Chapter 2

Isabela POV:

The basement smelled of mold and decaying cardboard. There were no windows, only a single, flickering bulb that cast long, dancing shadows against the concrete walls.

I sat on the thin mattress I had dragged down the stairs, staring at the shattered remains of my mother's amulet. Kason must have stepped on it when he threw my boxes down here. It was made of dried herbs and resin, meant to keep a young wolf's spirit calm. Now, it was just dust.

We don't need it, my wolf whispered, though her voice was weak. We are leaving.

"Yes," I murmured. "We are leaving."

I stood up, ignoring the damp chill that seeped into my bones. I grabbed my duffel bag. I didn't pack the clothes the pack had bought me. I didn't pack the jewelry Kason had given me on my birthdays-the "charity" gifts, as he called them now.

I only took what was mine. A faded t-shirt. My sketchbook. A small stash of cash I had earned doing homework for the pack's rich teenagers.

I needed to get to the airport. My father had arranged the ticket, but I had to get there on my own.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Aunt May. She was the Pack Healer, the only one who had treated me with kindness since Kason turned cold.

"May," I said when she picked up. "I need a favor. I need a ride to the city limits."

"Isabela? Child, you sound terrible," her warm voice filled my ear. "Is it the Alpha? I saw the article."

I winced. The article. Werewolf Weekly had run the interview this morning. Kason had described me as a "clingy Omega who didn't understand her place." The comments section on the pack forum was worse. They called me a "Rogue in training" and a "gold-digger."

"I'm fine, May. I just need to get some supplies for... for the basement. Cleaning supplies."

I lied. If I told her I was running, she might be obligated to tell the Alpha. The Pack Law was absolute.

"I can't drive you, honey. The Alpha has all vehicles on lockdown for the preparation of the Mating Ceremony next week. But you can catch the bus at the depot near the border."

"Okay. Thank you, May."

I hung up. The border was five miles away. I would have to walk.

I pulled my hood up and slipped out the back door of the basement. The morning sun was blinding, but I kept my head down. I stuck to the tree line, moving silently. My Omega status meant I wasn't strong, but I was small and I knew how to disappear.

I made it to the edge of the territory, near the human-run coffee shop that marked the boundary between the Oneal lands and the neutral zone. My heart pounded against my ribs. Just a few more steps.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Or should I say, the wolf?"

I froze.

Sitting at the outdoor patio of the coffee shop, sipping a latte, was Dalia. And next to her, looking at his phone, was Kason.

I tried to back away, to melt into the bushes, but Kason's head snapped up. His nostrils flared. He had caught my scent.

"Isabela?" His voice was a low rumble.

He stood up, and the air pressure dropped instantly. He released his Alpha Aura. It wasn't a physical blow, but a psychic weight that forced my knees to buckle. It was the biological imperative: Submit.

I fell to the pavement, scraping my palms.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kason growled, walking over to me. He loomed over me, blocking out the sun. "You look like a beggar. You are shaming the Oneal name."

"I... I was just going for a walk," I stammered, fighting the urge to bare my neck in submission.

"With a duffel bag?" Dalia laughed, a high, tinkling sound that grated on my ears. She walked over and kicked my bag. "She's trying to run away, Kason. Like a coward."

"Is this true?" Kason grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. His fingers were rough. "You don't leave this pack until I say you leave. You belong to the pack. You are property."

Property. The word stung worse than the scrape on my hand.

Suddenly, Kason's phone rang. The ringtone was the specific alert for a High Council call. He released my chin abruptly and answered it, his posture straightening.

"Alpha Payne," Kason said, his tone shifting from aggression to respectful caution.

My heart skipped a beat. Payne. Hadley Payne. My future husband.

"Yes, Sir," Kason said into the phone. "We will be attending. The Mating Ceremony... yes. We are honored."

He hung up, looking pale.

"What did the Supreme Alpha want?" Dalia asked, looking bored.

"Hadley Payne is hosting a pre-ceremony gathering in the city today. He demands the presence of all allied Alphas and their... partners." Kason looked at me, then at Dalia. "He specifically asked to see the 'heart of the pack'."

Dalia preened. "That's me, obviously."

Kason looked at my dirty jeans and oversized hoodie with disgust. "We have to go. Now. And we can't leave her here to run off and cause a scandal."

Dalia's eyes lit up with malice. "I have an idea, baby. I don't have a personal maid for the trip. My dress has a long train. Someone needs to carry it."

Kason hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. Isabela, get in the car. You're coming with us."

"No," I whispered. "Please."

"That was an Alpha Command, Isabela," Kason snarled, his eyes flashing red. "Get. In. The. Car."

My body moved before my mind could protest. The Command bypassed my will, forcing my legs to walk toward his sleek black SUV. I was a prisoner in my own body, trapped between the man who broke me and the monster I was promised to.