Chapter 9

Seraphina POV

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the doorknob, my eye still pressed to the peephole. The Lycan from the alley stood under the flickering neon light of the motel walkway. His massive frame seemed to swallow the narrow space, his scent of ancient leather and heavy ozone seeping through the cracks of the flimsy door.

I backed away, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. I looked around the tiny, mold-infested room for a weapon, my eyes landing on a rusted floor lamp.

"Seraphina," his voice bled through the thin wood. It wasn't an Alpha's Command, but a low, rumbling baritone that vibrated in my chest. "I know you're in there. I'm not here to hurt you."

I held my breath, my fingers wrapping around the cold metal pole of the lamp.

"I was wrong," he continued, the words sounding foreign on his tongue, as if he wasn't used to saying them. "The Rogue scent on you... my instincts blinded me to the truth of what happened in that alley. I apologize."

A Lycan? Apologizing to a wolfless Omega?

"My grandmother," his voice tightened, losing a fraction of its iron control. "She's refusing to eat. The Pack Healers can do nothing. Her mind is slipping, and she is convinced that you are Agnes. If she doesn't see you, she won't survive the night."

I hesitated. The memory of the frail old woman sobbing in the alley flashed in my mind. Slowly, I approached the door, leaving the chain lock engaged, and cracked it open just an inch.

His piercing blue eyes immediately locked onto mine. Up close, the sheer power radiating from him was suffocating.

"What do you want from me?" I whispered, my voice trembling.

"Let me in," he said softly. "Please."

Against my better judgment, I slid the chain free. He stepped into the cramped room, making the ceiling seem entirely too low. I immediately retreated to the far corner, putting the squeaky mattress between us.

"She thinks you're her daughter," he said, his gaze sweeping over my bruised, exhausted form. "Agnes died twenty years ago. But my grandmother's grief has fractured her reality. I need you to come live with me for one month. Pretend to be Agnes. Comfort her until she stabilizes."

I stared at him, disbelief momentarily overriding my fear. "You want me to play dress-up for a dying woman?"

"In exchange," he took a slow step forward, "I will offer you absolute protection. Kael Blackwood's blacklist won't mean a damn thing. You will be untouchable."

Anger, hot and sudden, flared in my chest. "I just escaped a Pack that used me and threw me away like garbage. I am not your mother, and I don't even know you! I won't be another family's pawn."

"I'm not asking you to be a pawn," he countered, his jaw clenching. The icy wall of his Lycan composure cracked, revealing a raw, bleeding desperation underneath. "She raised me when my mother died. She is the only family I have left. I cannot lose her."

The raw agony in his eyes struck a chord deep within my shattered soul. I knew that pain. I had lost my mother, and just days ago, I had lost my unborn pup. I knew what it was like to watch the only light in your world extinguish.

I looked at this terrifying, powerful creature, and for a fleeting second, I didn't see a monster. I saw a grieving grandson.

"One month," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Relief washed over his harsh features.

"But I have a condition," I added, lifting my chin. "When the month is over, you use your resources to give me a completely new identity. A new name, new papers. I want to disappear where the Blackwoods can never find me."

He didn't hesitate. "Done."

He closed the distance between us, stopping just short of invading my personal space, and extended a large, calloused hand.

"Declan Kane," he said, his voice a solemn vow.

I reached out, my small hand disappearing into his. The moment our skin touched, a strange, electric warmth shot up my arm, but it was entirely eclipsed by the ringing in my ears.

*Kane.*

My breath hitched, my eyes widening in absolute horror as the name echoed in my mind. In the werewolf world, there were Alphas, there were Alpha Kings, and then there was the Kane bloodline. They were ancient, unfathomably wealthy, and possessed a ruthless Lycan power that bowed to no one.

I hadn't just made a deal with a powerful stranger. I had just sold a month of my life to a King.