Blake POV:
Austin didn't hesitate. He walked to the heavy service door and threw the deadbolt. The clack of the metal echoed like a gunshot.
"What are you doing?" Jaden shrieked. "You can't lock me in here! This is kidnapping!"
I ignored her. I reached into the back pocket of my apron, past the cheap notepad, and pulled out a device I hadn't touched in three years. It was a sleek, black satellite phone with a single button.
I pressed it.
"Identify," a voice answered instantly. It wasn't a receptionist. It was the Royal Command Center.
"Code Black," I said. My voice had changed. The submissive tremolo of Blake the Omega was gone. This was the voice of someone used to giving orders. "Location: Shadow Creek Territory, Velvet Lounge. Target: Hostile civilians and a compromised Alpha."
There was a pause. Then, a voice I knew better than my own thundered through the line.
"Blake?" It was King David Shaw. My father. "Who dared?"
"Send the Guard, Dad. Send Lina. And tell her to bring the Severance of Mate Protocol."
"They will be there in nine minutes," he growled. "Burn it down if you have to, little wolf."
I hung up.
I turned to Mark, who had followed Jaden into the kitchen. He was pale, pressing himself against the dishwashing station.
"Pray to the Moon Goddess, Mark," I said softly.
Jaden laughed nervously. "Who were you calling? The police? Connor owns the police!"
I walked over to the sink and ripped the patch off my neck.
It stung, but the relief was instant. It was like taking a deep breath after being underwater for years. My scent exploded into the room.
It wasn't the weak, dusty smell of an Omega. It was a tsunami of Winter Frost, Ozone, and White Lotus. It was a scent so potent, so undeniably Royal, that Mark fell to his knees instantly, his wolf forcing him into submission.
Austin stood still, leaning against the counter. He inhaled deeply, his dark eyes locking onto mine. He didn't bow. He didn't cower. He watched me with an intensity that made my skin prickle, handing me a clean towel soaked in ice water for my hand.
"Nine minutes," I murmured to him.
"I'll keep the steak warm," he replied.
Exactly eight minutes and forty seconds later, sirens wailed outside. Not police sirens. These were the low-frequency sonic pulses of the Royal Enforcers.
The back door of the kitchen shook as someone tried to open it.
"Open up! It's Connor!"
Austin looked at me. I nodded.
He unlocked the door.
Connor burst in, breathless, his eyes wild. Behind him, through the open door, I could see black SUVs surrounding the building. Wolves in full tactical gear with the Moonstone crest on their chests were securing the perimeter.
"What is going on?" Connor yelled. "Who called the-"
He stopped. He hit the wall of my scent.
His nostrils flared. His eyes dilated. He looked at me-really looked at me-and his face drained of all color. The realization hit him like a freight train. The scent wasn't coming from outside. It was coming from the waitress he had just ordered to kneel.
"Blake?" he whispered. "You... you're a..."
"A White Wolf," I finished for him. "And the daughter of the King you swore allegiance to."
Lina, the Captain of the Royal Guard, stepped through the door. She was seven feet tall in her shifted form, currently in human form but wearing combat armor. She held a leather portfolio.
She didn't look at Connor. She walked straight to me and bowed her head.
"Your Highness. The perimeter is secure."
I took the towel from my hand, revealing the angry, bubbling silver burn.
"Lina," I said, my voice cold as the grave. "Give the Alpha his papers."
Lina threw the portfolio at Connor's feet.
"Connor," I said. "Now... you crawl to me."
