FAZER LOGINThe following morning, while I was eating breakfast, the elders of the Shadowclaw Pack arrived. Not long after, I was summoned to Alpha Draven’s study room. When I stepped inside, the room felt heavy with authority.
The elders sat in silence while Alpha Draven stood behind his desk, his expression unreadable. They told me that starting from today, I would work as his personal assistant at Whitmore Group. I nodded and agreed, even though it was the last thing I wanted. The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, revealing the nerve center of the Whitmore Group. The Alpha's executive floor was a fortress of glass and steel, smelling of ozone, expensive cologne, and the underlying, sharp tang of high-stakes anxiety. I stepped out, my heels clicking rhythmically against the polished marble floor. Every head turned. I could feel their gazes curious, judgmental, predatory. But one scent cut through the sterile air like a knife: a cloying mixture of synthetic roses and bitter jealousy. "I honestly don't know what the Elders were thinking," a voice carried across the open-plan office, loud enough to be intentional. I paused, turning my head toward the source. A woman with platinum blonde hair and a tight pencil skirt was perched on the edge of a desk, holding court with two younger assistants. Ingrid Slater. The head secretary. "Hiring a wolf from some backwater Pack to be the Alpha's personal assistant?" Ingrid sneered, her eyes raking over me with disdain. "She smells like weeds from the wilderness. I bet she's just some desperate Omega trying to sleep her way into a title". The office went silent. My Inner Wolf bristled, pacing in my mind, but I kept her on a tight leash. I didn't need claws to handle a chihuahua. I walked straight up to Ingrid's desk. She straightened, crossing her arms, expecting me to cower. "If my scent offends you, Ms. Eliza, I suggest you see a doctor," I said, my voice cool and projecting clearly across the room. "Perhaps your nose is malfunctioning, mistaking the sour stench of your own jealousy for my perfume. Or maybe," I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice to a lethal whisper, "you've spent so much time chasing the Alpha's trail that you've forgotten what a real wolf smells like". Ingrid's face flushed a deep, blotchy crimson. A few stifled giggles erupted from the cubicles behind her. She opened her mouth to retort, but her eyes darted toward the massive glass walls of Draven's office at the end of the hall. Through the glass, I saw him. Draven sat behind his desk, his dark eyes fixed on us. He didn't look angry. He looked... bored. He saw his head secretary attacking his "Wife," and he did absolutely nothing. So that's how you want to play it, Draven, I thought, turning my back on the glass. Sink or swim. Ingrid, realizing she couldn't cause a scene without drawing Draven's ire, slammed a thick file onto the desk. "Fine," she hissed, her voice trembling with suppressed rage. "Since you're so confident, you can handle the afternoon shoot. We have a VIP client downstairs. Andrew Cuomo." A ripple of unease went through the onlookers. Even I knew the name. The son of the Moonlight Pack's Beta, and a human world supermodel known for a temper as volatile as a rogue in heat. "He's already fired three assistants this morning," Ingrid said, a malicious smirk returning to her lips. "He hates incompetence. Don't keep him waiting, Luna". I picked up the file, my expression unreadable. "Consider it done". The studio on the tenth floor was chaos. "No! I said crushed ice, not cubed! Are you deaf or just stupid?" A voice boomed from the center of the set. Andrew Cuomo was pacing in front of a white backdrop, shirtless, his lean muscles glistening under the hot lights. He threw a plastic cup into a trash bin with unnecessary force. The production crew looked terrified. "This place reeks of mediocrity," Andrew grumbled, running a hand through his tousled hair. "Someone get me a shaken lemon tea from the city center. Seven pumps of sugar. Now!" I stepped into the clearing, the file tucked under my arm. "Mr. Cuomo," I called out, my tone professional. "I am Aurora. I'll be managing your schedule for the rest of the day". Andrew didn't't even look at me. He kept his sunglasses on, waving a dismissive hand. "Great. Another babysitter. Just go get the tea, sweetheart, and maybe I won't walk out of this" He stopped mid-sentence. The air shifted. The ventilation system cycled, carrying my scent jasmine, forest pine, and the crisp freshness of rain directly to him. Andrew froze. His head snapped toward me, his nostrils flaring. Slowly, his hand reached up and pulled the sunglasses down his nose. His eyes, a striking amber, widened in absolute disbelief. The silence in the studio was deafening. Ingrid, who had followed me down to watch the fireworks, stood in the shadows with a triumphant grin, waiting for the explosion. Instead, Andrew's arrogance evaporated like mist in the morning sun. "Aurora?" he breathed, his voice cracking. "Moon Goddess above... is it really you?" He scrambled off the platform, ignoring the photographer, and rushed toward me. He stopped a foot away, looking at me as if I were a ghost, or a deity. "I... I thought I'd never see you again," Andrew stammered, his posture shifting from diva to devotee in a heartbeat. "After that night in the woods... the Rogues... you saved my life". I offered him a small, genuine smile. "It's good to see you in one piece, Andrew. And fully clothed, mostly". "You know him?" Ingrid's shrill voice cut in from the sidelines. She looked like she had swallowed a lemon. "How does a stray like you know the Moonlight heir?" Andrew whipped around, a low growl vibrating in his chest a sound of pure warning that made Ingrid recoil. "Watch your tongue," Andrew snapped, his eyes flashing with Beta authority. "This 'stray' shifted into a Dire Wolf and took down four Rogues single-handedly to save me when I was a pup. She is a warrior. Show some respect." The studio gasped. I felt the weight of a dozen stares, but this time, the judgment was replaced by awe. I looked at Ingrid, whose face had gone pale. "Shall we get back to work, Ms. Eliza? Or do you have