Eyes in the Den
Elena POV:
I didn't sleep that night. I sat in my room, staring at the bank of monitors I had set up.
After the stable "accident," I had installed hidden cameras everywhere.
On screen three, I saw the Warrior's wing. Damien was with his brothers, drinking.
"Did you see her face?" Leo laughed. "She looked like she was going to shift right there on stage."
"She's weak," Damien said, swirling his drink. "She relies on her daddy's money. Today proved that without the Barron name, she's nothing."
I watched, face stone cold.
Suddenly, the door to my bedroom rattled.
I spun around. Locked.
Click.
The lock turned. Damien had the master key.
He walked in, smelling of whiskey. He didn't knock. He just intruded into my Den.
"What do you want?" I asked, hand drifting toward a silver-laced dagger in the drawer.
"To talk," Damien said, sitting on the edge of my bed. "About the wedding."
"There is no wedding," I said.
"There is," he said firmly. "Your father won't call it off. The merger depends on it."
"You are not an Alpha," I spat. "You are a bully."
"I am what this pack needs!" He stood up, pacing. "Look, Elena. Eve... she's special. She's fragile. She is my First Priority. Always."
"And your wife?"
"You are the partner," Damien said, explaining it like I was a child. "You run logistics. You bear heirs. But Eve... she is the heart. If there is a fire, I save her. If there is a choice, I choose her."
He reached into his pocket and tossed a small velvet box onto my desk.
"A peace offering," he said.
I opened it. A thin gold chain with a generic wolf charm. Gas station trash.
"You tried to spend three million on her," I said quietly. "And you give me this?"
"It's the thought that counts," he shrugged. "Wear it. It shows you accept your place."
He walked to the door. "We get married in two weeks, Elena. Get used to the new order."
He left.
I looked at the monitors showing him returning to his brothers, laughing.
Midnight let out a long, mournful howl in my mind. A summoning song.
He is diseased, Midnight whispered. We need a King.
I threw the cheap necklace into the trash.
"I accept nothing," I whispered.
I turned back to my computer. I opened a new window.
To: Alpha King Hunter Beach, Tech Pack.
Subject: An Alliance.
If Damien wanted to play the villain, I would introduce him to a monster.