Chapter 2 The Arrangement

SIENA

I didn't know what I expected.

Maybe a scolding. Maybe silence. But definitely not the suffocating cold that wrapped around me the moment I stepped inside.

The meeting room was dim, lit only by the unsteady flicker of flames in the hearth. The air smelled of smoke and old wood, like something forgotten. But there was no warmth. Just stone walls pressing in from all sides and a stillness so heavy it threatened to choke me.

Every high-ranking wolf in the pack sat around the long table, stiff-backed, silent. Their gazes drifted toward me, assessing, piercing, but none of them said a word.

They never did.

I stayed by the door, too uncertain to move forward, too proud to step back. Their silence wasn't empty. It was judgment. It was dismissal.

And at the head of the table, seated like a king on his throne, was he.

Lorenzo.

Alpha.

His presence didn't just command the room, it devoured it. Even without a word, he dominated every space, every breath.

He didn't look at me. Of course, he didn't. His eyes were glued to the parchment before him, fingers tapping slowly against the edge as if the paper held more value than I ever could.

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

"You called for me?" My voice was barely above a whisper. Pathetic. I hated how it trembled, hated how it gave me away. But standing here, beneath their cold eyes and his colder silence, I couldn't help it.

Lorenzo didn't lift his gaze. Not immediately. He liked the silence. He let it stretch, let it suffocate.

Then finally, he moved. Fingers stilled. Paper laid down.

His eyes met mine. Sharp, unreadable, empty of anything remotely kind.

"You're here because of the arrangement," he said.

Just that. No preamble. No explanation. Just that one word.

I blinked. "Arrangement?" I echoed, tasting the unfamiliarity of it on my tongue. My heart began to race. No one arranged anything for me. I was the omega. Forgotten, pitied, barely acknowledged.

He slid a leather-bound book across the table.

"Open it."

I hesitated. My boots barely made a sound as I stepped forward, heart thudding with each inch closer. I didn't dare sit. Didn't deserve to. So I leaned over, breath caught somewhere between fear and disbelief.

The pages were lined with elegant script, rows upon rows of names, dates... details.

And then I saw it.

My name.

And his.

It hit like a slap.

"A marriage contract?" I whispered, voice cracking around the syllables.

Lorenzo's expression didn't change. "Arranged marriage," he corrected. He rose from his seat, slow and deliberate. The air shifted around him, rippling with restrained power.

I flinched.

He towered over the table, and even though he didn't move closer, I felt him like a shadow pressing against my skin.

"You'll be wed soon, Siena. The pack needs stability. This marriage guarantees it."

I shook my head slightly, my chest tightening. "Why me?" The words came out before I could stop them. "Why would you choose me? I'm not even"-choked on the rest-"I'm not worthy."

There. I'd said it.

And yet, he didn't lash out. Didn't ridicule me like the others might have. He only watched, his eyes narrowing like he was weighing a decision.

"You're the only one who can stand in this role," he said. "You will do what's required."

No emotion. Just duty. Like I was a piece in his chess game. Replaceable. Expendable.

"And if I don't?"

His lips curved, but it wasn't a smile. "Then your life here will be worse than death."

I stood frozen, each breath shallow. Was this really happening? Was I being given away like a bargaining chip?

"Who is it?" I asked, though some part of me already knew.

He didn't blink. "Me."

The floor seemed to fall beneath my feet.

"You?" The word barely left my mouth.

"Yes." The finality in his voice was suffocating. "The contract is signed. The matter is settled."

I stumbled back a step. Cold spread through my limbs. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. He... Lorenzo. The Alpha. My Alpha.

"I don't understand..."

"There's nothing to understand," he cut in, voice hardening. "The pack needs an heir. This is the only way."

And that was it.

I wasn't a bride.

I was a womb.

A tool to be used.

I bit back the rising nausea, fists clenching at my sides. My eyes burned, but I refused to cry. Not in front of him. Not in front of them.

I tend to have shaky legs, eager to leave before I broke in half.

But his voice stopped me cold.

"I expect you to behave accordingly, Siena."

I nodded stiffly, still refusing to look back.

Outside, the night was still. The moon hung high, pale and distant like a silent witness.

And for the first time in a long, long while...

I felt completely, utterly alone.