C1

Lanka Monroe POV

"Keep your hands off me, you rogue executioners!"

I snarl, my claws scraping uselessly against the leather seats as the black enforcers pin my shoulders down. The heavy vehicle swerves violently around the dark, winding roads of the territory.

"Shut your mouth and sit down, Omega, unless you want your scent glands shredded before we reach the medical wing."

The larger enforcer grunts, ripping my leather satchel from my grip and tossing it under the seat.

"Did Andrew order this ambush, or is this Maren's twisted pack politics?"

My heart hammers against my ribs while the silver-plated restraints click around my wrists, burning my skin.

"Just stay quiet, Alpha Wolfe’s little mate, and your pup won't have to suffer the silver needles early."

The driver barks, pushing the accelerator down as the heavy armored vehicle tears through the borders toward the Silverline Medical Center.

"Get him inside the extraction cell right now!"

Maren Cole commands the pack shamans the second they drag me through the iron doors of the medical wing.

"What kind of dark magic are you performing on my body, Maren?"

I yell, baring my fangs as a heavy-set nurse grabs my arm to drag me toward the cold stone slab.

"Stop throwing an immature tantrum, Lanka. It is merely a bloodline verification ritual to test the pup’s alpha resonance."

Maren sneers, her eyes flashing an aggressive amber that demands complete submission.

"A simple ritual does not require silver chains and rogue executioners! Let me go!"

I scream, twisting my hips to break the hold of the pack guards, my teeth bared in pure defiance.

"We are extracting amniotic fluid and pack essence from your womb, so lie still before the silver needle pierces your core."

Maren says, signaling three raw Alphas to pin my limbs down onto the freezing stone table.

"I refuse to let you touch my child! The pack laws state an Omega's body belongs to his true mate, not the council elders! Andrew would tear your throat out if he knew you were forcing silver instruments near his blood!"

I screech, my skin burning as they strip my shirt away to expose my flat stomach.

"You think Andrew is coming to save you, little omega boy? He wants to know if that bastard pup carries his true wolf genes just as badly as I do."

Maren whispers, leaning over me until her sour, aging pheromones choke my breathing.

"Doctors, insert the extraction lance now."

"Alpha, we have an emergency at the medical sanctuary!"

Daniel Cho breaks into the inner pack den without bared teeth, gasping for air.

"State your business, Daniel, or I will crush your windpipe for disrupting a territorial pact."

Andrew Wolfe growls, his massive frame rising from the carved wooden table where the Hawthorne family patriarch sits waiting with the blood-sealed treaties.

"Your mother just took Lanka by force to the Silverline cells to puncture his stomach for a lineage test."

Daniel says, dropping his head in submission.

"Forgive the interruption, Elder Damon, but my mate’s compliance requires my direct presence."

Andrew says, turning his icy glare toward the Hawthorne patriarch while his knuckles turn pure white against the stone desk.

"Go handle your domestic omega matters, Alpha Wolfe. The Hawthorne alliance can wait an hour."

Damon Hawthorne says with a dark, knowing chuckle.

"Andrew would never let you desecrate our mate bond like this."

I whisper, the taste of blood thick on my tongue as the silver needle hovers inches above my flesh.

"He does not care about a broken omega from a ruined pack. Now hold his legs down!"

Maren yells.

"Don't do it, please. I will submit, just don't use the silver."

I sob, losing all my strength as the freezing metal touches my skin, sending a piercing, agonizing shock right through my lower belly.

"Lanka! What are you doing to him? Stop this illegal extraction immediately!"

Julian Park roars, crashing through the heavy oak doors of the sanctuary cell just as the needle retracts.

"Julian?"

I gasp, my vision blurring as he pulls my trembling, half-naked body against his warm chest.

"I am here, Lanka. I have got you now."

Julian whispers, wiping the sweat from my forehead.