Chapter 6 6

Alessandra POV

I walked out of the Elder's suite with measured steps. The heavy oak door clicked shut behind me, but it couldn't block out the chaotic scents of the women inside. Nonna Maria's stale medicinal herbs soured with rage, while Kandi's cheap strawberry hard candy reeked of bitter jealousy.

I could picture them glaring at the wood, their inner wolves growling in confusion. Their foolish minds had already misjudged my absolute resolve as the hysterics of a discarded Luna. They thought a wolfless woman leaving her Alpha's protection was like a fish leaving water. They were waiting for me to hit a dead end and crawl back, begging for scraps.

Let them wait. Their arrogance would only make their inevitable fall that much more devastating.

I returned to the Luna's suite, my sanctuary. The air here still belonged to me, crisp with winter frost and night-blooming jasmine. Cressie followed close behind, her usual comforting chamomile scent spiked with sheer terror. She was trembling, terrified of what Angelo would do once he realized the extent of my defiance.

"Andra, he's going to kill us," she whispered, wringing her hands. "You humiliated the Elder. You took the money."

I walked calmly to my vanity and opened the velvet jewelry box. Pressing a hidden latch, I revealed the secret compartment beneath. "He won't get the chance."

I pulled out an ancient, faintly glowing moonstone carved with the Silvermoon crest. It wasn't just a jewel; it was forged with the blood of my White Wolf mother, Sofia Vance.

"What is that?" Cressie breathed, her eyes wide.

"The true Blood Oath token," I murmured, the cold stone heavy in my palm. "Alpha King Antonio Blackwood owes the Silvermoon bloodline a life. But I am not going to an aging King for a lengthy arbitration."

Cressie swallowed hard. "Then who?"

"His nephew. The Wraith."

Cressie gasped, stumbling back a step. *Damien Blackwood.* The name alone carried the weight of a death sentence. I needed absolute, terrifying protection-the kind that would make Angelo choke on his own breath.

A bitter pang tightened my chest. My mother had traded her life for this ultimate safeguard, meant to restore our family's glory. Using it to scrape off a parasite like Angelo felt like a profound humiliation, but it was the only way to ensure my siblings, Leo and Clara, survived the fallout.

Before Cressie could process the magnitude of my plan, a deafening crash shattered the quiet of the suite.

The heavy oak door was kicked open with such brutal force that the wood splintered, sending a shower of dust and debris into the air. Spiderweb cracks shot up the plaster frame.

Angelo stormed into the room like a rabid beast. His handsome face was twisted into an ugly, feral snarl, and his mundane scent of musk and sweat flooded the space, thick and aggressively suffocating. He was trying to drown out my winter frost, trying to force the room-and me-into submission.

"Alessandra!" he roared, his chest heaving.

Cressie let out a terrified shriek. Driven by pure, blind loyalty, my human maid threw her arms wide and stepped in front of me, her small frame shaking violently against the crushing weight of an Alpha's aura.

I didn't retreat. I didn't cower.

I reached out, gently but firmly gripping Cressie's shoulder, and pulled her behind me. I stepped forward, lifting my chin to meet his gaze. My eyes were dead, glacial voids staring straight into the inferno of his wounded pride.