Charlotte POV:
The first thing I did when I returned to the apartment was purge.
It was a penthouse Bryant and I technically shared, though he spent most nights at Kalia's townhouse. The closet was filled with clothes he had bought me-drab, grey things meant to make me blend into the background.
I dragged them all to the fireplace.
The silk, the wool, the cotton-everything that carried his scent. To a wolf, scent is identity. His smell used to comfort me. Now, the notes of rain and earth just smelled like rotting leaves and mud.
I struck a match.
The flames licked the fabric, curling the edges. I watched the smoke rise, feeling a strange lightness in my chest. The bond was still there, physically. I hadn't done the Rejection Ceremony yet. But emotionally? It was ash.
"What the hell are you doing?"
The door slammed open. Bryant stood there, his chest heaving. He looked disheveled, his eyes wild. He sniffed the air, confused.
"Spring cleaning," I said calmly, throwing a tie he had left on the chair into the fire.
He stomped over, grabbing my arm-the broken one. I flinched, but I didn't scream.
"You've lost it," he hissed. "And what is that smell? You smell... like antiseptic. Cold."
He leaned in, inhaling deeply at my neck. I stiffened. Usually, I smelled like lavender and fear. Now, thanks to the hospital scrub and my own cold rage, I must have smelled sterile.
"Get off me," I said.
He pulled back, looking offended. "I'm your Alpha, Charlotte. Don't forget your place."
"I'm your mate," I corrected, my voice flat. "Or I was. Until you decided Kalia's dry dress was more important than my life."
Bryant rolled his eyes. "Stop being dramatic. Kalia was in shock. She's delicate. You're... sturdy. You always pop back up."
Sturdy. That was his word for me. Not beautiful. Not cherished. Sturdy. Like a mule.
He walked over to my jewelry box on the vanity. He rummaged through it until he pulled out a silver chain with a crescent moon pendant. The Luna Necklace. It had belonged to his grandmother. It was supposed to be mine on our mating day.
"I'm taking this," he said, slipping it into his pocket. "Kalia needs something for the Sterling Gala tonight. She's insecure about her lineage. This will help the pack respect her."
He was giving my birthright to his mistress.
"Take it," I said, turning back to the fire. "It's fake anyway. Just like her."
Bryant growled, a low rumble in his chest. "Watch your mouth. You're coming tonight, too. As staff. We need to show the other packs that the Glover family is still subservient to the Barnes."
He slammed the door as he left.
I stood there for a moment, the silence ringing in my ears. Then, a sensation brushed against my mind. It wasn't a voice, but a feeling. Like velvet wrapped around steel.
Go to the Gala, Charlotte.
I gasped, looking around. No one was there.
It's me.
Jaden.
Mind-linking without a pack bond or a mating mark was impossible. Only the most powerful Lycans could project their thoughts over distances.
How are you doing this? I thought back, testing the connection.
I am coming for you, his voice echoed in my head, warm and possessive. But first, you must stand. Wear the blue dress. The one you designed.
I went to the back of the closet, to the hidden section where I kept my prototypes. My company, AURA, was my secret. I designed smart-fabrics that stretched with a wolf's shift, preventing the shredding of clothes. It was revolutionary, but I used a proxy to run the business. Bryant thought I was jobless.
I pulled out the gown. It was midnight blue, made of a shimmering, liquid fabric that hugged every curve. It was a queen's dress.
I put it on. I applied makeup to hide the bruises on my face, but I left the cast on my arm exposed. Let them see.
The Sterling Gala was held in the grand ballroom of the city's neutral territory hotel. The air was thick with the scents of hundreds of wolves-pine, musk, amber, citrus. It was intoxicating and overwhelming.
When I walked in, silence rippled through the room.
I wasn't the grey, invisible mouse anymore. The blue dress clung to me like a second skin. My hair, usually tied back, cascaded in blonde waves down my back. I held my head high.
"Look at the Glover girl," someone whispered.
"I thought she was a cripple?"
I ignored them. I grabbed a glass of champagne and stood near a pillar.
Across the room, Bryant was holding court. Kalia hung on his arm, wearing the Luna Necklace. It looked tacky on her. She saw me, and her eyes narrowed. She whispered something to Bryant, then sauntered over to me.
She cornered me on the terrace.
"You have some nerve showing up here," she hissed.
I took a sip of my drink. "It's a free country, Kalia. Even for fake O-negatives like you."
Her face twisted. She hated that I knew she used scent blockers and synthetic pheromones to mask her low-born rogue scent.
"You think you're special because you didn't drown?" she taunted. "You're still a defect. A genetic dead end. Bryant keeps you around for the inheritance. Once the paperwork clears, you're gone."
She stepped closer, her eyes flashing yellow. Her wolf was near the surface.
I didn't flinch. I stared into her eyes. And for the first time, I pushed back. Not with hands, but with presence. I let the cold, hard knot in my chest expand.
Kalia stopped. Her eyes widened. She took a step back, trembling.
"What... what are you?" she stammered.
Her wolf was whining. I could hear it. Her inner beast was terrified of me.
I stepped forward. "I am the nightmare you created, Kalia."
She panicked. The fear made her irrational. With a screech, she extended her claws-a partial shift-and swiped at my face.
I dodged, my training kicking in. But I let her graze my shoulder. I needed witnesses.
"Help!" I shouted, my voice cutting through the chatter inside.
The doors burst open.
