Crimson Judgement

"Looks like she was set up," Alpha Kael muttered, letting go of my throat like it had been nothing more than a toy tossed around for amusement.

His crimson eyes locked on me, sharp, calculating, terrifying. "Standard wolfsbane doesn't affect us anymore. We evolved past that centuries ago."

I blinked twice. My brain short-circuited. Wait. What? Wolfsbane? Not lethal? Not fatal? Everything I'd been taught, every trembling warning and fearful glance I'd carried since I could walk, suddenly felt like lies.

"Which only leaves... Blood of Wolfsbane," he added casually, as if naming a dessert and not a substance that could kill.

"You weren't there, Kael," Alpha Jarek spat, teeth clenched, eyes narrowing dangerously. "It was standard wolfsbane, nothing more." His gaze flicked to me with that judgmental, alpha-brother glare that reminded me why I hated being born into this family.

Kael tilted his head, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Correct. You weren't there. But tell me this where would a six-year-old even get something like Blood of Wolfsbane?" My stomach dropped. My wolf, sealed for years, twitched in panic. Guilt clung to me, raw and impossible to hide.

Before Jarek could answer, Kael's gaze shifted to me. The air thickened. Every ounce of confidence I'd pretended to hold vanished. My throat went dry.

My hands itched to curl into fists, but I froze. He wasn't just an alpha; he was a storm contained in human skin, and I was about to be swept away.

"I didn't call you here to talk about your slave," Jarek snarled. "Or about... our parents ' "

Kael lifted a hand, stopping him mid-rant. "I see. Then I'll leave you to your chaos," he said, calm as a lake, though there was a glint in his eyes danger, amusement, curiosity all at once. And that's when I realized the terrifying part: he didn't even blink when looking at me. Not once.

As soon as Kael stepped out, Jarek and Beta Kieran lunged at me. "What did you say to him?" Jarek demanded, slamming a hand into my stomach like he had a personal vendetta against my insides.

"N-nothing! I swear!" I gasped, curling into myself.

"He just... asked why I smelled... different."

"Did you tell him?" Kieran's voice dripped venom. I hated him so much, I fantasized for a fleeting second about ripping his throat out, but I didn't. Not yet.

"WELL?" Jarek snapped when I didn't respond fast enough, smacking my head. I forced my body upright, teeth gritting. "I didn't say it was you," I whispered, fragile.

Jarek yanked my hair back. Pain shot through my skull in sharp bursts, a reminder of every second I'd spent being "nothing" in this house. He dragged me down the hallway toward the basement. "If you've ruined this, you won't see daylight again," he hissed.

"Please..." I begged, voice trembling. "He's... he's an alpha! I had to answer him!"

And then he appeared. Alpha Kael, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, crimson eyes like fire licking through ice. My brother's grip vanished instantly, and I nearly screamed at the relief.

"I thought you had left," Jarek muttered, frustration threading his words.

"I said I would. Then I found a basement filled with your sister's... scent. Is this how you treat family?" Kael's voice was low, calm, but it pressed against my chest like a hand.

"She deserves it," Jarek snapped. "She killed our parents."

Kael's laugh was quiet, cold, merciless. "If I agree to your deal, everything becomes my business. Tell me, what punishment do you plan for her? Starvation? Beatings? Lockdown?"

"Really?" Jarek hissed. "You expect her to survive?"

Kael's eyes swept over me slowly, measuring, assessing. Underfed. Bags under tired blue eyes.

"A sister of an alpha," he murmured, voice heavy, "treated like a ghost. Regardless of what she did as a pup."

"She did it!" Jarek seethed. "But it has nothing to do with this deal!"

"That's for me to decide," Kael said, crimson gaze flicking from my brother to me. "Where is her mate? I'd like to know her thoughts."

I closed my eyes, silently praying my Luna wasn't around. Kael sneered, dismissing the question with a flick of his wrist. "On second thought... leave her out. She's likely as vile as you."

I peeked through slits. No defense. No rescue. Just me, marked, a traitor in my own home. And instead of death, my brother had sentenced me to endless suffering.

"Alpha Jarek," Kael said finally, smirking, controlled, infuriating. "I have a proposition."

Jarek's jaw clenched. "We've agreed."

"Not entirely. If you refuse, you won't get my help. You'd rather have me as an enemy, I assume?"

"You want her?" Jarek muttered, teeth gritted.

Kael's gaze shifted to me. "Yes. She comes to my pack, and then we talk terms."

My stomach dropped. Why me? I was nothing. A ghost. A mistake.

"Deal," Jarek said, sticking out his hand. Kael ignored it, cupping my face instead, thumb brushing my bottom lip. Eyes piercing, measuring, calculating. My wolf twitched inside, sensing danger... and something else.

Then he strode to the door. "One hand laid on her, and your contract will be the least of your worries," he warned, slamming the door behind him.

I bolted to my tiny bedroom. My few belongings, clothes in a bag, mocked me. Less than a minute to pack, but my mind raced. Kael's questions, his stare, the Blood of Wolfsbane... Why did he care? Why me?

By morning, we were driving to Moonshine Packhouse. Kael's men followed silently. My bag felt like dead weight. My pulse slammed against my ribs. I hid behind corners, dragging my belongings, heart hammering.

"Are you ready?" a voice called.

"Don't speak unless spoken to," another hissed behind me.

I stepped forward. Kael's eyes caught mine immediately scarlet fire, dangerous, assessing.

My wolf growled low in my mind, sensing him. Curious. Protective. Hungry.

"This isn't like the others," Kael said low, commanding. "Don't touch her. Don't stare too long."

I shivered. I knew my life had just been ripped from everything I knew. Nothing would ever be simple.

Nothing safe. And I was going to have to survive the storm that was Alpha Kael.