Chapter 2

Araminta POV:

I spun around as the wooden door slammed against the wall. Gael stood in the doorway wearing a nasty grin that did not belong on a child's face, with a mug of steaming hot cocoa in his hands.

Startled by the loud bang, Eulalie screamed again. She curled into the corner of the sofa, pressing her palms over her ears and shaking uncontrollably.

Gael strutted into the room and pointed a mocking finger at her.

"Useless, wolfless freak! You can't even talk or use the mind-link!" Gael sneered, repeating the cruel words he had clearly learned from his mother, "You don't belong in the England Pack!"

My eyes turned freezing cold. I strode forward and planted myself right in front of the sofa like a mother wolf guarding her pup, cutting off his malicious line of sight.

"Get out," I ordered, staring down at the spoiled brat Dallas had raised.

Gael was not afraid of me at all. Relying on Carlo's favoritism, he raised the mug and flung the boiling hot cocoa straight toward Eulalie's face.

My pupils contracted. Moving on pure instinct, I swung my right arm out and blocked the splash of scalding brown liquid.

The intense heat soaked through the fabric of my sleeve and burned my wrist. My skin blistered with a searing ache, though I kept my face completely blank while my hidden healing bloodline quietly began repairing the tissue.

Seeing that he had missed Eulalie, Gael flew into a tantrum and lunged forward to scratch me.

"Who do you think you are, you lowly Omega!" he yelled. "Uncle Carlo said my mom and I are the smartest ones in this Pack!"

My patience snapped. I shot my hand out and clamped my fingers around his flailing wrist, squeezing with enough force to make his bones creak.

Gael let out a sharp cry of pain, tears springing straight from his eyes.

"Touch my daughter one more time, and I'll show you what real pain looks like," I said, looking down at him as a sliver of ancient White Wolf pressure leaked from my gaze.

In werewolf society, genetic rank is fixed at birth, and a true White Wolf stands above every ordinary Alpha. Terrified by the sudden pressure, Gael went pale, his knees buckling before he burst into an ear-splitting wail.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway outside. Seconds later, Carlo rushed into the lounge with two security guards, his eyes locking immediately onto the crying boy and my hand gripping his wrist.

"Araminta! Have you lost your mind?" Carlo roared.

He strode over and wrenched Gael out of my grip, pulling the boy behind his back while glaring at me like a sworn enemy. He did not even glance at the hot cocoa still dripping from my soaking sleeve.

"He kicked the door in and threw boiling cocoa at Eulalie," I stated flatly. "If I hadn't blocked it, her face would have been ruined right now."

Hiding behind Carlo's legs, Gael sobbed and twisted the truth.

"Uncle Carlo, I just wanted to bring Eulalie something to drink, and Aunt Araminta grabbed my arm and pinched me for no reason!"

Carlo didn't bother checking the wet stains on my coat. Dark fire blazed in his eyes, and his heavy Alpha pheromones exploded across the small room like a suffocating storm.

"Enough of your lies!" Carlo barked at me, the volume rattling the window glass. "Not only are you insanely jealous of Dallas, now you're beating a defenseless pup?"

I looked at the man bound to my soul and felt a wave of pure disgust in my stomach.

"You'd rather believe a lying brat than look at how terrified your own biological daughter is?"

Enraged by my defiance, Carlo stopped holding back his genetic dominance and unleashed the Alpha's Command, a bloodline compulsion that forces any lower-ranking wolf in his Pack to obey without question.

"On your knees!" he growled from deep in his chest.

The invisible force slammed onto my shoulders like a falling boulder. My knees bent an inch under the crushing weight, my joints popping under the strain.

I bit down hard on my lower lip until I tasted copper, calling upon the dormant White Wolf power in my veins to push back against his compulsion. Because my true genetic rank was far higher than his, his command could not break my spine.

I did not get on my knees. I stood with my back slightly bowed, lifting my head to look at him with the cold, dead eyes of a stranger.

Shock flashed across Carlo's face. He clearly couldn't fathom how the weak Omega wife of his could resist his direct order.

While he stood stunned, I straightened my posture, walked back to the sofa, and lifted the trembling Eulalie into my arms.

"From today on, you don't deserve to be her father," I said calmly.

Carlo froze, his mouth opening slightly as if my deadpan tone had struck a nerve, but no words came out.

Holding Eulalie tight against my chest, I walked straight toward the open door, passing right by him without sparing him a single glance.