Chapter 4: The Silk Collar

My apartment still smelled faintly of Gavin’s cheap cologne and broken promises, but by ten o'clock the next morning, that bitter memory was entirely choked out.

True to Kaelen’s word, a sharp knock echoed through my small living room at exactly ten A.M. When I opened the door, a mountain of a man in a tailored black suit—clearly a corporate Beta security guard from the Frost Giants' front office—handed me a massive, sleek black box embossed with a silver wolf emblem. He didn't say a word. He just bowed his head slightly, his nostrils flaring as he caught the faint, lingering scent of Kaelen's dominant pheromones still clinging to my skin, and walked away.

I carried the box to my bed, my heart doing a nervous flip against my ribs. When I lifted the lid, parting the crisp, silver tissue paper, a soft gasp tore from my throat.

Inside was a gown made of midnight-blue silk so heavy and rich it felt like liquid ice against my fingertips. It was backless, designed to plunge dangerously low in the front, with a high slit meant to expose the entirety of my left leg. But it was what lay beneath the dress that made my breath completely catch. Resting in a small, velvet-lined compartment was a delicate, jet-black lace lingerie set, entirely crotchless, accompanied by a thick black silk ribbon studded with a single, heavy silver ring at the center.

A collar.

A note in heavy, jagged handwriting was tucked into the lace:

Wear all of it. Let them see who bought the silk, Harlow. I’ll be outside at seven. K.V.

A hot, familiar ache blossomed between my thighs at the sheer, arrogant possessiveness of it. My inner wolf didn't recoil; she practically preened, urging me to put it on. I spent the next two hours prepping, my body still slightly sore and sensitized from the way Kaelen had brutally stretched me against the hydrotherapy wall the night before. When I finally stood in front of the full-length mirror, I barely recognized myself.

The midnight silk clung to every curve of my body, the deep plunge revealing the soft swell of my breasts, entirely unsupported because the dress allowed no bra. Beneath the heavy fabric, the lace of the crotchless panties brushed against my swollen, overly sensitive clit with every step I took, keeping me in a constant state of low-level arousal. I tied the black silk ribbon tightly around my neck, the silver ring resting perfectly against my throat, right over my dormant scent gland. It looked like high fashion, but to any shifter at that gala, it was a loud, undeniable declaration of ownership.

At exactly seven o'clock, the growl of Kaelen’s matte-black SUV echoed from the street below.

When I walked down the steps of my building, Kaelen was leaning against the passenger door, waiting. He was wearing a custom-tailored charcoal suit that made his six-foot-five frame look impossibly broad and lethal. His dark hair was styled back, his jaw cleanly shaved, but his eyes—those striking, intense blue-gold depths—were fixed entirely on me the moment I stepped into the lamplight.

His nostrils flared violently, drawing in my scent mixed with the heavy silk. His gaze dropped to the silver ring resting against my throat, and a dark, primal satisfaction settled over his rugged features.

"You look spectacular, Harlow," he murmured, his voice a deep, gravelly rasp that vibrated straight through my core. He stepped into my space, completely unbothered by the open street, and wrapped a massive hand around the back of my waist. His palm was burning hot against the bare skin of my exposed back, his thick fingers digging in just enough to pull my hips flush against his tailored trousers.

"The collar is a bit much, don't you think?" I whispered, my breath hitching as I felt the immediate, rigid length of his erection pressing against my lower belly through our clothes.

"It's exactly what the Council needs to see," Kaelen growled, his thumb tracing a slow, heavy circle on my bare lower back, sending a shiver straight down my spine. "And it’s exactly what I wanted. Now get in the car before I tear this expensive silk off you and skip the gala entirely."

The venue for the Frost Giants' charity gala was a sprawling, historic estate on the edge of Beacon Hill, completely locked down by private pack security. The moment we stepped out of the vehicle and into the grand ballroom, the ambient noise of hundreds of high-society shifters dropped to a low, intense murmur. The air was thick with competing pheromones, but the second Kaelen led me into the room, his heavy, dominant Alpha aura flared outward like a physical shockwave, forcing the surrounding Betas to instinctively lower their heads.

He kept his hand firmly anchored on my bare back, his fingers resting dangerously low, just above the curve of my backside. Every step we took, the high slit of my gown flared open, exposing my leg, and the lace of the crotchless panties rubbed directly against my dripping core. I was already soaking wet, my pulse racing as Kaelen guided me toward a raised terrace where the elite members of the Lycan Sports Council were standing.

But we didn't make it to the Council.

Halfway across the ballroom floor, a familiar, smug voice cut through the crowd. "Harlow? What the hell are you doing here?"

