THE WEREWOLF ALPHA REJECTED ME, THEN HE BOUGHT ME

The packhouse was awake even at midnight. I sensed it before I saw it. The low hum of dozens of wolves breathing under one roof, their bonds weaving through the building like something alive. Power. Not loud. Not aggressive. Just constant. The vehicle rolled through the iron gates, and Stromhaven came into view. Four stories of dark stone, older than anything in my father’s territory. Ivy climbed the walls like it belonged there. Narrow windows cut through the upper levels, built for defense long before comfort. It didn’t feel like a home. It felt like something built to last. I stepped out before anyone could open the door for me. Cold air hit my skin, and I welcomed it. Somewhere inside was what I had come for: the sealed room, the artifact, the truth my mother had died trying to protect. “Don’t wander.” The voice was sharp, controlled. I turned. The woman at the entrance stood perfectly still, like she had been there long before I arrived. “Maren,” she said. “I manage this

I had the lower level mapped by the second afternoon. Not in person. I hadn’t gone past the stone stairs or touched the keypad yet. But I had a map. I built it from watching, from patterns, from the way the house seemed to breathe. The staircase was next to the east dining room. The hallway below ran north to south. The sealed door waited at the far end, hidden in stone so you wouldn’t notice it unless you already knew. The keypad was mechanical and old. That meant there would be wear patterns, which meant someone had access. In two days, maybe three, I’d have a reason to go down there alone. That was the plan. Then Senna told me someone had been asking about my bloodline for three weeks. Suddenly, the clock started ticking. I found Maren in the kitchen at four. She was working through the provisioning ledger with precise, methodical efficiency. I sat across from her without asking and opened the secondary ledger she had assigned me. We worked in silence. the comfortable kind. “

Day four inside Stromhaven… and I finally had everything. Access to the lower level—thanks to Maren’s inventory task.The corridor mapped. The sealed door located. The keypad studied.Digits two, six, and nine were worn. used often. Important. three possible combinations. three chances. I sat at the desk, staring at my notes, forcing myself to remember why I was here.The artifact. the seal. the territory stolen from my bloodline. three years of planning. three years of searching. and now… I was here. all I had to do was go downstairs, open the door, and take back what was mine.Simple.My wolf stirred beneath my ribs.Silent...Waiting...The plan wasn’t the problem. he was. twenty feet of stone separated us. one wall. one corridor. one man whose presence I felt before I heard him. I could still see his face on the staircase.That moment—unguarded. raw. It had stayed with me.I exhaled sharply.Execute the plan. that was the only thing that mattered. at nine, I felt him outside my doo

The walkway conversation changed everything.And I had approximately forty-eight hours before reeve understood exactly how much I sat in the provisioning room, ledger open, pen moving.My mind wasn’t on the numbers. It was recalculating. reeve had made a move. It hadn’t landed. But men like him didn’t stop. they adjusted. shifted position. struck again.The question wasn’t if he would move. It was how fast. the seal was both the answer. and the problem. I needed to cleanse it. my mother’s notes described a restoration process. fragmented. Incomplete.Written by someone who believed she had more time. I understood the shape of it. but not the execution. for that I needed access. more than thirty seconds. more than one attempt. and I needed help.Someone inside the packhouse. Someone who wasn’t Zayden. Someone who could act without understanding everything. I closed the ledger. I already knew who.Maren was in the linen room. working through inventory with her usual precision. I stepped

Four words-And the room became something else."Vale crossed the border". I was already moving. Phone in hand. Jacket on. Boots pulled from beneath the bed. no hesitation. no second thought. three years of planning. Overtaken in seconds. reeve was contained. the signal wasn’t supposed to come. vale had moved anyway. I hit the corridor at a run and nearly collided with maren.She was already there. lamp in hand. expression sharp. “The northern sentinels,” she said immediately. “Three missing. no response.” The ridge. Same corridor. Same approach. “They’ve already breached,” I said. “Zayden’s in the war room,” she replied. “He asked for you.” The east tower war room was already alive. dorian at the map. Senna prepping supplies. Two enforcers.A border scout—dust still on his coat. Zayden stood at the head of the table. he looked up when I entered. The room settled. “Sit,” he said. Then “To her stay.” I stayed. “Twelve wolves crossed the ridge two hours ago,” he said. “mov