Chapter 2

~ Norah ~

Twenty minutes later, the heavy gate slammed shut behind us with a sound like a gunshot.

We were underground. Declan killed the engine, and the garage fell into sudden silence.

I didn't wait for him to open my door; I wasn't a princess and he wasn't a chauffeur. I shoved the door open and stepped out onto the concrete, my hand still gripping the empty pepper spray in my pocket.

Declan got out, standing tall and adjusting the cuffs of his coat. He didn't look at me as he walked toward a reinforced door at the far end of the garage.

Two guards stood there, massive and holding assault rifles across their chests. As Declan approached, they straightened and bowed their heads in submission.

Declan ignored them. He pulled a black key card from his pocket and swiped it against the panel until the door hissed open.

He held it, waiting.

I looked back at the gate. It was thick metal with cameras pointing at every angle. If I ran, I’d be dead before I made it ten feet.

I walked through the door.

We stepped into a hallway that looked like a prison block, with concrete walls, buzzing fluorescent lights, and no windows.

"You said you bought the debt," I said, my voice echoing in the empty hall. "But if my father owes the Valentis, why do you care?"

Declan stopped and turned slowly.

"Your father’s debt to the Valentis is just money," he said. "That isn't why I’m here."

"Then why?"

"Because he stole from me," Declan said. "He took a hard drive from my shipping office containing the encryption keys to our entire network."

My stomach dropped. "He... he stole from the Suttons?"

"Yes," Declan said. "And he sold it to the Krane Pack."

I froze. The Kranes were the biggest rivals in the city. If my father sold Sutton secrets to them, he had started a war.

"He sold the keys to the Kranes," Declan continued. "Then he used the cash to run, leaving you to deal with the Valentis."

He took a step toward me.

"I bought your debt from the Valentis so I could legally own you, Norah. I saved you from them so I could use you against the Kranes."

I stood there, processing it. My father had played everyone, stealing from one pack and selling to another, leaving me to die at the hands of loan sharks.

I forced my legs to move, catching up to Declan just as he stopped in front of a heavy door marked *Subject 4*.

He looked at me.

"You said you were a waitress," he said. "That you were nobody."

"I am," I whispered.

"Let's see."

He opened the door.

It was a holding cell. In the center of the room was a cage made of thick iron bars. Inside, a wolf paced back and forth.

It was huge, its fur matted and grey. Its eyes were red-rimmed and crazy.

"A Rogue," Declan said calmly. "Captured three days ago. He hasn't eaten since."

The wolf slammed its body against the bars with a loud crash. The beast snarled, snapping its jaws at Declan.

I backed up until I hit the wall. "Why are you showing me this?"

"Because a starving wolf hunts by scent," Declan said. "He can smell a drop of blood from a mile away."

Declan walked toward me, stopping only when he was right in front of me.

"Give me your hand," he said.

"What?"

"Give me your hand, Norah."

I hesitated, but he reached out and took my wrist. His grip was firm. He used his other hand to pull a small silver knife from his coat pocket.

"Don't move," he said.

Before I could pull away, he sliced the blade across my palm.

I gasped, snatching my hand back. It wasn't a deep cut, but bright red blood welled up instantly, dripping onto the concrete floor.

"You cut me!" I shouted, clutching my hand to my chest. "Are you crazy?"

"Walk to the cage," he ordered.

I stared at him. He was insane. I looked at the wolf, then back at him. "He'll smell the blood. He'll kill me."

"Walk."

I didn't want to move. Every instinct I had told me to run the other way. But Declan was blocking the exit, and the wolf was trapped behind bars. I had no choice.

I looked at the wolf. It was still focused on Declan, growling low in its throat. There was fresh blood on the floor, but the animal didn't react.

I took a shaky step forward, my heart hammering against my ribs.

The wolf didn't turn.

I walked closer, standing five feet away and holding my bleeding hand out.

Nothing.

I walked until I was standing right next to the bars, inches from the cold metal.

The wolf threw itself at the cage again, trying to get to Declan. Its claws sparked against the iron.

It ignored me completely.

I was invisible.

"You really are a Ghost," Declan said softly.

He walked up beside me. He raised the knife again and sliced his own palm.

The reaction was instant.

The wolf roared. It slammed into the bars right in front of Declan, snapping its jaws at the drops of blood. It went into a frenzy.

Declan looked at me.

"He smells me," he said. "He wants to tear my throat out. But you? You could walk right inside that cage and he wouldn't know until you touched him."

"I have no scent," I whispered. "I never have."

"It's rare," Declan said. "And in my world, it makes you dangerous."

He handed me a clean handkerchief for my hand.

"The Krane Pack is hosting a masquerade gala tonight," he said. "Alpha Krane will be there."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black device that looked like a microchip.

"No wolf can get in without an invite, but the invite isn't the problem," Declan said. "They don't just check papers, Norah. They check bloodlines. If a Sutton wolf tries to walk in, the guards will smell him instantly. They'll kill him at the door."

He held the chip out to me.

"But they won't smell you."

I stared at the device, the realization of what he wanted hitting me like a physical blow.

"You want me to spy on the Kranes," I said. "Tonight?"

"I want you to plant this in Krane's private office," Declan corrected. "I want my encryption keys back."

"I can't," I said. "I'm a waitress. If I get caught—"

"If you get caught, you die," Declan said simply.

He took my uninjured hand and pressed the cold chip into my palm, closing my fingers around it.

"You owe me a life, Norah," he said. "This is how you pay for it."

He pulled out his phone and typed a quick message.

"Mark," he said to the empty hallway.

A guard stepped out from the shadows near the elevator.

"Take her to the guest suite," Declan ordered. "Have the gala dress sent up immediately. We leave in two hours."

"Yes, Alpha," Mark said.

Declan looked at me one last time.

"Welcome to the Sutton Pack," he said.

He walked out, leaving me alone in the roo

m with the guard and the feral wolf.

I looked at the black chip in my hand.

I wasn't a prisoner; I was ammunition. And tonight, he was pointing me straight at the Kranes.