CHAPTER 6 The Morning After

 I wake up to pain.

It is not the sharp, tearing agony of the bond snapping. It is a dull, persistent throb, like a heartbeat in my chest that radiates through my entire body. I am curled in a fetal position, my knees drawn to my chest, my fingers clutching the silk sheets.

The room is unfamiliar. The sheets are cream-colored. The walls are pale grey. There is a window overlooking a garden, and the morning light is filtering through the curtains, casting long shadows across the floor.

I am in the east wing. Alistair's estate. The contract.

I try to sit up. The pain surges, a wave of nausea that makes me gasp. I press my palm against my sternum, as if I can physically hold the broken bond together. It doesn't help.

I need him.

The thought is humiliating. I hate it. I hate that my body craves his touch like a drug. I hate that I am lying in a bed he provided, wearing a silk nightgown he left for me, in a room he chose for me. I am a kept woman. A pawn.

But the pain is too much.

I force myself out of bed. My legs are shaky. I have to grip the bedpost to stay upright. I am wearing a pale blue nightgown that fits perfectly—which means he knows my size. The thought makes my skin prickle with a mix of anger and something else I refuse to name.

I stumble to the door and pull it open.

Mrs. Finch is in the hallway, a breakfast tray in her hands. She is an older woman, maybe sixty, with grey hair pulled back in a neat bun and kind, observant eyes. She looks up when I appear.

"Miss Kaia. You're awake. I brought you breakfast."

"I need to see the Alpha." My voice is hoarse. "Please. Tell him... tell him I need him."

She sets the tray down on a nearby table and nods. "I'll fetch him right away."

She disappears down the hallway. I lean against the doorframe, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps. The pain is getting worse. It feels like someone is squeezing my heart in a vice.

A few minutes later, Alistair appears.

He is dressed in a dark suit, his hair still damp from a shower. He looks composed, immaculate, utterly in control. He doesn't ask how I am feeling. He doesn't offer comfort.

He walks to me, places his hand on my shoulder, and the pain vanishes.

It is instantaneous. One moment I am drowning in agony, the next I am weightless. The relief is so profound that tears spring to my eyes. I blink them back, refusing to let him see me cry.

"Thank you," I manage.

He removes his hand. "You will learn to manage it. Until then, you will ask for me when you need me. I will not have you suffering in silence."

I stare at him. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"

He pauses at the door. "What did you expect? A declaration of love? We have a contract, Kaia. Not a romance."

He leaves. The door clicks shut behind him.

I stand in the silence, my hands trembling. The pain is gone, but the humiliation remains. He is cold. Clinical. He touched me like a doctor treating a patient, not a man who claimed I belonged in his bed.

But I saw something in his eyes. A flicker. Something that didn't match his words. Something that looked almost like... pain.

I push the thought aside. I cannot afford to be curious about Alistair's feelings. I have a job to do.

The estate is vast.

I spend the next hour exploring. I need to understand my new environment. I need to know where the exits are, where the studies are, where the pack council meets. I need to map the terrain.

I walk through the halls, my bare feet padding softly across the marble floors.The estate is beautiful—antique furniture, oil paintings, chandeliers. But it is cold. Impersonal. It feels like a museum, not a home.

I notice a door at the end of the west wing corridor. It is different from the others. The wood is darker, almost black. There is no dust on the handle, which means someone cleans it regularly. But it is locked.

I stop. I stare at it.

Mrs. Finch appears at the end of the hallway, She sees me looking at the door.

"That was the Luna's room," she says quietly. "Seraphina's. The Alpha locked it after she left. No one has been inside for fifteen years."

I turn to her. "Why doesn't he open it?"

She is quiet for a moment. "I've worked in this house for twenty years, Miss. I've seen things. I know when a door is locked for a reason."

I look back at the door. I think about Alistair's coldness this morning. I think about the flicker in his eyes. I think about the way he said, "We have a contract, not a romance."

I reach out and touch the door handle. It is cold beneath my fingers. I pull my hand back.

Some wounds are too deep to touch.

I walk back to my room. The breakfast tray is still on the table where Mrs. Finch left it. The food is cold and untouched. I am not hungry. I am thinking.

Seducing Alistair directly is no longer an option. He saw through me in the study. He knows I was trying to use my body as a weapon. He is too smart, too controlled, to fall for that.

But I can adapt.

 I have my mind. And I have access to Alistair's records. That is enough. I need to find the embezzlement evidence. I need to prove my worth. I need to become indispensable.

I will not be a pawn. I will be a queen.

I will learn everything I can about Alistair. His weaknesses. His secrets. His pain. Knowledge is power. And I intend to have all of it.

The shame of this morning is still burning in my chest. But I channel it. I turn it into fuel. I will not be humiliated again. I will not be dependent. I will be the one in control.

A knock on the door interrupts my thoughts.

"The Alpha requests your presence in his study," Mrs. Finch says.

I stand. I smooth my nightgown. I wish I had proper clothes, but I will make do. I follow Mrs. Finch through the halls, my bare feet whispering against the marble.

Alistair is at his desk. He doesn't look up when I enter. He simply slides a file across the desk toward me.

"The Pack Council is meeting at noon," he says. "Julian will be there. He will try to undermine you. He will try to humiliate you. He will try to destroy you."

I pick up the file. It contains the council's agenda. I scan it quickly. There is a motion to review the pack's financial management. Julian's motion.

"And what do you want me to do?" I ask.

He finally looks up. His grey eyes are cold, but there is something burning behind them. Something that looks almost like anticipation.

"You wanted to make him kneel, Kaia. Here's your first chance. Don't disappoint me."