The Order

 Athena

I couldn't breathe.

My eyes followed Beta Lucas as he disappeared through the grand banquet hall doors. A heavy, sick feeling settled deep in my stomach, turning every nerve into a coiled wire.

Whatever Alpha Damon had whispered to him... it was about me. It was always about me.

I quickly lowered my head before anyone noticed I had been staring. The broken ceremonial porcelain still littered the polished marble floor around my bare, trembling knees.

"Well?" the head maid hissed, stepping into my peripheral vision. "Are you waiting for the Moon Goddess herself to descend and clean that up?"

"No," I whispered.

I knelt immediately, ignoring the sharp, jagged edges digging into my skin. One large shard sliced across my left palm as I gathered the pieces. Another nicked my thumb, leaving a trail of crimson across the white marble.

I barely noticed the sting. Pain had long since become my most familiar companion.

Around me, the low hum of aristocratic conversation slowly resumed. The musicians raised their bows, filling the high-ceilinged hall with soft strings once more. It was as though nothing had happened. As though a bleeding servant on the floor was far too ordinary a sight to deserve a second glance.

In the dark recesses of my mind, Nyx stirred, her voice trembling. *"Our mate is still watching us..."*

I refused to look up.

If Alpha Buckley had wanted to help me, he would have done it when I was on my knees before the entire room. Instead, he had turned his back and walked away. The bond might be real, ancient, and unbreakable... but his feelings clearly weren't.

I swallowed the tight lump in my throat and kept gathering the broken china with raw fingers.

Suddenly, a pair of polished black leather shoes stopped inches from my hands.

For one foolish, desperate heartbeat... Hope bloomed in my chest.

I slowly looked up.

It wasn't Buck.

It was Damon.

My brother crouched down until we were at eye level. To anyone watching from across the room, he looked like a caring, benevolent Alpha checking on an injured servant. Only I knew the monster that lived behind his smooth, handsome smile.

"You embarrassed me," he said. His voice was soft, barely a whisper, but that quiet tone frightened me far more than his shouting ever could.

"I'm sorry, Alpha."

"You always are."

"I didn't mean to drop the plates—"

"You never mean to do anything, Athena." His long fingers reached out, gently brushing a stray lock of dark hair behind my ear. Anyone watching would think it was a gesture of affection between siblings. Instead, he leaned in until his cold breath fanned across my skin. "You've caught someone's attention tonight."

Ice flooded my veins, instantly freezing the blood in my chest.

*He knew.*

My mind scrambled to keep my expression completely blank. "I don't know what you mean."

Damon's smile widened, revealing white teeth. "Lying has never suited you, little sister."

"I'm not lying."

"No?" His fingers snapped forward, gripping my chin in a vise-like hold that bruised my jaw. "Then explain to me why Alpha Buckley couldn't take his eyes off you from the moment he walked through those doors."

My heart hammered violently against my ribs. I kept my mouth shut, refusing to give him a single word.

Damon studied my face for several agonizing seconds before letting out a soft, dark chuckle.

"So..." he murmured, his dark eyes gleaming. "It finally happened."

"What happened?" I whispered, dread choking my throat.

"The Moon Goddess finally decided to show her twisted sense of humor." He released his grip on my chin and stood to his full height, smoothing his dark jacket. "I wonder how the great, invincible Alpha Buckley would react if he learned his fated mate is the cursed girl everyone believes murdered her own mother and father."

The little color left in my face drained away completely.

*No... Please, Moon Goddess, not this.*

"You wouldn't..."

"I wouldn't?" Damon laughed quietly, a sound devoid of any warmth. "You forget who I am, Athena. I don't lose. Not to our father, not to the council, and certainly not to a visiting Alpha."

He leaned down one last time, his voice dropping into a lethal purr. "I play to win."

Then he turned and walked away, leaving me frozen on the cold floor.

Across the hall...

Buck watched every second of the exchange, his jaw clenched so tight the muscles in his neck strained.

"What did Damon say to her?"

Ravi stepped beside him, his eyes following the Silver Moon Alpha as he returned to the main dais. "I couldn't hear. The music is too loud."

Buck's eyes narrowed. "She looks terrified."

Ravi glanced toward the servant still kneeling among the shattered plates. "She's been terrified since we arrived, Buck. Look at this place. Look at how they treat their workers."

