C6

ZARIA OKOYE

“You think you can just take whatever you want from me because you wear an Alpha’s crest, Kael?” My voice hits him like a blade, my chest heaving as the door of the luxury SUV clicks shut behind us. My fingers are trembling against my thighs, the heat of his skin still scorching my lips from that sudden, bruising contact.

“I only take what my she-wolf begs for, Zaria.” Kael leans back into the leather seat, his eyes flashing a dominant crimson before settling into a cold, dark amber. He points a finger toward the tinted glass window. “Look outside. We are parked right at the perimeter of the Mensah Moon Estate. You wanted a show for the sentries, didn't you?”

I tear my gaze away from his arrogant jawline and glance out. The towering stone pillars of my family’s old enemies loom through the mountain fog. “I didn't ask you to steal my breath away to prove a point to a bunch of guards!”

“Didn't you?” Kael slides his fingers over the screen of his device, tilting it toward my face. “Let the playback remind you who the wild one is when the moon gets high.”

I snatch the screen from him, my teeth grinding so hard my jaw aches. On the video feed, Kael is focused on navigating the winding roads of Valoria Ridge, his large hands steady on the wheel. Beside him, I am completely dead to the world, curled toward his warmth like a stray pup. Then, my lips part, and my own voice mumbles through the speaker: “Come closer, Alpha... put your mouth on mine and don't let go...”

The breath catches in my throat. I want to yell at him, to explain that in my head I was running through the thickets of the Shadow Den, dreaming of my mother’s old tales, not begging for his touch. But the smug curve of his lips tells me he wouldn't care about the truth anyway. I slam the device back into his chest, the taste of him still lingering like copper and rain on my tongue. That single sip of ceremonial wine from the Alpha Hall is turning my entire life into a battlefield. I throw the door open and step out onto the gravel.

“Your skin is flushed, Zaria,” Kael murmurs, his voice dropping an octave as his amber eyes track the line of my throat. “I didn't realize the fierce Okoye heir was so easily undone by a simple taste of her mate.”

“I’m going inside to get what belongs to my bloodline,” I snap, forcing my posture straight despite the frantic drumming of my pulse. “Don't look for me.”

“You forgot this.” Before I can take two paces, his arm shoots through the open window. His claws scrape slightly against the glass as he snatches my device, his thumb flying over the screen before pressing it back into my palm. “My private frequency is locked in. If the Mensah dogs try to bite, you call the Dominion.”

I look down at the glass. His personal wolf-seal is linked directly to my network now, an unbreakable digital tether.

“I will be back for you when the sun drops,” Kael growls, the engine roaring to life beneath his touch. The tires spit dirt as the vehicle rockets down the private mountain pass, leaving me alone in the shadow of the gates.

AMARA MENSAH

“Look at her standing out there like she owns the Ridge!” I slam my palms against the glass of the second-story balcony, my claws puncturing the wood trim of the frame. I haven't slept a single minute since the Alpha Hall announcement. I spent the night praying the Enforcers would find her throat torn out in the woods, but instead, Kael Adebayo just dropped her off like she’s some precious cargo.

“Amara, calm your beast,” my mother, Selene, warns from the chaise lounge, though her own eyes are slitted and dark with malice. “An Alpha heir doesn't look at a piece of garbage like that for long.”

“He kissed her, Mom! I saw his head tilt through the windshield!” My chest burns, tears of pure rage spilling over my cheeks as I watch Zaria smooth down her clothes. “She’s nothing! She’s a baseline stray from a dead bloodline! Why is he honoring this ridiculous pact? If he takes her to his bed permanently, our position in the Syndicate is gone!”

“She won't survive the week,” Selene whispers, her voice like grease over hot iron. “Go down there. Make her bleed with words until the setup is ready.”

I don't wait for her to finish. I fly down the marble staircase, my boots clicking like gunshots against the stone. The front doors swing open just as Zaria steps into the foyer, looking untouched and arrogant.

“You disgusting, plotting bitch,” I hiss, stepping directly into her path, my scent flaring with the sour tang of jealousy. “What kind of dirty magic did you perform to get Kael to put his mark on you?”

“I didn't have to lift a finger, Amara,” Zaria says, her voice smooth, completely ignoring my flare of dominance. She doesn't even flinch. “The Alpha choice was made before you could even put on your diamonds. I’d love to tell you it was a struggle, but he came right to me.”

“He belongs to the Mensah Clan!”

“Not anymore.” Zaria steps closer, her scent shifting—carrying the unmistakable, heavy musk of Kael’s private den. She leans in, her voice a lethal whisper meant for my ears alone. “And if you’re wondering about last night... the rumors don't do him justice. The strength in those arms, the way his claws feel against bare skin... it’s a shame you’ll only ever hear about it from me.”

She brushes past my shoulder, heading straight for the upper levels. I let out a feral shriek that rattles the crystal chandeliers, my fingers curling into fists so tight my own skin splits.

ZARIA OKOYE

The echo of Amara’s screaming follows me up the stone corridor, but the amusement fades the moment I step inside the Hidden Chamber. The dust sits thick on the floorboards. This is where my mother, Nyara, spent her final days before the shadows took her.

