Chapter 2

Alex POV:

Pain brings clarity.

As the throbbing in my head dulled to a rhythmic ache, I dragged myself upright. My hand left a crimson smear on the white stone. I didn't bother calling the pack doctor. He wouldn't come for "the help."

Limping, I made my way to Gavyn's study. I had two hours.

I sat at his massive mahogany desk, hands shaking as I drafted the Severance Papers.

I, Alex, hereby relinquish my position...

My eyes drifted to the drawer Gavyn always kept locked. Today, in his haste, he'd left the key in the lock.

I turned it.

Inside was a leather-bound journal. I flipped to a marked page from six years ago.

Entry 402:

The witch has completed the Bloodline Camouflage spell. Dark magic, but necessary. We will inject the serum into Alex daily. It masks her human scent, mimics Iliana's pheromones. My wolf is restless, but the scent tricks him. It tricks the pack. It will trick the pups. Alex believes she is taking vitamins. She is a fool, but a useful one.

I stared at the words. The "vitamins." The chemical lie that had been my life.

The front door slammed open downstairs. Laughter. They were back early.

Panic surged. I shoved the journal back, but my clumsy fingers knocked over a vase.

Crash.

"Who is in there?" Gavyn's voice roared. The Alpha Tone. It vibrated in my chest, demanding submission.

Gavyn appeared in the doorway, Iliana and the twins behind him. He sniffed the air, eyes narrowing.

"Blood," he growled. "Fresh blood. And... something else." He looked at the gash on my head, then at me. "Are you in heat?"

"What?"

"The scent," he snapped. "It's changing. You smell... sweet. Sickeningly sweet." He grabbed my arm, grip bruising. "Are you pregnant? Did you let some rogue touch you?"

"No!"

"We can't have a half-breed pollution in the pack house," Iliana said, voice dripping with fake concern.

"To the Healer. Now," Gavyn ordered.

He dragged me out. I struggled, pulling back.

"Let me go!"

In the scuffle, my leg brushed against the shattered remains of the vase.

Searing, white-hot agony shot up my calf. I screamed, a sound that tore my throat raw.

The vase wasn't ceramic. It was coated in silver dust-a security measure.

Silver burns wolves like acid. To a human, it's just cold metal.

Smoke rose from my calf. The flesh hissed.

Gavyn stopped. He looked at the wound. He looked at the smoke.

"Silver burns you?" His brow furrowed, genuine confusion warring with his anger. "That's impossible. You're latent. You shouldn't react like that."

He stared at me, a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

"Unless..." He shook his head, the thought dismissed as quickly as it came. "No. Just a weak body reacting to infection. You're hiding something, Alex."

He didn't care that I was burning. He threw me into the hallway. "Get yourself to the infirmary. Check for pregnancy. If you are breeding, you're out tonight."

I lay on the floor, clutching my leg. The silver poison sent veins of black up my shin. But beneath the pain, a sensation like cool water began to flow, fighting the fire.

I limped into the infirmary. The Healer, Marcus, sneered.

"Pregnancy test," I gasped. "Gavyn ordered it."

Marcus handed me a stick. No bandage for the leg.

I sat on the cold tile of the bathroom.

One line. Negative.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. The silver poison throbbed, but the ice in my veins was stronger. I wasn't pregnant. I was free.