Chapter 2

Clarice POV:

The silence shattered as Bella let out a high-pitched, mocking laugh.

"Oh, Clarice," she giggled, clinging to Jacob's arm like a barnacle. "I knew you were desperate, but this? A snake?"

She stepped forward, dragging Jacob. Her eyes scanned Draco with undisguised disgust.

"Look at him," she sneered. "Freezing cold. Do you even have a pulse? I hear your people live in dirt holes and eat rats because you can't afford steak."

The wolves roared with laughter. To them, the secretive Serpents were bottom-feeders.

"And look at you," Bella continued, flashing the pile of furs and gold Jacob had given her. "I'll be Luna. I'll breed the strongest pups. You? You'll be lucky if you don't freeze to death in his bed."

I looked at her. Really looked at her. *Her scent was off. Usually vanilla-sweet, now it smelled muddy. Cluttered.*

"Your scent's changed, Bella," I said quietly. "It's... crowded. Been mixing with too many packs?"

Bella went pale. "How dare you!"

She grabbed a porcelain teapot and hurled it at my face.

*I didn't flinch.*

*Crack.*

*The teapot disintegrated in mid-air.* Draco hadn't moved his feet. He'd simply flicked his black cane. The shards rained down like harmless snow.

Draco stepped between me and the wolves.

The air grew heavy. Not the hot, aggressive pressure of an Alpha, but something crushing, like being dragged to the bottom of the sea.

Wolves whimpered, clutching their throats. Jacob took a step back, eyes widening.

"Careful," Draco said softly. His voice didn't echo; it slid into your ear. "You speak of wealth, little girl. But you don't know the meaning of value."

He snapped his fingers.

The double doors swung open. Six men in tailored suits glided in-Serpent guards. They set a blackwood chest inlaid with mother-of-pearl at my feet and opened it.

The room forgot how to breathe.

Inside lay a wedding dress that shimmered like liquid moonlight. *It shifted colors-pale silver to sea-foam green.*

"Dragon Scale Silk," an elder whispered. "That's a myth. One yard buys this entire Pack House."

Bella's jaw dropped. Her furs looked like roadkill in comparison.

"For my bride," Draco said, eyes on me. "We don't wear used clothes. And we don't rush."

He pulled a necklace from the chest. A massive, tear-shaped emerald on a platinum chain, pulsing with faint light.

"The Heart of the Forest," Jacob choked out. "That was lost centuries ago."

Draco fastened it around my neck. His cool fingers grazed my skin, sending shivers down my spine. "Never lost," he murmured. "Just guarded. Until now."

He turned to the crowd, pupils narrowing to slits.

"You wolves mate like dogs in the alley," he declared. "You mark, you breed, you discard. The Serpent chooses once. And we choose for eternity."

He bit his thumb, drawing dark crimson blood, and pressed it to my forehead.

"I, Draco, King of the Serpentine Order, swear a Blood Oath to Clarice."

*Magic hummed in the air-heavy, salty, ancient.* A red mark flared on my forehead, then sank into my skin.

"If I betray her, may my scales rot. If I fail to protect her, may the earth swallow me."

A Blood Oath. Irrevocable. Fatal if broken.

Jacob looked furious. He glanced at the cheap diamond on Bella's finger, then at the artifact around my neck.

"You think money makes you a man?" Jacob snarled, claws extending. "She needs a warm-blooded male. Everyone knows snakes are cold. Can you even get it up?"

Draco smiled. It was terrifying.

"Pray you never find out what I'm capable of, pup," Draco whispered.

He offered me his arm. "Shall we, my Queen? The air here stinks of wet dog."

*I took his arm, feeling the solid muscle beneath the silk. As we walked out, I glanced back. Bella stood amidst the shattered china, clutching her stomach. She looked victorious, but I saw the fear. She had won the battle for the Alpha, but she had no idea she'd just lost the war.*