more insults to throw?" Andrew turned back to me, grinning like a loyal puppy who had found his master. "Anything for you, Aurora. Do you want me to pose? I'll pose. I'll do whatever you say." High above in the glass tower, the war had just taken a turn Draven never saw coming.The stone walls of the secondary wing felt like a tomb, but I didn't have time to cry over the marriage I thought I had built. I stood in the center of my old guest room, the silver vial of counter-toxin resting heavy against my palm.To save Draven, I had to get close enough to give it to him without alerting Cordelia's guards or my stepsister's eyes. The engagement banquet was scheduled for tomorrow evening. I had less than twenty-four hours to break the hold of the Lunaria Root before the alliance was finalized in front of the high court.A sharp knock at my door broke the silence.I slipped the vial back into my sleeve, my muscles tensing as my inner wolf bared her fangs. "Enter."The door swung open, and Angelica stepped inside. She had already changed into a deep purple velvet robe stolen from the master suite's guest wardrobe. Her venomous smile was fully intact as she closed the door behind her, locking it with a slow twist of her wrist."Still hiding in the dark, Aurora?" Ang
The suffocating weight of my royal aura still vibrated through the stone pillars of the grand hall, leaving the elders and the foreign delegates paralyzed in their seats. Angel was still trembling, her hands gripping the edge of the mahogany table as she stared at the silver Nightveil amulet in shock.I turned my head to look at Draven, expecting to see the fierce pride that always filled his golden eyes when we stood together against the court.Instead, he was completely frozen.Draven sat on the Alpha’s throne, his broad chest rigid, his jaw clenched so tightly a vein throbbed in his temple. His golden irises were completely blown out, turning his eyes a vacant black. He wasn't looking at me. He was staring straight ahead into empty space, his breathing shallow and robotic.Something was wrong.Before I could step back toward the dais, Elder Thomas stood up from the lower table. The terror that had turned his face pale only moments ago had vanished, replaced by a grim resolve. He di
The heavy oak doors of the master suite shut out the freezing draft of the corridor, but the silence inside the room was thick with an impending storm. Draven didn’t let go of my hand. He pulled me toward the center of the room, his movements tight, his chest still heaving with the residual adrenaline of his near-fatal encounter with Julian.I looked at my reflection in the polished glass. The forest-green silk gown was slightly rumpled from the chaos in the solarium, but my eyes the sharp, lethal green of the Nightveil line were entirely clear. The meek, accommodating placeholder who had arrived at this estate in a transport convoy was gone. Angelica’s desperate attempt to use Julian had stripped away the last of my patience.A faint, rustling sound from the adjoining balcony made us both freeze.Draven’s head snapped toward the grand French doors that led out to the snow-covered terrace. His nostrils flared, his sharp Alpha senses instantly cutting through the room’s scent profile.
The heavy winter snow continued to blanket the Whitmore estate, burying the courtyard in a deceptive white peace. Inside the eastern wing, the air was thick with conspiracy. Angelica stood by the frosted window of Lady Valerie’s chambers, a glass of dark northern wine resting untouched in her hand."Draven’s mother has practically handed me the key to his bedroom," Angel said, her voice dripping with venomous satisfaction. "But a physical trap isn't enough. Not yet. His wolf is too hyper-vigilant right now. If I step onto that balcony while he’s still entirely consumed by his possessive haze over Aurora, he might actually tear my throat out before his instincts realize I’m offering myself."Valerie sat at her vanity, sharpening a small silver hunting dagger with a smooth, rhythmic *scritch-scratch*. She didn't look up, her ice-blue eyes fixed on the blade. "Then we need to break that focus. An Alpha’s protective instinct is a powerful shield, but it is also his greatest vulnerability.
The scent of vintage lavender and heavy, suffocating royal incense permeated every square inch of the Dowager Luna’s private chambers. Cordelia Whitmore sat before her mahogany vanity, meticulously smoothing a rich cream into her hands. The fire in her hearth crackled with a low, rhythmic snap, casting long, dancing shadows across the heavy velvet drapes that shut out the bleak winter afternoon.A sharp, hesitant knock broke the quiet."Come in, Angelica," Cordelia called out, her voice devoid of its public hostility, replaced instead by a smooth, calculating warmth.The heavy door creaked open, and Angelica stepped inside. She had changed into a form-fitting gown of deep crimson silk, her dark hair cascading perfectly over her shoulders. She looked every bit the picture of western nobility, though the slight tension in her jaw betrayed her nerves."You called for me, Luna Cordelia?" Angel asked, keeping her posture impeccably straight, embodying the grace she had been drilled to disp
The heavy oak doors of the mansion had barely begun to swing shut when a sharp, commanding voice cut through the courtyard, freezing the departing warriors and delegates in their tracks. "Hold those doors." From the gravel path, a sleek silver sedan that had trailing the Frosthound convoy came to a smooth stop. The rear door opened, and Cordia Whitmore the Dowager Luna and Draven’s mother stepped out. She was wrapped in an exquisite sable coat, her silver-streaked hair swept up into a flawless, rigid chignon. "Mother," Draven growled, his arm instantly returning to my waist, his grip tighter than before. The ozone scent of his anger flared, heavy and warnings. "You were supposed to be at the western estate." "And leave my house to be systematically dismantled by a pack of northern wolves and a nameless orphan?" Cordia walked forward, her leather heels clicking with absolute authority against the stone steps. She didn't spare a glance for the broken porcelain or the tension bleedi







