"Your house?" Pandora repeated, rising slowly to her feet.
She stepped up to Samantha, folding her arms across her chest as a cold, derisive smile curled her lips.
The moment the Court Council selected Samantha to be Dorian’s future wife and Luna five years ago, Pandora knew they would never get along.
As the sole heir to the Bennington Alpha lineage, Samantha was spoiled rotten, arrogant, and carried herself like a queen ruling over peasants.
It was exactly why Pandora hated her guts.
Samantha glared at her in absolute disgust. "I don’t have time for your little antics this morning, Pandora. Get out of my face."
"Make me," Pandora retorted, her muscles tightening as the simmering annoyance inside her threatened to boil over.
"Pandora, that’s enough," Anthony warned, quickly stepping between the two women and pulling Pandora back by the arm.
He had spent enough time around them to know that a physical scuffle was imminent.
Samantha sneered, turning her sharp, venomous glare directly onto Alec. "You! Where is Dorian?"
Alec’s jaw clenched at her demanding tone. He almost didn’t want to respond, but in the end, he changed his mind.
"The Alpha left for a meeting with the court council," he answered flatly.
"And where is the stray trash he brought in last night?" Samantha demanded, stepping closer to him. "Bring her to me. Now!"
"I’m afraid I can’t do that," Alec muttered. "Alpha Dorian doesn’t want her to be disturbed."
"Dorian wouldn’t give such an order!" she snapped. "Did Pandora put you up to this?"
"Fuck you, Samantha!" Pandora shot back venomously. "Your precious position as future Luna is already being threatened as we speak."
The arrogant smirk vanished from Samantha’s face. Her brown eyes darted around the room, landing briefly on Anthony’s tense expression, then on Alec’s expressionless face, before snapping back to Pandora.
"What are you talking about?" she hissed.
"Try to keep up," Pandora pressed on smugly. "Remember the mystery girl Dorian spent the last three years searching for? He found her. You should have seen how gentle and protective he was when he brought her in last night."
[Pandora, what the hell are you doing?]
Anthony’s voice slammed into her mind through the pack’s mind-link.
[Whatever games you’re playing, cut it out. Dorian doesn’t want her to know about the girl.]
But Pandora blocked his voice out, completely cutting off the link.
She was so blinded by the wave of satisfaction she felt from seeing Samantha panic that she didn’t think about the consequences of her actions.
"What’s the matter, Samantha?" she taunted, tilting her head. "Cat got your tongue?"
"Where is she?" Samantha snarled, her face turning sour with rage. "If Dorian thinks he can just throw away a five-year alliance because of a stray, he has another thing coming."
"Dorian gave strict orders that she isn’t to be disturbed," Pandora continued smugly. "She’s sleeping upstairs in his bedroom. It’s only a matter of time before she completely takes over your position as future Luna–"
Before Pandora could finish the sentence, Samantha erupted.
With a feral shriek, she shoved Pandora violently aside and bolted up the stairs, her heels clicking like gunfire against the marble.
"Hey! Stop her!" Alec yelled, his instincts kicking in as he launched himself up the stairs after her.
Anthony and a cursing Pandora followed closely behind.
"See what your big mouth just caused?" Anthony growled as they sprinted up the steps. "Dorian is going to tear this packhouse apart."
Pandora didn’t reply. Looking at the raw, unhinged fury vibrating off Samantha’s shoulders, she realized she might have gone too far with testing her.
The two guards who stood guard over the bedroom instantly went on high alert the moment they saw Samantha marching toward them.
"Mistress Bennington," they barked in unison, bowing their heads out of reflex.
But Samantha didn’t have time for protocol. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot, and ready to burn holes through the door.
"Get out of my way!"
"We can’t let you through, Mistress," the first guard said, standing upright. "We have direct orders from Alpha Dorian. No one enters this room."
"Fuck his orders!" she snarled, her voice hitting a hysterical pitch. "I am his fiancée! I have every right to enter any room I choose in this house!"
