Chapter 3

Ember POV

The Blackwood Penthouse was a fortress of glass and steel suspended above Manhattan. Stepping into the foyer, the motion-sensor lights cast a sterile, clinical glow over the massive oil paintings of past Blackwood Alphas. Their cold, painted eyes seemed to track my every move, but I ignored them. The air was already thick with the lingering, suffocating scent of crisp cedar and impending storm-Damien's signature Alpha aura.

I walked straight into the dimly lit study, the true seat of his power. Behind the towering mahogany bookshelves, I punched the code into the glowing keypad. The heavy steel door of the hidden safe clicked open.

I pulled out the original *Pack Alliance Contract* and laid the copy flat on the massive, mirror-like desk. Three days. In exactly seventy-two hours, this seven-year political nightmare would legally expire.

Before I could even align the edges of the paper, the heavy oak doors of the study slammed open, hitting the wall with a violent crack.

Damien stood in the doorway, his chest heaving. The scent of cedar turned sharp and bitter with pure, unadulterated rage. He had tracked my scent the moment he returned from the hospital. His inner wolf, Tyrant, was practically clawing at the surface, furious over his bleeding mistress and the humiliating rumor of *The Waning* that was undoubtedly already tearing through the Pack's Mind-Link.

"Is this your next play, Ember?" Damien snarled, stalking toward the desk. His dark eyes locked onto the stack of papers. "You cause a scene at the hospital, refuse my money, and now you rush home to dig into the archives? What is this? Another pathetic attempt to extort me while you think I'm distracted?"

I didn't flinch against the crushing weight of his aura. I simply tapped the cover page. "It's a notification of termination. According to the stipulations set by your father-"

Damien's eyes dropped to the wax seal of the late Alpha Magnus Blackwood. For a second, he froze. Then, a cruel, barking laugh ripped from his throat. It was a sound devoid of any warmth, dripping with absolute contempt.

"You think a piece of paper gives you leverage over me?" he mocked, leaning over the desk until his face was inches from mine. "You are a *wolfless* Omega. You have no power, no wolf, and no right to make demands in my territory. This little performance of yours is pathetic."

He didn't even bother to open the folder. With a violent flick of his wrist, he backhanded the stack of papers. The heavy parchment scattered, fluttering down onto the expensive Persian rug like dead leaves.

"Know your place, Ember," he growled, his voice dropping to a lethal register.

Before he could unleash the full force of his Alpha's Command to force me to my knees, a sharp, melodic ringtone shattered the tension.

It was the burner phone in his breast pocket. The one exclusively for Allena.

Damien's lethal glare instantly fractured. He snatched the phone, his violent demeanor evaporating into a sickeningly frantic tenderness. "Allena? Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Even without enhanced werewolf hearing, I could hear her trembling, tearful voice through the receiver. *"Damien... the doctors... they said there are unexpected complications. It hurts so much. They're whispering about... about your power being too much for me... Please, I'm scared..."*

She was playing him perfectly. Using the very rumor of *The Waning* I had planted to stoke his deepest insecurities.

All the color drained from Damien's face. The thought of his power failing, of his mistress suffering because of his supposed weakness, struck the most fragile nerve of his Alpha ego. Tyrant roared in his mind-I could see it in the sudden, panicked flash of pitch-black in his eyes.

He completely forgot I was in the room. He forgot the contract scattered on the floor. His only instinct was to rush back and prove he was still the strong, capable Alpha who could protect his female.

Without another word, Damien grabbed his car keys from the desk and sprinted out of the study like a hurricane, leaving the penthouse doors wide open in his wake.

The heavy silence of the apartment rushed back in.

I slowly crouched down onto the Persian rug and gathered the scattered pages of the contract. My fingers brushed over Magnus Blackwood's signature. A cold, genuine smile touched my lips.

Damien thought he was running to save her, completely blind to the fact that his departure was the final piece of my puzzle.