Charlotte POV:
The terrace doors shattered outward, not from impact, but from the sheer force of Alphas rushing to the scene.
Kalia stood there, claws dripping with a tiny amount of my blood, her chest heaving. But the moment she saw Bryant, her posture collapsed. She crumpled to the floor, retracting her claws instantly.
"She attacked me!" Kalia wailed, clutching her stomach. "My baby! Bryant, she tried to hurt our pup!"
The lie hung in the air, toxic and heavy. Werewolf hearing is acute; everyone heard her claim. A pregnancy. The ultimate trump card.
Bryant's eyes turned crimson. The colour of an Alpha blind with rage.
He didn't look at the scratch on my shoulder. He didn't smell the fear radiating off Kalia which was fear of me , not for a child. He only saw his 'Luna' on the floor.
He crossed the distance in a blur of speed. His hand wrapped around my throat, lifting me off my feet.
"Bryant, no!" I choked, clawing at his hand with my good arm.
"Silence!" he roared.
Then, the pressure in the air changed. It became heavy, crushing, like gravity had increased tenfold.
"Kneel!"
The Alpha's Command.
It wasn't just a shout; it was a psychic hammer blow. Every wolf in the vicinity flinched. For a pack member, disobeying a direct command from their Alpha causes physical agony, like nerves being set on fire.
My knees buckled. My body screamed to obey. To submit. To bare my neck.
But I bit my lip until it bled. I locked my legs. I stared into his red eyes.
"No," I wheezed.
Bryant looked shocked. An Omega, a wolfless one at that, resisting a Command? It was unheard of.
"You defy me?" he snarled, tightening his grip. "You attack a pregnant mother? You are a monster."
"She's lying!" I managed to say. "She's not pregnant! Smell her!"
Kalia let out a high-pitched scream. "My belly! It hurts!"
Bryant didn't wait. He dragged me to the edge of the terrace. We were on the second floor. Below us lay the stone patio of the hotel gardens.
"You need a lesson in submission, Charlotte," he said coldly.
He held me over the railing. The wind whipped my hair. The guests inside were gasping, some murmuring, but no one moved. No one interferes with an Alpha's discipline.
"This is for the heir," Bryant whispered in my ear. "Pray she doesn't lose it."
Then, he let go.
I didn't scream. I just watched his face as I fell. There was no regret there. Only annoyance.
I hit the stone with a sickening crunch.
Pain exploded in my leg. My right femur snapped. My head slammed against the pavement, and the world spun into a kaleidoscope of black and grey.
I lay there, broken, unable to move.
From the balcony above, I heard Kalia's voice, clear and mocking. "Oh, thank goodness, Bryant. I feel better now. It must have been just a cramp."
Just a cramp.
I lay on the cold stones, rain starting to fall, mixing with the blood pooling around my leg.
I closed my eyes.
Wake up.
The voice inside me was louder this time. It wasn't Jaden. It wasn't my human thoughts.
It was Her.
Deep in the marrow of my broken bones, something ancient stirred. It felt like white fire. It didn't heal me instantly-I was still too blocked, too suppressed-but it took the pain and turned it into fuel.
I was taken to the hospital again. This time, the Pack hospital. They threw me in a room and left me.
I lay there for hours. My hearing, usually average, sharpened. I could hear the nurses gossiping at the station down the hall.
"Alpha Bryant is with Miss Kalia in the VIP suite," one whispered. "She's getting a pedicure."
"And the girl? The Glover heir?"
"Just give her some aspirin. Alpha's orders. No rapid healing serum. He says she needs to learn pain."
I stared at the ceiling. The tears didn't come. I was done crying.
The door opened. I expected a nurse.
Instead, a shadow fell over my bed.
It wasn't Bryant. It wasn't Jaden.
It was a delivery man. He looked nervous. "Package for... Miss Glover?"
He placed a box on the bedside table and ran, terrified of being seen near the outcast.
I reached out with my trembling hand and opened it.
Inside was a smartphone. The screen lit up. A message from an unknown number.
They broke your body. Don't let them break your spirit. The game is just beginning. - J.
And below that, a file attachment.
I opened it. It was a video file. Security footage from the AURA lab.
It showed Kalia breaking in two nights ago. It showed her stealing my design portfolio.
I smiled. My lip split, and blood trickled down my chin, but I smiled.
They thought I was just a girl who fell off a balcony. They didn't know I was the CEO of the company they were wearing.
And I was about to fire them all.