I froze, my muscles locking as I turned my head. Walking toward us, wearing a flashy, over-tailored suit, was Gavin. My ex-fiancé. His arm was wrapped tightly around the waist of a petite, heavily perfumed blonde socialite, his chest puffed out with the unearned arrogance of a Beta who thought he was king of the world.

But as Gavin got closer, his eyes traveled from my face, down the plunging neckline of my gown, and landed squarely on the massive hand Kaelen had clamped around my waist. Then, his nostrils flared. He caught the scent—the heavy, unmistakable, suffocating fragrance of Kaelen’s Alpha seed and dominant mark completely saturating my pheromones.

Gavin’s face went entirely pale, his smug grin completely evaporating. He looked up, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and absolute disbelief as they locked onto Kaelen Vane.

"Captain Vane," Gavin stammered, his voice cracking slightly as his inner Beta instinctively cowered under Kaelen’s crushing aura. "I... I didn't know you knew my... my ex."

Kaelen didn't just look at Gavin; he stared down at him like an annoying bug he was about to crush beneath his skate. His grip on my waist tightened, pulling me so hard against his side that my breast was flattened against his chest.

"She's not your anything anymore, Vance," Kaelen growled, the low-frequency warning in his voice making several nearby shifters stop and look. "She’s mine. I suggest you remember your place in this pack before you look at my mate again."

Gavin swallowed hard, his jaw trembling as his eyes dropped to the black silk collar and the silver ring resting against my throat. The realization that the woman he had discarded was now claimed by the most powerful True Alpha in the league was a visible, agonizing blow to his fragile ego. His new female companion pulled on his arm, looking terrified, and Gavin quickly bowed his head, backing away into the crowd without another word.

A fierce, intoxicating rush of pure satisfaction flooded my veins. It was exactly the revenge I had asked for, but before I could even thank Kaelen, his hand gripped my hip with a brutal, unyielding force, steering me sharply away from the ballroom floor and down a secluded, dimly lit corridor toward the private executive offices.

"Kaelen, what are you doing?" I gasped, my heels clicking rapidly against the hardwood floor as he practically marched me through a heavy mahogany door, slamming it shut behind us and locking it with a sharp, decisive click.

The room was a private boardroom, dominated by a massive, polished oak table and lined with leather chairs. The only illumination came from the city lights streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Watching that pathetic Beta look at you made my wolf want to rip his throat out," Kaelen growled, his suit jacket already flying off his shoulders, hitting the floor. His tie was ripped away a second later. He marched toward me, his gold eyes glowing like twin fires in the darkness of the office. "And watching you walk across that floor, knowing what you’re wearing underneath this dress, has had me hard since we left your apartment."

He grabbed the front of my midnight-blue gown, his massive hands catching the silk, and with a single, powerful jerk, he pulled the straps down, exposing my bare, heavy breasts to the cool air of the room. I let out a sharp cry of arousal as his large, calloused palms immediately cupped me, his thumbs rough as they rubbed over my aching, rock-hard nipples.

"Kaelen, someone could walk in," I whimpered, even as I arched my back, pushing my breasts deeper into his hands, my inner wolf howling with a desperate, frantic hunger.

"Let them," he rasped, his mouth crashing down onto mine with a feral, bruising intensity.

He didn't waste time with foreplay. He lifted me cleanly off my feet, slamming my backside down onto the cold, polished oak boardroom table, scattering expensive crystal whiskey glasses and corporate folders to the floor with a loud, shattering crash. He stepped between my legs, his hands gripping my thighs and tearing them wide open.

Because of the crotchless lace he had provided, I was completely bare to him. My core was dripping, a visible sheen of slickness coating my swollen folds. Kaelen let out a low, dark groan at the sight, his hand immediately flying to his belt. He unzipped his trousers, freeing his thick, massive manhood, which was already throbbing and fully engorged, a bead of pre-cum glistening at the crown.

He gripped my hips, tilting my pelvis upward against the cold wood of the table, and without a single word of warning, he drove himself inside me in one violent, deep, merciless thrust.

The sudden, complete invasion tore a loud, echoing scream from my throat, the sound bouncing off the mahogany walls of the private office. He was so big, so thick, stretching my wet walls until they were taut, his pubic bone slamming brutally against mine.

"Ah, God, Harlow," Kaelen groaned, his head slamming down into my shoulder as he began to move. He rowed into me with a savage, unrelenting pace, his hands digging into my thighs so hard I knew his fingerprints would remain there for weeks. The friction against the crotchless lace was unbearable, driving me over the edge within seconds. I thrashed against the table, my fingers clawing at the polished wood, my voice raw as I sobbed out his name into the dark, empty boardroom.