Elara Thornfield

The voice on the other end of the line was heavy, thick with absolute dominance. Even though he did not speak for three agonizing seconds, my Zeta wolf cowered, a violent shiver running up my spine.

I froze, pulling the screen away from my ear to look at the glowing runes.

When I saw Alpha Ronan Blackridge’s name shining on the crystal interface, I wanted to dig a hole and crawl into the earth.

I cleared my throat instantly, slipping right back into my submissive lower-caste posture. "Forgive me, Alpha Ronan."

"Return to Alpha Command," Ronan snapped, his voice rough as iron before the connection cut out.

Watching the screen go dark, I bit my lip until I tasted copper, silently mourning the end of my recovery day.

I rushed back inside the Ashbourne Pack quarters to change my clothes, but I did not forget to drop a roasted venison leg on the table for Willow.

Willow frowned the second I stepped through the entry arch. "Did the Treasury have a line clear out to the outer boundary?"

I panted, pulling off my casual tunic. "Alpha Ronan summoned me back to the Blackridge Alpha Fortress. I left your meal on the table."

I hurried into my chamber, pulling on my structured black Zeta armor suit. Alpha Ronan demanded perfection from every Blackridge Pack Official, and showing up in loose robes was grounds for a public lashing.

As I tied my hair back, Willow yelled from the outer room, her voice dripping with rage.

"Alpha Ronan is completely out of line! You spent a whole month traveling through hostile pack territories for the Blackridge Alpha Dominion. Why is he taking away your rest cycle? I am going to petition Beta Kieran to move you to the Ashbourne Patrol Unit!"

"I am not strong enough to be a patrol warrior, Willow," I called back, rushing out the door.

It was a ten-minute run from the lower-caste quarters to the fortress keep. Living in the shared pack house saved me precious silver coins, even if it meant being at the Alpha Command’s beck and call every hour of the day.

I ran until my lungs burned, throwing open the heavy oak doors of Alpha Command.

Alpha Ronan stood by the high stone archway looking out over Moonhaven Ridge. The afternoon sunlight caught his massive, five-foot-eight muscular frame, painting his dark skin in broad strokes of shadow and gold. A unlit cigarette sat firmly between his lips.

"Alpha Ronan," I panted, dropping my gaze to his boots. "How may I serve Alpha Command?"

Ronan turned slowly, his lethal black eyes locking onto mine with a weight that made my knees tremble. Because of the secret I carried in my body, every look he gave me felt like an execution sentence.

"Fetch the Seaward Territory pact scroll," Ronan ordered, his tone flat.

I blinked in confusion. "The pact scroll, Alpha? But Beta Kieran handles all territorial legalities."

"Did I ask for Beta Kieran, Zeta?" he growled, the Alpha aura rolling off him in suffocating waves.

"No, Alpha. Right away," I stammered, turning on my heel and rushing down to the pack archive.

I retrieved the heavy parchment and brought it back to his heavy oak desk. Alpha Ronan took a dark ink quill, made swift alterations across the animal skin, and tossed it back toward my chest.

"Transcribe these changes into the official pack record," he commanded.

"Yes, Alpha."

I took the scroll to my side desk and began rewriting the territorial boundaries. Just as I dipped my quill, my phone vibrated with a message from Willow, asking if I would be finished in time to purchase herbs at the moon-market.

I typed back quickly: Editing the Seaward treaty now. Give me thirty minutes.

It was a simple transcription task. Thirty minutes was more than enough.

Yet, when I presented the fresh scroll to Ronan, he barely glanced at it before dragging his quill across three more sections. "Redo it."

I swallowed my frustration, took the ruined scroll back, and rewrote the entire text from scratch. He rejected it again. Then again.

My fingers ached, and my four-foot-five body throbbed with exhaustion. Two hours passed in agonizing silence, broken only by the scrape of metal on parchment.

Finally, Ronan rolled the latest version shut. "That will suffice for today."

I took the scroll carefully, my heart beating fast. "Shall I deliver this to the Seaward Elders for signing before sunset?"

If he said yes, my whole evening would be spent riding hard across the border.

Ronan reached into his coat, pulling out a small silver lighter. "The Seaward Elders do not arrive until the next full moon."

