The Alpha's Summons

By Athena

The room fell into a stunned, suffocating silence.

No one moved. No one even seemed to draw breath.

I stared at Ravi, my jaw slack, utterly convinced my mind was playing cruel tricks on me.

"...Me?" I managed to choke out.

Ravi gave a single, firm nod. "Yes."

The head maid immediately snapped out of her stupor, her brow furrowing into a harsh frown. "There must be a mistake, Beta."

"There isn't."

"Alpha Buckley has never requested a personal servant before," she pressed, taking a bold step forward. "Especially not from our quarters."

"I'm well aware."

"Then why—"

Ravi's calm, dark gaze remained fixed entirely on me, ignoring the head maid's rising panic. "The Alpha was exceptionally clear. He requested Athena Grant."

The sound of my full name echoed inside my head, sending a sharp shockwave through my system.

Athena Grant.

Not "servant." Not "girl." Not "murderer."

My true name.

Around us, the faint whispers among the servants erupted into a rising hum.

"Why would the Ironclaw Alpha want her?"

"Has she done something to offend him?"

"She's in massive trouble now."

"Maybe she's finally getting what she deserves."

My fingers curled into trembling fists at my sides.

Inside me, Nyx paced back and forth anxiously, her hackles raised. "This isn't right, Athena. Something is happening."

"I know..."

"He's our mate."

"I know!"

"Then why does everyone sound so afraid?"

Because nothing good had happened to me in five agonizing years. Why on earth would tonight be any different?

The head maid stepped directly in front of me, blocking Ravi's view. "You'll have to wait, Beta. Alpha Damon explicitly instructed that Athena remain with the household staff until the evening banquet begins."

Ravi's expression didn't shift in the slightest. "I wasn't asking."

The words were spoken with smooth politeness, but the iron authority underlying them was completely unmistakable.

"I was delivering Alpha Buckley's direct command."

The room became even quieter. In the werewolf hierarchy, no one dared challenge a visiting Alpha's command—least of all a pack maid.

Reluctantly, her jaw set in anger, the head maid stepped aside.

Ravi held out a hand toward the open door, looking at me. "Come with me."

I hesitated, my heart hammering against my ribs. If Damon discovered I had walked away without his permission... the punishment waiting for me in the dark would be unbearable.

As though reading the terror written across my face, Ravi spoke again, his voice carrying clearly over the silent room. "If Alpha Damon has a problem with your presence..." A faint, sharp smile touched his lips. "...he is welcome to discuss it directly with Alpha Buckley."

A nervous murmur swept through the assembled staff. No one had expected Buck's Beta to openly defy the Silver Moon Alpha's standing orders.

Slowly, forcing my trembling legs to move, I stepped forward. Every single step toward the doorway felt as though I were walking deeper into an impending storm.

The long stone corridors of the guest wing were almost entirely deserted, bathed in the amber glow of wall sconces. Only the faint, distant strains of orchestral music drifted up from the lower floors.

Ravi walked beside me in silence.

Unlike Lucas, he didn't violently grab my bruised arm. He didn't bark degrading orders or shove me into walls. He simply matched his broad stride to my slower pace.

After several minutes of heavy quiet, he finally spoke. "How long have you been a servant here?"

I blinked, keeping my eyes on the floor ahead. "Five years."

"You were very young when you started."

"I was seventeen."

He frowned slightly, glancing down at me. "What happened?"

My throat tightened, a bitter lump forming. "I'd rather not talk about it."

He gave a single nod. "I understand."

To my overwhelming surprise... he didn't press further. He didn't demand an answer or use his authority to force the truth out of me. Instead, we continued walking in a surprisingly comfortable silence.

The suffocating tension in my chest eased just enough for me to draw a full breath.

"You aren't what I expected," the words escaped my lips before my mind could censor them.

Ravi looked down at me, amused. "What were you expecting?"

"A Beta."

He chuckled softly, a low sound in his chest. "I am a Beta, Athena."

"I know," I murmured, searching for the right words to explain the knot in my stomach. "It's just... I expected someone more like Beta Lucas."

His quiet smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, sharp line. "I've met plenty of men like Lucas," Ravi said, his voice dropping into a hard, serious register. "They mistake terror for respect."

He turned his head to meet my gaze. "They are not the same thing."

For reasons I couldn't rationally explain... I believed every word he said.

At the exact same time...

Inside the high council chamber...

Buck stood alone by the massive stone fireplace, watching the crackling embers. The formal trade meeting had adjourned, and the visiting pack leaders had retreated to prepare for the grand evening event.

Only Bobby Nash remained, leaning against the heavy oak council table with his arms folded over his chest.

"You sent Ravi to retrieve her." It wasn't a question.

