"I will find him," The Rogue King whispered. "Whoever put his scent on you. And I will tear him apart."
Erald barely had ti to react before he leaned in, his breath hot against her skin, and brushed his lips across her cheek.
The next thing she knew... he was gone.
The door creaked softly as it shut behind him. She blinked... nothing. Her eyes scanned the space around her in a panic.
But there was no sign of him, no scent, no sound. It was as if he had never been there at all.
Erald sat there, breath heaving, hands trembling. Her heart pounded in her throat, her mind racing.
He sounded... serious.
"Viola?" she whispered shakily.
Her wolf sounded just as tense. "He wasn’t bluffing."
Of course, The Rogue King wasn’t bluffing. He was going to find out about Kieran... and when he did...
"No," she whispered. "No, I won’t let that happen."
The door opened again, this ti by one of the guards. "Alpha, we found this," he said, handing her her phone, though the screen was cracked, but it still works. "The Beta says the new vehicle will arrive within the hour."
Erald stood abruptly, exiting the car. "That’s too long."
The guard blinked. "Ma’am?"
"I’ll take one of the backup cars from the envoy. We continue now. The rest of the convoy can catch up once the new vehicle arrives."
"Alpha, I’m not sure that’s..."
Darius appeared from behind the guard. "What’s going on?"
"I’m leaving now," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "There’s no ti to wait."
He frowned. "Erald, the security team hasn’t even swept the periter again. You just survived a crash..."
"I’m fine," she snapped quickly, too quickly. "I need to get to the summit before..." she bit her tongue.
Before The Rogue King.
Darius narrowed his eyes. "Before what?"
She looked away. "I just want to get there before it gets dark. You can follow with the others when the cars arrive."
Darius folded his arms. "You think the crash wasn’t an accident."
Erald stiffened.
"I didn’t say that."
"But you believe it."
"I don’t have ti to debate this," she snapped.
"Do you think soone’s still targeting you?" he asked. "Do you have a lead?"
"No," she lied quickly. "Nothing specific. Just... call it a gut feeling."
Darius sighed heavily. "If you’re keeping sothing from —"
"I’m not. I just need to get there, Darius. And I think I’ll be safer in Rick’s territory than I am parked on the side of a cliff."
Darius looked at her like he was trying to read a language written across her skin. "Is sothing bothering you?"
"I’m fine."
"Erald..."
"I said I’m fine. Please."
He exhaled slowly. "Fine. But you take two guards with you, not one. I’ll be right behind you. If anything, anything, feels off..."
"I’ll call you," she said, already climbing into the next car.
Inside, she sank into her seat, a shaky breath escaping as her thoughts spiralled, not around the crash, not even her own life.
Her mind was fixed on one thing: Kieran.
I’ll deal with my life later, she told herself. Right now... I need to protect Kieran.
Because right now? He was in danger. And he didn’t even know it.
—
The sun was dipping into the horizon by the ti the Blood Moon Pack gates ca into view.
Erald’s stomach twisted.
It had been weeks, but she still rembered everything. The way the trees curved along the entryway, the tension in the air, the faint scent of pine and old grudges... and the way she had left back then.
Not that it mattered anymore, as she was back in a whole different form.
Her car rolled to a stop at the iron gates, where two guards in crimson uniforms approached. The mont they saw her, both n stiffened.
"L-Luna... Erald?" one of them stuttered.
She stepped out of the vehicle slowly, letting her aura bleed into the space around her. It was unintentional, but it had the desired effect.
"It’s... Alpha Erald."
The guards paled instantly, one of them even dropping his spear.
She tilted her head. "Is there a problem?"
"N-no, Alpha," they said in unison, stepping back imdiately and gesturing for the gates to open.
As her convoy pulled into the inner compound, several more guards and staff turned to watch. She didn’t miss the whispers or the fear in their expressions.
Her aura had evolved since her last ti here.
She wasn’t just the woman who had been Rick’s wife and mate once; she was an Alpha in her own right now.
They knew it.
They felt it.
"Good," Viola whispered in her mind. "Let them all tremble."
Erald didn’t respond. Her focus was laser-sharp as she stepped through the compound, eyes scanning every face.
Dozens of Alphas had already arrived, so laughing near the main courtyard, others checking in with security.
But Kieran was nowhere in sight.
She spotted Adrien first, lounging against a tree with a bottle of sothing suspiciously potent in hand. Lucien stood nearby, his arms crossed, with an unreadable expression as he observed everything and everyone.
Erald approached them both quickly. "Have either of you seen Kieran?"
Adrien straightened. "No ’hello’? Just straight to the frost prince?"
Lucien tilted his head. "He hasn’t arrived yet."
"Are you sure?" she pressed.
"If he had," Lucien said quietly, "you’d feel it."
"Viola?" Erald asked internally.
Her wolf sighed. "He’s not wrong. I don’t sense him."
Erald’s stomach twisted. "Right... thanks."
Adrien frowned. "Sothing wrong?"
"No," she lied. "Just... trying to get my bearings."
"Yeah," Adrien said flatly. "Your bearings seem to have Kieran’s na all over them."
"Don’t start," she muttered, brushing past them.
They both exchanged a glance behind her back... confusion, maybe jealousy, but she didn’t care.
She was already imagining Kieran’s body broken and bloody on the roadside, already hearing The Rogue King’s voice repeating that awful promise: I will tear him apart.
An attendant approached then, bowing slightly. "Alpha Erald? We’ve been instructed to show you to your quarters."
She followed without argunt.
The rooms hadn’t changed much, stone walls, gold accents, and far too much red.
The room they assigned to her was large, private, and far too quiet.
She freshened up quickly, barely taking a mont to breathe. She tied her hair back, changed into a dark erald dress, and threw on a blazer that made her look just polished enough to endure the evening’s "casual" event.
Then she stepped back out into the courtyard.
The sky had turned to twilight, and the air was heavy with smoke from the bonfire in the middle of the open area.
Alpha lords and delegates were already mingling. So were drinking. Others laughed over shared stories and battle scars. But she wasn’t here to mingle.
Her eyes scanned the crowd, heart thudding.
There, Darius, speaking with an Alpha from the eastern border. She didn’t approach him.
She was too busy searching for...
Her eyes widened as they locked on who she’s been searching for all evening... Kieran.
He’d just arrived, stepping into the firelight like he belonged to it. His dark coat was unbuttoned, his shirt open at the collar, and his hair slightly windblown from travel.
Relief hit her like a wave.
She started forward, one foot in front of the other, but suddenly, she collided with sothing, or soone, and the cold splash of wine soaked through her dress instantly.
"What the..."
"Oh dear," ca a familiar voice, laced with mock concern and a smirk sharp enough to draw blood.
Erald’s eyes snapped up.
Alia.
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