C6

"She cozened our father, Lady Grace," Dani Connor purred, wiping a fake tear from her delicate cheek. "Aya is a vain, scheming omega who tricked us all into letting her play Luna."

I stood motionless by the grand oak pillar in the lower hall of Salvatore Crimson Manor, my hands clenched so tight my short nails bit into my palms. My throat burned with the raw silence of my mute voice, but I refused to give them the satisfaction of a reaction.

Grace Harper snorted, her cold eyes flashing with disgust as she glared at me across the runner. "No wonder you cling to this hall like a parasite, girl. You're after the Salvatore bloodline wealth and status. What a cheap, scheming b*tch."

Dani stepped closer to me while Grace turned to bark orders at a pack maid. My sister's sweet smile instantly rotted into a vicious sneer, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper only I could catch.

"Father said you obey every command I give today," Dani breathed, her eyes glinting with threat. "Or Grandmother Serena loses her life-herbs by nightfall."

My pupils shrank, my pulse hammering violently against my ribs as I lifted my hands to sign. What are you planning?

"You don't need to know," Dani hissed softly, smoothing her silk dress. "Just keep your silent mouth shut and act as my footstool, or the old woman starves."

Grace strutted back toward us, her golden wolf aura pulsing with irritation. "What are you two whispering about?"

"I was just telling my poor sister how sorry I am," Dani said, instantly melting into a picture of gentle remorse. "I feel terrible that she took my place in this forced mate bond."

Grace sneered, looking down her nose at me like I was filth scraped from the border tracks. "A mute omega should be grateful she isn't rotting in the rogue pits. You're far too soft on her, Dani."

Heavy, dominant footsteps echoed from the wide stone staircase above us.

Kyle Salvatore descended into the hall, his broad frame filling the space with pure, suffocating Alpha pressure. He wore his formal dark tunic, his broad chest rising and falling beneath his pristine collar. With one thick finger, he slowly loosened his tie. One. Inch.

Dani gasped softly, her breath catching as her eyes traced the hard muscle of his arms and the dark, lethal scar dragging across his striking face.

He's not a monster, Dani's eyes betrayed her greedy thoughts as she watched him move. He's powerful, handsome, and the supreme Alpha of the Salvatore Crimson Dominion.

"Kyle," Dani cooed, taking a bold step forward, her hips swaying as she tried to project her scent toward him. "You've returned."

Kyle didn't even slow his pace, his cold golden eyes bypassing my sister entirely. He didn't offer a single word of greeting, his expression as hard as carved granite.

Dani's face flushed with quick humiliation, but she forced a tight smile and trailed right behind his shoulder. "I came to speak with you about our pack borders, Alpha. It's urgent."

"To my study," Kyle growled, his deep voice vibrating through the floorboards.

He didn't spare me a single glance as he passed, treating my presence like thin air.

Grace watched them go, letting out a sharp, gloating laugh right into my face. "Do you see that, omega? Dani is the one he wanted from the start. You're nothing here. If you had an ounce of dignity, you'd crawl back into the wild forest and die."

My heart felt numb, encased in thick ice. I didn't care about Kyle's favor or Dani's greed, but one nagging question burned through my mind. If Kyle wanted Dani so badly, why was there no sacred blood ceremony when I was dragged here? Why hide the mate bond behind locked doors?

I turned on my heel and walked back to the cold outer wing, shutting the heavy door to lock out their voices.

On the small wooden side table, my communication rune stone was flashing red with five urgent distress pulses. They were all coming from the central healers at the Connor Moonfang Lodge.

My blood ran ice-cold. I touched the rune, activating the vocal spirit link.

"Aya Connor?" the head healer's frantic voice echoed through the stone. "Your grandmother's core is collapsing! Dr. Serena Kogan has suffered a spirit hemorrhage. If you don't get here right now, she won't survive the night!"

Grandmother!

Panic slammed into my chest like an iron fist. I bolted out of the side door into the darkening courtyard, running toward the outer gates without looking back.

The estate guards didn't bother stopping me. Grace had already commanded them to let the "mute garbage" roam free if I chose to run.

I ran until my lungs burned, my light omega frame sprinting across the forest paths toward the emergency healer chambers near the central pack grounds. Tears blinded my vision as I burst through the heavy double doors of the medical hall.

In the center of the chamber, lying pale and fragile on the stone slate, was Dr. Serena Kogan. Her breathing was paper-thin, her old wolf spirit fading fast.

I dropped to my knees beside her, grabbing her cold, bony hand and pressing it against my cheek, my chest heaving with silent, ragged sobs.

"She survived the initial spirit burst," a smooth, calm male voice spoke from the shadow of the medicine hearth. "But her bloodline channels are severely blocked."

I jerked my head up, wiping my eyes.

A tall, handsome wolf healer in a white leather robe stepped into the light, his soft blue eyes full of gentle concern. He held a silver healing blade in his hand, stained with dried herb sap.

"I am Dr. Julian Peters," he said, stepping closer and kneeling beside me. "I performed the emergency spirit-sealing on your grandmother just in time."

I looked at him with raw, desperate gratitude, my hands moving quickly in sign language. Thank you. Thank you for saving her.

Julian blinked, a slight flush rising on his neck as he took in my tear-stained face and frantic gestures. "I... I don't know the silent tongue, but I can read your heart, female. You're Dr. Serena's granddaughter, Aya, aren't you?"

I nodded fast, my hands trembling as I reached into my travel pouch. I pulled out a fresh parchment scroll, took a quill from his desk, and wrote a binding blood-oath paper, signing my name at the bottom before shoving it into his hands.

I have no gold or spirit-gems today, but I pledge my full life-service to pay for her healing.

Julian read the elegant script, then looked up at my pale, fragile face. A warm, protective look settled into his eyes. He gently pushed the parchment back into my hands.

"Keep your oath, Aya," Julian said, his voice dropping into a soft, resonant pitch. "I didn't save her for profit. The Connor Pack Elders cut off her medicine funding three days ago, but I will not let a sacred Elder die on my slate."

My heart slammed against my ribs. Miles Connor cut off her spirit-herbs? My own father left her to die?

Julian reached out, his warm fingers lightly brushing a stray tear from my cheek. "She needs another major spirit-alignment surgery before the full moon. Stay near her, talk into her ear, and let your soothing aura wash over her. It will help her hold on."

I pressed my lips together, nodding repeatedly, my chest tight with a dangerous, burning rage.

Miles Connor had used me as a pawn, thrown me to the wolves at House Salvatore, and left the only person who ever loved me to bleed out in a cold medical hall.

If my father stopped paying for her life, I had no reason to play his dirty game anymore. I was never going back to serve as his puppet.

"Aya?" Julian asked softly, his hand lingering near mine on the edge of the slate, his scent carrying the comforting smell of fresh mountain pine. "Are you going to be okay?"

Before I could answer, the heavy iron doors of the medical hall crashed open, slamming against the stone walls with a deafening boom.

A thick, dark Alpha pressure flooded the room, so heavy it made the herb jars on the shelves rattle and crack.

Kyle Salvatore stood in the doorway, his broad muscular frame looming like a god of war. His golden wolf eyes were blazing with lethal, possessive fury, fixed entirely on Julian's hand touching my wrist.

Slowly, deliberately, Kyle reached up with one broad finger and loosened his tie. One. Inch.

"Get your hands off my mate," Kyle growled, his voice vibrating with pure, deadly promises of blood.