C4

Arwen Frostfang

Lady Cathleen’s mouth twisted into a malicious sneer as she grabbed my swollen wrist, yanking my four-foot-eight frame into the center of the Crimson Noble Den's private VIP suite.

"Look at our disgraced former noble, everyone!" Cathleen announced, her shrill voice carrying over the heavy pulse of dark synth-music and raw Alpha scent filling the room. "The pathetic little wolf-less bitch of the Frostfang Moon Pack is serving drinks for copper!"

The crowd of high-ranking warlords and scent-marked females burst into dark laughter, their golden eyes locking onto my short, plus-size body, my cropped hair, and the jagged scar cutting down my dark cheek. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs, my ruined inner wolf cowering deep inside my chest under their crushing pressure.

"Is that really Arwen?" a rogue Alpha barked, tossing a splash of burning wolf-liquor straight onto my chest. "The murderer who mutilated Lady Eowyn’s wolf? She looks like a battered breeding slave!"

"Greet the room, Arwen," Cathleen purred, her long silver claws digging brutally into the flesh of my bare shoulder until dark blood beaded on my skin. "Show them how low the daughter of Alpha Beren has fallen."

"Good evening, noble lords," I whispered, forcing the bitter words past my dry tongue while keeping my head bowed low in total submission. "I am Arwen."

Danis Silverclaw sat stiffly on the black leather couch across from me, his jaw clenching so hard his facial muscles twitched. He stared at the dark blood trickling down my shoulder, his wolf-eyes flashing with an uncomfortable, chaotic energy.

Cathleen grabbed a heavy silver goblet, pouring three different fire-spirits into the chalice until it overflowed. "Drink it all, murderer. Drink to Lady Eowyn’s stolen shift, or I'll have the guards strip you naked in the courtyard!"

My hands trembled violently as I reached for the goblet. The raw liquor burned my throat like molten silver, sending a agonizing flare through my ruined wolf-core. My stomach twisted in violent nausea, but I kept swallowing, refusing to let them see me cry.

Before I could finish the second glass, Danis suddenly reached out and ripped the silver goblet straight from Cathleen’s hand, slamming it onto the table so hard the wood cracked.

"That's enough, Cathleen!" Danis growled, his thick Alpha voice echoing through the room.

He stood up, his towering figure casting a heavy shadow over me as he grabbed my forearm with a tight grip, yanking me out into the cold stone corridor.

"Danis, let me go," I gasped, my paralyzed wolf whimpering as my boots scraped uselessly against the ice-covered cobblestones of the outer courtyard.

Danis shoved me back against the frost-bitten stone wall, his breathing heavy, his dark eyes searching my battered face with a mix of raw anger and twisted pity.

"Why are you doing this to yourself, Arwen?" Danis demanded, his fingers tightening on my waist until my breath hitched. "You used to be the proudest female in Eredhollow! Why come back here to act like a piece of meat for these hounds? Was ruining Eowyn’s life worth throwing your own body into the mud for Thalion?"

"I didn't attack Eowyn!" I cried out, the raw pain tearing through my chest as my heat stirred foolishly from his close proximity. "She framed me, Danis! Your sister set the trap, and Thalion crushed my wolf to cover her lies!"

Cathleen burst through the courtyard doors, a dark velvet wrap clutched around her shoulders. "Danis! Don't listen to her dirty mouth! She's lying to save her own skin!"

Before Danis could reply, the heavy low hum of a royal engine filled the courtyard. A pitch-black war carriage featuring the crest of House Dravenmoor slid to a halt on the snow-covered path.

The door opened, and Prince Thalion Dravenmoor stepped out into the freeze.

His five-foot-two frame radiated an terrifying, suffocation-level Alpha aura. His bare forearms were wrapped tight in dark leather bands, and between his thick knuckles, he rolled his heavy silver coin with a slow, hypnotic click.

"What a touching reunion," Thalion sneered, his golden slit-pupil eyes locking onto Danis's hand, which was still gripping my waist. "Are you enjoying my blood-bed maiden, Lord Silverclaw?"

Danis slowly dropped his hand, taking a step back, but his posture remained rigid. "Prince Thalion. I didn't expect the royal bloodline to visit the lower den tonight."

"I go where my property is, Danis," Thalion said coldly. He walked closer, his dark boots crushing the snow until he stood inches from my small frame. The heavy, intoxicating scent of black cedar and possessive Alpha heat washed over me, making my core throb with a sudden, betraying wetness.

Thalion's eyes dropped down to the blood soaking my tunic and the smell of alcohol on my breath. His face turned lethal.

"Who authorized you to drink on duty, Arwen?" Thalion growled low, his voice dropping into a dirty, possessive rasp. "Your mouth belongs to House Dravenmoor. You don't take a single drop of liquor unless I am pouring it down your throat while you're on your knees."

"I am sorry, My Lord..." I whispered, bowing my head until my chest touched my knees.

Danis stepped between us, his chest heaving. "She was forced by the guests, Thalion. Don't act like a beast over a servant's mistake."

Thalion laughed dark and low, the silver coin clicking sharply against his ring.

"A beast?" Thalion purred, his heavy hand reaching out to grab the back of my neck, his leather-wrapped fingers digging into my hair, forcing my face up to his. "She knows what I am. And since you care so much for her comfort, Danis, let's see how much mercy you have left."

Thalion shoved me hard onto the sharp, freezing cobblestones. My knees slammed into the ice, pain shooting up my spine.

"Kneel right there, Arwen," Thalion ordered, his golden eyes glowing with pure, unyielding dominance. "You don't rise from the frozen ground until Lord Silverclaw personally begs me to forgive your bloodline."

My eyes filled with tears as the freezing ice burned through my thin trousers, but the terrifying power of his Alpha command locked my muscles in place.

Thalion reached into his dark coat and pulled out a heavy gold key, dangling it right above my tear-stained face.

"This opens the high chamber in the Dravenmoor Crimson Keep," Thalion whispered dirty against my ear, his thumb tracing the scar on my cheek while his possessive touch sent a surge of angry heat straight to my thighs. "Your father just delivered your mother’s sacred Luna amulet to my den. If you want it back before Eowyn melts it into silver, you better be in my bed by midnight, bare and ready for the knot."