CHAPTER 3 CAGE

"Are we clearing the east wing for them or not, Alpha?"

Gideon's voice pulled me from my thoughts. I'd been staring at the same spot on the report for ten minutes without reading a word.

"Clear it," I said, leaning back in my chair and forcing my voice to remain perfectly level. "Give Alpha Elena's inner circle the main suites. Put their guards on the outer perimeter."

Gideon frowned. "That puts them close to the armoury. It’s a massive risk for an unknown pack. We always put visiting Alphas in visitor suites."

"Right," I muttered, closing the file on my desk sharply. “Move them to the visitor area.”

He stopped writing and studied me for a moment. “You’re completely distracted today, Cage. You haven’t made a slip-up like that in years.”

“I’m fine,” I snapped, getting up from the desk. "She's here for an alliance. Treat her like any other visiting Alpha."

I didn’t wait for a response and stalked outside the room.

Later, I stood at the top of the courtyard steps waiting for the Dark Fang convoy to arrive.

Luke stood beside me, and Gideon stood on my other side.

The gates opened, and the vehicles rolled in.

My chest tightened. I locked my jaw, keeping my face completely blank as the first SUV shifted into the park.

The door opened, and then Alpha Elena stepped out.

My wolf went silent for one terrifying second before exploding to life. I curled my hands into fists to keep from staggering.

She crossed the courtyard with calm confidence. Even my guards seemed to straighten unconsciously as she passed.

When she reached the steps, her eyes met mine, and the air vanished from my lungs.

For three long seconds, she studied me, then she looked away.

Just like that. As if I didn't matter. For some reason, that bothered me far more than it should have.

A sharp surge of anger shot through me. But I forced it down and walked toward her.

"Alpha Elena."

The greeting was formal and flat. Inside, my wolf was losing its mind, but I locked it down.

Her only response was a nod, and then we headed inside for the welcome dinner. My self-control was already hanging by a thin thread and I needed to be done and over with this.

I sat at the head of the long dining table, with Elena sitting halfway down the table.

I avoided looking directly at her.

"Tell me, Alpha Elena," my mother began smoothly, "how exactly does Dark Fang survive without a major trade route? Your territory seems... small."

The table fell silent.

Elena remained calm.

"We value stability over expansion, Luna Deborah," she replied. "A quiet border is a secure border. I'm sure you understand the importance of internal security given the condition of your western front."

My mother's smile tightened into a thin line.

Then Diana placed a possessive hand on my arm.

"Cage is restructuring our entire western front to help your little pack," she said sweetly. "You must be so relieved to finally have real warriors handling things."

I barely noticed her touch. My wolf was violently fixated on Elena. I realized my knuckles had gone white around my fork and made myself set it down.

Elena didn't even look at Diana.

"I'm relieved to have additional forces," she replied casually, taking a sip of her water. "Assuming they can keep up."

The deliberate dismissal made my blood boil. She sat in my house, ate at my table, and completely ignored my existence.

I wondered what her issue was with me. Sadly, I won’t tolerate that.

After dinner, I excused myself, needing the quiet of my office before I lost my mind.

I was halfway down the hallway when Marcus, one of my senior perimeter guards, stopped me.

"Alpha, I need to report something."

"What is it?"

He handed me a folded note.

"Alpha Elena's second, Louisa, sent this. She addressed this to me, not you"

I stopped walking. "Her second."

"The healer." He pulled a folded slip of paper from his breast pocket and held it out. "She flagged a blind spot on the eastern ridge approach. Included adjusted coordinates. Very... thorough."

I read it.

The note identified a weakness in our eastern ridge patrol rotation. And it was a real weakness one of my own wolves had missed.

The correction was professional and accurate.

My wolf didn't care. All he wanted was a reason to see her, and this was his way in.

"She found this in her first hour?" I asked.

"Yes, sir."

I folded the note. Something hot and irrational burned in my chest that had very little to do with her interfering in my business.

She stepped into my territory and gave my men orders? No Alpha would tolerate that level of disrespect.

"Where is she?" I demanded, my voice dropping low.

"Heading toward the armoury, Alpha."

I turned and walked away before Marcus could say another word. I found Elena alone outside the armoury, looking at her phone.

"You don't give orders to my men," I snapped, closing the distance between us in three long strides.

She looked up calmly and slipped her phone into her pocket.

"Your men left a massive gap in the perimeter," she replied. "I'm not dying in my sleep because your officers are incompetent."

Incompetent?

"You're a guest in this compound," I snarled, stepping into her space. The anger was a shield, but the moment I got close to her, the shield shattered.

Her scent hit me. Beneath it, my wolf caught something buried.

"I am an Alpha," she shot back, tilting her chin up to meet my eyes, refusing to back down an inch. "Do your job properly, and I won't have to do it for you."

"Do not test me," I warned.

I took a step closer, backing her against the heavy stone wall of the corridor. It was meant to be an intimidation tactic, a show of dominance. But the second her back hit the wall, and my body caged her in, the anger vanished. My hand was still braced flat against the stone by her head and I dropped it immediately.

The mate bond exploded and my gaze dropped to her lips. A memory slammed into me.

Astrid.

It made no sense. Elena was a stranger, yet the pull was exactly the same.

For the first time, Elena's icy mask cracked. Something vulnerable flashed in her eyes and my control shattered.

But just as I leaned closer, that soft thing hardened and she pushed me away. Hard.

I stumbled back, unable to keep my balance.

"Cage?"

Diana's voice echoed through the hallway. I stepped back and turned around to see Diana standing at the corner, staring at us.

Her face went pale, her green eyes wide with shock before twisting into furious, ugly realization.

“What the fuck is going on here?”