Aliana POV:
The word echoed in my skull. Placeholder.
My fingernails dug so deeply into the palms of my hands that the skin broke. Warm blood pooled in the creases of my fists, mixing with the freezing rain. The physical pain grounded me. It was a familiar anchor. Whenever my mother had locked me in the cellar for failing a healing trial, I would pinch my arms until they bruised to keep from crying. Pain meant I was still alive.
Inside the room, the little boy abandoned his blocks. He ran across the rug and threw his arms around Ivan's leg. "Horsey!" he yelled.
Ivan patted the boy's head, his expression indulgent. He looked up and snapped his fingers. A nanny in a gray uniform immediately stepped out from the hallway shadows.
"Take him upstairs to bed," Ivan ordered.
The nanny nodded, scooping the complaining child into her arms and disappearing up the sweeping staircase.
The living room was suddenly empty, leaving only Ivan and Kiera. The air between them shifted, growing thick and dangerous.
Kiera picked up her wine glass from the coffee table. She took a slow sip, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Ivan over the rim. "You're spending an awful lot of time planning this mating ceremony next week," she said, her voice dripping with sour jealousy.
Ivan chuckled. It was a dry, dismissive sound. He stepped forward, grabbed the crystal glass out of her hand, and slammed it down onto the table. The red wine sloshed over the rim, staining the wood.
He grabbed Kiera by the hips and shoved her backward onto the sofa, pinning her beneath his weight. "I have never touched her," he growled, his face inches from hers. "You know that."
"Then why marry her?" Kiera challenged, tracing his jawline.
"Because the elders are traditional fools," Ivan sneered. "They want a pureblood healer as Luna. Aliana is nothing but a pacifier to keep the council off my back."
Kiera pouted, twisting a button on his shirt. "And the merger ceremony? Is that for the elders too?"
Ivan's eyes flared with a sudden, greedy light. "The merger is for me. That stupid bitch holds the patent for the cell regeneration serum. It's worth billions. The moment she signs the mating contract, that patent automatically transfers to the Hughes pack. To me."
Kiera feigned a gasp, her eyes wide with fake concern. "But what if her parents find out? Richard and Eleanor are ruthless. They'll tear you apart for stealing their family's asset."
Ivan threw his head back and laughed. The sound bounced off the high ceiling, loud and triumphant.
"Find out?" Ivan mocked, shaking his head. "They are the ones who handed her to me. Richard and Eleanor are getting a thirty percent kickback from the patent revenue. They sold their daughter, Kiera."
Ivan raised his hand, gesturing to the massive, opulent living room around them. "How do you think I paid for this house? Her parents bought this villa for us using the down payment I gave them for their precious daughter."
Lightning struck the ground beside me, but I didn't feel the electricity. The shockwave hit me from the inside out.
My parents. My blood.
I remembered my mother adjusting my collar just three days ago, her cold hands surprisingly gentle. *'You are doing your family proud, Aliana. Ivan is a good man.'*
My stomach violently heaved. I swallowed down the bile burning my throat.
The wolf inside me didn't howl this time. She didn't fight. She simply laid down in the dark and went completely, terrifyingly still. The silence in my head was absolute.
Suddenly, the phone in my trench coat pocket vibrated.
It wasn't a soft buzz. It was a harsh, continuous grinding against my hip bone. In the dead quiet of the storm outside, it sounded like a chainsaw.
Inside, Ivan's head snapped up. His red eyes locked directly onto the gap in the curtains. He pushed off Kiera, his body tensing into a combat stance.
Cold sweat broke out across my spine. I dropped into a hard crouch, my knees splashing into the freezing mud. I scrambled backward, throwing myself behind a thick row of wet hydrangeas.
I ripped the phone from my pocket and jammed my thumb onto the volume button, killing the vibration. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.
I held my breath, waiting for the front door to violently open.
Through the leaves, I saw Ivan staring at the window. He took a step toward the glass. Before he could reach it, Kiera grabbed his tie. She yanked him backward, pulling his mouth down to hers. Ivan hesitated for a second, then groaned, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her back.
I slumped against the wet brick wall of the house, my lungs burning as I dragged in a jagged breath.
I looked down at the glowing screen of my phone. The harsh light burned my retinas.
It was a text from Ivan. Sent one minute ago.
I swiped the screen open and read the words.
"Baby, I'm at the border dealing with rogue wolves. Don't wait up for me tonight."
