Katarina POV:
Breakfast was a silent affair. Usually.
Today, however, Aria was seated at the table. She was wearing one of my silk robes. It was three sizes too big for her, making her look like a child playing dress-up. She wanted to look small. She wanted to look like she needed saving.
Alessandro sat at the head of the table, reading a newspaper. He didn't look at me.
"The coffee is cold," I said.
Aria jumped, spilling milk onto the table. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Luna! I was just... I was trying to help."
"Leave it," Alessandro said, his voice soft for her, hard for me. "It's just milk, Aria. Katarina, stop terrorizing her."
I calmly sliced my toast. "I merely stated a temperature, Alessandro. If that terrorizes her, perhaps she should not be in a Pack house. The world is a loud place."
I picked up my tablet. "Speaking of the house. I've flagged some questionable transactions in the auxiliary accounts."
Alessandro frowned. "What irregularities?"
"Excessive spending on 'charity' supplies," I said, tapping the screen. "Unless 'charity' now includes designer handbags, I'm freezing the discretionary stipends for non-core Pack members. Effective immediately."
Aria's face went pale. Her hand went to her pocket, where her phone was. She had probably just tried to buy something online and got declined.
"You can't do that," Alessandro snapped.
"I am the Luna. I manage the estate trust. Unless you want to explain to the Elders why you're draining the emergency fund for personal gifts?" I raised an eyebrow.
Alessandro's jaw tightened. He knew his father, the Elder Alpha Donato, would be furious if he saw how much money Alessandro was wasting on this girl.
"Fine," he gritted out.
Later that afternoon, I went to the stables. The smell of hay and leather usually calmed me.
I was saddling Obsidian, the purebred black stallion that was technically mine. He was a difficult horse, one that only obeyed a strong hand.
"Luna!"
I turned. Aria was running towards me across the paddock. The ground was muddy from last night's rain.
She stopped a few feet away, breathing hard. "You froze my cards! How am I supposed to live?"
"You are a guest," I said, tightening the girth. "Guests get three meals and a roof. They don't get a Gucci allowance."
She glared at me, the mask slipping for a second. "He loves me, you know. He says you're like sleeping with a corpse."
"And yet," I said, mounting the horse with fluid grace, "I am the one holding the checkbook."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alessandro approaching. He was walking with Mark.
Aria saw him too.
Immediately, she let out a shriek. She threw herself backward, landing squarely in a puddle of mud.
"Please! Stop!" she screamed, covering her face as if I had raised a whip. "I'm sorry I'm not highborn like you! Please don't hurt me!"
"What is going on here?" Alessandro roared.
He vaulted over the fence, rushing to Aria's side. He scooped her up, mud and all. His eyes were glowing gold-his wolf, Brutus, was surfacing, angry and protective over the wrong mate.
"She... she tried to run me over with the horse!" Aria sobbed into his chest.
It was a lie so stupid it was almost funny. Obsidian hadn't moved an inch.
But Alessandro didn't care about logic. He needed to be the hero.
He looked up at me, his face twisted in rage. "Get down, Katarina. Apologize to her."
I looked down at him from the saddle. "No."
The air around us grew heavy. The pressure dropped. It was the Alpha Aura.
"I gave you an order," Alessandro growled. His voice deepened, layering with the supernatural power of the Pack Leader. "Get down and apologize. Now."
It was the Alpha's Command.
For a normal wolf, this command would be paralyzing. Their knees would buckle. Their will would shatter. They would be forced to obey.
I felt the weight of it. It pressed against my skull like a vice. My muscles twitched, wanting to submit.
But then, deep in my blood, something cold stirred. The ancient White Wolf blood. It was resistant to authority. It was royalty.
I gritted my teeth. I forced my spine to stay straight. I looked him dead in the eye.
"I said... no."
Alessandro blinked. The shock on his face was genuine. He had never had an order refused before. Not by a Pack member. Not by his wife.
He looked at Mark, confused. Mark adjusted his glasses, looking away.
To save face, Alessandro sneered. "Fine. If you want to be high and mighty on your horse, stay there. But know this: I am teaching Aria to ride. And she will ride Obsidian."
My hand tightened on the reins. Obsidian was my horse. My bond.
"You wouldn't," I said.
"Watch me," he spat. "Come, Aria. Let's get you cleaned up. You deserve to be treated like a treasure, not trash."
He walked away, carrying the muddy, triumphant Rogue in his arms.
I sat there, alone on my horse. The pressure in my head faded, replaced by a hollow ache.
My inner wolf, Winter, didn't growl. She didn't whimper. She just went completely still.
It was the silence of a heart finally turning to stone.
