Chapter 2

Aliana POV:

I sat in the dark of our bedroom. The digital clock read 11:45 PM.

I heard the heavy front door open downstairs. Footsteps echoed on the marble stairs.

I scrambled into bed, pulling the duvet up. I had to play the part. The dying obstacle.

The door opened.

"Aliana?" Ivan's voice was soft, laced with that fake concern that made my skin crawl.

He walked to the side of the bed. Then, the smell hit me. *Rotting peaches and sex.* And underneath it, the scent of a child-milk and dirt.

He leaned down. For a horrifying second, I thought he would kiss me. Instead, he sniffed my hair.

"Still sleeping," he muttered. "Good."

He walked into the bathroom. The shower turned on.

*My eyes snapped open.*

*Move,* the voice inside me commanded. *Hunt.*

I slipped out of bed. I went to the hallway.

Ivan's study was his sanctuary. Secured by a bio-metric lock and a keypad.

I stood before the heavy mahogany door.

"He thinks you're stupid," the voice in my head hissed.

I stared at the keypad. Ivan was arrogant. He wouldn't use a random number.

I punched in the date: *05-12-18*. Leo's birthday.

The light blinked green. *Bingo.*

I slipped inside. I went straight to his computer. It was logged in.

*I didn't waste time looking for a folder labeled "Evil Plans." Ivan wasn't a cartoon villain; he was a businessman. I needed to follow the money.*

*I opened his financial records. My degree in finance, which Ivan always mocked as "cute," was finally useful.*

*I scanned the outgoing transfers from the last five years. There were the usual expenses, but one recurring payment stood out. A shell company called "Apex Consulting," registered in the Gray Zone.*

*I cross-referenced the company registration number. It was a dummy corp. But the shipping manifests associated with it were real.*

*"Aconitum delivery. Concentrated extract," I whispered, reading the invoice. Aconitum. Wolfsbane.*

*Then I checked the personal accounts. Huge withdrawals. Cash.*

*I found a hidden sub-folder in his cloud drive masked as tax returns. Inside weren't taxes. They were falsified medical reports from a clinic in the Rogue territories.*

*Subject: Leo Reese. Bloodline Potency: S-Class Alpha.*

*And a paternity test.* *Father: Alpha Ivan Hughes. Status: Positive.*

*My father was bankrolling the poison. Ivan was laundering the money to Kiera.*

I felt bile rise in my throat. I pulled a small, silver USB drive from my pajama pocket.

I copied everything. *The financial trail, the shipping manifests, the fake DNA tests.*

The progress bar crawled. *98%... 99%... Complete.*

I yanked the drive out just as I heard the shower turn off down the hall.

I wiped the recent history, turned off the monitor, and slipped out.

I made it back to the bedroom just as the bathroom door handle turned. I dove into bed.

Ivan emerged, smelling of soap and mint. He climbed into bed beside me.

His phone buzzed. He checked it, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

After he fell asleep, I reached over and took his phone.

The message was from an unsaved number. A photo of Kiera riding on Ivan's shoulders at the Pack's amusement park.

Caption: *An Alpha only belongs to a female who can breed warriors. Put the mule down, Ivan.*

*I stared at the screen. A mule. Sterile. Useless.*

*I carefully forwarded the text to a burner email address I'd set up years ago, then deleted the sent log.*

I placed the phone back.

Tomorrow was the Pack Gathering. The entire Silver Moon Pack would be there.

It was the perfect stage.

I closed my eyes. *My blood felt hot, like liquid fire. The poison was losing the war.*