Ember POV:
I woke up to the smell of antiseptic and the beep of machines. The hospital.
My body felt strange. My skin was sensitive, every sheet feeling like sandpaper. My hearing was dialed up to eleven—I could hear the hum of the electricity in the walls and the heartbeat of the nurse down the hall.
The Wolfsbane hadn't killed me. It had changed me.
"She's awake."
I turned my head. Chace was sitting in the chair next to the bed. Karyn was standing by the window, looking at her phone.
"You're lucky," Chace said, his voice annoyed. "The doctors pumped your stomach. You embarrassed us, Ember. Passing out like that."
I tried to sit up. My muscles felt dense, powerful. "You told me to drink it."
"You should have stronger tolerance," Chace scoffed. He was feeding me spoonfuls of cold porridge, shoving it at my mouth. "Eat. You look like a skeleton. It reflects poorly on the Pack."
Karyn turned around, fake tears in her eyes. "Chace, my mother just called."
Chace dropped the spoon. "What is it, babe?"
"It's about... that woman. Liana Ford." Karyn pointed a trembling finger at me. "My mom found old records. Liana wasn't just a nobody. She was a homewrecker. She seduced my father years ago and tried to steal pack resources. She was a Rogue whore!"
Rage, pure and white-hot, flared in my chest. My mother was a saint. She was a high-born Ford who went into hiding to save me.
"That's a lie," I rasped.
"Don't you dare call my Luna a liar!" Chace snarled. He stood up, looming over me. "I knew your blood was tainted. Your mother was a Rogue slut, and you're just like her."
"I'm going to find where she's buried," Chace continued, his eyes manic. "I'll dig up her bones and throw them in the river. No traitor deserves a grave in our territory."
My hands clenched the bedsheets. The fabric tore with a loud rip.
They didn't notice.
"We have the Charity Auction tonight," Chace said, checking his watch. "The Alpha King, Keith Mosley, is rumored to be attending. We need to make a good impression."
He looked at me with disgust. "Get dressed. You're coming with us."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because we need an Omega to hold our coats and fetch our drinks," Karyn smirked. "And to show everyone how benevolent we are to the children of traitors."
The Alpha King. Keith.
He was coming.
A calm settled over me. It was the calm of the eye of the storm.
"Okay," I said softly. "I'll come."
Chace looked surprised by my obedience. "Good. At least you know your place."
They left the room to let me change.
I reached for my phone on the bedside table. My fingers were trembling, not from fear, but from adrenaline.
I opened the message app. There was only one saved number. It had appeared on my phone the moment I made the Blood Oath deal.
To: Keith Mosley
Message: They are taking me to the Auction tonight. Chace. Karyn. Everyone.
I waited. Three seconds later, the phone buzzed.
From: Keith Mosley
Message: I will be there. Wear red.
I stared at the screen. Red. The color of a Luna. The color of war.
I walked to the window and looked at my reflection. My eyes, usually a soft brown, had flecks of gold in them now.
I wasn't the girl who cooked soup and cried in the dark anymore.
I was the bride of the Alpha King. And tonight, Red Stone Pack was going to learn exactly what that meant.
