Alex POV:
The Underground Club was a sensory assault—cheap liquor, sweat, and blood.
I sat in a dark booth, nursing water. My leg throbbed.
"I need a room," I told the bartender.
"Motel down the street. VIP is closed."
I stood to leave. Passing the VIP corridor, a scent hit me. Artificial roses and rot.
Iliana.
Why was the future Luna here?
Instinct drove me down the hall. The door was ajar.
Iliana stood inside. A scarred Rogue was counting a stack of cash.
"Make it look real," Iliana said, voice precise. "Rip the dress. Hit me, but not in the face."
"Whatever you say, lady."
She was staging it.
Before I could move, Iliana tore her blouse open and screamed.
"Help! Please! Get off me!"
"No!" I whispered.
Too late. The front entrance exploded inward.
"Iliana!"
Gavyn. He'd tracked her phone.
He stormed down the hall, Alpha aura blazing, eyes crimson. He saw me first.
"Alex?" Confusion flickered.
"She set me up!" Iliana shrieked from the floor. "Alex paid him! She paid this filth to defile me!"
Gavyn turned to the Rogue. "Is this true?"
The Rogue looked at me, then the cash. "Yeah. The cripple gave me five grand. Said she wanted the pretty one ruined."
The lie was so heavy it felt physical. A blatant setup.
"Gavyn, look at the money!" I shouted. "Check it for my scent! I haven't touched it!"
But Gavyn wasn't thinking. His eyes were glazed, pupils dilated—the sign of a wolf running on pure instinct and perhaps... something else. A subtle influence clouding his judgment.
He moved.
His hand wrapped around my throat, slamming me against the wall.
"You are vile," he spat.
"Gavyn... listen..."
"Silence!" Alpha Command.
My voice died.
"Punish her," Gavyn ordered his warriors. "Teach her what happens when you touch what is mine."
He dropped me.
Gavyn scooped Iliana up. She buried her face in his neck.
"I've got you," he murmured tenderly.
As he carried her out, Iliana winked at me over his shoulder.
Then the first boot connected with my ribs.
An hour later, I was thrown into the mansion foyer.
Gavyn sat on the couch, Iliana on his lap, feeding him grapes.
"Is she dead?" Kenneth asked.
"No, just broken," Gavyn said, slurring slightly. Iliana had been pouring him wine all night.
"She's a bitch in heat," Kenneth laughed. "That's what Mommy Iliana said."
My heart finally stopped beating for them.
"Take her to the guest room," Gavyn mumbled, head lolling. "We deal with the trash in the morning."
As the guards dragged me away, I heard Iliana giggle.
"Come upstairs, Alpha. Let me help you forget her."
