C5

Zaria

"You are back! Where have you been, Kofi?" Amara Mensah asks softly, looking up from her whispers with Naomi Kingsley the exact second my ex-husband steps back inside the primary reception den.

Kofi drops onto the velvet cushion beside her, smoothing his tailored suit jacket, his expression shifting into a slick, deceptive mask. "Just taking a brief walk around the outer borders of the estate to clear my head, tracking the perimeter guards."

Amara smiles, completely placated, before turning back to Naomi. "How is Uncle Kael doing with his recovery? I heard from the enforcers that the High Alpha Council suggested he try a rogue silver acupuncturist to unlock his neural lines."

"His wolf's legs are completely dead," Naomi sighs heavily, her scent turning bitter with grief at the mention of the dark alpha's condition. "The pack healers said it is a lost cause, but we are leaving no stone unturned. We will try every black-market treatment available to get our leader back on his feet."

Amara squeezes Naomi's hand tightly. "Do not lose faith. Uncle Kael is the strongest prime alpha in the entire northern dominion. He will run with the pack again. I am going up to pay my respects to him right now."

As the eldest daughter of her bloodline generation, Amara has been completely sheltered and spoiled by the entire Adebayo Dominion. Before the ambush two years ago, Kael had always favored her, giving her whatever territory pieces she wanted. But since his legs were crushed, he has completely locked himself in the dark of the Shadow Den, missing every single pack ritual—including our sudden bonding feast yesterday. Amara wants nothing more than to flaunt her new mate in front of the supreme boss of the werewolf mafia.

"Go on up, then," Naomi murmurs, waving them toward the stairs.

Amara rises, locking her fingers tightly with Kofi's as she guides him toward the heavily guarded upper levels. They walk straight to Kael's private suite.

Inside the room, I am arranging my silver needles, forcing my lungs to take deep, even breaths to purge the rancid stench of Kofi's threats from my senses. I cannot let that pathetic piece of trash ruin my concentration. I have to protect my job for the sake of Jalen and Kairo. My wolf is just beginning to settle when a sharp knock echoes through the heavy oak door.

Tade Mensah cracks the door open, his eyes scanning the hallway. "Lady Amara. Lord Kofi."

Amara steps past the enforcer, her eyes landing on me instantly. Her perfect eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Oh! The stray from the courtyard is actually inside the inner sanctum!"

Tade looks between us, his grip tightening on his holster. "What? You two have crossed paths before?"

"We ran into her near the outer gates this morning," Amara says, her tone dripping with aristocratic curiosity as she stares at my medical kit. "She claimed she was here to treat Uncle Kael's wolf channels. Have you actually authorized this, Tade?"

"Yes," Tade responds coldly, stepping back to let them fully enter. "Dr. Okoye is the primary healer executing the silver treatments for Master Kael starting tonight."

Amara lets out a soft, mocking hum. "And you honestly believe a nameless female from the outer wastes can fix the neural damage of a dark alpha?"

I look at Amara's face and force a calm, professional smile onto my lips, though my gut twists with a strange flash of pity. She looks so young, so entirely oblivious to the rot sitting right next to her. Looking at her is like looking into a mirror of myself four years ago—completely blinded by the pretty words of a predatory liar. It is a tragedy that such a high-born wolf is going to have her life completely systematically destroyed by a spineless worm like Kofi Mensah.

Kofi steps forward, his eyes flashing with lethal venom as he glares at me. "What kind of game are you playing, Tade? Her? Healing the supreme commander of our mafia lines?"

The pure malice in his tone is unmistakable. He doesn't know a thing about neural silver work, but he knows me. He is sweating through his collar, convinced I have infiltrated the Shadow Den to extort his resources and strip away his newly stolen status. He genuinely believes I am nothing but a fraud looking for easy meat.

Amara nudges his side with her elbow, laughing softly. "Kofi, stop being so aggressive. You are showing your teeth in the master's den."

Kofi ignores her, stepping toward the wheelchair by the window and bowing his head low. "Greetings, Master Kael. I am honored to finally stand in your presence."

Kael Adebayo doesn't even shift his weight. He stares out at the dark treeline of his territory, his presence massive and suffocating, radiating an absolute hatred for noise and uninvited guests. He hasn't even been down to feed with the pack in months. He cuts his golden eyes toward the couple, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "What are you doing in my quarters?"

"We came to bring you our respects, Uncle Kael," Amara says quickly, her voice dropping into a submissive tone as she tries to handle his dark aura. "You weren't at our bonding ceremony yesterday. I couldn't just leave the estate without seeing you."

Kael glances at her briefly, his jaw shifting. "You have seen me. Now clear out of my den before I have Tade throw you over the border wall."

