The cold that seeped into Serena Holt's bones wasn't from the Chicago autumn wind whipping around Aiden Blackwood's penthouse balcony. It was a glacial dread crawling up her spine, freezing her blood solid. Pressed against the cold metal of the apartment door, her knuckles white, she heard it—voices twisting the knife in the fragile, frayed tether that was the faint, instinctive pull of a potential Mate Bond.
"…Serena Holt?" Aiden's voice, usually a low rumble of Alpha authority, dripped with venomous contempt. "That grasping, low Omega? Barely even that—a human who stumbled into something she doesn't understand!" A derisive snarl punctuated his words. "If it wasn't for the Blackwood fortune, the status, why else would she have been 'conveniently' in those woods? Why 'save' me? It was all a calculated ploy!"
Serena's heart seized, a trapped rabbit under a wolf's paw, before slamming against her ribs with bruising force. For money? Status? A ploy?
Her nails dug into the expensive wood grain beside the doorframe, the only thing anchoring her trembling body. Inside, Camilla Ventura's voice, honeyed poison, slithered around Aiden's anger. "Aiden, darling, don't be too harsh…" she drawled, lacing her words with false pity Serena could taste like ash. "After all, she did… 'help' you." The word 'help' was weighted with pure mockery. "Though… her later betrayal, leaking your location to those Hunters… it nearly cost you…" A perfectly timed, choked sob left a trail of poisonous implication.
Serena bit down hard on her lip, the coppery tang of blood a sharp counterpoint to the agony tearing through her chest. Memories surged – the blood-soaked chaos of a full moon, Aiden broken and poisoned by silver… It was her, the outcast with barely a whisper of wolf blood, who'd used her grandmother's forbidden knowledge of wolfsbane antidotes to keep the silver fever at bay! It was her dragging his massive, unconscious Alpha form through the mud on a leg still screaming from a silver bullet graze! She'd sold her grandmother's antique silver locket, the only thing of value she owned, to buy more Moon's Balm to save him!
And now? To Aiden, sculpted by Camilla's lies, it was a greedy scheme and treason. Camilla, the true viper who'd sold him out and stalled his pack's rescue!
Inside, Aiden's voice softened with protective fury, aimed at Camilla. "Camilla, your compassion is wasted. Scum who sell out their own kind – even a token kind – and consort with Hunters deserve nothing. She crawled towards the Blackwood power from day one. Betrayal?" His voice hardened like tempered steel. "It's in her tainted blood."
Betrayal. Sell out. Each word was a brand. Breathing became a struggle against the crushing weight of Alpha Command and the suffocating lie. She bit harder, the pain a desperate anchor against the primal urge to howl her denial, a faint wolfish echo in her diluted blood. Not true! Aiden, you clung to my hand…
"Oh, Aiden," Camilla's voice lifted, sharp and falsely innocent. "Serena sent another bill today. For that Moon's Balm… and her 'poor' leg. Honestly, after all you've… given her…" She let the implication hang – Serena, the insatiable leech.
Bill? Serena's breath hitched. That crumpled invoice was her last shred of courage, demanding repayment for the life-saving herb she paid for with her locket! It was the money for the treatment her own silver-poisoned leg desperately needed! He knew!
The handle turned with icy finality. The door swung open, flooding the dim hallway with blinding light from the penthouse foyer.
Aiden Blackwood filled the doorway, his powerful Alpha frame radiating contained fury even in tailored black. His silver-grey hair was ruthlessly short, framing a face carved like a god's, now set in glacial fury. His storm-grey eyes held no warmth, only the bone-deep contempt reserved for vermin. The sheer, predatory pressure of his Alpha aura washed over Serena, making her want to cower. Camilla clung to his side, a vision in white silk threaded with silver, her face a mask of wounded innocence laced with triumph. The expensive, calming scent she wore couldn't mask the faint, possessive musk of Aiden's temporary claim mark on her neck.
"What?" Aiden's voice was a whip-crack, his gaze slicing over her like she was dirt. His Alpha dominance radiated pure dismissal.
