The heavy door of the private lounge slammed shut, the click of the deadbolt echoing like a death knell.
Inside the dim, suffocating space, Alpha Lucian of the Bloodfang Pack didn't waste a second.
He pinned Sienna against the cold, hard wall, his scent—a foul mixture of dried blood and decaying forest—crushing her fragile Omega senses like a physical weight.
"Little Omega, don't be afraid," Lucian rumbled, a dark, jagged growl vibrating in his chest. "I've always been known for my... gentle touch with prey."
Sienna struggled, her small hands pushing against his iron-clad chest.
Deep in her soul, the Mate Bond was screaming, wailing for her Alpha, Silas, to burst through the door and reclaim her.
But the hallway remained silent. Silas wasn't coming. He had handed her over himself.
"Let me go! Alpha Silas is right outside!" Sienna hissed, her voice trembling but sharp with desperation.
Lucian let out a mocking laugh that chilled her to the bone. "You truly think the Lycan King cares? If he saw you as his mate, his very instincts would have shredded anyone who dared to lay a finger on you! You've served him for five years, girl. It's time you realized you're nothing but a disposable trinket to him."
He leaned in, his hot breath fanning against her neck as his fangs began to lengthen. "Let me see what the great Lycan King's plaything tastes like. I bet you're as sweet as you smell."
As Lucian's claws began to tear at the hem of her dress, something snapped inside Sienna.
A dormant, ancient power—a flicker of the Hidden Luna bloodline buried deep within her—surged through her veins like liquid fire.
In a burst of adrenaline that defied her Omega rank, she wrenched her arm free and sank her teeth deep into Lucian's forearm.
"You low-born bitch!" Lucian roared in pain, blood blooming on his skin. His eyes turned a lethal, glowing crimson as he raised a clawed hand to strike her.
"Lady Zelda!" Sienna screamed the name at the top of her lungs, her chest heaving, her eyes locked onto Lucian's with a ferocity he hadn't expected.
Lucian's hand froze mid-air. His fangs retracted slightly as he squinted at her. "What did you say?"
Sienna forced her heart to slow down, standing as tall as her shaking legs would allow. "The Alpha of the Bloodfang Pack has been obsessed with our high-born, pureblood Lady Zelda for years, hasn't he?"
"So what? That arrogant woman is as delusional as you are," Lucian sneered, though a flicker of wounded pride crossed his face.
"Brute force will never win you the respect of a High Pureblood," Sienna countered, her voice growing steadier as she threw out the bait. "Let me go, and we make a deal. I am the Chief Secretary of the Silvermoon empire. I can help you win Zelda over. I can even give you the leverage you need against Silas."
Lucian narrowed his eyes, prowling around her like a hungry wolf considering a dangerous new prey. "A lowly Omega dares to plot against the Lycan King's own aunt? You aren't afraid of death?"
"He tossed me to a rival Alpha like trash," Sienna said, a cold, dead calm settling over her features. "Why should I care if I drag his entire dynasty into hell with me?"
Lucian stared at her for a long moment before erupting into a boisterous, dark laugh.
He stepped back, giving her space. "Interesting. I'll give you this one chance. But if you try to play me, girl, I will personally tear your throat out."
He turned and walked toward the door.
As it clicked open and shut, Sienna's strength vanished. Her legs gave way, and she slid down the wall, gasping for air as the terror of her near-death experience finally caught up with her.
The winter wind howled outside the hotel. Sienna stumbled out of the entrance, one high heel lost somewhere in the chaos. Her bare foot slapped against the freezing asphalt, her body shivering in the tattered gown.
Parked in the shadows across the street was a black, armored Maybach.
In the driver's seat, Xavier, the Beta assistant, glanced at the rearview mirror. "Alpha, Sienna is out."
In the back seat, Alpha Silas snapped his eyes open.
His golden pupils were a mess of ruptured capillaries from the sheer effort of suppressing his beast.
For twenty agonizing minutes, his inner wolf had been clawing at his skull, demanding he slaughter Lucian.
As Sienna opened the car door and collapsed into the back seat, the scent of the rival Alpha—the pungent, aggressive mark of Bloodfang—hit Silas like a physical blow. His territorial instincts shattered his self-control.
"Quite the survivor, aren't you, Omega?" Silas leaned in, his voice a low, lethal vibration. "To walk out of Lucian's room unscathed... I wonder what you had to do to earn your freedom."
Sienna stared out the window, her eyes reflecting the cold streetlights. "I learned from the best, Alpha. Five years of your 'training' taught me exactly how much my soul is worth."
The sarcasm ignited Silas's rage. He lunged across the seat, pinning her against the leather like a predator claiming its kill.
He began to kiss her with a violent, punishing intensity, his hands roaming over her as he tried to drown out Lucian's scent with his own.
"Stop! Silas, stop it!" Sienna fought back, her tears finally falling.
"Does Lucian touch you like this?" Silas growled against her ear, his fangs grazing her skin.
Sienna stopped struggling.
She looked at him with a gaze so broken, so full of mockery, that it froze the blood in his veins.
"Alpha Silas, don't you find me disgusting?" she whispered, her voice echoing with a haunting emptiness. "I was alone in a locked room with an Alpha in rut for twenty minutes. What do you think happened? Are you sure you want to touch something that has been marked by your enemy?"
Silas went rigid.
The words acted like a bucket of ice water, dousing his fire.
A look of profound revulsion and turmoil flashed in his golden eyes.
He slowly pulled away, reaching for a premium wet wipe to clean his fingers, one by one, as if he had touched something contaminated.
"Since you're already tainted, don't soil my car," Silas said, his voice as cold as the grave. "Get out."
The door was shoved open.
Sienna was cast out into the midnight chill once more.
As the Maybach sped away, she stood alone in the dark, clutching her trembling shoulders.
''Alpha Silas, you relied on the Mate Bond to keep me obedient. You broke me, then hated me for the cracks. But tonight, the Omega who loved you is dead.''Sienna said.