My whole body shuddered at the weight of his words, and I found myself stumbling backward, my legs suddenly unsteady beneath me.
I stared at him—hard—searching his face for even a flicker of irony or hesitation. Something. Anything. But there was none. He was dead serious.
A rush of heat flooded through me, the kind that started in my chest and spread like wildfire. My fists clenched instinctively, knuckles whitening. The sheer audacity of it all—of him—boiled in my blood.
There was no way I was going to let myself be reduced to some bargaining chip in his pathetic game of power and ego. So I made myself clear.
"I refuse."
Peter didn't even blink. He just shrugged, casual as ever. "You can't. The decision's already been made."
"Then unmake it."
He slammed his voice against the room. "Don't be foolish! You're a latent. You should be grateful—this is the best offer you'll ever get."
"Grateful?" I repeated, the word catching in my throat like acid. "You're selling me to a stranger, and I'm supposed to thank you for that? What exactly did you expect—flowers and a thank-you card?"
He scoffed. "Well, since you managed to screw up the only fated bond you'll ever get, I figured this was the next best thing."
There it was. The not-so-subtle jab at my rejection. He never missed a chance to twist the knife.
"Don't pretend this is about me," I said, voice sharp. "You're not doing this for my good. You're doing this because it benefits you."
"It benefits the pack," he corrected, his tone turning cold. "We need alliances. Now more than ever."
"No," I said, biting back the frustration rising in my chest. "You need alliances. You've been gathering them like war trophies, as if preparing for a battle no one else sees."
"You don't know what you're talking about," he muttered, brushing me off like an ignorant child. "Just stay quiet and prepare yourself for the mating ceremony. It's in one week."
I stared at him, mouth slightly open, too stunned to respond. One week. He had already arranged the date. Probably already sent word to Tao. There was no discussion. No consent. No room for me in any of it.
It was my life.
And yet he'd decided, once again, that I didn't get a say.
"You lost any right to make decisions for me the day you decided I wasn't worth protecting," I said, voice low.
He gave me a look, but I didn't stop.
"You ignored me when the pack bullied me for being a latent. You looked the other way when your Beta tried to force himself on me—and then you had the audacity to call me an attention seeker."
His expression didn't change. Cold. Unmoved. Like he'd already erased those moments from his mind.
"And now you want to ship me off like livestock to a man I don't know, just to strengthen your image?" I shook my head, more in disbelief than defiance. "No. I won't do it."
"Then die," Peter said flatly. "Do it after the mating ceremony, if you must. At least by then, you'll no longer be my responsibility."
My stomach twisted at his words, but I forced myself to stand tall.
"Since when was I ever your responsibility?" I asked quietly. "You've treated me like a mistake from the moment I showed signs of being different."
"An embarrassment like you can't possibly be my daughter."
"And a coward like you couldn't possibly be my father."
He flinched. Just barely. But I saw it.
"Excuse me?" he said, voice tight, brittle. That hit landed harder than he expected.
"Oh? Did that sting?" I asked, taking a step closer. It was reckless, maybe even stupid, to challenge an Alpha so directly—but I was past caring. "You hide behind alliances and treaties because deep down, you don't trust your own strength. You collect packs like armor, because you're terrified of being exposed."
His hand slammed down on the desk, rattling papers. "Watch your mouth, latent!"
But I didn't back down.
"The real embarrassment here is you, Peter." I paused, forcing myself to stay calm. "Do you ever stop to think what Mom would say if she saw the way you've become? The way you're treating me now?"
I knew it was a low blow—but it was the only card I had left. And I played it.
He scoffed, too quickly. "She would've supported me."
"Liar."
For the first time, he went still. His fists, clenched so tightly before, began to loosen. His face softened just slightly, enough to show he wasn't as immune to the past as he pretended to be.
After a long silence, he spoke again, voice lower but no less final. "You're useless without your healing, and I don't need that anymore. There's nothing left for you here. But if you go through with this, maybe—just maybe—you'll get something close to respect."
"Respect?" I repeated, letting out a hollow laugh. "There isn't a single pack in this region that would accept a latent Luna. Not one. I'd be challenged every day just for existing. I wouldn't be a Luna—I'd be a convenient body and a political puppet."
What I didn't say—what I couldn't say—was that I already knew what kind of man Tao Beaumont was.
He wasn't interested in me. Not really. He was interested in owning me.
At the summit, he tried to flirt. I didn't give him the time of day—I had been too busy scanning the room for my mate. Apparently, that offended him. And from what I'd heard, Tao had a taste for breaking women who didn't kneel easily.
He didn't want a partner. He wanted a conquest. A challenge to tame. A game.
And if I let this happen, I'd be nothing more than his toy, dressed up in the title of Luna with no real authority.
"This is your only chance to have something that matters," Peter said, clearly thinking he was being generous. "Don't be an idiot. There won't be another offer."
I shook my head slowly, a bitter smile curling at my lips. "You don't know me at all."
And maybe he never did.
"If you want me to mate with Tao, you'll have to kill me first," I said, letting the words hang between us like a death sentence. "But you won't. Because a corpse doesn't make alliances."
Peter exhaled sharply, the kind of breath that carried both annoyance and resignation. "I knew you'd be difficult."
Then his gaze shifted—just slightly—over my shoulder.
"Do it."
The moment the words left his mouth, I felt the shift in the air behind me. A presence. A shadow. And before I could even turn, something struck the side of my neck—hard and fast.
Pain exploded in my skull. My vision swam.
My knees buckled.
The floor rushed up to meet me, and my limbs turned useless, my body a sinking weight.
The last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me was the face of the man who hit me.
Silver.
He didn't meet my eyes. Didn't say a word.
So much for being the only one who didn't treat me like filth.