Buck gave a slow, curt nod. "I need real answers, Bobby."

Bobby leaned back slightly, his wise eyes narrowing. "What kind of answers?"

Buck stared intensely into the leaping flames. "She's hiding something from me. The way she carries herself, the way she speaks... it doesn't match the story this pack is telling." He paused, his jaw tightening. "And Damon is hiding something, too."

Buck looked up to face the older Alpha. "What do you mean?"

"I've been watching Damon all afternoon," Bobby's expression darkened, his voice laced with grave concern. "Every time Athena enters a room... he watches her. But it isn't the way an Alpha monitors a common servant. And it certainly isn't how a leader acts toward his people."

"How does he look at her?" Buck demanded, stepping away from the hearth.

"Like a jailer watching his most dangerous prisoner," Bobby replied softly. He took a step toward Buck. "There are dark secrets buried beneath the floorboards of this territory, Evan. And I believe with every fiber of my being that girl is standing directly at the center of them."

Buck remained dead silent. Deep down, where his instincts raged, he had already reached the exact same terrifying conclusion.

Ravi stopped outside a heavy oak door at the end of the private hallway. He raised his hand and knocked twice.

"Alpha."

Buck's deep, unmistakable voice echoed from within. "Come in."

Ravi turned the handle and pushed the door open, stepping aside.

I froze on the threshold.

Buck stood near the sunlit window, dressed in a crisp black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing broad, powerful arms. The fading golden light of dusk painted warm streaks across his harsh features.

The second I stepped into the room, his piercing blue eyes locked onto mine.

The mate bond instantly flared to life once more—stronger, hotter, almost physically painful in its intensity. Nyx gasped inside my mind, pressing against the boundaries of my consciousness.

Ravi clearly noticed the sharp, lingering intensity of Buck's gaze as it swept over my bruised face and blood-stained hands. He quietly cleared his throat, breaking the silent spell.

"You requested Athena, Alpha."

Buck didn't take his eyes off me for a single second. "Thank you, Ravi."

"I'll stand guard outside," Ravi said softly.

The heavy door clicked shut behind him, sealing us inside.

Once again... we were entirely alone.

Buck gestured calmly toward a plush leather chair positioned near the hearth. "Sit."

I kept my spine straight, holding my ground near the door. "I'd rather stand, Alpha."

"That wasn't a request."

His Alpha aura gently flared—not enough to crush me or force my knees to buckle, but just enough of a subtle, velvet weight to remind me of the absolute power he possessed.

Resigned, I walked over and slowly sat down on the edge of the leather cushion. Buck remained standing, towering over me.

For several long, unbearable moments... he simply studied my face.

"You lied to me," he said quietly.

My heart skipped a violent beat. "I... I don't understand."

"When I asked who you were earlier," Buck said, stepping closer until his shadow fell over me, "you told me you were merely a servant."

"I am a servant."

"That is your current job," his voice remained entirely calm, yet infused with an inescapable weight. "It is not who you are."

Cold panic began to crawl up my throat. Had he found out? Had Damon already exposed my past to humiliate me?

Buck took another step forward, his eyes searching mine relentlessly. "You said you learned to read from your mother. But common pack servants in the Silver Moon territory aren't educated like that. You carry yourself with a noble posture despite your clothes. You speak with refined cadence."

He leaned down slightly, his sharp gaze cutting straight through my defenses. "So I will ask you one last time, Athena. Who are you really?"

Before I could force a single word past the suffocating lump in my throat—

BANG!

The heavy door was thrown open, slamming violently against the stone wall.

Both of us turned sharply.

Beta Lucas stood in the doorway, chest heaving as if he had run up the stairs, his face pale and slick with sweat.

"Alpha Buckley!" his voice shook with frantic urgency. "Forgive the sudden interruption..."

Buck's eyes narrowed dangerously into cold slits. "What is the meaning of this, Lucas?"

Lucas swallowed hard, his dark, gleeful eyes darting past Buck to land directly on my terrified face.

"Alpha Damon requests your immediate presence in the Grand Hall," Lucas announced, a twisted, sinister triumph lacing his tone. "The Alpha Council has officially decided..."

He stared straight at me, his smile widening into a sickening sneer.

"...to initiate the public Mate Recognition Ceremony immediately."

All the blood drained from my face, turning my skin as cold as ice.

Inside my soul, Nyx let out a sharp, horrified cry of utter terror.

Because every werewolf in the world knew what happened during the sacred Mate Recognition Ceremony. Once the ancient ritual began under the full moon, there would be no more lies. No more shadows. No more hiding.

The Moon Goddess herself would forcibly reveal the absolute truth of the bond... in front of the entire pack.