My jaw tightened. He did not need the scroll for two weeks, yet he had summoned me from my quarters and forced me to rewrite the same parchment four times. But I knew better than to question an Alpha.

"Is there anything else, Alpha Ronan?" I asked softly, keeping my face completely blank.

Snap.

The blue flame illuminated his sharp jawline as he lit the cigarette held between his fingers. The bitter scent of burning tobacco and raw male cedarwood filled the tight space between us, instantly triggering a sharp pulse of heat deep inside my wet core. My wolf stirred, remembering the way that same scent covered my skin while he pinned my wrists above my head.

"Who were you expecting when you answered my call earlier, Elara?" Ronan asked, his deep voice slicing through the silence like a blade.

I froze. "What?"

"You yelled into the device," Ronan drawled, stepping around the desk until his massive frame towered directly over my small stature. "You told me to use my time looking for a duty post."

My face burned with intense humiliation. "I... I thought it was my half-brother, Alpha. I did not check the runes before speaking."

Ronan leaned down, the heat of his body radiating against my cold skin as smoke drifted between our lips.

"Female Zetas serving in Alpha Command are forbidden from taking mates before their twenty-fifth winter," Ronan growled, his hand coming up to grip my jaw, his thumb pressing possessively into my skin. "It is pack law."

I had never heard of such a law in the Blackridge Alpha Dominion. But with his thick fingers bruising my chin and his dark eyes burning into mine, I could barely draw breath.

"I have no mate, Alpha Ronan," I choked out, my heart pounding violently against my ribs. "I am not courting anyone, nor will I ever mate."

The oppressive Alpha pressure in the room eased slightly, though his thumb lingered on my jaw, tracing the sensitive curve of my throat before letting go.

Before I could step back, Beta Kieran slammed the door to Alpha Command open, holding a stained piece of cloth in his leather-gloved hand.

"Alpha," Kieran reported, his voice tight. "The maidens stripping the bedding in the Summit Lodge found this tucked inside the mattress frame. It carries the blood of a Zeta female."

Elara Thornfield

Beta Kieran Stormfang stepped into Alpha Command, holding out the stained linen sheet.

Through the clear crystal window, Alpha Ronan Blackridge watched my small four-foot-five frame retreat down the hallway. My face had flushed red outside as I frantically searched through my leather bag.

Kieran glanced toward the corridor where I was standing, shaking his head slightly. "She is as frantic as ever, Alpha."

Kieran turned back and placed a sealed parchment onto the heavy desk. "The Pack Sentinels confirmed it. The Blackridge Alpha Elders ordered the potion spiked into your moon-ale that night."

A low frequency vibration sounded from the corner of the oak table.

Kieran looked down and picked up a glowing handheld comm-stone wrapped in a carved wooden case. It was mine. I had left it on the desk when I hurried out.

Outside, I reached into my coat to text Willow Ashbourne that I was finished, only to realize my pockets were completely empty. Panic seized my Zeta wolf. I turned back toward Alpha Command with heavy, hesitant steps.

As my fingers touched the iron door handle, Alpha Ronan’s dark, commanding voice echoed through the crack.

"What of the female who laid hands on me?" Ronan growled.

My hand froze in mid-air. My core clenched violently, my heart hammering against my ribs. They were still hunting the female from that night.

"The elders hid her scent," Kieran reported coldly. "She is likely a lower-caste female chosen by the Blackridge Bloodline to force a lineage heir onto your throne."

"A pawn of the elders?" Ronan’s aura flared, thick with suffocating Alpha dominance. "Find her before the next full moon. Strip her mark, break her bones, and get rid of anyone who stands in your way."

"Understood," Kieran answered without hesitation.

I backed away, my four-foot-five frame shaking so hard my heels clicked loudly against the stone floor. Getting rid of her meant exile or death in the rogue wasteland. If Ronan discovered I was the Zeta who pinned his broad five-foot-eight body to that bed, my life was over.

Kieran pulled the heavy oak door open and bumped right into me. "What is wrong, Elara?"

"Greetings, Beta Kieran," I choked out, keeping my eyes fixed on the floor to hide the terror in my eyes.

Kieran frowned, taking in my pale skin. "Are you sick? Your scent is spiking with fear."

