CHAPTER FIVE

David’s POV

I watched her stare at me like I had grown another head.

“What exactly are you implying?”

She asked, voice laced with suspicion. “If this is some twisted attempt at courtship, then let me stop you right there… I’m not interested.”

I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up my throat.

“You think I’m interested in you?”

Her frown deepened. 

“Then what—”

“No offense, Silva, but bleeding she-wolves from the enemy camp aren't exactly my type. And this isn’t about my preference, anyway. The Pack Elders are pressing me to find my mate or get a Luna through an arranged marriage. They want someone who can stand beside me and represent the pack, and you can solve multiple problems with one signature.”

She crossed her arms.

“That’s it? Just a political move?”

“That’s the surface of it. As an outsider, I know that you're clean . You don’t have ties to the pack Elders, nor any hidden loyalties to these scheming bloodlines. So, I don't have a fear of being spied on by you. And best of all is the fact that we want the same thing.”

Silva narrowed her eyes. “And what’s that?”

“To ruin the Alpha family of the Red Drop Pack.”

She stiffened.

Good. That meant she still had fire left in her.

“I’m not asking you to betray the pack,” I continued. “I’m asking you to destroy the ones who betrayed you. Liam and his new mate… the ones who left you to die.”

Her hands trembled at her sides, but her voice was cold. 

“I want revenge. I want it so bad I feel it in my bones. But not at the cost of innocent lives.”

“I don’t harm innocents,” I said flatly. “I target those who deserve it.”

Her silence stretched, taut as a drawn bowstring. Then she exhaled and nodded once. “I’m in. But… there’s still the bond.”

I tilted my head.

“The mate bond,” she clarified. “With Liam. He’ll sense I’m alive sooner or later.”

I gave Ronan a glance, and he left the room. When he returned, he carried a small glass vial, glowing with a faint violet shimmer. I took it carefully and turned back to her.

“This,” I said, “is a poison. Not lethal—but vicious. It severs the mate bond. Forcefully. Most don’t survive the backlash. The pain alone is enough to drive some mad.”

Silva looked at the vial for a heartbeat… then snatched it from my hand.

Not a second of hesitation.

She uncorked the top and downed it in one gulp.

Ronan cursed under his breath. I didn’t move.

She staggered.

Her knees hit the ground as the tremors began. Her fingers curled into claws against the floor, back arching with violent spasms. A muffled scream ripped from her throat as her bond to Liam began to shatter from the inside out. I saw it all—her skin pale, soaked in sweat, lips trembling as if biting down the scream.

But her eyes…

Even in that agony, her eyes burned.

She wanted this.

After several long, torturous minutes, her body stilled. Her chest heaved. The air reeked of scorched magic, but her eyes—her damn eyes—were still steady.

“It’s gone,” she rasped.

I raised a brow. “You’re still alive. Impressive.”

She smiled. It was cracked and pained… but it was real.

“Now you’re one of us,” I said, motioning to Ronan. “Bring the contract.”

He returned with a leather scroll, freshly inked and ready. I unrolled it across the table and handed Silva a blade.

“It’s simple,” I told her as I read it aloud. 

“Clause one: No strings attached. This is a business contract, not a love story. Clause two: Nominal relationship. We’ll act like a couple when needed, nothing more. Clause three: Public appearances as necessary. Clause four: We act together against the Alpha family of Red Drop Pack. And clause five: Once the mission is complete, we part ways.”

Silva took the knife.

No hesitation this time either.

She sliced her palm cleanly, and I did the same. Our blood mingled on the parchment, the ancient magic sealing the pact in silence.

The contract burned for a moment with a soft silver light—binding, final.

She was mine now. Not as a lover. Not as a mate. But as a weapon.

A brilliant, vengeful weapon with the perfect motive and the perfect cover.

I folded the scroll and locked it in the drawer behind me. When I turned back to her, she was already steady on her feet. Pale, yes—but focused.

“You’ll get what you want,” I told her. “So will I.”

She nodded once, eyes sharp.

Ronan, of course, wasn’t convinced.

“You sure this won’t come back to bite us?” he muttered.

I looked at Silva—no, the woman formerly known as Silva. That name was dead, buried with the face she used to wear.

“Nothing worth doing comes without risk,” I said. “But we just gained the one person who knows the Alpha mansion inside out. Their patrols. Their politics. Their weak points.”

I smirked.

“And she hates them more than I ever could.”

Let Liam sleep easy for now. A storm was coming for him, wearing the face of a stranger.