Serena fought the instinctive terror, forcing her spine straight against Camilla's gloating gaze. "I…" Her voice scraped raw. "I came for the check. And… the Hunter comms analysis report you took." Her gaze, sharp as flint, darted past him towards his study desk – the damning evidence she'd hacked from Hunter networks, proving Camilla's encrypted chatter before the ambush!
Camilla's eyes flashed with venom, instantly drowned in welling tears. She burrowed into Aiden. "Aiden! She's still lying! That's fake! She wants to destroy us!" Her fingers clutched his jacket, her trembling perfectly calculated to trigger his protective Alpha rage.
Aiden didn't glance down. His predator's focus pinned Serena, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. "The check?" He pulled a slip of paper from his breast pocket – the $100,000 check.
Serena's hand twitched, a flicker of desperate hope.
RRIIIIP!
The sound tore through the air, shredding her last defense.
The paper became confetti in Aiden's strong hands. Once. Twice. Shreds fluttered down like dirty snow, the embossed 'Blackwood' crest stark and mocking on the expensive carpet, landing near her worn sneakers.
Silence roared in Serena's ears. Humiliation, agony, the crushing weight of his Alpha disdain froze her solid. Only her heart pounded, a trapped, dying thing. Her diluted wolf blood whimpered inside her.
"Money?" Aiden's voice was glacial contempt, the final judgment of an Alpha. "Is that all that drives you, Serena Holt? Sell out your own? Deal with Hunters? Nearly get me killed? And you dare ask for payment?" He stepped forward, his shadow engulfing her. The familiar scent of cold pine and potent Alpha, once a comfort, was now suffocating hatred. "The money was mercy. Payment for… services rendered." He leaned down, his Alpha Command pressing like a physical weight, his breath cold on her skin. "Not an invitation for greed. Not permission to slander my future Luna, the true heart of the Blackwood pack!" His gaze flicked towards the damning report on his desk.
Fake. Slander Camilla. Future Luna.
Serena's head snapped up, meeting the frozen wasteland in his eyes. No recognition. No flicker of their past connection. Only Camilla's poison, hardened into Alpha law. "Aiden," her voice trembled, raw with a plea to the ghost of the bond, "the Moonwood… the silver bullet… my leg…"
"ENOUGH!" His roar was pure Alpha Command, a physical force vibrating the air, making her ears ring. Fury twisted his features. "I am sick of your lies, worm! Serena Holt, mark this: One more step near Camilla, one more thought against her…" His grey eyes flashed with dangerous, lupine gold. "…and I won't just cast you out. I'll set every pack in North America on your trail. You'll learn the price of betraying an Alpha!"
He straightened, adjusting his cuff with lethal precision, every inch the apex predator. Camilla slid her arm possessively around his waist, pressing close, her triumphant gaze locking with Serena's tear-filled one. The temporary mark on her neck seemed to glow with malice.
"Aiden," she purred, radiating faux-Luna concern for the pack, "don't let her taint your peace. She's just… consumed by envy. She could never comprehend the bond of Alpha and Luna."
Aiden's hand covered Camilla's. When he looked back at Serena, it was with utter finality. "Get out. Your stench pollutes Blackwood territory." He raised his voice, an Alpha's command. "Security!"
Heavy footsteps echoed. Two massive Beta enforcers materialized, their faces impassive, eyes cold. Their Beta dominance pressed down on Serena's weakened blood. Hands like steel vices clamped on her arms, yanking her backwards with brutal, lupine strength.
"Let go!" Serena choked out, a wounded sound escaping her throat. Her sneakers scuffed the plush carpet. Pain flared where they gripped. Hot tears of utter humiliation spilled over, blurring the image of the triumphant couple – the embodiment of power and betrayal.
Aiden didn't spare her a glance. Garbage, discarded. He turned, pulling Camilla with him, leaving Serena only the sight of his unforgiving back and the heavy door swinging shut, sealing her fate.
THUD.
The lock engaged like the sealing of a tomb. Harsh light glared on her tears and the extinguished ember of the Mate Bond she'd once foolishly hoped for. The Betas hauled her down the hall, each step a crushing blow to her dignity and any lingering sense of belonging.