The Mask of Innocence

I forced my breath to steady, my heart slamming against my ribs like a trapped bird as Maximo took another step toward me on the windy balcony.

"It was just my stepmother,"

I lied, my voice tight as I shoved the phone deep into my pocket, hiding my trembling hands.

"She was checking to make sure I hadn't disgraced the Hayes family name yet."

Maximo searched my face, his piercing obsidian eyes narrowing with deep suspicion. He clearly didn’t entirely buy my answer, but before he could press me further, his own phone rang, breaking the heavy tension.

He pulled it out, glancing at the screen, and his expression instantly hardened into stone.

"Brook," he answered, his voice dipping into sudden, lethal Alpha authority. He listened for a mere three seconds before his eyes snapped back to me.

"Get your coat, Lucia. We're leaving. Now."

"What? Where?" I blinked, stumbling slightly as he grabbed my upper arm—not roughly, but with an unyielding grip that brooked no argument.

"One of my pack scouts just spotted Agatha at The Iron Den,"

Maximo growled, his jaw clenching so hard a muscle ticked beneath his sharp jawline.

"It’s a notoriously dangerous, lawless shifter bar on the neutral border ridges. She has no pack warriors with her, and she’s surrounded. If anything happens to her..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but the dark, amber flash in his eyes told me everything. He would burn the world down to protect his false savior.

Thirty minutes later, the sleek black SUV screeched to a halt outside a low-slung, neon-lit building buried deep in the forest. The heavy, thumping bass of music vibrated through the reinforced glass windows, mixed with the pungent, overwhelming scents of cheap liquor, stale sweat, and aggressive rogue pheromones.

Maximo slammed his door shut, kicking the entrance of the bar open with enough force to rattle the hinges.

I hurried in right behind him, the thick smoke inside making my eyes burn.

The bar was packed with rough-looking shifters, but it didn't take long to find her.

Sitting at a central VIP booth, Agatha was in the middle of a wild fling with three towering, scarred rogue wolves. She didn't look terrified at all; she was completely in her element. She was laughing loudly, a glass of expensive champagne clutched in her hand as she leaned heavily into the lap of one man, her fingers playfully tracing the collar of his leather jacket. Another rogue was whispering something filthy into her ear, making her giggle as she ran a hand down his muscular arm, openly flirting and soaking in their attention.

It was a disgusting display of her true, manipulative nature.

"Agatha!" Maximo’s voice boomed through the tavern, a terrifying, thunderous roar packed with so much raw Alpha command that the thumping music cut out instantly. Half the shifters in the bar dropped to their knees in sheer submission, their wolves cowering.

Agatha froze. Her eyes widened as she snapped her head toward the door, locking eyes with Maximo’s furious, rigid form.

For a fraction of a second, absolute panic flashed across her face. Her mask of purity was completely compromised. If Maximo realized she frequented dark rogue bars to have flings with dangerous criminals, the illusion of his

"innocent, delicate angel" would be shattered forever.

But Agatha was a master storyteller.

In a split second, her entire demeanor shifted with frightening speed. She let out a piercing, fragile shriek, intentionally dropping her champagne glass so it shattered loudly on the floor. She scrambled backward into the corner of the booth, pulling her knees to her chest as her face instantly twisted into a mask of pure, unadulterated terror.

Massive, breathless tears swelled in her eyes, spilling over her flawless cheeks on cue as she pretended to be a helpless victim.

"Maximo!" she sobbed, her voice trembling like a frightened child's as she pointed a shaking finger at the men beside her.

"Oh, thank the Moon Goddess you're here! Please save me! These... these awful men grabbed me from the market!

They dragged me here and forced me to sit with them! I was so scared, I thought I was going to die!"

The three rogues blinked in absolute shock, completely stunned by how fast she had turned on them after actively throwing herself at them a second ago.

"What? You lying little b—"

Before the rogue could finish his sentence, Maximo crossed the room in a blur of pure, terrifying speed. He grabbed the speaker by the throat, lifting his massive body entirely off the ground with one hand, before slamming him violently through a nearby wooden table, splintering it to toothpicks.

The other two men scrambled backward, raising their hands in terror as Maximo’s Alpha aura expanded, suffocating the entire room with the scent of ozone and imminent death.

"Get out," Maximo snarled, his voice a demonic rumble as his eyes glowed entirely amber.

"Before I tear your hearts out."

The rogues didn't need to be told twice. They fled through the back exit, leaving the bar completely empty.

Maximo instantly dropped his stance, rushing over to the booth and pulling Agatha into his broad chest.

"I’m here. You're safe, Agatha," he whispered, his voice incredibly gentle, entirely blind to the fact that over his shoulder, Agatha’s sobbing face had instantly transformed.

She looked directly at me over Maximo’s shoulder. The tears stopped instantly. She arched a manicured eyebrow, a cold, vicious, triumphant smirk spreading across her lips as she mouthed the words: Remember your mother.

A sick feeling coiled tightly in my stomach. I stood in the shadows of the doorway, watching the man who owed me his life comfort the monster holding my mother hostage. Maximo held her tightly, pulling back to wipe a fake tear from her cheek.

"What were you doing near the borders without a guard, Agatha?" Maximo asked softly, though a hint of lingering suspicion remained in his dark eyes.

"You know it's dangerous."

"I... I wanted to buy a rare healing herb from the market for my mother," Agatha whimpered, laying her head against his chest, playing the pitiful victim perfectly. She squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a fragile sigh.

"I didn't think anyone would target me. I'm so sorry, Maximo. I'm just so fragile compared to Lucia... I wish I was strong like her so I could protect myself."

Maximo’s gaze flicked over to me, standing silently by the door. His eyes hardened, the softness evaporating as he looked at my stoic expression.

"Lucia doesn't need protecting. She is an omega built for the harsh realities of life. You are different, Agatha. You are pure. I will personally see you back to your packhouse, and I am doubling your security detail."

He guided Agatha out of the bar, completely ignoring my existence as he walked past. But as I followed them out into the freezing mountain night, my fists clenched so hard my short nails nearly drew blood. She had escaped his suspicion again using her sickening pity, but the cracks were starting to form.