Chapter 6—Knotted Deception

Vivian's POV

I kept my face steady when they looked at me. That was the most important thing.

I rehearsed this on the drive over, practiced the right amount of concern in my voice, the right amount of uncertainty in my face. Nothing too dramatic. Aiden and Jayden could smell performance from a mile away.

"I overheard something today," I said. "Pack members talking. About the rejection."

Jayden's expression did not change but his eyes sharpened. "What were they saying?"

"That it damaged the pack's reputation." I let that land before continuing. "Some of them are saying that breaking a bond like the Fourfold Bond brings a bad omen. That severing something that ancient doesn't just go away quietly."

Jayden leaned back in his chair. "Let them talk."

"I just thought you should know."

"And now we know." His voice was even, unbothered. "People speculate. That's what people do. As long as they keep it out of our faces it doesn't concern us."

I nodded slowly. "No one said it to my face of course. I only caught it because I was passing. Nobody would dare say it directly to the sister of their alphas."

"Exactly." Aiden stood from behind the desk and when he looked at me there was nothing unsettled in him, nothing that suggested Jace's words earlier left any mark at all. "People will talk. Let them. Claiming Celeste Reed was a direct insult to everything this bloodline stands for. We don't regret it."

"Not for a second," Jayden added.

"And if she walked through that door right now," Aiden continued, his voice completely level, "we would reject her all over again."

I held his gaze and smiled. "You made the right decision. Both of you. Don't let anyone make you feel otherwise."

Aiden gave a single nod and looked back at his desk. Jayden reached for his glass. Neither of them was losing sleep over this and that was exactly what I needed to see.

"Get some rest," Jayden said without looking up. "It's late."

I said goodnight and left.

***

Rogan's apartment sat on the other side of the city, far enough from pack territory that nobody would think twice about a car parked outside.

He opened the door before I knocked. I stopped being surprised by that a long time ago.

"Well?" He stepped aside to let me in.

"They don't suspect anything." I dropped my bag on the chair by the door and turned to face him.

"I told them there were rumours circulating among pack members. Gave them just enough to confirm they made the right call without making them question anything."

Rogan smiled. It was the kind of smile that never quite reached his eyes. "And they believed you."

"They always believe me. I'm their stepsister." I said it without warmth. "That's the whole point, isn't it."

"It is." He moved to the drinks cabinet and poured two glasses, unhurried, like we were just two people having a regular evening. "You are the perfect instrument for this, Vivian. They would never look at you and see what's actually there."

"A weapon," I said flatly.

He glanced back at me. "I was going to say someone they underestimated. But yes."

I took the glass he offered. "They still don't feel any guilt. About any of it. Sitting in that study with their drinks talking about their bloodline like they're untouchable." My jaw tightened.

"My mother is gone because of them. She died because of choices they made when they were too young and too reckless to care about consequences and they never once sat with me in that. Never mourned. Never apologised.

They treated her like she was the problem, the mistress who broke their precious family, not a woman who deserved to be grieved."

"I know," Rogan said.

"They don't even remember her face."

"They will remember everything when it's over." He set his glass down and looked at me, steady and certain. "When they turn thirty and lose their wolves, they lose the right to lead this pack.

Everything they built, everything they are so proud of, gone. And since I am next in line for succession, Ashen Hollow falls to me."

"And me?" I looked at him.

He crossed the room slowly. "You stand beside me as my Luna. Chosen. Elevated. Everything you should have always been."

Whatever doubts I carried to this apartment dissolved the way they always did when he said the right things.

"They're going to lose everything," I said quietly.

"Everything," he confirmed. He was close now, close enough that I could see the certainty in his eyes. "And you made that possible."

He kissed me before I could answer. And I let him.

I kissed him back hard, my hands fisting in his shirt as the familiar wild scent of him flooded my senses, that deep commanding musk that always made my wolf stir with raw hunger for what he would become.

"You will have that throne," I whispered against his mouth between kisses. "I promise you. Ashen Hollow will be yours."

Rogan growled low, the sound vibrating through his chest. He slid a hand under my gown, fingers pushing inside me without warning, stroking deep and sure while his thumb circled my clit.

"Can't wait to make you my Luna," he murmured, voice rough with need. "My mate. My queen. You'll wear my mark for everyone to see."

I moaned into his next kiss, hips rocking against his hand. He pulled his fingers free, brought them to his mouth, and licked them clean with a hungry groan. "Fuck," I breathed, the sight sending fresh heat rushing through me.

He kissed me again, deeper this time, tasting of me. His hands worked fast, tugging my gown up and over my head until it pooled on the floor.

Cool air hit my skin, then his hot mouth closed over one nipple, sucking hard while his tongue flicked and his teeth grazed just enough to make me arch. I was so turned on, slick and aching, my wolf pressing close to the surface.

Between kisses I gasped, "I can't wait for you to be Ashen Hollow's alpha. I want to watch my stepbrothers suffer, stripped of everything while we rise."

Rogan lifted me easily and laid me back across his wide desk, papers scattering. He dropped to his knees, spread my thighs wide, and buried his face between them.

His tongue licked long and firm through my folds, then sucked my clit into his mouth. "Soon you'll be my bride," he said between slow, filthy strokes, his voice muffled against my pussy. "My claimed mate. They'll bow to you while I fuck you every night in the alpha's bed."

I cried out, fingers tangling in his hair as pleasure coiled tight. He ate me like a starving wolf, licking and sucking until my legs shook.

Then he rose, freed his cock, and spread my legs even wider. He pushed into me in one thick stroke, filling me completely, knot already starting to swell at the base.

"Fuck, you're so wet for your future alpha," he growled, thrusting hard. "This tight little cunt is going to take my knot so well. Gonna fill you with my seed until it drips down your thighs."

"Yes," I moaned, meeting every thrust. "Fuck me harder. Claim what's yours. I want them broken while you breed your Luna."

He pounded into me, desk creaking beneath us, one hand pinning my hip while the other pinched my nipple. "That's my dirty girl. Say it again. Tell me how bad you need your stepbrothers ruined."

"I need it," I panted, nails digging into his back. "I need you to take everything from them while you take me like this. Knot me, Rogan. Make me yours."

He drove deeper, the growing knot stretching me perfectly as filthy promises spilled from his lips and I answered every one with my own hungry moans.