The Shadowveil pack house rose out of the forest like something carved from stone and moonlight. It wasn't just large—it was deliberate. Every line of the architecture spoke a language Reed's pack didn't know how to pronounce. Authority without performance. Power that didn't need to announce itself.

The convoy rolled through the iron gates and stopped in the circular drive. I felt Avayah's small body tense against mine. She'd been silent for the last hour, her face pressed to my ribs, her breathing shallow.

"It's okay," I whispered into her hair. "We're home."

Reed stepped out first. His enforcers followed, their boots loud on the gravel. One of them opened my door and gestured for me to move. I slid out with Avayah still clinging to me, her arms locked around my neck.

Reed didn't look at me. He straightened his jacket and strode toward the entrance like he owned the place. His enforcers flanked him. I walked behind, carrying Avayah, her weight familiar and grounding. The enforcer who'd grabbed my wrist at the festival stayed close, his presence a silent threat.

We entered the great hall.

The air changed immediately. It was heavier here. Denser. The kind of weight that pressed against your wolf before your conscious mind registered it. I felt Reed's stride falter for half a step. His wolf was awake now, sending signals he didn't want to hear.

The hall was massive. Polished stone floors. High ceilings with exposed beams. Lycan banners hung along the walls, deep blue and silver, each one marked with the crescent sigil of the Shadowveil line. The space was designed to make visitors feel small. It worked.

Reed's enforcers shifted their weight. One of them glanced at the other. I saw the flicker of unease in their eyes, the way their wolves were pulling back inside them, instinctively wary.

Reed ignored it. He walked forward, his Alpha aura pulsing outward in a display meant to assert dominance. It fell flat. The ambient pressure in the hall swallowed it whole.

A Lycan attendant appeared and gestured toward the grand staircase at the far end of the hall. "The Prince will receive you in the upper drawing room."

Reed nodded and started toward the stairs. I followed, still carrying Avayah. She was getting heavier. My arms ached, but I didn't set her down. Not here. Not with Reed's enforcers watching.

We reached the base of the staircase. The steps were wide, polished stone, gleaming under the light from the high windows. Avayah stirred against my shoulder and lifted her head.

"Mama, I can walk," she whispered.

I hesitated, then set her down gently. She took my hand and started up the stairs beside me. Her legs were tired. I could see it in the way she moved, slow and careful.

We were halfway up when it happened.

Avayah's foot slipped.

She gasped, her hand jerking out of mine as her body pitched forward. I lunged, but I was a step too far behind.

A blur crossed my vision.

Matthias was there.

He caught her before she hit the stone, one arm sweeping her up mid-fall with a speed that didn't look possible. He settled her on his hip in the same motion, his other hand cradling the back of her head with the kind of automatic tenderness you only learn from doing it a thousand times.

Avayah wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "Daddy," she whispered.

The word echoed in the silence.

I heard Reed stop breathing.

Matthias turned. Slowly. Deliberately. Avayah still on his hip, his hand still supporting her head. His eyes found Reed first. Then me. Then back to Reed.

The aura hit the room like a wave.

It was immense. Physical. Inescapable. I felt it ripple past me without touching me—Lycan-bonded mates are shielded from their mate's dominance aura—but I watched it flatten everything else.

Reed's knees buckled. He caught himself on the stair railing, his knuckles white, his face twisted with shock and fury. His enforcers hit the floor. One of them made a sound like a wounded animal. The other just collapsed, his forehead pressed to the stone.

Reed's dark-silver wolf—the one that had never submitted to anything, the one he wore like armor—was crushed inside him. I saw it in his eyes. The disbelief. The humiliation. The involuntary, biological surrender.

Matthias looked at him. His expression was calm. Not cold. Not angry. Just calm in the way that made anger seem trivial.

"Eva is my marked Luna," Matthias said. His voice was quiet. Factual. Each word placed with precision. "Avayah is my daughter and my heir. You are a guest in my house." He paused. "You brought them here in chains."

The silence that followed was absolute.

Reed opened his mouth. Nothing came out. His Alpha tone—his weapon, his shortcut, his entire identity—was gone. Stripped. The Lycan aura in the room made it functionally impossible to speak with authority.

Matthias shifted Avayah slightly on his hip. She turned her head and looked at me, her silver-green eyes wide and tired. I stepped forward. Matthias's gaze moved to me, and the hardness in his expression softened instantly.

He reached out with his free hand. I took it. His fingers closed around mine, warm and steady.

"You're safe," he said quietly. Just to me.

I nodded. I didn't trust my voice yet.

Matthias looked back at Reed. Reed was still on his knees, one hand braced on the railing, his breathing ragged. His enforcers hadn't moved.

"Stand," Matthias said.

Reed stood. It took effort. His legs shook.

Matthias gestured toward the upper hallway. "We'll discuss your alliance proposal in my study. After that, you'll leave my territory." He paused. "Soren will draft the terms."

I knew what that meant. Soren Hale, Matthias's Beta, was meticulous and ruthless in negotiations. Reed was about to sign the most one-sided treaty of his career.

Matthias turned and started up the stairs, still carrying Avayah. I walked beside him, my hand in his. Behind us, I heard Reed's enforcers struggle to their feet. Reed followed last, his footsteps slow and unsteady.

I didn't look back.