She was a high healer, a genius with formulas and wolf botany, far too gentle for the vicious politics of Valoria Ridge. When my father, Tade Mensah, brought Selene into this house as his secondary mate, my mother didn't fight him with claws. She buried herself in her research, trying to find a way to neutralize the silver weapons the humans were selling to the rogue packs.

Then came the night of the great purge. The fire had tasted like kerosene and old blood. Nyara had dragged my small body through the hidden stone chutes, pressing her silver-tipped pendant into my hand. “Stay in the dirt until your power wakes, Zaria,” she had whispered before running straight back into the screaming inferno to protect the scrolls.

The pack registry says she burned to ashes, but I’ve smelled her scent in the wind near the northern borders twice this year. She is alive. And I will tear this valley apart until I find the cellar where they are keeping her.

I quickly open the loose floorboard beneath the old basin, pulling out the small leather satchel containing her remaining field notes and a single portrait of her in her full Luna furs. I tuck them securely inside my coat. I won't leave a single piece of her spirit in this wretched house.

Downstairs, the heavy scent of roasted meat and imported tobacco fills the air. Tade Mensah is sitting at the head of the dining table, his scar-lined face breaking into an artificial grin the moment I appear. “Zaria, my beautiful daughter. Sit. Eat. The house has been empty without your light.”

The hypocrisy makes my stomach turn. For fifteen years, this man treated me like a broken omega, leaving me to sleep in the freeze of the Shadow Den while Amara wore silks. Now that the Adebayo Dominion has claimed me, he’s acting like a doting protector.

“Have some tea, Zaria,” Selene says, sliding a porcelain cup toward me with a hand that trembles slightly. “We must toast to your new Alpha.”

I catch the faint, bitter scent of nightshade beneath the jasmine. I smile, sliding the cup back toward her chest while picking up Amara’s untouched glass. “You first, stepmother. Family loyalty should always be tasted by the eldest.”

“Of course,” Selene says through a locked jaw, taking a microscopic sip of her own drink to keep up the appearance. “Drink up, dear. We have a private room reserved at the Royal Club tonight to celebrate with the local pack leaders.”

I lift my cup and drain the dark liquid in one long, unbroken swallow. Amara watches me from across the table, her eyes wide with a sick, victorious gleam.

KAEL ADEBAYO

“You’re going to burn a hole through that screen, Kael,” Manley Swain chuckles, tossing a pair of silver dice onto the velvet card table. “Did the little Okoye stray put a leash on you already?”

We are sitting in the VIP lounge of the Royal Club, the private sanctuary for the four ruling families of the Ridge—Adebayo, Shaw, Blakely, and Swain. Across from me, Allan Shaw is nursing a glass of bourbon, his sharp eyes taking in my rigid posture. In the corner, Merlin Blakely is leaned back with his eyes closed, his breathing heavy but rhythmic, his special forces training keeping him alert even in his sleep.

“She’s not a stray, Manley,” Allan says, a cold smile crossing his lips. “She’s the asset that keeps the Mensah Clan from seizing the southern silver ports. But Kael looks like he’s thinking about more than territory.”

I don't answer them. I haven't touched my drink or lit a single cigar because the scent of her skin—that sharp, sweet mix of rain and wild mint—is still burned into my throat. If I take a drink, I wash her away.

“Look at the monitor,” Manley says, pointing to the security grid that overrides the entire venue. “The Mensah targets just arrived. And look who they brought to the slaughter.”

Through the camera feed, I watch Zaria walk into the lower dining room. She is flanked by Tade and Selene, looking small but perfectly straight-backed in her dark clothes.

“Is she stupid?” Manley snorts, leaning closer to the screen. “They’re clearly setting her up for a hit. Look at the way the stepmother is hovering. Want me to go down there and drag her up before they put a silver slug in her?”

“Sit down,” I command, my voice dropping into a low, resonant rumble that makes the glasses on the table vibrate. “She doesn't need your help.”

“You want her ruined?” Manley asks, blinking. “If they catch her in a compromising position with some rogue enforcers, your grandfather will strip her title before midnight.”

“Allan’s right,” I say, my eyes locking onto the small figure on the screen. “Watch her hands.”

On the grainy black-and-white feed, Zaria takes the cup offered by Selene. Her movements are fluid, almost lazy. But as she reaches for the saucer, her fingers twitch, a subtle sleight of hand switching her cup with the one intended for her sister. Then, she lifts the laced fluid to her lips and swallows it down.

Within three seconds, her body slumps forward, her forehead resting against the mahogany table.

“Perfect,” Selene’s voice comes through the hidden audio tap we placed in the room. “The compound is working. Call the three enforcers from the lower alley. Tell them to take her to Suite 404. I want the camera angles wide and clear. Once the images hit the main network, the Adebayo contract is void.”

Tade hesitates on screen, his brow furrowed. “The Dominion will trace the substance.”

“They won't trace anything if she looks like she went willingly,” Selene snaps, her claws lengthening as she signals the guards. “Move her now!”

Manley jumps to his feet, his chair scraping loud against the floor. “Kael, they’re taking her up!”

I stand up slowly, the joints in my neck popping as my inner beast pushes against my ribs, eager for blood. “Allan, lock down the elevators. Merlin, wake up. It’s time to show the Mensah Clan what happens when they touch an Adebayo’s mate.”