C2

"Buy me a white direwolf mount, Dad," Dani Connor whined, wrapping her arms around Miles Connor’s thick leather armor. "The Salvatore Crimson Dominion handed us ten thousand gold pieces for the mate bond. We have more pack resources than we know what to do with!"

Miles Connor set down his parchment map of the territory, glaring peevishly at his favorite daughter. "You turned down the chance to bind yourself to the Lord of House Salvatore. Kyle Salvatore holds the entire territory in his fist! If you had mated with him, you would have had a hundred mounts."

Dani curled her lip in disgust, her silver eyes flashing. "Kyle Salvatore has a hideous scar across his face and a beastly wolf. It grosses me out just thinking about his scent! Aya, that silent omega trash, took my place like she was born to serve. She should thank me."

"Don't speak of your sister so loudly," Miles grunted, adjusting his sword belt. "Kyle Salvatore is no fool. It was only because Aya took your place that we kept the territory blood alliance intact."

"She can't even howl," Dani sneered, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. "A mute omega belongs in a cage, not a high pack house. Dad, if the Salvatore pack funding cleared, where are the keys to the eastern hunting grounds?"

Before Miles could answer, the heavy horn at the gates of the Connor Moonfang Lodge sounded, and a pack guard rushed into the hall, breathing heavily.

"My Lord!" the guard shouted. "The trade vault is empty! The Salvatore bloodline blocked our access to the Crimson Dominion resources!"

Miles slammed his fist onto the wooden table, the wood splitting down the center. "What? Kyle Salvatore cut our pack line after taking the mate bond?"

"Dad!" Dani gasped, her face draining of color. "That scarred monster tricked us!"

"He thinks he can play me?" Miles growled, his dark wolf eyes burning with sudden fury. "He kept the omega girl, but he cut our gold? Fine. Aya is still inside the Salvatore Crimson Manor. She carries Connor blood, and she will do what I command, or her grandmother dies without medicine."

My skin burned from the scrub brush as I knelt down on my knees, scrubbing the cold stone floor of the Salvatore Crimson Manor.

"Mop it again, omega," Grace Harper snapped, sitting on the carved oak chair with a warm cup of herbal tea. "You might be legally bound to Kyle, but in this house, you work like the lowest servant. Mrs. Duncan is an elder servant of the Salvatore bloodline. You will take over her heavy labor starting today."

My hands shook against the wet stone, my raw knuckles bleeding slightly, but I kept my throat locked tight. I can't fight back, I reminded myself, my wolf whimpering in my chest. If I defy them, Grace will tell Kyle to sever my grandmother's medical support.

"If you don't like serving your Alpha's house, you can run back to the woods," Grace added with a cruel laugh, standing up and pulling her fur cloak over her shoulders. "I have a meeting with the Elders of the neighboring pack. Have the grand hall spotless before Kyle returns from the borders."

The heavy iron doors slammed shut as she left, leaving me alone in the silent, drafty hall. I wiped my wet forehead with the back of my bruised hand, letting out a ragged breath.

My pocket vibrated violently. I pulled out the small tracking mirror my father had forced into my tunic before I was shipped away.

A glowing blood-rune pulsed on the glass surface—a message from Miles Connor:

Kyle froze our pack funds. Steal the Salvatore Crimson Dominion boundary map from his study tonight, or Dr. Serena Kogan loses her medical herb supply by dawn.

My blood turned to ice, my heart hammering like a trapped bird against my ribs.

A shadow fell over me. I looked up to see Kyle Salvatore standing at the top of the stone stairs, his broad, muscular frame blocking the light. His dark eyes fixed on the glowing mirror in my trembling hand, his jaw clenched as he slowly reached up to his neck. His thick fingers caught the silk of his tie, pulling it down with one finger. One. Inch.

"Who are you messaging, my little omega?" Kyle growled, his voice dropping into a dangerous, dark purr as he descended the stairs toward me.