"We do not dispute your position," the second guard cut in, his voice steady but unyielding. "But an Alpha’s command is absolute. We cannot let you pass."
Samantha looked like she was on the verge of a complete psychological break. These low-ranking guards were actually defying her.
"Have you forgotten who the hell I am?" she shrieked, her chest heaving. "I am the Alpha heir to the Bennington pack! I am your future Luna! You dare to disrespect me?"
"They mean no disrespect, Samantha," Alec said, finally reaching the top of the stairs and placing himself firmly between her and the door. "They are only carrying out a strict command. I strongly suggest you wait for Alpha Dorian to return."
"I am going to say this for the last time," Samantha whispered, her voice shaking with rage. "Get out of my way."
"Give it a rest!" Pandora yelled, arriving at the landing with Anthony. "If you want to see Dorian’s guest so badly, wait until he’s here to give you permission."
Samantha didn’t offer another word. Her fingers curled into tight fists, and her brown eyes suddenly hardened with a flash of dominant, aggressive amber, the unmistakable sign of her inner Alpha wolf awakening.
"I warned you," she muttered.
With a guttural tear of flesh, thick, razor-sharp claws morphed out of her manicured fingers, her forearms sprouting patches of thick brown fur as she prepared to slash her way past the guards.
...
Inside the room, Alyssa slowly opened her eyes and frowned at the wall of blurriness clouding her vision.
She blinked slowly to clear it, then gasped at the massive, mirrored ceiling directly above her.
Her reflection stared back. Pale, wide-eyed, and completely lost.
Where am I?
She sat up, wincing from the sharp, painful ache in her upper arm. A thick bandage was wrapped tightly around the arrow wound, but the muscle beneath felt excruciatingly sore.
Every bone in her body ached, as if she had been run over by a carriage.
She looked down at her clothes. The tattered, mud-stained rags she had worn during her escape from Gerald’s estate were gone.
Someone had washed her and dressed her in a soft, silk gown that felt light as feathers against her skin.
In a flash, her memories returned with brutal force, slamming into her mind.
"The stranger from Iridian," she gasped, her heart skipping a panicked beat. She remembered everything.
She scanned the room. Where was he? Was this his home? Did he save her, or had she just traded one captor for another?
Gritting her teeth against the pain in her abdomen, she swung her legs over the edge of the mattress and stood up.
Her knees instantly buckled, stiff from immobility. She grabbed the headboard as the entire room tilted dangerously.
But once the dizziness passed and her feet found their grip on the polished floorboards, she let go and walked forward.
The room was jaw-droppingly massive, ten times larger than her father’s entire house.
The walls were lined with pristine, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, reflecting the light of a crystal chandelier that glittered like jewels above.
The arched windows offered a sweeping view of jagged, snow-capped mountains in the distance, and a crisp, icy wind breezed into the room, rustling the cream-colored curtains.
Alyssa caught sight of her full reflection in the mirror and froze. She looked like a ghost.
A dark purple bruise at the corner of her eye was slowly fading. Her lips were chapped, and her throat felt like sandpaper.
"Where the hell am I?" she whispered.
Before she could form a thought, a deafening crash shattered the quiet of the room.
The room door was violently slammed open, the wood splintering against the frame.
Alyssa whirled around, her survival instincts rearing up as a blonde she-wolf stormed into the room.
The woman’s hands were still halfway shifted, covered in coarse brown fur and menacing claws.
When Samantha spotted her standing defensively beside the bed, she paused for a moment, then threw her head back and let out a loud, mocking laughter.
"This is her?" she sneered, her eyes raking over Alyssa with derision. "This is the stray Dorian has been searching for? What a joke!"
"I’m not a stray," Alyssa shot back at her.
The laughter vanished from Samantha’s face. "What did you say?"
Alyssa looked her boldly in the eye and repeated, "I said I’m not a stray."
The words didn’t leave her lips before Samantha lunged, claws outstretched to strike her.