Dani winced as Kevin withdrew from her. Her body crumpled to the floor, agony shooting through her core. He’d taken her without preparation again—a cruel pattern she’d grown to dread.
She watched him zip his pants, not bothering to spare her a glance now that he’d satisfied himself. Curled beneath the table, Dani listened as footsteps approached. Caron had arrived.
The forr beta’s face showed no reaction to the lingering scent of sex in the air. Deep lines etched his features, as if years had passed in re weeks.
"Why spread more lies about her reputation when she’s not even here?" Caron’s voice cut through the silence before Kevin could speak, revealing his disgust with the situation.
Kevin’s rumors about Phoebe had damaged Caron’s standing too. Everyone knew she was his daughter, and her disgrace reflected on him.
What Caron didn’t know was that the royal gamma had already visited the Obsidian Claw pack, gathering intelligence about Phoebe.
"You want your daughter back, don’t you?" Kevin settled onto the sofa across from Caron, his tone casual.
Caron’s agitation over the king taking Phoebe was obvious. Despite years of harsh treatnt, he’d once cherished his daughter. She was his only girl. His blood.
Though Caron favored Reginald—desperate for a son—sothing felt hollow about that relationship. No blood connection. No true bond.
"This is our only shot at getting her back from the king. We can’t challenge him directly. You know his reputation—he’d wipe out our pack on a whim. Not yet, anyway."
Kevin’s sche had been brewing for months. Complex, but worth the payoff. "Work with on this."
Hidden beneath the table, Dani remained invisible, though Caron could sll what Kevin had done to his whore before this eting.
"Why do you want my daughter? You rejected her, tornted her—now you want her back?" Caron’s eyes narrowed, trying to decipher the young alpha’s motives.
The forr alpha Sterling had always claid his son was more devious than himself. Kevin’s impulsive nature worried him, but with no other heir, he had no choice. His only son. His only child.
"I rejected her, yes. But the mate bond never truly severed. I still feel drawn to her—can’t fight it." Kevin leaned back, eting Caron’s stare. "I could ask you the sa. Why want her back after mistreating her all these years?"
Caron had no answer. On sleepless nights, he wondered when their relationship had soured. When had he first been cruel to his daughter?
When had Phoebe transford from his precious child into a burden he resented?
If he dug deeper, he realized he didn’t truly hate her. He’d punished her mistakes, but couldn’t pinpoint when it had gone too far, or how to return from that dark path.
She was his daughter, after all.
"Maybe you should reconsider. Phoebe might be better off at the palace with the king. He is her mate."
Kevin’s eyebrows shot up before he laughed mockingly. "Listen to yourself." He leaned forward, voice turning icy. "He’s the Mad King. You think he’ll treat her better than we did?"
"She’s still his mate."
Kevin shook his head as if Caron had said sothing monuntally stupid. The forr beta’s irritation flared, though he kept it hidden.
"If the king saw her as his mate, he’d have announced her as future queen. Especially after that dramatic marking at my ceremony."
The mory still stung—people would rember the king’s spectacle more than Kevin’s own ceremony.
"He’s made no announcent. That ans he doesn’t want her. Think he’s not mistreating her too?"
Again, Caron had no response.
Everything involving the Mad King spelled disaster. Since taking the throne, he’d dragged the kingdom into endless wars of expansion. It had beco an obsession.
Alpha protests against his decisions remained muted—they feared his retaliation.
But Caron knew the king wasn’t beloved. Fear kept them in line.
"The mad king might have killed her while we’re sitting here talking. Last I heard, he fed traitors to wild wolves in the forest."
Caron knew that story too.
"How can you be sure your daughter isn’t out there alone, being hunted by wild wolves when she can’t even shift?"
Caron’s jaw clenched—exactly the reaction Kevin wanted. He’d maneuvered the forr beta into his ga, making him another pawn.
"Why don’t you check on her? I can’t—no authority, and it would endanger our pack. But you’re her father. You have every right to see her."
——
**Phoebe’s POV**
"Stop it!" Perry snarled in my face, looking ready to strangle . Had I finally driven him as insane as everyone claid he was?
The Moon Goddess must have a twisted sense of humor, pairing us together.
"Kill !" I scread at the top of my lungs. When he couldn’t find another way to silence , instinct took over—he crushed his mouth to mine.
This wasn’t a kiss. It was pure rage and desperation. Perry bit down on my lip until he drew blood, and I returned the favor, my fear forgotten in my fury.
"You really want to die?" he sneered, then bit down on my mark. I cried out, trying to push him away, but he was immovable.
Then I felt it—heat spreading across my skin, my heart racing. We both realized what was happening at the sa mont.
I was going into heat.
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