Amara's lip pouts instantly, her spoiled nature flaring, but Kofi takes the initiative to step closer, desperate to secure a foothold with the boss. "Master Kael, my trading house has deep connections with the elite underground healers in the western territories. I can personally source master enforcers who specialize in silver neural locks. It is far safer to use proven, high-ranking professionals for your legs. Unlicensed strays from the outer borders have no power; they will only drain your resources and leave your wolf permanently crippled."

As he speaks, he throws a look of absolute disgust directly at me.

My inner wolf snarls, my claws itching to slip from my fingertips. The bastard is striking first, trying to poison the alpha's mind against me before I can expose his secrets. He has spent the last four years ensuring I am completely unemployable across the territory by blacklisting my name, and now he wants to finish the job.

Kael turns his head slowly, his lethal gaze shifting from Kofi to me, then back again. "No," the dark alpha commands, his voice dropping an octave, sending a violent shiver down my spine. "She stays. Her touch is clean."

Kofi's jaw drops, his scent spiking with pure panic. "Master Kael, she doesn't even look like a verified practitioner. I doubt she even possesses a legitimate lineage seal from the High Alpha Council."

A bitter, cold laugh cuts through my throat before I can stop it. The sheer irony of this pathetic male trying to ruin me while standing in a room with a man who looks exactly like my twin sons is almost too much to bear. I reach into my leather vest, pulling out my heavy silver lineage scroll, stamped with the high clinic seal of the master healers.

I slide it right under Kofi's nose. "Lord Mensah, would you care to inspect my bloodline credentials with your own eyes? Or perhaps you need me to read the words out loud for you?"

Amara snatches the scroll out of my hand, her eyes widening as she reads the official gold-leaf markings. Kofi's face turns a dark, furious purple. He never expected me to actually survive the wastes, let alone obtain an elite mastery seal from the northern elders. He snatches the document from his mate's hands, his claws tearing the edge of the parchment as he glares at me. "Where did you buy this fake seal, Zaria? It looks authentic, but we all know rogues can forge anything in the lower slums."

I grit my teeth so hard I can taste the copper of my gums, my voice dropping into a dangerous whisper. "Run the serial number through the Moon Council network if you think it's a forgery, Mr. Mensah. You seem incredibly terrified of me being in this room. Tell me... are you worried about my ability to heal Master Kael's legs? Or are you shaking because you are afraid the dark alpha will discover the filthy, deceptive crimes you committed on his territory four years ago? Am I hitting close to home?"

I know how to play the game now. I know how to use words like a silver blade. The absolute worst thing that can happen to me is losing this job and finding a new den on the outer borders. But if the Adebayo Dominion finds out what Kofi did to me—and how he used a fraudulent clinic document to strip an Okoye daughter of her rank—the high council will skin him alive.

Kofi steps directly into my personal space, his chest heaving as he drops his voice so low Amara can't hear. "You will find yourself buried in a shallow grave in the wastes for making false accusations against a Mensah, bitch. Keep your mouth shut."

Amara blinks, finally noticing the thick, toxic tension radiating between us. "Kofi, what is wrong with you? Why are you acting like an feral rogue toward the healer?"

"I am merely protecting Uncle Kael's safety, my love," Kofi says smoothly, his mask slipping right back into place as he turns back to the wheelchair with a submissive bow. "Please protect your health, Master Kael. Do not trust the word of a stray."

Kael remains completely motionless, his golden eyes burning holes into Kofi's skull as he ends the interaction with a single, dominant snap of his fingers. "I know exactly what my system needs. Get the fuck out of my sight. Now."

"We will take our leave," Kofi mutters, bowing again before grabbing Amara's arm and pulling her toward the exit, throwing one final, murderous glare over his shoulder at me before the heavy door clicks shut behind them.

The moment the lock slides into place and Tade steps back into the shadows, the tight coil in my chest snaps. I look down, realizing my fists have been clenched so hard my fingernails have drawn fresh blood from my palms again.

"Are we going to begin the treatment, Dr. Okoye? Or do you plan to stand there daydreaming about my niece's mate all evening?"

Kael's smooth, dark baritone shatters my trance, pulling my eyes back to his massive form.

"Forgive me, Master Kael," I whisper, my hands shaking slightly as I pull out the long silver needles and begin passing them through the blue flame of the sterilizer. I step toward his chair, my inner wolf humming with a strange, inexplicable sense of safety around this terrifying male. He didn't believe a single word out of Kofi's mouth, even though Kofi is technically married into his bloodline now. I had fully expected him to execute me the moment a family member called me a fraud.

As I kneel at his feet, carefully sliding the first silver needle into the dense, paralyzed muscle of his right thigh, I can feel his intense, golden gaze locked onto the top of my head, tracking every breath I take.

He leans forward slightly, the heavy scent of cedar and raw power enveloping me completely. "Tell me, healer... how exactly do you know that pathetic piece of trash?"