"I am merely fatigued from the territory ride," I lied, my voice trembling.

Kieran gave a stern nod. "Go to the pack healers after your shift."

He walked past me down the corridor.

I stepped into Alpha Command on shaking legs, my Zeta submission instincts screaming at me to flee. "Forgive the intrusion, Alpha Ronan. I left my comm-stone."

I reached out to grab the device from the desk, but Ronan’s dark, muscular hand moved faster. His fingers slammed over mine, trapping my wrist against the hard wood.

He picked up the glowing stone with his free hand, tapping the glass. His dark eyes locked onto mine, piercing right through me.

"Is there something you need to tell me, Elara?" he drawled, his thumb rubbing over the pulse point in my wrist where my heart was thrashing.

My blood ran cold. The glowing screen displayed Willow’s incoming message right at the top: What is taking so long? Did Alpha Ronan catch you...

The rest of the words were cut off by the edge of the glass, but the implication hung in the air like blood.

"What did you do," Ronan whispered, leaning down until his dark complexion filled my sight, his tobacco-laced breath hot against my lips, "that would cause me to catch you?"

My breath hitched. The heat of his broad chest radiated into my Zeta body, instantly triggering a sharp pulse of wetness between my thighs as my wolf remembered his heavy cock tearing through me.

"Nothing, Alpha," I gasped out, my voice barely audible. "Nothing at all."

Ronan did not release my wrist. His grip tightened just enough to bruise, his massive frame towering over my small height. "You are a submissive, dutiful Zeta. Why does your scent smell like treason?"

My mind raced wildly, searching for any cover story to save my skin.

Willow sent another ping: Answer me. Does Alpha Ronan know about...

That second message sealed it. I was cornered.

I pulled against his grip, dropping my head down toward his leather boots. "Alpha Ronan, I am sorry!"

"Speak," he commanded, the raw Alpha command slipping into his tone, forcing my jaw to open.

"I work a secondary trade on my rest cycles!" I blurted out, tears of terror stinging my eyes.

Ronan raised an eyebrow, the dark tension in his brow shifting to brief surprise. "What?"

"I carve sacred relief stones for the lower-caste shrines," I stammered, my nails biting into my palms as I forced the lie to take shape. "I know Blackridge Pack Officials are forbidden from holding outside trade, but I needed the silver for my family. I swear I have never betrayed the Blackridge Alpha Dominion!"

Ronan stared down at me in total silence, his dark eyes searching my pale face. His thumb slid up my arm, squeezing the soft flesh above my elbow before he finally let go.

He reached into his jacket, pulled out a cigarette, and clicked his lighter open.

"A secondary trade," Ronan murmured, blowing a thick trail of smoke directly over my head.

He leaned down until his lips brushed against my ear, his voice dropping into a dirty, possessive growl.

"If I catch you selling anything else that belongs to this pack, Zeta," he whispered, his heavy hand sliding down to grip the swell of my hip, "I will lock you in my den and make you work for me on your knees."

My core throbbed violently at his words, my Zeta wolf whimpering in pure arousal despite the absolute terror in my chest.

Before I could answer, the door to Alpha Command burst open again. Beta Kieran stood in the doorway, holding a sealed parchment stamped with the red wax of the Thornfield Council.

"Alpha," Kieran said grimly. "The Thornfield Elders just sent an official petition. They are demanding Elara Thornfield be removed from your service immediately to undergo a virginity inspection."

Elara Thornfield

Beta Kieran Stormfang’s words hung in the air of Alpha Command like a poison fog. My four-foot-five body went completely rigid, my Zeta wolf trembling in sheer, unadulterated terror.

Alpha Ronan Blackridge slowly lowered his cigarette, his black complexion turning dangerously dark as his lethal eyes snapped from the wax-sealed scroll to my pale face.

"A virginity inspection?" Ronan asked, his deep Alpha voice dropping into a register so low it vibrated the stone beneath my feet. "By whose order?"

"The Thornfield Council," Kieran replied, handing the parchment across the heavy oak desk. "Your mother and half-brother filed the petition with the elders an hour ago, Alpha. They claim Elara has been sneaking out of the Blackridge Alpha Fortress to sell her body to wandering rogues."

My heart hammered so hard against my ribs I thought my chest would split open.

