Alina POV:
The Alpha Villa sat on a private cliff overlooking the Hudson. It was supposed to be our home.
I keyed in the passcode at the gate. It still worked.
I needed my music sheets. The "Hymn to the Moon" I'd been composing for three years. It was the only thing of value I had left.
Inside, I gagged. My scent-wild jasmine and vanilla-was gone. Replaced by Krystal's synthetic roses. She had marked her territory.
My territory.
I ran to the music room. The grand piano was covered in fashion magazines and wine glasses. On the wall, where my framed composition used to hang, was a crude, abstract painting of a wolf signed K. Gomez.
"No," I whispered.
I dug through the trash bin in the corner. There it was. My life's work. Torn into shreds, stained with red wine.
I clutched the ruined paper to my chest, a sob ripping through my throat. She didn't just take my mate. She erased me.
The roar of an engine snapped me back.
I ran out the back door, sprinting down the driveway toward the main road. A sleek red Porsche came around the bend. Fast.
Krystal was behind the wheel. Our eyes locked.
A normal driver would have braked.
Krystal smiled. And accelerated.
She was a high-ranking wolf. Her reflexes were supernatural. This wasn't an accident.
I tried to jump, but my body was weak from years of suppressants.
Thud.
Metal slammed into my hip. I hit the asphalt hard, rolling over jagged gravel. Pain exploded in my side.
The car screeched to a halt. Krystal stepped out, checking her bumper.
"You dented my Porsche," she pouted.
Sirens wailed. Pack security.
The hospital room was white and sterile. My leg was in a cast, ribs taped.
The door burst open. Jaxon strode in, his Alpha aura filling the room like a thunderhead.
"Jaxon," I croaked. "She... she hit me on purpose."
Krystal followed, dabbing at dry eyes with silk. "I was so scared, Jaxon! She jumped right in front of me! Like she wanted to die! The Wolf Sickness has affected her mind."
"Liar!" I screamed, sitting up. "You smiled! You sped up!"
"Enough," Jaxon said. His voice vibrated with power. "Krystal is the future Luna. She does not drive recklessly. You were trespassing."
"Trespassing? This is my home! You are my mate!"
"We are not mated," Jaxon corrected sharply. "And Krystal is shaken."
"She tried to run me over!"
"I said enough!"
The pressure in the room multiplied. Alpha Command.
"Be silent, Alina."
My jaw snapped shut. Vocal cords paralyzed. I tried to protest, but my body betrayed me.
Tears streamed down my face.
Jaxon turned to Krystal, softening instantly. "Are you alright, my love?"
"I'm just so traumatized," Krystal sniffled, eyes gleaming with malice over his shoulder. "Maybe she needs to go back to the asylum."
"We will discuss it," Jaxon said. He looked back at me-seeing a nuisance, not a mate.
"Rest," he ordered. "Sleep."
The command hit my brain like a sledgehammer. Darkness dragged me down.
