Amara POV:
The long corridor stretched before me, a silent testament to the history of the Blackwood Pack. Portraits of my ancestors stared down from the walls, their painted eyes seeming to follow my every move. My father, his expression kind but firm. My mother, her smile gentle. A sharp, physical ache pierced my chest. They had died fighting for this pack. I would not let their sacrifice be in vain.
With every step, my resolve hardened. The soft linen of my white dress felt less like a statement and more like armor. Clara trailed a few paces behind me, her footsteps a nervous patter on the polished floorboards.
As I rounded the corner leading to the grand staircase, two figures blocked my path.
My stomach clenched.
Karla. And Jarrod.
"Amara, darling!" Karla's voice was a confection of sweet concern. She rushed forward, her face a perfect mask of sisterly affection, and grabbed my arm. "I heard the news! Envoys from Stonefang! Isn't it the most wonderful surprise?"
Her touch felt like a brand. The memory of her pressing a goblet of poisoned wine into my hand flashed through my mind, so vivid I could almost taste the bitter herbs on my tongue. A wave of bile rose in my throat.
With a deliberate, almost lazy movement, I pulled my arm from her grasp.
The action was small, but the effect was immediate. The brilliant smile on Karla's face faltered, a flicker of confusion in her eyes before she could mask it.
Jarrod Rodgers stood slightly behind her, the very picture of a noble, upstanding wolf. He was handsome, I had once thought, with his carefully styled blond hair and earnest blue eyes. Now, all I saw was the rot beneath the surface. He inclined his head, a gesture of respect that felt like an insult.
"Lady Amara," he said, his voice smooth as honeyed poison. "Congratulations on the auspicious arrival. You are soon to be united with a great Alpha."
My eyes fell to his hand, to the gaudy ring he wore, a cheap imitation of our Beaumont family crest. The sight was a physical blow. I remembered that same hand, that same ring, as he stood over me in the ashes of my home. He had ground his boot onto my fingers, crushing them, and sneered, "Did you really think I loved you, you stupid girl?"
The hatred was a living thing inside me, a wild beast clawing to be free. It took every ounce of my newfound will to cage it.
I raised my chin, my gaze sweeping over him as if he were a mildly interesting piece of furniture.
"Auspicious or not," I replied, my voice cool and distant. "It is far too early to say."
Karla's brows knitted together in a display of worried innocence. Her lower lip trembled. "Sister, what's wrong? Are you upset because you'll be leaving us soon? Don't be sad. This is an honor."
The performance began. She turned to Jarrod, her eyes pleading, yet carrying an undercurrent of pride. She was showing him off, showing him how close she was to the future Luna of the Stonefang Pack.
"Jarrod, you've seen more of the territories than I have. Please, help me convince my sister. To be mated to Alpha Gavin is a blessing from the Moon Goddess herself."
Her true aim was transparent. She wanted to use my status to elevate Jarrod in the eyes of our pack, to make him seem more important than he was.
Jarrod seized the opportunity, his expression turning grave and sincere. "Lady Amara, Karla is only worried for you. The Stonefang Pack is the shield of the borderlands. With this alliance, the future of the Blackwood Pack will be secure for generations."
A bitter, silent laugh echoed in my soul. He had used those exact words in my first life. The same noble sentiments, the same lies, while he secretly sold our patrol routes and defensive weaknesses to our enemies.
It was time to plant the first seed of discord.
I ignored Jarrod completely, turning my full attention to my cousin. My voice was quiet, but it cut through the air like glass.
"My affairs, Karla, do not require the counsel of an outsider."
I let the word hang in the air between us. Outsider.
Jarrod's pleasant mask tightened. A muscle jumped in his jaw.
Karla rushed to his defense, her voice high and flustered. "Sister, Jarrod isn't an outsider! He's—"
"Is he your mate?" I interrupted, my tone deceptively soft. "Has his petition been accepted by our grandmother? Has he been formally welcomed into our pack?" I paused, letting each question land. "If not, then he is a guest in our home. An outsider."
The words struck home, hitting their most vulnerable point. Their relationship was a secret, a dalliance they thought no one knew about. It was not official, not sanctioned. In the rigid hierarchy of pack life, he had no standing here beyond what my goodwill allowed.
Karla's face cycled through shades of red and white. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
I finally turned my gaze to Jarrod, letting a flicker of disdain show in my eyes. It was a look I had never given him before, a look that stripped away his self-important facade and saw him for the parasite he was.
"Mr. Rodgers," I said, my voice dripping with ice. "I suggest you concern yourself with your own affairs. And while you're at it... please see to my cousin's conduct. It would be a shame for her to lose her composure in front of such important guests."
It was a double-edged strike. I had dismissed him and simultaneously framed Karla as a hysterical child in need of his management. I had subtly placed him in charge of her, a position he would resent, and demoted her from my confidante to my problem.
A flash of fury crossed Jarrod's face before he could conceal it behind a strained smile. He was powerless. I was the former Alpha's daughter, the heir apparent in all but name. He was nothing.
"Of course, Lady Amara," he managed to choke out.
I didn't grace him with another look.
"Clara," I said, turning to my waiting maid. "Let's not keep our guests waiting any longer."
I swept past them, my back ramrod straight. I didn't need to look back to feel their shock and fury radiating behind me.
Karla, I knew, would be trembling with rage, utterly bewildered by the sudden shift in the cousin who had always been so pliable, so easy to manipulate.
And Jarrod... Jarrod would be unnerved. He was a predator who had misjudged his prey. The coldness in my eyes, the authority in my voice-it would make him question everything he thought he knew about me.
He would start to see me not as a stepping stone, but as a threat.
Good. Let him.
