Chapter 6

Seraphina POV

The night air on the private terrace was biting, a sharp contrast to the suffocating heat of the Golden Ball. White climbing roses twined around the marble balustrade, their sweet fragrance entirely swallowed by the clash of two Alpha auras.

Kaelen stood with his back to the glittering city skyline. He looked cornered, his winter pine and ozone scent spiked with bitter frustration.

"The Rogues are encroaching on both our borders," Kaelen started, his voice tight as he addressed Dominic, though his obsidian eyes kept darting to me. "We need this alliance."

I met Dominic's gaze. My brother gave a subtle, approving nod. It was my turn to hold the blade.

"The alliance proceeds," I said, my voice cutting through the chill. Kaelen's shoulders dropped a fraction, a silent exhale of relief. "But on my terms."

His eyes narrowed. "Name them."

"First condition," I stated, stepping closer so he could see the absolute zero in my eyes. "All communications regarding this treaty go directly through you, the Alpha. Your sister, Vanessa, and your... fiancée, Cassondra, are never to come within ten meters of me. If I even smell their artificial perfumes, the deal is off."

"Done," Kaelen agreed instantly.

He didn't even hesitate. His desperation to secure Silverwood's military backing was a gaping wound, and I had just successfully isolated him from his toxic echo chamber. Deep within, my inner wolf, *Selene*, let out a dark, satisfied purr.

Before Kaelen could regain his footing, Dominic stepped forward, his cedar and earth scent heavy with authority. "Since this is a joint military effort, it requires a strategic liaison to coordinate our warriors. I nominate Seraphina."

Kaelen's head snapped toward my brother, his face draining of color. "Absolutely not," he snarled, his Alpha pride finally snapping. "She has no combat experience. She was always a protected-"

"Careful, Steele," Dominic interrupted, a low growl vibrating in his chest. "Your perception of her is stuck five years in the past. She is a Rhodes. She leads, or Silverwood walks."

Kaelen looked at me, searching for the weak, wolfless Omega he had discarded. But I offered him nothing but a wall of ice. The severed mate-bond hummed beneath my skin, a treacherous electric current demanding I soothe his distress, but I ruthlessly crushed it.

His jaw clenched so hard a muscle ticked in his cheek. He was trapped, forced to hand over military authority to the woman he had rejected.

"Fine," Kaelen gritted out, the word tasting like ash in his mouth.

*

The next morning, the atmosphere in Kaelen's penthouse office at Steele Group was suffocating.

The space was a monument to his absolute control-cold, modern, and intimidating. Behind his black granite desk, the floor-to-ceiling windows offered a god's-eye view of the human city. But today, the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack was not in control. The air was thick with his storm-drenched scent, heavy with repressed, explosive anger.

Between us on the desk lay the alliance treaty, inscribed with ancient Pack runes. It was the key to his territory's survival, and my Trojan horse. Every humiliating concession I had forced upon him last night was documented in black ink.

Kaelen stared at the parchment. His inner wolf, *Draegan*, was pacing restlessly, projecting a chaotic wave of possessiveness and fury that made my skin prickle. He picked up the heavy silver pen, his knuckles turning white.

He was ready to sign his pride away.

But I wasn't finished. I hadn't endured his presence, his scent, and the agonizing pull of our severed bond just to play war games. Everything I had done was for one single, beating reason.

Just as the pen's nib hovered over the paper, I reached out. My slender fingers pressed firmly down on the center of the document.

Kaelen froze. He slowly lifted his head, his dark eyes blazing with a lethal mix of impatience and wrath.

I met his gaze head-on, refusing to flinch under the crushing weight of his aura.

"Before my name goes on this," I said, my voice clear, cold, and echoing in the silent office, "there is one final condition."