Chapter 2 The life-debt

Lily's hands curled into fists at her sides. "I don't owe you anything."

Derek leaned against her door, blocking the only exit. In the afternoon light streaming through the window, his gray eyes looked almost silver, wolf eyes, even in human form. "Pack law says different."

"Pack law?" Lily's voice rose. "You attacked Luna! You hurt her so badly she couldn't walk for weeks!"

Luna growled, positioning herself between them. Her hackles rose, and her lips pulled back to show sharp white teeth.

Derek's gaze dropped to the wolf, and something flickered across his face. Not fear, regret, maybe. Or something else Lily couldn't name.

"I know what you think happened that day," he said quietly. "But you're wrong."

"I saw you!" The words burst out of Lily before she could stop them. "I saw you standing over her with blood on your hands!"

"You saw half the story." Derek pushed off the door and took a step closer. Luna's growl deepened, but he ignored her. "Three years ago, in the north forest, you found your wolf wounded. You saw me nearby. You assumed I was the one who hurt her, so you attacked me with a branch and ran away. That's what you remember, right?"

Lily's throat tightened. That was exactly what she remembered, the worst day of her life, finding Luna bleeding in the leaves, seeing this boy standing there with his hands covered in blood.

"But here's what you didn't see," Derek continued. His voice stayed low, controlled, but intensity burned underneath it. "Two rogue wolves attacked Luna first. They were trying to kill her because companions are valuable, worth a fortune on the black market. I heard her crying and came running. I fought them off, got bitten and clawed in the process. When you showed up, I'd just finished driving them away. The blood on my hands was mine and theirs, not Luna's."

"Liar." But Lily's voice wavered.

Derek held up his left hand, showing her the scar that ran from his thumb to his wrist. "One of them bit me here. I needed twelve stitches. I still have the hospital records if you want proof."

Lily stared at the scar. It was deep, vicious, the kind of wound that would have bled heavily.

"You're making this up," she whispered.

"Am I?" Derek tilted his head. "Then explain why Luna's injuries were claw marks from multiple wolves, not from me alone. Explain why I never reported you for attacking me, even though you left me bleeding in the forest. Explain why I convinced my father not to hunt down the 'rogue omega with an illegal companion' when the pack doctors started asking questions about my wounds."

Each word hit like a physical blow. Lily's mind raced, trying to remember details from that awful day. Had there been other wolves? She'd been so focused on Luna, so terrified, that everything else had blurred together.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth then?" she demanded.

"You were gone before I could speak. By the time I tracked down where you lived, your mother had already moved you both into hiding." Derek's jaw tightened. "I've spent three years making sure no one connected you to that incident. Three years keeping your secret."

"Then why bring it up now? Why threaten me?"

"Because..." Derek stopped himself. He turned away, running a hand through his black hair in frustration. When he faced her again, something dangerous glinted in his eyes. "Because pack law is clear. I saved Luna's life. Whether you believe it or not, that's the truth. And that means you owe me a life-debt."

"That's not..."

"It is." His voice went hard. "My father is Alpha. If he finds out about this, he'll have no choice but to enforce pack law. The life-debt is real, Lily. You can pay it willingly, or I can make it official."

"Why do you even care?" Lily's voice cracked. "What could you possibly want from me?"

Derek crossed the room in two long strides. He stopped close enough that Lily could see gold flecks in his gray eyes, could smell pine and something wilder on his skin.

"One year," he said. "You serve as my assistant for one year. You do what I say, when I say it. In exchange, I keep your secrets, all of them. Your mother's failure to register you. Luna's existence. What really happened that day in the forest."

"Assistant?" Lily's mind reeled. "What does that even mean?"

"It means you help me with pack duties. School projects. Whatever I need." Derek's expression gave nothing away. "It's better than exile, which is what your mother faces if the council finds out she hid you."

The threat landed like a knife between Lily's ribs. Mom. Derek wasn't just threatening her-he was threatening the one person Lily loved most in the world.

"You're a bastard," she breathed.

"I'm a realist." Derek stepped back, giving her space again. "Our parents just got married. We're family now, whether we like it or not. This arrangement keeps everyone safe and happy. You do what I ask, and no one needs to know about the past."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then tomorrow I tell my father everything. He's a fair man, he'll investigate. He'll find out your mother never registered you with the pack council, which is a serious crime. He'll discover you have an illegal companion. Best case scenario, you both get exiled. Worst case..." Derek's eyes flickered to Luna. "Unregistered companions are usually confiscated for the pack's safety."

"No." The word tore out of Lily. "You wouldn't."

"I don't want to." For the first time, Derek's cold mask cracked slightly. "But I will if you force my hand. Pack law exists for a reason, Lily. I can't ignore it, even for you."

Even for you. The words hung in the air, strange and weighted with meaning Lily didn't understand.

Luna whined and pressed against Lily's leg. Lily's hand dropped to her companion's head, fingers tangling in soft fur. Without Luna, she was nothing. Without Mom, she had no one.

She was trapped.

"How do I know you'll keep your word?" she asked quietly.