Chapter 2

Kelsey POV:

The next morning, the house felt too big. It was a modern fortress of glass and steel, designed to impress, not to comfort.

I sat on the floor of my walk-in closet, surrounded by boxes. I wasn't packing clothes-Bennett would notice that. I was packing assets. Jewelry I had inherited from my grandmother, bearer bonds, and cash I had been siphoning from my personal allowance for two years.

I had to be smart. In the werewolf world, the Alpha owned everything.

My phone buzzed. It was Bennett.

Meeting ran late. Checking the southern borders now. Don't wait up.

I stared at the screen. It was 10:00 AM. He hadn't come home last night.

I needed to get out of the house. I needed to buy the herbs the Shadow Runners had requested-Wolfsbane and Sage-to mask my scent during the extraction.

I drove my sedan toward the city center. My mind was a fog of grief and anger. I was so distracted that I didn't see the red light until it was too late. I slammed on the brakes, but my bumper clipped the SUV in front of me.

It wasn't a bad crash. Just a jolt. But my head hit the steering wheel, and a sharp pain radiated through my temple.

I sat there for a moment, dazed. I reached for my phone to call Bennett. It was instinct. He was my husband. He was supposed to protect me.

I dialed. It rang once. Twice.

"What?" His voice was breathless, impatient.

"Bennett, I... I had an accident. Downtown. My head hurts."

There was a pause. In the background, I heard a giggle. A high-pitched, feminine giggle.

"Is the car totaled?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so. But I'm scared."

"Kelsey, I'm in the middle of a critical strategic meeting with the Elders," he snapped. "Call a tow truck. Call the pack doctor if you need to. I can't drop everything just because you can't drive."

The line went dead.

I sat in the stunned silence of the car cabin. Strategic meeting. With a giggling woman.

I handled the insurance myself. I drove myself to the pharmacy with a throbbing headache. By the time I got back to the estate, the sun was setting.

I walked up the stairs to our master bedroom, needing nothing more than to curl up and sleep. But the moment I opened the door, I gagged.

The smell hit me like a physical wall. Vanilla. Musk. And something else-something primal and pungent.

Marking scent.

It wasn't just perfume. Someone had deliberately rubbed their scent glands all over the room. It was on the curtains. It was on the carpet.

I walked to the bed. My pillows were thrown on the floor. In their place were silk cushions I didn't recognize.

I grabbed one and brought it to my nose. It reeked of Aria.

She had been here. In my sanctuary. In my bed.

Rage, hot and unfamiliar, boiled in my veins. This was a violation of the highest order. A wolf's den was sacred. For a Rogue-or whatever she was-to scent-mark an Alpha's bedroom was an act of war.

I grabbed my keys. I knew where he was. If he wasn't at the borders, and he wasn't here, he was at the Onyx Club, the private lounge for high-ranking wolves.

I didn't change out of my wrinkled clothes. I didn't fix my hair. I stormed into the club, pushing past the bouncer who tried to stop me.

The music inside was heavy, a rhythmic bass that vibrated in the floor. The air was thick with smoke and pheromones.

I saw them in the VIP booth. Bennett was lounging with his arm spread across the back of the sofa. Aria was nestled into his side, her hand resting casually on his thigh.

They were laughing.

"Bennett!" I screamed.

The music didn't stop, but the conversation at their table did. Bennett looked up, his eyes widening.

"Kelsey? What are you doing here?"

"She was in our room," I said, my voice trembling. I pointed a shaking finger at Aria. "She rubbed her scent all over my bed. How dare you let her into our home?"

Bennett stood up. His expression wasn't apologetic; it was annoyed.

"Lower your voice," he commanded. The Alpha tone rippled through the air, pressing down on my shoulders like a heavy weight. "You are embarrassing yourself."

"I'm embarrassing myself?" I laughed, a hysterical, broken sound. "You lied to me. You said you were on patrol. You're nesting with her!"

"It is part of the bonding process for the surrogacy!" Bennett growled, stepping closer. He loomed over me, using his height to intimidate. "The mother needs to feel comfortable in the Alpha's environment. It helps the pup's development. It's biology, Kelsey. Something you wouldn't understand."

"Biology doesn't require her to sleep in my bed!"

"It's just a bed!" Bennett roared. The glasses on the table rattled. "She carries the future of this pack! You carry nothing but my pity!"

The silence that followed was absolute. Even the DJ cut the music.

Tears pricked my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I looked at Aria. She was sipping her drink, a smug little smile playing on her lips. She wasn't scared of me. Why would she be? I was nothing.

I looked down at the tablet sitting on the table in front of Bennett. A message notification popped up.

Aria: My wolf calls for you, Alpha. Make her leave so we can finish what we started.

I looked at Bennett. He saw me read it. He didn't even flinch.

"Go home, Kelsey," he said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. "We are done here."

I turned around. I walked out of the club, feeling the eyes of every wolf on my back.

I got into my car, my hands gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.

"Shadow Runners?" I dialed the number again.

"Identify," the voice said.

"Kelsey Randolph. I'm ready to move the timeline up."

"Destination?"

I looked at the rearview mirror, at the city that had chewed me up and spit me out.

"Paris," I said. "Take me to the Neutral Zone."