Kat POV:
The sedan turned left, toward the Assembly Grounds.
"Donato," I said to the driver. "The plan was the hangar."
"Change of plans, Luna. Alpha Alexander issued a summons. If you aren't at the Gathering, he sends trackers."
My phone buzzed. Donato: Endure one last hour. Necessary for the signature.
When we arrived, the Assembly Grounds vibrated with three hundred wolves.
"There she is," a voice sneered.
I walked through the crowd in my black trousers.
Alex sat on the dais. Aria was next to him on a velvet-draped chair.
"You're late," Alex growled. "Sit."
He pointed to a chair below the dais. A demotion.
I sat.
"Brothers and Sisters!" Alex's voice boomed. "Tonight, a new era!"
Aria stood up.
"We have received a blessing," Alex announced. "Aria is carrying not just one heir, but two! Twin Alpha males!"
The crowd erupted.
I looked at Aria. She glanced at a young Gamma guard near the exit. He nodded. Staged.
"Kat," Alex’s voice cut through. "Congratulate the mother of your pack's future."
The cruelty took my breath away.
I stood up. "I wish the pack exactly what it deserves."
Alex frowned. "Good. Aria needs space. The Master Suite will be renovated."
"I am moving out," I interrupted.
"What?"
"I am moving to the East Wing guest quarters," I lied. "To give the mother space."
Aria gasped dramatically. "Oh! Her negative energy!"
"Go," Alex barked. "Get out of my sight."
I walked away. No one stopped me.
Donato was in the administrative building.
"Did he take the bait?"
"He thinks I'm moving to the guest wing."
Donato slid a stack of documents across the desk. "The 'Asset Liquidation and Familial Restructuring' agreement for the southern acquisition."
He flipped to a page buried in the middle. "I've structured it as a liability release. It separates his personal assets from the new corporate entity to protect the deal."
"He won't read the fine print?"
"Alex reads headers, not clauses," Donato scoffed. "He trusts the lawyers, and the lawyers answer to me."
Alex strode in, smelling of Aria.
"Father," Alex nodded. "Is this necessary now?"
"The deal expires at midnight," Donato said sternly. "Sign the liability release so we can secure the borders."
Alex sighed, loosening his tie. He glanced at me. "Still here?"
"Leaving," I said.
He picked up the pen.
"This protects my assets?" Alex asked.
"It severs your personal liability entirely," Donato answered, eyes meeting mine.
Alex scrawled his signature. Alexander De Luca, Alpha.
"Done." He dropped the pen. "Aria is waiting."
He walked right past me. My wolf stirred, a weak, painful flutter.
He didn't look at me. He walked out.
Donato picked up the paper. "It is done. Technically, 'liability' refers to 'spousal obligations' in paragraph 4, subsection C."
He opened a safe. Passport. Bonds.
"You are officially a Rogue, Katarina. Kate Blanchet."
"Why help me?"
"Because a wolf who chooses a whore over his true mate is destined to ruin the pack."
I had one stop left. The external hard drive with my grandmother’s research.
I slipped into the kitchen. Alex was there.
"Kat?" He looked exhausted. "I saw the light on."
He walked to the counter. "You were making my dinner?"
He assumed I was still serving him.
My tablet on the counter pinged.
Alex snatched it. "Private investigator? Who are you investigating?"
He tapped the screen. Donato's report.
Subject: Aria Miller. Medical Status: Non-gravid.
Notes: Falsified ultrasounds. Black market purchases.
Alex stared. His face went pale.
"This is fake," he whispered.
"Look at the dates, Alex. Look at the bank transfers."
He scrolled. Then he stopped. "Wait. This account number... this is the shell company I set up for her 'allowance'. You doctored the beneficiary name to look like a forger."
"What? No, that's the real recipient!"
"Aria told me you'd try this," Alex said, his voice dropping dangerously low. "She said you were paying hackers to frame her. She warned me."
He slammed the tablet face down. Screen cracked.
"Lies!" he roared. "She carries my sons! I felt them!"
"You felt what you wanted to feel!"
"Get out!" he screamed.
He grabbed the raw steak with a bare hand, claws extending.
"I'm going, Alex."
I walked to the sink and flipped the garbage disposal switch. I grabbed the expensive Wagyu beef—his dinner—and dropped it into the grinding jaws.
Grrr-crunch-squelch.
"I'm not cooking for you tonight," I said. "Or ever again."
I grabbed the drive and walked out.
