Her trembling hands cupped my face, her Lycan instincts latching onto some phantom scent she believed was mine. Behind us, tires screeched. The Rogue had regained just enough consciousness to scramble into his rusted sedan and peel out of the alley, leaving behind a thick cloud of exhaust and his sour, metallic stench.

Before I could pull the delirious woman to safety, the temperature in the alley plummeted.

A sleek black Porsche slid to a halt under the flickering streetlight. A man stepped out, and the sheer force of his aura drove the breath from my lungs. His scent-a potent mix of ancient leather and the heavy, ozone-rich soil right before a thunderstorm-flooded the narrow space. It was suffocating, a primal power that dwarfed any Alpha I had ever met. He was a Lycan.

He took in the scene in a fraction of a second: his weeping grandmother, the lingering stench of the Rogue, and me-a wolfless Omega standing over her.

His icy blue eyes locked onto mine, blazing with absolute disgust. "What did you do to her?"

His voice wasn't just an Alpha's Command; it was a crushing weight that rattled my bones.

"I didn't-he attacked her, I saved-"

"Save your breath," he snarled, stepping between us and shielding the old woman. "A wolfless stray reeking of Rogue. Don't insult my intelligence."

"Agnes! Don't leave Agnes!" the old woman sobbed, reaching out for me as he gently but firmly guided her into the passenger seat.

He ignored her pleas. He didn't even look back at me. The Porsche vanished into the night, leaving me shivering in the garbage-strewn alley, condemned for a crime I didn't commit.

The next twenty-four hours proved that Kael Blackwood's cruelty knew no bounds.

I dragged myself from one apartment complex to another. The moment the human landlords saw my ID, their polite smiles vanished, replaced by flimsy excuses. *Blacklisted.* Kael wasn't just exiling me from the Pack; he was using his billionaire influence to ensure I starved in the human world.

The last shred of my broken heart calcified. I didn't just hate Genevieve anymore. I hated Kael. I hated the entire Blackwood bloodline. My grief was gone, forged into a weapon of cold, hard hatred.

By nightfall, I finally found a dilapidated, unlisted motel on the city's absolute fringe. It smelled of black mold, cheap bleach, and despair. I paid in cash, locking the flimsy door of room 114 behind me. The room was barely larger than a closet, featuring a squeaking mattress and a wobbly desk, but it was a roof.

I had just sat on the edge of the bed when a heavy, deliberate knock echoed through the thin wood of the door.

My blood ran cold.

I crept forward, holding my breath, and pressed my eye to the peephole. Standing under the flickering neon light of the walkway was the Lycan from the alley. His broad shoulders filled the frame, his expression unreadable.

Panic seized my throat. Kael's ban was absolute-which meant this monster had tracked me down himself. He was either a hitman hired by the Blackwoods, or he had come to execute me for the "Rogue attack" on his grandmother.

I backed away slowly, my bare feet silent on the stained carpet, and curled my trembling fingers into tight fists.

Chapter 8

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