"As unfortunate as this delay has been," Alpha Adrian said, his tone dripping with dark glee and callous detachment. "It is an even day. We shall continue."
A ripple of pure, cold panic washed over the punishment grounds. The adrenaline that had fueled the rebellion began to drain away, replaced by a weight that felt like lead. The elderly woman who had struck the wolf still clutched her stone, but her knuckles were white and trembling; her eyes turned glassy and misty. One act of disobedience wasn't enough. The machine of the pack didn't just stop because they had bled.
A collective sense of dread pressed down on the defectives. They looked to Ryan, searching for a signal—to keep fighting or to retreat like cattle to the slaughter. Ryan looked back at them, his heart aching. He saw the tears tracking through the dirt, the way their defensive stances were already sagging. They weren't a militia; they were a handful of newly shifted wolves, terrified children, and the elderly. He had nothing to offer them.
As the unsettling silence stretched, Alpha Adrian began to walk toward the edge of the grounds. He didn't look at the Beta female being carried toward the hospital or the bleeding warriors. Every head on the grounds turned, tracking his purposeful stride.
Trinity felt her body stiffen. She pulled back from Boris, taking deep, calming breaths to steel herself before meeting the Alpha.
"Shall we?" Alpha Adrian's smile widened across his lips. He looked at Trinity with the hunger of a man who believed today was the day her willfulness would finally unravel.
Boris stepped in front of his daughter, his posture rigid. "Trinity is done. Has it not been enough for one day? Alpha Adrian, this has to stop."
Alpha Adrian didn't even look at him. He remained entirely focused on Trinity, his indifference to Boris's plea radiating like a physical chill. "The table is set, Trinity. Surely you wouldn't want to keep me waiting after such a... spirited performance?"
Boris felt a cold fury building. He stared at the Alpha's back, a silent vow forming in his mind. He would not allow his daughter to be used and broken by this man. If it meant he had to cut ties with the pack, become a rogue, and run, he would do it this time. He would never leave Trinity behind again, no matter the cost.
Behind them, at the center of the Jade Stone, George let out a long, mournful howl into the sky before collapsing. Diamond's spine cracked—a sound that echoed like a gunshot. She fell forward, screaming in jagged pain as her body began to tear itself apart to find its wolf.
The trio ignored the visceral sounds of the shift.
"Boris, it's okay," Trinity said, her voice eerily calm as she reached out to touch her father's arm. She looked at Alpha Adrian, her expression unreadable. "You've won. I want this to stop. Let's go inside."
"I'm glad you finally see that I only want the best for you," Alpha Adrian replied. The statement was a mocking parody of Alana's behavior—pretending to care while the malicious intent was laid bare.
He turned, leading them away from the dirt. The walk was slow and agonizing as they passed the encirclement of defectives. Trinity kept her eyes forward, her back straight, even as the screams of Diamond's shift followed them to the Alpha's back door.
They stepped into the luxurious entryway of the packhouse. The air was sterile and smelled of expensive wax. Pictures of the Alpha family were strewn across the walls alongside art that cost more than most pack members made in a lifetime. They had only moved a few steps inside when the heavy door clicked shut behind them.
Trinity stopped moving.
"There's no need for our dinner," she said.
Her voice was hollow and uncaring. She reached up and pulled down the front of her shirt, exposing the junction of her neck and shoulder. There, still healing and angry, was a mate's mark.
"I've mated a lower pack member. You got what you wanted."
Alpha Adrian's triumphant expression vanished, replaced by a deep, dark frown. He stepped closer, his eyes narrowed as he inspected the mark to ensure it was real. He leaned in, sniffing at her. In the chaos outside, her scent had been lost to the blood and the shifting wolves, but here, he could smell the change. It was a mixture of her scent and another's—a scent he had smelled before, but nothing he knew by heart.
He felt a surge of irritation; he had wanted to choose a mate for her himself—someone who would ensure she understood her place for the rest of her existence.
Boris stared at the mark on his daughter's neck in a state of absolute shock. He felt a different kind of fury than the one he felt for the Alpha. His daughter had been sold like cattle, driven to bond herself to a stranger just to escape a monster. The weight of the secret she had been carrying pressed into the room, heavy and suffocating.