was a suffocatin

Commander Darius Kane had escorted her to this guest chamber shortly after midnight, locking the heavy oak do

d not

page in the King's temporary office, binding herself to the billion-dollar agre

w fingertips. The ink was dark and heavy, spell

ransaction to anyone in the supernatural kingdom. If asked, she was to claim her presence at the palace was a matter of roya

her eyes scanning t

her breath hitch

ximity

e. She was mandated to attend all public banquets, council meetings, and diplomatic events at the direct side of

housing agreemen

ed the legal system to ke

lionaire King had drafted a hundred pages of inescapable law just to ensure a defective Omega never left

there was a much darker truth hidde

inside her canvas duffel bag. The heavy document settle

five in the morning. Dawn was an hour away. The royal motorcade

ed room and wait to be colle

She walked to the heavy oak door and tested the brass handle

ning. Years of sneaking into the pack pantries for extra rations had taught her how to bypass the crud

echoed in th

and slipped out into the

in exits. Amara knew the lodge better than any visiting army. She bypassed the grand

with practiced silence.

inter wind whipped through the open shed, carrying the sharp scent of pine and impending snow. El

the dim light of

block. He stared at the canvas bag slung over her shoulder. His chest heav

voice was rough, laced with a

n," Amara replied, k

er his face. "The whole pack is talking. Marcus is telling everyone the King is taking you as a

says whatever he needs to say to repair his

re you going, Amara? The Alpha King does not take strays. He does not show mercy. He destroys peopl

ut the billion dollars. She could not explain the proximity clause or

ld give. "Silverpine has given me nothing but frostbite and bruises for twen

erything about this inspection is a trap. I told you what the royal g

veins. She stepped closer to him, her survival

oods. "They took the bloodline registries from the exact year your father died. They packed twenty y

e blood drain

s claimed it was a tragic mistake caused by a rogue bear near the eastern border. The

ather?" Amara asked, her voice tigh

the accident, your father was planning to leave Silverpine. He was saving money. He to

gh the wooden slats of the she

rapped in the brutal hierarchy of the northern borders. And now, the most dange

why her records had been erased. He k

esolve. She was no longer just running away for financial

her grounded in the only reality they knew. "Do not trust him, Amara. The Kin

pulling her arm free from his grasp. "I have su

op her. He stepped back, the fierce protective

us's private office. I will find out who your father was talking to befor

im a small, rare smile. "Thank y

o," he

known. She walked out of the wood stores, stepping

ding a pale, icy pin

he three massive black helicopters were already ascending, their heavy

g, however, w

The deep, guttural purr of their massive engines vibrated through the frozen ground. Royal

itness the royal departure. Hundreds of wolves stood shivering in

ottled red. The public humiliation he had suffered in the kitchen the pr

t of the shadow

st the icy gravel drew the im

spers erupted through

e carrying easily in the crisp air. "She actua

ng his thick arms over his chest. "She will be scrubbing the palace

vehicles. She adjusted the strap of her canvas bag and kept walking. Let them whisper. Let them think

ard, blocking her p

ng to force a physical reaction. Amara stopped t

h that the royal guards could not hear. "You will serve the King on your

nd sense of pity for the man. He was a tyrant ruling a fro

lace, Marcus," Amara said smoo

y. He raised his hand, fully intending to strike h

en twitch, the heavy door o

n the courtyard p

g flooded the clearing, pressing everyone to the ground. Marcus choked on a sudden gasp

stepped out o

t to the dirty, frozen wasteland around him. He did not look at the bowing wo

ing eyes locked

one cut through the freezing wind, wrapping around her in a heavy, possessive e

. They expected him to point toward a luggage transport at the

stopped right

ooked at her raw, blistered hands. A muscle feathered along his

reach

the most powerful man in the supernatural world

to a guard. He held

ll of Amara's back. The heat of his touch burned through her thin j

g Alpha. He guided her past the

fortified vehicle in the motorcade. He reached out with his fre

echoed across th

ot open doors for a defective Omega. It was the ultimate displa

alized in that exact moment that the wolfless

glanced up at Thomas. His face was a mask of terrifying, aristocratic blankne

the warm cabin of

hest brushed against her shoulder. The overwhelming scent of hi

zed the shel

ng with a lethal, chilling promise. "The people who murdered your f

blood

her inside the cage of gold, and trapping her