Chapter 5

Aria

“How can a malnourished runt like you even consider a job like this?”

Matron Ana’s voice cut through the crowded pack hall. Dozens of Hollow Vale’s highest-ranking women turned, their eyes landing on me.

Ana marched over with her daughter, Chelsea, right behind her. Chelsea was dressed in fitted clothes that showed off all her angles. For years, Chelsea made it her personal mission to torment me during our pack kitchen shifts. She used to worship me before everything happened. Now, she just hated me.

“Look at her,” Chelsea scoffed, eyeing my worn cotton dress and bruised cheek. “She looks like she crawled out of a ditch.”

A tall blonde nearby sneered. “Does she even have a wolf? Why is a weak nobody taking up space in the Alpha's line?”

“Go home this instant, runt,” Matron Ana glared, stepping into my space. “That’s an order, or you lose your jobs with me permanently.”

I kept my hands folded tightly in my lap. “I have as much right to be screened as your daughter does, Matron Ana. And I won't need to worry about those jobs since I’m getting this one. No thank you.”

Chelsea's face turned red. She opened her mouth to snap back, but her eyes darted past my shoulder. Her expression changed instantly.

The heavy oak doors swung wide open. Beta Drew stepped out, clipboard in hand.

“Aria,” Drew called out, silencing the entire room.

“You are up.”

Chelsea’s jaw dropped. Matron Ana looked like she had swallowed poison. I stood up, keeping my chin high, and walked past them into the private interview room.

The air inside was freezing. Sitting at the head of a long mahogany table was Alpha Cassius.

He was terrifying. His dark hair shadowed pitch-black eyes that carried a violent, commanding edge.

His face was a cold beauty that could kill you before you could think. Standing at six feet five inches, his massive frame was pure terror. I had expected an ugly brute. Despite the surprise, my heart hammered in my chest, driven by fear.

Beta Drew stood at his right, while three Thornwood elders sat nearby, staring at me like a specimen.

Cassius leaned back. His dark eyes scanned my bruised face and faded clothes.

“My medical team says your vitals are perfect,” Cassius said, his deep voice vibrating through the floorboards. “But biology does not prove you have the discipline for this contract. My Beta tells me you are desperate.”

“I am.”

“Desperation breeds greed.” Cassius stood up.

The room instantly felt too small as he walked around the table, stopping mere inches from me. I had to tilt my head back just to meet his gaze.

“Every woman out there claimed she only wanted to help,” his voice dropped to a low rumble. “But I know how omegas operate. You see a dying Luna, an empty throne, and a rich Alpha. You think you can worm your way into my bed and claim Thornwood.”

The elders muttered in agreement.

I stared up at him. The sheer force of his presence demanded absolute submission, but looking into his pitch-black eyes, something inside me snapped. I was too tired and too scared for my mother to play pack politics.

I took a step forward, closing the tiny gap between us.

Drew stiffened. Cassius didn't move, but his gaze sharpened.

“With all due respect, Alpha,” I said, my voice clear and flat. “I don't care about your throne. I don't care about your pack. And I certainly do not want your bed.”

The elders gasped.

“I am doing this for five hundred thousand dollars,” I continued, refusing to look away. “My mother is dying, and my brother needs a future. You want a vessel who will not threaten your Luna's place? Then pick me.”

I took a breath and delivered the final truth.

“Because I will never fall in love with you, I will leave without any disputes after giving birth and you’ll never see me again.”

The room went dead silent.

Cassius let out a low chuckle. He tilted his head, looking amused.

"You are awfully confident for an unmated wolf," he noted.

"It is easy," I replied, keeping my voice steady. "I am not attracted to you."

That wasn’t the whole truth, but I didn’t have the luxury to dwell on if it was or not. All I needed was this job and a way to feed my family.

One of the elders slammed his hand on the table. "You insolent little brat. You will show respect to your Alpha."

Before the old man could continue, Cassius raised a hand, silencing him instantly. He kept his eyes locked on mine. His expression remained cold, but his jaw tightened.

My blunt rejection had hit a nerve, scratching at an Alpha pride he was trying hard to hide. He searched my face for a hidden agenda and found nothing but the truth.

“Go home, Aria,” Cassius ordered, waving a dismissive hand. “Wait for our judgment.”

I bowed my head once and walked out before my shaking knees gave me away.

The walk back to Sarah’s small house was miserable. I had thrown all my cards on the table. If my boldness offended him, I had just signed my mother’s death warrant.

Why did I have to be so stupid?

Surely things couldn’t even get worse now.

I turned the corner onto our dirt road, my stomach dropping.

A sleek black car was parked in front of Sarah’s yard. Standing on the porch was my father, Richard. Clinging to his arm was his mistress, the younger woman he left us for.

I broke into a run. Sarah was blocking the doorway, while Leo stood behind her with his fists clenched.

“I hold the deed to this property,” Richard shouted, his face red. “But I am a reasonable man. I will let you deadbeats stay on one condition. You pay me fifty thousand dollars by the end of the month.”

“Fifty thousand?” Sarah yelled, her voice shaking.

“Your own wife is dying in the guest room!”

“Then the girl better have gotten that surrogacy job,” Richard sneered as I stepped onto the porch.

He looked me up and down. “Well? Did you get it?”

I shoved myself between him and Sarah. “I haven't heard back yet. They sent me home.”

Richard's cruel smile vanished. “You didn't get it. You failed.”

“At least I tried!” I yelled, my exhaustion turning into pure anger. “You abandoned a dying woman and your children for a cheap affair, and now you come here to steal the last thing we have left.”

He smirked. “Oh, come on Aria. Don’t you think I am entitled to a cut of the job you are whoring yourself out for?”

His mistress giggled, touching his arm. “They are so ungrateful, after all you’ve done to them.”

Scoffing at that, I met Richard’s gaze with a glare.

“The only thing you are entitled to is a slow painful death, after your scum mistress has fled with all you have, and you realize you are an unlovable old reject.”

Richard’s face turned purple. He lunged forward, raising a hand to strike me.

Before he could, Leo jumped off the porch and threw a wild punch at Richard's jaw. But Richard was heavier. He dodged and slammed a brutal backhand across my brother's face.

Leo hit the dirt hard, his lip split and bleeding.

“Leo!” I screamed, dropping to my knees beside him. Tears spilled down my face as I glared up at my father, my control completely snapping.

“I wish it was you!” I cried, my voice raw with hatred. “I wish you were the one dying instead of my mother!”

Richard’s face contorted with fury. “You ungrateful little brat.”

He stormed toward me, pulling his arm back to strike. I braced myself, throwing my arms over Leo to shield him.

Heavy tires crunched loudly on the gravel right behind us.

Richard froze, his fist hovering in the air. He turned around, his mistress gasping as a massive, armored Thornwood SUV pulled up behind his car.

The heavy door swung open. Beta Drew stepped out in a sharp black suit. Carrying a briefcase and a thick folder, he walked straight up the porch steps, his dominant aura forcing Richard and his mistress to stumble backward.

Drew stopped right in front of me and held out the folder.

“Pack your bags, Aria,” Drew said, his voice loud enough for the entire street to hear. “Alpha Cassius has selected you.”