Buck's fists tightened at his sides. He hated the feeling settling in his chest—a suffocating, restless urge to walk across the room, tear Damon away from her, and wrap her in his own coat until she stopped shaking.

It was ridiculous. She was just a servant.

His mate... but still a servant. A girl accused of the dark horrors that plagued this pack's history. Nothing about the pull made sense, yet every cell in his body roared against his logic.

"Buck."

Bobby Nash's calm, aged voice cut through his spiraling thoughts.

Buck turned slowly, forcing his posture to relax. "Yes, Alpha Nash?"

"You've barely touched your glass or your plate," Bobby noted quietly, leaning against the wooden railing of the upper floor.

"I'm not hungry."

Bobby looked past Buck's shoulder, his wise gaze landing directly on Athena as she stood up with the tray of broken porcelain. Then he looked back at Buck.

"I've known you since you were a boy, Evan," Bobby said gently. "When something weighs heavily on your mind, your eyes always give you away."

"I am fine."

"No, you're not." Bobby smiled knowingly, though his eyes carried a heavy concern. "You've been watching that young woman since the moment we stepped out of the vehicles."

Buck set his jaw, staring straight ahead. "I am simply observing the local staff."

"Is that what we're calling it now?"

Buck didn't answer, his lips pressing into a tight, hard line. Seeing that his point had landed, Bobby didn't push any further.

The banquet dragged on late into the night.

One by one, the servants carried heavy silver trays of leftovers back down the narrow corridors to the kitchens. I balanced a heavy tray against my bruised shoulder, desperately relieved to escape the suffocating air of the grand hall.

The kitchens were dim and quiet now. Most of the cooks had retired, leaving only the soft drip of water from the iron sinks.

I had just placed my tray onto the central prep table when the heavy back door creaked open.

Beta Lucas stepped inside.

His cruel, triumphant grin immediately sent a wave of panic crashing through me.

"There you are," Lucas said, his heavy footsteps echoing on the stone.

"What do you need, Beta?" I asked, backing up until my spine pressed against the wooden table.

"The Alpha has a special assignment for you tonight."

My stomach knotted tightly. "What assignment?"

Lucas folded his massive arms over his chest, his eyes trailing over my worn, threadbare dress. "One of our most honored guests requires personal service in his quarters tonight."

The tray behind me rattled as my hands began to shake uncontrollably. "No..."

Lucas's smile broadened. "You should feel honored, girl. Most servants would beg for an opportunity like this."

"I won't do it."

"You don't have a choice."

"I belong to the Silver Moon Pack—"

"You belong to Alpha Damon!" Lucas snapped, stepping forward and cutting off my retreat. His voice dropped into a harsh growl. "And Alpha Damon has already made his decision regarding your duties tonight."

Fear clawed violently at my throat. "What decision?"

Lucas leaned in, his foul breath hitting my face. "You'll spend the rest of the night serving Alpha Evan Buckley in his private suite."

The room seemed to spin on its axis.

Inside my mind, Nyx surged forward with a sudden, violent hope. *"Our mate! We're going to our mate!"*

*"No..."* I whispered internally, sheer terror competing with the bond. *"No, this can't be happening..."*

This wasn't a gift from Damon. It was a trap—a cruel, sick game designed to test the bond and ruin us both.

"Move," Lucas growled, grabbing my bruised arm with a crushing grip.

"Please—"

"Shut up!"

He dragged me forcefully out of the kitchen and up the narrow, stone servant stairwells. I struggled against his grip, but hours of endless labor and lack of food had left me too weak to break free.

The higher we climbed toward the executive guest wing, the louder my heart thundered in my ears.

*Would Buck recognize what was happening?*

*Would he reject me the second I stepped through his door?*

*Or worse... would Damon use whatever happened in that room to destroy the Ironclaw Alpha's reputation forever?*

Lucas stopped abruptly in front of a massive, polished oak door at the end of the quiet corridor.

He knocked once, hard and sharp. Then, without waiting for a response, he turned the brass handle and shoved the heavy door open.

My breath caught in my throat.

Alpha Evan Buckley stood in the center of the luxurious room, in the middle of removing his black suit jacket from his broad shoulders.

At the sound of the door opening, he turned slowly.

Our eyes met.

The air in the room instantly crackled with the raw, terrifying power of the mate bond.

Before I could say a word, Lucas gave me a brutal shove from behind. I stumbled forward across the threshold, losing my balance—

*BANG.*

The heavy oak door slammed shut behind me, locking from the outside.