Chapter Twenty-Nine

POV Bait

The Alpha’s chamber reeked of smoke and blood. Derrick paced before the hearth, claws digging shallow grooves into the oak table with every pass. His amber eyes burned, his aura thick with rage.

“She dares grow stronger,” he snarled. “She dares wield shadows against me. My wolves whisper her name as though she is more than prey. And Lucien—” His lip curled, voice dropping into a growl. “He mocks me every moment he breathes.”

Mona sat in the velvet chair by the fire, golden hair glimmering in the glow. Her posture was graceful, her smile soft, but her eyes were sharp as knives. She sipped her wine slowly, letting Derrick’s fury thunder unchecked.

When he slammed his fist into the wall, she finally spoke. “Then don’t chase her.”

His head snapped toward her. “What?”

“Don’t chase her,” Mona repeated calmly. “Let her chase you.”

Derrick’s growl deepened. “You think she would come willingly?”

“She will,” Mona purred, setting down her glass. “Because she has ties here. Threads of loyalty she cannot sever, no matter how strong she grows. You can hunt her for years and fail. Or…” She leaned forward, eyes gleaming. “You can pull on the threads until she comes running into your jaws.”

Derrick’s expression flickered, suspicion and interest mingling. “What threads?”

Mona smiled. “Her father. Her friends. The ones she still loves. The ones she still protects in her heart. If you bleed them—slowly, publicly—she will not stay away. Her pride won’t let her.”

Silence stretched heavy between them. The crackle of the fire filled the chamber, shadows dancing across Derrick’s scarred features.

Then he smiled.

Cruel. Sharp.

“Of course,” he murmured. “She is weak where she loves.”

Mona tilted her head, her expression the picture of devotion. But inside, her thoughts coiled tighter. Kimberly’s father was already in her grasp, his silence chained to her will. To expose him now would be wasteful. But if Derrick tested another thread—one of Kimberly’s friends, perhaps Louis—it would tighten the net.

Catherine’s voice echoed in Mona’s memory: Make them choose between heart and survival. Either way, they bleed for you.

Derrick strode to the window, looking down at the training yard where his warriors sparred. “Call a hunt. Not for her. For those closest to her. Let them know the price of defiance.” His amber eyes gleamed with cruel anticipation. “And when Kimberly returns to protect them, I will chain her in front of the pack. She will kneel before me. Or she will die.”

Mona rose gracefully, her gown trailing like molten gold. She moved to his side, slipping her arm through his. “And when she does, Alpha, you will show them all that no shadow can eclipse the Blood Moon.”

He smirked, pulling her close, though his eyes still burned with obsession. “Yes. She will come back to me. She always does.”

Mona’s smile never faltered, but her heart quickened with something she dared not name. Because she had seen Kimberly’s fire, her defiance, her shadows burning through the night.

Kimberly would return, yes.

But Mona wondered—when she did, would Derrick still be strong enough to chain her?

Or would the rejected cousin rise higher than any of them had ever feared?

She tucked the thought away, sweet as poison.

Because if Kimberly truly rose, Mona would be ready to watch her burn.

And if Derrick fell in the process… all the better.