2

The moment the triplet Alphas disappeared into the shadows, the grand doors slammed shut behind me, sealing my fate within the walls of the Moonstone Pack.

The tension in the air settled, but only slightly. The guards still watched me like I was a ticking bomb, waiting for me to make a wrong move. I could feel their skepticism, their quiet disdain. Omegas were nothing in a world ruled by strength.

One of the guards—an older man with gray streaks in his beard—stepped forward. “You’ll be taken to your quarters. You are to remain there until the Alphas summon you.”

Summon me. Like a pet. A possession.

I held back the bitter words pressing against my tongue. Fighting back now wouldn’t serve me. I had already pushed my luck challenging Sebastian, and I wasn’t naive enough to think I had gained any sort of power in this house just yet.

“Follow me.” The guard turned without waiting for my response.

With my hands still bound in iron cuffs, I walked in silence, my footsteps echoing against the polished marble floors. The hallway was lined with towering windows that stretched to the ceiling, revealing the dark expanse of the forest beyond. It was beautiful in a haunting sort of way, the moonlight casting silver shadows against the glass.

Moonstone Pack territory was larger than I had imagined. Their power stretched far beyond their borders, and the wealth on display here was a testament to their dominance. Even my old pack, with its desperate attempt to forge alliances, couldn’t compare to the sheer grandeur of this place.

The guard stopped in front of a wooden door and unlocked it with a key. He stepped aside, gesturing for me to enter.

My "quarters" were more of a prison than a bedroom. The space was large, with a massive bed draped in black silk sheets, a fireplace in the far corner, and a single window that overlooked the woods. But despite its luxury, the air felt suffocating.

“Food will be brought to you. Do not leave this room unless given permission,” the guard instructed.

I turned to him, lifting my wrists slightly. “And these?”

He hesitated before sighing and pulling out a small key. “Don’t make me regret this.”

The cuffs clicked open, and the weight of the iron fell away from my wrists. I rubbed at the raw skin, barely glancing at him as he stepped back.

The door shut with a finality that sent a shiver down my spine. I was alone.

For the first time in days, I allowed myself to exhale.

I moved toward the window, pressing my palm against the cool glass. The trees outside whispered in the wind, their leaves rustling like voices I couldn't quite understand. My entire body ached from the journey, but exhaustion wouldn't claim me so easily.

I wasn’t safe here.

I knew that much.

I was nothing more than a treaty bride, a political pawn forced into a bond with three men who didn’t want me. And yet… something about this place, about them, felt familiar in a way I couldn’t explain. Like a forgotten memory lurking just beyond my reach.

My fingers brushed against my wrist where the cuffs had been, feeling the raised skin left behind. My whole life, I had been treated like a fragile thing—an omega meant to obey, to submit, to be less.

But I wasn’t weak.

I refused to be weak.

A knock at the door startled me from my thoughts. Before I could respond, the door creaked open, and a young woman stepped inside carrying a tray of food.

She was small, with dark curls pulled into a braid and wide brown eyes that darted to me hesitantly.

“I brought your dinner,” she said softly, setting the tray on the table near the fireplace.

“Thank you,” I said, watching her carefully.

She lingered for a moment, as if debating whether to say something else. Then, in a hushed voice, she whispered, “You should be careful here.”

A chill crawled down my spine. “Why?”

Her eyes darted toward the door before she took a step back. “The Alphas… they don’t trust easily. And this pack? It doesn’t take kindly to outsiders.”

I already knew that. I could feel the unspoken hostility, the way everyone looked at me as though I didn’t belong.

She swallowed hard. “But it’s not just them you need to worry about.”

That caught my attention. “What do you mean?”

She hesitated. “There are people here who don’t want you in this pack. They think you’re a threat.”

A threat? I was an omega. A powerless, discarded thing forced into a political arrangement. What could possibly make me a threat?

Before I could ask anything else, the girl turned and hurried toward the door.

“Wait,” I called, but she had already slipped out, leaving me standing there with more questions than answers.

I stared at the closed door, my heart pounding.

I had suspected that I wouldn’t be welcomed here, but this was something else. Something more dangerous.

And if there was one thing I had learned in my twenty-four years of life…

Danger didn’t wait. It struck when you least expected it.

Later That Night

Sleep didn’t come easily. I tossed and turned in the massive bed, my mind replaying the girl’s warning over and over again.

At some point, exhaustion won.

But it didn’t last long.

A noise stirred me awake—soft, barely a whisper against the silence. My eyes flew open, my senses immediately alert. The room was dark except for the dying embers in the fireplace.

I stayed still, my breath steady, listening.

There it was again. A shift in the shadows.

Someone was in my room.

I moved before I could think, pushing off the covers and silently reaching for the small dagger hidden beneath my sleeve. I had taken it from the dinner tray earlier—an instinct, a habit of survival.

The presence in the room was careful, deliberate. But they had underestimated me.

The moment I saw movement, I struck.

I lunged forward, my blade slicing through the darkness. A strong hand caught my wrist mid-air, stopping the dagger just inches from their throat.

A low, amused chuckle rumbled in the silence.

“Impressive.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

The moonlight from the window illuminated his face—Kai Silverclaw.

He held my wrist in a firm grip, his amber eyes gleaming with something between amusement and curiosity. He was shirtless, his muscular frame shifting as he adjusted his stance.

“You’re fast,” he mused. “Didn’t expect that.”

I yanked my hand back, stepping away. “What the hell are you doing in my room?”

Kai didn’t answer right away. Instead, he ran a hand through his dark hair, studying me. “You’re different,” he murmured, almost to himself.

My grip on the dagger tightened. “Get out.”

His smirk widened, but there was something sharp behind it. “You really don’t know, do you?”

A flicker of unease curled in my stomach. “Know what?”

Kai took a slow step closer, lowering his voice.

“Why you’re really here.”

The air crackled with tension. My pulse thundered.

Because in that moment, I knew—this was bigger than an arranged marriage. Bigger than a treaty.

I wasn’t just a pawn in their game.

I was the key to something much, much bigger.

And I had no idea what it was.