Chapter Four: The Price of Protection

I did not sleep.

The message burned in my mind. Someone knew. Someone was coming. But who? Lila would not text threats. She would go straight to my father. This was someone else. Someone watching.

Dawn came too fast.

“Aria!” My father’s voice boomed through the hallway. “Get downstairs. Now.”

I dragged myself out of bed. Every muscle screamed. The whip marks on my back had reopened during the night. Blood stained my sheets.

I threw on a long-sleeved dress. High neck. Nothing that showed skin. Nothing showed weakness.

The dining hall was full. Pack members everywhere. Elite guards. Council members. And at the head of the table, beside my father, sat Thomas Crane.

He smiled when he saw me. Possessive. Hungry.

My wolf recoiled.

“There she is.” My father’s voice was cold. “My daughter. Your future mate.”

Thomas stood. Walked toward me. Every eye in the room watched. Judged. Waited.

He took my hand. Kissed it. His lips were cold against my skin.

“You look tired, my dear,” he said. “Did you not sleep well?”

“I slept fine, Alpha.”

“Thomas. You will call me Thomas.” His grip tightened. Just enough to hurt. Just enough to remind me who had the power here. “We are to be mated, after all. Intimacy is expected.”

My stomach turned.

My father cleared his throat. “Sit. We have much to discuss.”

I sat. Thomas sat beside me. Too close. His thigh pressed against mine under the table. Claiming. Marking territory.

“The ceremony will take place tomorrow night,” my father said. “Under the full moon. The alliance between Steele and Crane will be forged in blood and bond.”

Tomorrow. Not two days. Tomorrow.

“Father, you said three days. You promised me three days.”

His eyes flashed gold. “I promised nothing. Thomas arrived early. The ceremony moves forward.”

“But I need time. I need to prepare.”

“You need to obey.” He slammed his hand on the table. Glasses rattled. Wolves flinched. “Or have you forgotten your place, daughter?”

Thomas leaned close. His breath was hot against my ear. “You seem distressed. Is there something you need to tell us?”

He knew. Somehow, he knew something was wrong.

“No, Alpha. I am simply overwhelmed by the honour.”

“Good.” He pulled back. Smiled. “Because after tomorrow, you belong to me. Your body. Your wolf. Your loyalty. Everything.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

I could not check it. Not here. Not with everyone watching.

“Aria will make an excellent mate,” my father said. “She is obedient. Submissive. She understands her duty.”

Liar. He hated me. Hated everything about me. But he needed this alliance. Needed Thomas’s power to expand his territory.

“I have no doubt,” Thomas said. “Though I do have one concern.”

My blood went cold.

“What concern?” my father asked.

“There are rumours. About a rogue on your lands. The Blackwood rogue. Kade Blackwood.” Thomas looked directly at me. “Have you heard these rumours, Aria?”

“I have heard many rumours.”

“But these are particularly interesting. My scouts tracked him to your northern border. And then the trail vanished.” He tilted his head. “Almost as if someone helped him disappear.”

My father’s eyes narrowed. “You think someone in my pack is harbouring a rogue?”

“I think someone is hiding something. And I intend to find out what.”

Beta Richards stepped forward. “Alpha, we searched the entire northern border last night. Found nothing.”

“Perhaps you did not search thoroughly enough.” Thomas stood. “I would like to conduct my own search. With your permission, of course, Marcus.”

My father hesitated. Allowing another alpha to search his territory was an insult. A challenge to his authority.

But refusing would raise suspicion.

“Of course,” my father said finally. “My territory is yours to search. We have nothing to hide.”

Thomas smiled. “Excellent. I will begin this afternoon. After I inspect the ceremony site.”

He looked at me. “Would you care to join me, Aria? Show me around your home before it becomes mine?”

It was not a request.

“Of course, Alpha.”

“Thomas,” he corrected. “Call me Thomas.”

I wanted to call him something else. Something that would get my throat ripped out.

We left the dining hall together. His hand is on the small of my back. Guiding. Controlling.

The moment we were outside, away from listening ears, he spoke.

“Where is he?”

“I do not know what you mean.”

His hand moved to my throat. Fast. Brutal. He slammed me against the wall hard enough to rattle my teeth.

“Do not lie to me. I can smell him on you. Faint. But there.” His face was inches from mine. “You have been with the Blackwood rogue.”

“You are mistaken.”

“Am I?” He squeezed. Not enough to crush. Just enough to terrify. “Because I have been tracking Kade Blackwood for months. Ever since he slaughtered his pack and ran. And now, conveniently, he appears on your territory the same week we are to be mated.”

“Let me go.”

“Not until you tell me where he is.”

“I told you. I do not know.”

He released my throat. Grabbed my arm instead. Twisted it behind my back until I gasped with pain.

“You will tell me,” he said. “One way or another. Before tomorrow night. Or I will tell your father you have been consorting with rogues. And we both know what he does to traitors.”

He shoved me away. I stumbled. Nearly fell.

“Enjoy your last day of freedom, Aria. After tomorrow, you will wish you had cooperated.” He walked away. Confident. Cruel.

My wolf snarled inside me. Furious. Trapped.

I pulled out my phone with shaking hands.

The message from last night was still there. But there was a new one. From the same unknown number.

“Thomas knows. Get the rogue out now. You have twelve hours before he searches the cabin. This is your only warning.”

Who was this? Who was helping me?

I ran.

Not toward the cabin. Too obvious. Too dangerous. But toward the old service road that ran along the eastern border. The one nobody used anymore.

I needed to warn Kade. Needed to move him before Thomas found him.

But when I reached the road, someone was waiting.

A woman. Tall. Beautiful. Dark hair and amber eyes that glowed in the shadows. She leaned against a black motorcycle, arms crossed.

“Hello, Aria,” she said.

“Who are you?”

“Someone who wants Kade Blackwood alive. And you are going to help me keep him that way.”

“I do not understand.”

“You do not need to understand. You just need to trust me.” She pulled off her helmet. Held it out. “Get on. We are going to the cabin. And then we are getting your mate somewhere safe.”

“How do you know about Kade?”

“Because I am his sister.”

My heart stopped.

Kade had a sister. A sister who survived the massacre. A sister who had been searching for him.

“If you are his sister, why should I trust you? Why would you help me?”

“Because Kade told me what you are to him. And because if Thomas Crane gets his hands on my brother, he will not kill him quickly.” Her eyes hardened. “He will make it last. And he will make you watch.”

“Thomas wants Kade dead?”

“Thomas wants Kade for something much worse than death. And you just became the bait to draw him out.” She revved the motorcycle. “Now get on. We are out of time.”

I hesitated. This could be a trap. It could be another enemy pretending to help.

But what choice did I have?

I got on the motorcycle.

We tore down the service road toward the cabin. Wind whipped my hair. My heart pounded.

And when we arrived, the cabin door was open.

Blood streaked across the threshold.

Kade was gone.

And in his place, carved into the wooden floor, was a message.

“Bring her to the old mill by midnight. Come alone. Or he dies screaming.”

Thomas had him.

And I had nine hours to decide if I was willing to trade my life for his.