe to fall.

When it was finally over, my father grabbed my arm in a grip that was just barely polite enough for public consumption. "My office. Now."

He dragged me through the back corridors of the arena, past the locker rooms and the training facilities, until we reached a private suite at the end of the hall. He pushed me inside and slammed the door.

Kael was already there, sitting behind the mahogany desk, his feet propped up on the polished surface. He was twirling a pen between his fingers, watching us with those unnerving ice-blue eyes.

"Was that necessary?" I snapped, rounding on my father. "You couldn't just send a letter?"

"A letter wouldn't have brought you home," Alpha Vance said, his voice cold. "You've been ignoring my calls for five years, Tala. You've disgraced the pack. You've disgraced me."

"I didn't want to be a bargaining chip!" I shouted, my wolf surging forward, my eyes flashing gold. "You tried to mate me to a psycho who wanted to use my bloodline to overthrow you! I saved myself, and I saved the pack, and you exiled me for it!"

My father's face tightened. "That's not how it happened."

"That's exactly how it happened," I shot back. "You chose politics over your own daughter. And now you want to drag me back so you can use me again."

"You will return to the pack," Alpha Vance said, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. "You will fulfill your duties. You will mate the wolf I choose for you. And you will produce heirs. This is not a negotiation."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Kael cut me off.

"Actually," he said, his voice smooth as silk, "there's been a slight change of plans."

Both my father and I turned to look at him. Kael swung his legs off the desk and stood up, his towering frame casting a long shadow across the room.

"The terms of our agreement, Alpha," Kael said, pulling a folded document from his jacket, "state that I retrieve your daughter and return her to the pack. In exchange, you pay me ten million dollars and grant me a lifetime supply of silver ore from your mines."

My father's eyes narrowed. "That's correct."

Kael smiled. "However, you neglected to mention that your daughter is fated to me."

The room went deadly silent.

I felt the blood drain from my face. My father's expression shifted from anger to shock to something I had never seen before-fear.

"What?" I whispered.

Kael turned to me, his eyes blazing with a fierce, possessive fire. "The moment I touched you in that medical room, I knew. Your wolf recognized mine. You felt it too, didn't you?"

The spark. The electricity. The way my wolf had calmed the moment his hands were on me.

No. No, no, no. This couldn't be happening.

"Kael," my father said slowly, his voice tight, "the contract is binding. You agreed to return her to me."

"I agreed to retrieve her," Kael corrected, his voice hard. "I never agreed to hand her over. As the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, my claim supersedes yours. She is my mate. The bond is sacred. You cannot break it."

My father's face contorted with rage. "You tricked me."

"I outmaneuvered you," Kael said, shrugging. "There's a difference."

I stood frozen, my mind reeling. Mate. I was mated to Kael Thorne. The mercenary. The monster. The man who had just spent the last hour threatening to destroy my life.

"You can't do this," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "I don't even know you."

Kael turned to me, his expression softening just a fraction. "You will. I promise you, Tala. I'm not your enemy. I'm your only chance at freedom."

"How?" I demanded. "You just bought my team, allied with my father, and threatened to drag me back to the pack!"

Kael reached out and took my hand. His touch sent another jolt of electricity through me, making my wolf purr despite my fury.

"I bought the team so your father couldn't use it to control you," Kael said quietly. "I allied with him so I could get close enough to protect you. And I threatened to drag you back because I needed to know if you would fight for yourself. And you did."

I stared at him, my heart hammering. "You're lying."

"I never lie," Kael said, his eyes locked on mine. "You want your freedom, Tala? You want to play hockey, live your life, and never bow to a man again? Then trust me. Let me help you."

Before I could answer, the door to the office burst open. Coach Jensen stood there, his face pale, his eyes wild.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, his voice shaking. "But there's a problem. The press found out about the hit. The rookie who checked Tala-he's claiming she used her 'freak strength' to try to injure him. He's demanding an investigation. And he's got proof."

He held up his phone. On the screen was a blurry video-footage from the game, slowed down. My eyes were glowing gold. My fangs were extended.

The human world had seen the wolf.

Kael stepped forward, his expression hardening. "Who sent this video to the press?"

Coach Jensen swallowed hard. "The rookie's manager. And he says if Tala doesn't withdraw from the championships immediately, he'll release the full footage. The footage that proves she's not human."