Liv POV
I dragged my exhausted body up the heavily carpeted stairs, the silence of the second floor pressing down on me like a physical weight. Along the mahogany-paneled walls, the oil portraits of past Blackwood Alphas seemed to track my every movement, their cold, painted eyes judging the pathetic, wolfless creature trespassing in their domain.
My lungs burned. I just needed to grab my overnight bag from the guest room and get out of this suffocating estate.
My fingers finally brushed the cool brass of the doorknob. I let out a shaky breath, thinking I had actually escaped the storm downstairs.
Then, the air behind me vanished.
A massive, suffocating wave of *winter-bitten cedar and ancient leather* crashed over me, so thick and dominant it made my knees buckle. Before I could even turn my head, a large, calloused hand clamped around my wrist. The grip was unyielding, burning through my skin with a terrifying jolt of electricity.
The door was shoved open. I was roughly, yet effortlessly, pushed into the dimly lit guest room.
*Click.*
The sound of the lock turning echoed like a gunshot. I spun around, my back hitting the heavy wood of the door.
Kaelon Blackwood towered over me, completely blocking my only exit. He was a wall of solid muscle and dark, lethal energy. The steel-gray of his eyes had been entirely swallowed by a terrifying, unnatural gold.
He stepped into my space, trapping me between the door and his scorching chest. He was so close I could feel the heat radiating off him, a living furnace of Alpha dominance.
"Did you plan this, little wolf?" he rasps, his voice a low, guttural growl that vibrated straight into my bones. "Seducing the father to punish the son?"
"No!" I gasped, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs. "I didn't even know who you were! I swear—"
He didn't listen. He lowered his head, his face burying into the crook of my neck. I froze, paralyzed by a terrifying mix of fear and an inexplicable, shameful heat pooling in my stomach. He inhaled deeply, his chest expanding against mine as he drank in my scent.
"You smell of my son's betrayal," Kaelon murmured against my skin, his breath sending violent shivers down my spine. "And my claim."
He lifted his head. His rough thumb brushed over my trembling lower lip, before trailing slowly down my jawline. He stopped exactly over my erratic pulse point—the exact spot where a mate would leave their Marking.
The second his fingers pressed against that sensitive skin, a wildfire of electric sparks erupted through my veins. My breath hitched, my traitorous body leaning into his touch even as my mind screamed at me to run. I was a *wolfless* Omega; I shouldn't be feeling this magnetic, soul-crushing pull toward anyone, let alone the Alpha King who was currently treating me like a piece of property.
Summoning every ounce of willpower I had left, I shoved his hand away.
"I just want to get my things," I said, my voice trembling but defiant. "And then I am leaving."
Kaelon looked at me as if I were a naive child who had just spoken nonsense. He took a single step back, but the oppressive weight of his aura only grew heavier, filling every corner of the room.
"Leave?" He let out a dark, humorless scoff. "Your Pack has abandoned you. Your mother has disowned you. You are a Rogue now, Olivia. You won't survive the night alone."
The word *Rogue* hit me like a physical blow, slicing through my chest. He was right. I had nothing. No pack, no family, no wolf to protect me.
Kaelon walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, his broad back to me as he looked out over the vast, sprawling forests of the Blackwood territory. When he spoke again, his voice held the absolute, terrifying finality of an Alpha's Decree.
"This estate is your only sanctuary, and I am your only protector," Kaelon said, turning his head slightly to pin me with those glowing golden eyes. "Do not test me by trying to leave."
