“Your father secured a political mating contract for you long ago,” my mother said through the secure line. “Now that your wolf has finally stabilized… do you intend to honor it?”
I gave my answer without hesitation.
“Yes,” I replied coolly. “Tell the council to prepare the bond papers. I want a formal ceremony—no unnecessary romance, no sentimental nonsense. I am not marrying for feelings. I am marrying to take back control.”
My mother did not scold me for my icy tone. She simply adjusted the schedule, proposed a few alliances, and accepted my additional terms. When the call ended, it felt less like a family decision—and more like the opening move of a war.
---
It was supposed to be Veyla’s birthday.
A lavish celebration aboard the Alpha’s private yacht. Moonlit waters. Music drifting across the waves. Wolves in silk and diamonds pretending loyalty tasted sweeter than blood.
Instead, I stood on the upper deck and watched my Alpha kiss another woman.
Asher.
The Alpha of our pack. My chosen mate. The one whose mark was supposed to be mine alone.
Frosting streaked Veyla’s cheek as she leaned into him, her hands resting on his chest as if she already belonged there. His grip at her waist was public. Possessive. And at his side stood Kieran—his Beta, his brother, the man who once swore to protect me—casually handing her a towel as though this betrayal were nothing more than an unfortunate spill.
Veyla.
My best friend since childhood. The girl who learned to shift beside me. The girl who swore under the moon that she would never covet what was bound to me by fate.
Now she was licking sugar from the Alpha’s fingers without shame.
And Asher—the Alpha who once tore through rival packs for my safety—did not react when I walked past him.
An Alpha who did not acknowledge his mate.
In that moment, I did not cry.
Did not rage.
Did not beg.
I walked away.
Down the staircase. Into the lower cabin. The sea air was thick in my lungs, and my heartbeat was disturbingly steady. I sat on a velvet couch and made a second call that night.
Because if I was going to challenge an Alpha—
—I needed a stronger throne.
And thrones are not built on heartbreak.
---
Heels clicked above me moments later. Then a gentle knock.
“Aurora?” came Veyla’s syrupy voice.
I stayed silent.
She opened the door anyway.
She entered like a queen in borrowed territory, holding a Black Forest cake with a single candle burning in its center. Her makeup was flawless. Her eyes wide and innocent. A calculated smear of cream marked her cheek.
Always the performance.
“They’re looking for you upstairs,” she said sweetly. “The Alpha is worried.”
I didn’t turn. “Then he should keep worrying.”
Her smile trembled—not with fear, but with irritation.
“You don’t like me anymore,” she whispered. “That’s why you hide.”
I scoffed. “If you came for pity, you picked the wrong audience.”
Her eyes shimmered on command. “I just wanted to make peace.”
“I’m not interested in your theater.”
As I moved to leave—
She stumbled.
The cake flew from her own hands and detonated across her chest in a wet explosion of chocolate and cream.
Right on time, dominant footsteps thundered down the stairs.
Asher arrived first. Then Kieran.
The Alpha’s rage rolled into the room before his body did.
“What happened?” Asher demanded.
“She attacked me,” Veyla sobbed. “I just wanted to give her cake like before… she smashed it into me.”
Kieran’s glare carved into my spine. “Explain yourself. Now.”
“I never touched her,” I said sharply. “She staged it—and you both fell for it like amateurs.”
Asher ignored me entirely. He cupped Veyla’s face with terrifying gentleness. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head weakly and leaned into him. “It’s nothing… I shouldn’t have made her angry.”
“You were her sister,” Kieran snapped at me. “And this is how you treat her? Because you envy her standing beside the Alpha now?”
Envy.
I laughed quietly. “You really rehearse these lines together, don’t you?”
Asher turned to me at last, his Alpha pressure slamming into my chest.
“Kneel and apologize,” he ordered.
My spine went rigid. “I will do neither.”
His eyes darkened. “Then our bond negotiations end today. No Alpha binds himself to a disobedient mate.”
The words cut.
Kieran sneered. “You really thought the Alpha would still choose you after seeing your true personality? What a joke.”
I met his eyes without fear.
“That’s why you’ll never rise beyond Beta,” I said calmly.
His face burned red. Asher stiffened. And Veyla—she looked victorious.
I turned to leave.
Asher’s hand shot out and seized my wrist.
The Alpha did not hesitate.
He threw me over the railing.
---
The sea crushed the breath from my lungs.
Freezing darkness swallowed me whole. My wolf screamed in panic as my body sank. My limbs flailed uselessly—I had never learned to swim.
They knew that.
“Aurora!” Veyla’s voice rang out dramatically. “She can’t swim!”
But there was no urgency in it.
“Let her sink,” Asher said coldly from above. “She challenged my authority.”
The world faded.
And then—
Arms plunged into the water.
Strong. Unfamiliar. Unyielding.
A grip locked around my waist and dragged me upward through the black waves.
A calm, powerful voice broke through the chaos.
“I have you.”
My head breached the surface as I choked violently beneath the Alpha’s indifferent moon.
