Tangled Emotions

Knight burst through the restaurant doors at that moment, slightly breathless, his eyes immediately finding the tense tableau. The emotions in the room hit him like a physical force: Annabella's mix of defiance and hurt, Lucious's barely contained rage, his brothers' malicious amusement. And there, glinting at Annabella's throat, was the ruby pendant. Knight's heart sank as he recognised the traditional mating token of the Alpha line.

"Knight," Adrian called out, "perfect timing. Lucious has just given the little mouse a pretty collar."

Annabella stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. The restaurant had grown quiet, other patrons watching the drama unfold with poorly disguised interest.

"I've had enough," she said, her voice steadier than she felt. "Lu, let's go."

For once, she didn't care what any of them thought. Tomorrow night, her wolf would finally emerge, and she would no longer be the quiet, overlooked daughter of the Beta. She would be Lucious's mate, his equal in the eyes of pack law if not in her brother's eyes.

Lucious stood as well, dropping several large bills on the table without counting them. "My brothers," he said, the formal address a warning in itself, "I suggest you remember who you're speaking to and about. Tomorrow night, Annabella shifts, and by midnight, she will wear my mark."

The statement made, silence fell over the table. As he offered his hand to Annabella, “Come, my love, the night is still young.”

Tate's face contorted with shock. This was no longer a game or a passing fancy; this was a declaration of intent from a future Alpha. The hierarchy of their world suddenly shifted before his eyes, and the implications made his stomach turn. His sister, his overlooked, unremarkable sister, would outrank him in the pack structure.

"You can't be serious," he managed, his voice hollow.

Knight stood frozen, watching as Lucious guided Annabella through the restaurant, his hand protectively at the small of her back. The ruby pendant caught the light with each step she took, like a drop of blood against her skin. Knight had missed his chance, had never truly had one to begin with.

"This has gone too far," Drake muttered, his earlier amusement curdling into something uglier. "Raymond won't stand for this."

But even as he spoke, uncertainty crept into his voice. Lucious had never been one for grand gestures without meaning behind them. The mating token was an ancient tradition, not given lightly.

Outside in the cool night air, Annabella took her first deep breath since the confrontation began. Stars scattered across the sky above them, witnesses to this turning point in her life. Lucious's anger still radiated from him in waves, but his touch remained gentle as he opened the passenger door of his sleek black car.

"I'm sorry about them," he said once they were both inside, the engine purring to life beneath them.

Annabella touched the pendant at her throat. "Don't be. I've lived with their contempt for years. Tomorrow, everything changes."

Miles away, in the heart of Silver Creek territory, Annabella's father, Eugene, paced the length of his study. As Beta, he had responsibilities to the pack that sometimes overshadowed his duties as a father. But that wasn’t his plan. Tomorrow night, after she had shifted, she was to be handed over to Jonty, the Alpha Heir of the Moon Slashers Pack.

A message came through from Tate, Father. We have a problem. Lucious just gave Annabella a mating token. We’re going to have to move up the timeline if your buyer really wants her. This Alpha Heir Jonty, how fitting she still becomes a Luna just not to the one that is pretending to love her.

Eugene's fingers trembled as he typed a response. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. The agreement with the Moon Slashers had been lucrative, a territorial expansion that would double his family's influence and secure Tate's future as Beta to Raymond. Jonty's interest in Annabella had been an unexpected windfall, one Eugene couldn't afford to lose.

Stall them.

He set the phone down, his mind racing. Lucious had always been the wild card among the sextuplets, impulsive, headstrong, and unpredictable. Eugene had dismissed his attention toward Annabella as a mere dalliance, a passing amusement that would fade before it threatened their carefully laid plans.

"What have you done?" he whispered to the empty room, thinking of his daughter's quiet determination, how she had always been the easiest of his children to overlook. The irony wasn't lost on him—he had underestimated her just as everyone else had, and now she threatened to unravel everything.

In the car, Annabella felt a strange sense of peace settling over her. The pendant warmed against her skin, as though attuning itself to her body. Lucious drove in silence, his knuckles white against the steering wheel, his jaw tight with lingering anger.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked, watching the town lights fade behind them as they turned onto the forest road.

Lucious's expression softened when he glanced her way. "Somewhere special. Somewhere just for us."

The road wound deeper into Silver Creek territory, following ancient paths known only to pack members. Annabella felt a strange tingling beneath her skin, her wolf stirring early, responding to the proximity of the full moon that would rise tomorrow night.

"She's restless," Annabella murmured, pressing her palm against her sternum where the sensation was strongest.

Lucious nodded, understanding immediately. "Aria knows what's coming. She's been waiting for this as long as you have."

Back at the restaurant, the remaining brothers and Tate huddled together, their earlier bravado diminished by Lucious's declaration.

"Raymond needs to know," Adrian insisted, already reaching for his phone.

Knight stepped forward, surprising them all. "No."

Three pairs of identical eyes turned to him, narrowed with suspicion.

"No?" Drake repeated. "Since when do you have opinions, Knight? Especially about the little mouse?"

Knight's wolf snarled inside him, tired of the nickname, tired of his own cowardice. "Her name is Annabella," he said quietly. "And if Lucious has chosen her as his mate, that should be respected."

Tate's laugh was bitter. "Respected? My sister isn't worthy of an Alpha's son, let alone the second-born. This is some game Lucious is playing, it has to be."

But, while they were discussing this, Lucious and Annabella had taken her to Lover’s Point, a lookout over the entire pack.