Aden POV
The crunch of shattered glass beneath my worn sneakers was the only sound I cared to hear. The air in the corridor was already suffocating, thick with the overwhelmingly sweet, heavy scent of the spilled Moonpetal extract. I kept walking, my spine straight, feeling the dormant Lycan in my blood purr with a dark, glacial satisfaction.
"Stop right there, thief!"
The furious, booming roar echoed through the pristine marble halls of The Azure Galleria.
I paused, slowly turning my head. Dixon Cooper stormed out of Sanderson Profumeria, his face flushed a violent, mottled red. His dark pine Alpha pheromones flared wildly, reeking of desperation and wounded pride. He couldn't accept it. A future Alpha had just been financially and socially butchered by the lowest creature on the Pack hierarchy. He needed to reclaim his dominance, and he needed to do it now.
"That Centurion Card is stolen!" Dixon shouted, pointing a trembling finger at me. His voice carried, intentionally drawing the attention of the high-ranking wolves strolling through the luxury mall. "A scentless stray like you could never possess one legally!"
Sylvia scurried out right behind him. Her designer heels were ruined, her bare legs sticky with the purple liquid I had dropped at her feet. Her beautiful face was twisted into a mask of pure, venomous spite.
"He's a fraud!" she shrieked to the gathering crowd, her voice echoing off the glass storefronts. "He collects garbage for a living! Arrest him!"
I didn't flinch. I just stared at them, my expression dead and cold. The old Aden would have panicked, stammering to defend himself against the Alpha's word. But the ancient beast waking in my marrow only viewed them as pathetic, barking dogs.
My silence only infuriated Dixon further. He marched forward, his golden eyes flashing with a sudden, malicious cunning.
"He's not just a card thief," Dixon announced loudly, his gaze locking onto the cheap, faded backpack slung over my shoulder. "While he made that scene smashing the perfume, I saw him pocket something else!"
My blood ran cold. Not from fear, but from the sheer, audacious cowardice of the lie.
Before I could even open my mouth, two massive Pack Warriors in tailored security uniforms stepped out from the crowd, flanking me instantly. Their heavy hands rested on their silver-tipped batons, their aggressive auras pressing down on my scentless frame.
Denita, the store manager, emerged from the boutique. Her professional smile was gone, replaced by a mask of severe, corporate authority. "Sir, given the accusation from the future Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, I must ask you to step back inside. We need to inspect your belongings."
I looked at Dixon. He offered me a subtle, cruel wink. He had set a trap in the chaos, and I had walked right into it.
I didn't resist the Warriors. I let them escort me back into the blindingly white boutique. The crowd of elite wolves followed, their eyes burning with judgment and morbid curiosity, forming a suffocating ring around the main counter. I was no longer the mysterious buyer; I was the Omega on trial.
"Search it," I said, my voice dropping to a glacial octave.
I pulled the backpack off my shoulder and slammed it onto the pristine marble counter.
Denita stepped forward, slipping on a pair of immaculate white cotton gloves. The boutique was dead silent as she unzipped the main compartment.
She reached in and pulled out a battered, dog-eared university textbook. Then a spiral notebook with a torn cover. Finally, a crushed half of a peanut butter sandwich wrapped in cheap plastic.
A ripple of mocking laughter swept through the crowd of aristocrats. Sylvia let out a sharp, triumphant giggle, leaning heavily against Dixon's arm. The pathetic remnants of my poverty looked absurd against the backdrop of diamonds and luxury perfumes.
"Is this the grand thief?" someone in the crowd sneered.
I kept my eyes locked on Dixon, waiting for his lie to collapse.
But Denita's gloved hand reached deeper into the bottom corner of the bag. She paused. Her brow furrowed.
When she pulled her hand out, the mocking laughter in the room instantly died.
Pinched between her white-gloved fingers was a small, shimmering glass vial. The liquid inside glowed with a faint, ethereal silver light.
It was a vial of pure Moonpetal Essence.
A collective gasp echoed through the boutique. My breath hitched in my throat. I stared at the glowing vial, the reality of Dixon's sleight-of-hand crashing over me. When I had dropped the perfume box, when everyone's eyes were on the shattering glass and Sylvia's scream, he had slipped it into my bag.
Sylvia let out a shrill, victorious laugh.
Dixon crossed his arms, his chest puffing out as he looked down at me. A slow, sadistic smile spread across his face, his golden eyes shining with the absolute certainty that he had just buried me alive.
