4

SLOANE

I probably should have been terrified that I slapped a man who could snap my neck without trying.

I wasn’t.

He had insulted my mother. He deserved worse.

Who would have ever thought that the man who made my panties wet would be the one to make my blood boil? I couldn’t wait to share this nightmare with Mara. This was all her fault anyways.

If that asshole had shown me around like his father instructed, I wouldn’t be so lost.

“Excuse me. Please, where's the Alpha’s wife?” I asked a maiden, who informed me that she was in the Pack’s office.

With the help of her narration, I was able to find the room. The Wolfhart estate was so big that anyone would think that it was designed to make you feel small. By the time I reached the top of the stairs overlooking the entrance, the weather had shifted.

I pushed the door open and walked in. Three figures in charcoal robes stood in the center of the office. They didn’t look like werewolves. They looked ancient. Untouchable.

Their scents weren’t earth or musk, but ozone, metal, and old parchment.

Like a magnet, I found Theo standing to the right of his father. His expression made him look perfect, icy and disciplined. He didn't look at me as I walked further into the room, but I felt his awareness of me like a pressure against my skin.

“Sloane,” my mother whispered, appearing at my side. She reached out to grab my hand, her fingers cold and trembling. “What are you doing inside this room? You are not supposed to be here… leave now.”

“Why?” I muttered, pulling my hand away. “Everyone is here, so why must I leave?”

Her voice became softer, “Annie? Please just leave this place. It’s not safe for you.”

I wish I had listened to her but I let my stubbornness get the better of me. I was stupid enough to convince myself that if Theo was here, then I had to be there too.

A man with hair the color of bone and eyes that were a milky and sightless white colored, stepped forward. When he spoke, his voice didn't just fill the room; it resonated in my very bones.

The Elder started. “The union of a King is not a private matter. We are here to ensure that the bloodline remains untainted and the security of the Arden-Wolfe legacy is absolute.”

Luciano bowed his head. “Of course, Elder Silas. We welcome the audit.”

King?

Audit?

I looked around the room, wondering if everyone else understood this madness better than I did.

Apparently, they did.

“It is not just the Luna that we must verify,” Silas continued, his sightless eyes turning slowly toward me. “The fruit of the previous branch must be verified too.”

His gaze fell on me, causing a cold shiver to race down my spine. “No. I’m not a part of this,” my voice was small in the hall. “I’m just the daughter of the woman who is your Alpha’s new mate.”

Silas’s lips drew to a thin line. “Sorry princess but no wolf of royal proximity leaves without the Cleansing. It is the law. To protect the King, we must know the heart of every new family member.”

Before I could protest, two of the robed figures moved with terrifying speed, flanking me. They didn't touch me, but the full force of their Alpha-level auras pinned me in place.

“The ritual of the Sanguine Eye,” Silas announced.

Luciano stepped back with an unreadable expression. My mother wouldn’t look at me. Her face had gone pale, and her hands were clasped so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

One of the Elders brought out a small, silver basin and a dagger older than the house itself.

“A single drop of blood, Miss Sloane Calder,” Silas commanded. “To verify your lineage and ensure that no rival pack has planted a seed of discord within our walls.”

What in the goddess’s name did that even mean?

I had to say anything, anything to convince them to leave me out of their archaic nonsense.

“There’s no need for this. I wouldn’t hurt the Alpha!” I challenged them, moving forward. “My mother can confirm this!”

“The blood does not lie,” Silas said. “But the tongue often does.”

My eyes moved to my mother, using them to plead with her to make a way. She didn’t see me because she was staring at the floor. No, she was actually avoiding my gaze.

Theo’s hand closed around my elbow. Firm. Controlled.

“Give it to them,” he murmured near my ear. “Unless there’s something you’re afraid they’ll find.”

The taunt in his tone was so obvious.

“Get away from me, you prick.”

He scoffed. “Stop gnashing your teeth and just get it done, then you can leave.”

His breath hit the back of my neck, sending a confusing jolt of electricity through me. I hated him, his arrogance, and the way he was looking at me. The hatred made me snatch my arm away and step toward the basin.

“Fine,” I spat. “Take it. Afterwards, I’m leaving this hellhole.”

Of course! I couldn’t remain in a pack where I was considered a criminal.

An ice-cold dagger was dragged across my thumb, releasing drops of blood into a silver basin.

The moment my blood hit the liquid in the bowl, the room went silent.

Everyone watched as the liquid began to swirl, turning from clear to a deep gold. Then, a low hum began to vibrate through the floorboards. The gold liquid didn't just sit there; it began to glow and cast a strange, ethereal light onto the faces of the Council.

Elder Silas let out a sharp breath, reaching out, his fingers hovering over the basin.

“By the Great Wolf,” he whispered.

“What is it?” Luciano demanded, stepping forward, his brow furrowed. “Is there a contaminant? A curse?”

Silas turned his sightless eyes toward me, and for the first time, I saw something that looked like genuine shock.

“This is no contaminant,” Silas said, with a trembling voice. “She carries the Lumina marker. The Pure-Blood Royal strain of the Northern Highlands.”

The room exploded into whispers among the pack members watching. Theo moved instantly, his hand gripping my shoulder so hard it bruised. I could feel the heat coming off him, the way his wolf was trying to force its way out of him.

“That’s impossible,” Theo hissed. “The Northern Royals were wiped out during the Great Purge eighteen years ago. My mother’s family was the last of the pure strains.”

“It appears the records were incomplete,” Silas said, his voice gaining an authoritative edge. He turned to the other Elders. “She is our savior.”

I looked at my mother who looked like she wanted to vomit. “Mom? What are they talking about?”

“Sloane, I…” she started, but Silas cut her off.

“It does not matter what she knew,” Silas declared. “What matters is the safety of the strain. Sloane Calder, you are hereby placed under the Sovereign Restraint.”

“The what?” I asked, a cold knot forming in my chest. Was this some sort of house arrest?

“You are a ward of the Council,” Silas’s words hit me. “You are forbidden from leaving the Wolfhart territory. You are forbidden from interacting with humans or lower-caste wolves outside this pack. To let you leave would be to risk the kidnapping or assassination of a royal bloodline carrier. You are, by law, the property of the Sovereign State.”

“Property?” I repeated, the word slicing through me. “I am not livestock. I am not some breeding relic you get to lock away because my blood fits your sick little rules.”

“You have a duty,” Silas countered. “And as of this moment, your life as you knew it is over. You will remain here, within these walls, until we determine the best way to utilize your lineage.”

I turned to Luciano, my eyes widening. “You can’t let them do this! You’re the Alpha King! Tell them I’m leaving this Pack tomorrow!”

Luciano looked at me, then at the Council, at my mother, and finally back at me.

“The Council’s word is law in matters of the Blood,” Luciano said, with no warmth in his voice. “But as you are now a Ward of the Wolfhart Pack, it is my responsibility to ensure your safety.”

He turned to Theo.

“From this moment forward, you are Sloane’s Guardian.”

The room went still.