Lucien smiled, all teeth. “Darling, you’ll find out soon enough. For now, just be prepared to perform and do what’s asked of you.”
I laughed under my breath. “When am I not performing?”
Lucien went still for half a beat, then he looked at me with something too close toempathy.It knocked the air right out of my lungs. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
The words hit harder than I expected. Too close. Too true.
Perform. Pretend. Smile on cue. Charm the pack. Hold the center together while everyone else swayed. I was good at it. I didn’t know what I’d be if I stopped.
I didn’t belong in this machine, but I was tied to it, blood-deep.
Lucien smirked, and the moment vanished like it never happened. “Now run along. I’ve got an aromatherapy ritual to finish before our meeting in fifteen minutes.”
I swallowed my questions and walked out of the room with the faint scent of eucalyptus clinging to my shirt.
The airinside the main hall of the Velasquez mansion felt like it was choking me.
Too many wolves in one place. Too many minds. The weight of magic saturated every inch of space and clung to the walls. Sweat. Dominance. Pride. All of it crawled into my nose and settled at the back of my throat. I kept to the edge of the foyer, tracking exits, marking the cleanest path out of the room if things got to be too much. It was habit now. Ritual. One of the few ways I kept from coming apart.
This wasn’t where I wanted to be.
There were about a hundred other things I’d rather be doing. WatchingThe Sound of Music. Alphabetizing the spice rack. Literally anything that didn’t involve standing in the center of the pack’s political machinery with a fake smile stapled on my face. But duty called. And when Lucien saidjump, I jumped. That was the job. That had always been the job.
My alpha. My cousin. My family.
My leash.
I was halfway to claiming a seat along the back row when I heard a woman’s smug, syrupy voice. “Roman.”
I didn’t even have to turn around. My spine knew the shape of her presence before my brain caught up.
Seraphina. My ex.
She drifted up beside me like she’d been waiting for the right moment to pounce. Her hand landed on my arm, fingers too smooth, too familiar. My muscles tensed, and my skin went tight. I didn’t like being touched unexpectedly. Never had. Not even by people I used to kiss.
Especially nother.
“I’m so glad to see you,” she said, the perfume of moonstone oil and expensive desperation curling around her. “Would you like to sit next to me at the meeting?”
I sighed. “I should probably sit with the other pack leaders.”
Her eyes sparkled, her teeth too white and too perfect when she smiled. “You know, if you had me on your arm, you could climb the ranks faster, right? Not to mention, I wouldclimb you, which would be an added bonus.” She said it like a joke, but I knew she wasn’t kidding.
My soul tried to eject from my body.
I didn’t answer. I took a deliberate step away. She got the hint—sort of—and pivoted, her back to me now like I’d become invisible. Her curtain of perfect blonde hair caught the light as she flipped it over her shoulder, just in case anyonewasn’twatching.
Unfortunately, everyone was.
I caught the stares. A few of the elders tilted their heads, eyes gleaming with interest. I threw a sheepish little wave and pretended my ex hadn’t just offered to ride me into alpha power in front of half the pack.
Damn audience.
Inside the main chamber, the pressure doubled. The room was wood-paneled and overly warm, the windows shut tight. Energy coiled like a spring under everyone’s skin as pack members murmured in low voices. Territorial magic crackled in the air, status games playing out through body language and pack hierarchy cues so subtle that outsiders would have missed it.
I slid into a chair near the others who held positions of power. As I adjusted my cuffs, I counted the beat of my fingers on my thigh in sets of eight.Breathe. Just breathe.
Lucien moved to the podium with the poise I’d seen a thousand times. Imposing. Cold. Perfectly styled. His black suit was immaculate, and when he stepped forward, the room quieted before he even opened his mouth. That was the kind of power Lucien had. He didn’t need to assert his dominance. Hewaspuredominance. So much so that his presence was almost suffocating.