Ronan unrolled the scroll, his sharp gaze sweeping over the written runes before he let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "They are demanding five hundred silver coins from the pack treasury to cancel the public examination."

"I... I did not ask for this, Alpha," I choked out, my voice breaking as I fell to my knees before his massive frame, my submissive instincts overwhelming my ability to stand. "I swear on my bloodline, I have never touched a rogue!"

Ronan stepped around the desk, his dark, muscular five-foot-eight figure towering over me like a storm cloud. He grabbed my jaw with his thick fingers, forcing my head back until I was looking straight into his cold, black eyes.

"Tell me, Zeta," he drawled, his thumb pressing hard against my lower lip, tracing the sensitive skin until my breath hitched. "What is your secondary trade?"

"I... I carve sacred relief stones for the lower-caste shrines," I lied frantically, tears welling up in my eyes as my blood burned under his touch. "I carve them on my rest cycles to buy food for the Thornfield elders. It has nothing to do with pack business!"

"Relief stones," Ronan repeated, his gaze dropping to my mouth, then down to the heavy swell of my chest where my breath was coming in short, panicked gasps. "And you do not sell your body?"

"Never, Alpha Ronan!" I sobbed, my palms sweating against the cold floor. "If you do not believe me, you can cut my wages. You can forbid me from leaving the fortress!"

Ronan stared down at me in absolute silence for several agonizing seconds, his dark aura crushing the breath from my lungs. The scent of burnt tobacco and raw male cedarwood radiated off him, instantly making my wet core throb with remembered heat. My wolf whimpered in absolute betrayal of my fear, longing for his heavy hands to tear my armor away just like he did in the lodge.

"Dismissed, Kieran," Ronan commanded without looking away from me.

Kieran bowed his head. "Yes, Alpha."

The heavy oak door clicked shut, leaving us entirely alone in Alpha Command.

Ronan pulled his hand back, reaching for his silver lighter. Snap. The blue flame illuminated his sharp jawline as he lit the cigarette held between his fingers.

"You may leave, Elara," he said smoothly, turning his back to me and looking out over Moonhaven Ridge.

"Leave?" I stammered, picking my four-foot-five body up off the floor on shaking legs. "You... you are not handing me over to the council?"

"Go," he repeated curtly, dismissing me with a wave of his hand.

I did not wait for him to change his mind. I scrambled out of Alpha Command, my legs barely holding my weight as I practically ran down the corridor toward the lower-caste quarters.

When I slammed the door to the Ashbourne Pack house, Willow Ashbourne jumped out of her chair, dropping her wooden bowl.

"Why did you take so long?" Willow gasped, hailing me over as she grabbed my arms. "Why didn't you answer my comm-stone?"

I collapsed onto the wooden bench, my head buried in my hands as my body shook with delayed sobs. "He saw your texts, Willow."

Willow froze, her face draining of all color until she looked as pale as a corpse. "He... he saw what I sent?"

"He read the preview," I wept, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead. "He asked me what I was hiding that would cause him to catch me. I had to tell him I was illegally selling stone carvings on the side!"

Willow’s breath hitched in her chest. "Did he believe you?"

"I do not know," I choked out, my voice trembling. "He let me go, but my brother and mother just submitted a formal petition to the Thornfield Council. They are demanding a public virginity inspection by tomorrow morning unless I give them five hundred silver coins!"

Willow’s jaw dropped in absolute shock. "They did what? Your own bloodline is setting you up!"

"If the pack elders inspect me, they will instantly see that my seal is broken," I whispered, my eyes wild with terror. "They will know a powerful Alpha took me, and Beta Kieran will trace the scent straight back to Alpha Ronan's den!"

"You cannot go to that inspection," Willow hissed, gripping my shoulders tight. "Never use texts again. If we need to speak while you are in Alpha Command, call me directly. But right now, you have to get those silver coins."

Before I could answer, a loud, thunderous knock echoed through the heavy timber door of our quarters, rattling the iron hinges.

I froze, my heart dropping straight into my stomach.

"Open in the name of the Blackridge Alpha Dominion!" Beta Kieran’s voice roared from the hallway. "Elara Thornfield, by order of Alpha Ronan Blackridge, you are being taken into custody!"