Eulalie POV
The screen went black, but the silence in the loft was immediately shattered by a violent crack of thunder. The storm outside was raging, mirroring the lethal storm brewing in my veins.
Nyx, my inner White Wolf, paced relentlessly. The air in the room grew heavy with our scent—ozone and the sharp, cold bite of a post-storm forest. Our pup. She is wolfless. The thunder terrifies her.
I couldn't just sit here. I grabbed an encrypted burner phone and dialed the penthouse's landline. It rang three times before a trembling voice answered.
"M-Madden residence."
It was Sarah, the skittish new Omega servant.
"Sarah, it's Eulalie," I said, my voice tight. "Please, let me speak to my pup. Just for a second."
"I can't, ma'am," Sarah whimpered, her breath hitching. "The Alpha confiscated all communication devices. He... he said you are a Rogue trying to destabilize the Pack. He said any contact with you is treason."
Rogue. The word felt like a slap. In our world, being declared a Rogue by an Alpha meant you were stripped of all protection, hunted, and exiled. Caden wasn't just punishing me; he was erasing me.
Before I could argue, a sound through the receiver made my blood run cold. It was Elara, sobbing hysterically in the background.
Then came Caden's voice. It wasn't the protective rumble of a father; it was the crushing weight of an Alpha's Command, thick with the scent of sandalwood, whiskey, and unhinged rage.
"Stop whining like a weak Omega, Elara!" Caden roared, the sound vibrating through the phone. "Your mother abandoned us! She's never coming back to coddle you, so stop crying!"
The words pierced my chest like a silver blade. He was using my helpless, wolfless daughter as a punching bag for his own bruised ego. He was twisting her reality, poisoning her mind against me to cover up his own betrayal.
"Sarah, please, just tell her Mommy loves her—" I begged.
"I'm sorry!" Sarah cried, and the line went dead.
I slowly lowered the phone. The frantic desperation that had gripped me moments ago vanished, replaced by a terrifying, absolute stillness. The last frayed, bleeding thread of our Mate bond withered and turned to ash. He wasn't my Mate anymore. He was just an obstacle.
Nyx stopped pacing. She stood tall in my mind, her icy blue eyes glowing with ancient, predatory wrath. No more tears, she snarled softly. Only blood.
The next morning, the storm had cleared, leaving the city bathed in crisp, unforgiving sunlight.
I sat at my multi-monitor setup, pulling up the itinerary for the Global Tech Summit. There it was: the keynote presentation for Nexus AI by Madden Holdings.
I closed my eyes and reached out, bypassing the standard Pack networks to access the encrypted Mind-Link I had built for my true loyalists.
Jory. The summit. I'm not just attending. I'm taking the stage.
The response from Jory Stark came almost instantly. His mental voice was calm, but vibrating with suppressed excitement and absolute loyalty.
A declaration of war, then. The Pack is with you, Alpha.
I severed the link and stood up. Walking over to the garment rack, I stripped off my soft cashmere sweater. I reached for the midnight black Celine power suit I had bought weeks ago. The tailored fabric fit me like armor, sharp and unyielding.
I looked at my reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. The woman staring back had eyes like glacial ice. I raised my left hand, my gaze falling on the fresh geometric butterfly tattoo resting on my wrist. It seemed to flutter as I clenched my fist—a permanent mark of my metamorphosis.
I was no longer a pleading mother. I was a weapon, and I was already loaded.
