Chapter 4
The ballroom doors loomed before me, my ruined dress trailing wine and torn fabric like a battle standard. Behind me, I heard Ace's sharp intake of breath.
"Aurora." His voice cracked like a whip. "Stop."
I didn't.
My wolf surged forward, lending me strength I hadn't known I possessed. The rage that had been building for a year—every humiliation, every cruel word, every moment I'd swallowed my pride—crystallized into something cold and unbreakable.
"I said stop!" Ace's Alpha tone rolled over me, the command laced with power that should have driven me to my knees.
Should have.
Instead, I felt it wash over me like water off stone. My wolf didn't even flinch. If anything, she laughed.
I turned slowly, meeting his eyes. Something flickered there—confusion, then alarm.
"Kneel," he commanded, his voice dropping into that register that made other wolves tremble. "Kneel and apologize to Saylor for your disrespect."
The air itself seemed to vibrate with his power. Down the corridor, I heard a servant drop something with a crash. Even Saylor swayed slightly, caught in the edges of his aura.
I stood perfectly still.
"What—" Ace's face went pale. He tried again, pushing more force into his words. "I command you to—"
"No."
The word came out quiet, but it landed like thunder. My own aura leaked out, just a fraction, just enough. The air around me shimmered silver.
Ace stumbled back a step. "How are you—"
"Security!" Saylor's shriek cut through the moment. "Someone call security!"
Footsteps thundered down the corridor. Two massive wolves in formal security uniforms rounded the corner, their expressions professional but alert.
"What's the problem here?" The taller one's eyes swept over us—Ace and Saylor in their pristine formal wear, me in my wine-stained, torn gown.
"This woman is causing a disturbance," Saylor said quickly, her voice pitched to sound frightened. "She's been harassing us, and we think she might have stolen—"
"I'm leaving," I said simply. I turned back toward the ballroom doors.
"Wait." The security guard held up a hand. "Miss, we need to—"
I pushed through the doors.
The Grand Alliance Gathering sprawled before me in all its glittering glory. Crystal chandeliers cast rainbow light across hundreds of wolves in formal attire. The air hummed with power—Alphas, Betas, visiting dignitaries from packs across the continent. At the far end, elevated on a dais, sat the High Council table.
Where my father waited.
Every head in the vicinity turned as I entered. I felt their stares like physical weight—taking in my ruined dress, my bare throat where my mother's pendant should have been, the wine stains that looked like blood in the dim light.
I lifted my chin and walked.
Not toward the edges. Not toward the shadows where someone like me—someone they thought was me—belonged.
I walked straight down the center aisle, heading for the High Council table.
The whispers started immediately, a susurrus of confusion and speculation that followed me like a wake.
"Who is that?"
"Look at her dress—"
"Is she lost?"
"Someone should stop her—"
Behind me, I heard Ace and Saylor burst through the doors, the security guards in tow.
"Stop her!" Ace's voice boomed across the ballroom. Conversations died mid-sentence. The orchestra faltered. "Everyone, please—this woman is a rogue who has infiltrated our gathering!"
I kept walking. Twenty feet from the High Council table. Fifteen.
My father's eyes met mine. He didn't move, but I saw the slight nod. The permission.
"She's been harassing my Beta's daughter," Ace continued, his Alpha presence flooding the room now, making lesser wolves bow their heads. "She stole a sacred artifact from my pack and has been masquerading as—"
"As what?" I stopped, turning to face him. My voice carried in the sudden silence, clear and cold. "What exactly have I been masquerading as, Ace?"
He stalked toward me, Saylor clinging to his arm, security flanking them. The crowd parted like water, giving them a clear path.
"As someone who belongs here," he snarled. "You're nothing but a rogue, Aurora. An omega who couldn't accept her rejection. You broke into this event, you attacked Saylor, and you stole from my pack."
He was close now, close enough that I could see the confusion still lingering in his eyes. Close enough that he could probably sense what I was barely holding back.
My wolf pushed against my control, demanding release.
Not yet, I told her. Not yet.
"Security," Ace commanded, not taking his eyes off me. "Remove this woman and hold her for questioning. She'll face pack justice for her crimes."
The guards moved toward me.
I smiled.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I said softly.
Behind me, I heard a chair scrape against marble as my father stood.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
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