Anya was shocked, She could feel her wolf roaring within her.
Kael growled loudly, his wolf wanted to shift, to claim his mate but Kael held on.
He shoved the cop's evacuation notice aside and stared down at Anya. The gold flare in his eyes was still blazing, it was no longer fueled by rage but by pure, overwhelming need.
He snatched his arm back from her touch as if she had burned him.
"You should have been in the Packhouse," Kael snarled, his voice rough and low. He hated that she had seen him lose control, hated that she had stopped him, and most of all, hated the sudden, devastating realization that she was his mate.
Anya flinched at the abrupt cruelty, "I was following your order to stay by your side, Alpha. And I was helping calm you down."
"I don't need your help, Ms. Malik," he spat, leaning down until his shadow consumed her.
"I need you to disappear. To go back to your desk and handle your pathetic human paperwork. You have no place here."
He turned sharply, trying to walk away from the feeling of her presence. He felt the absence of her scent and the wolf inside him began to whine in protest.
"I won't leave," Anya challenged, stepping quickly to keep up with his pace, her face tight with hurt but her voice firm. "My mother was member of the Elders Council as anyone else and I inherited the position"
Ignoring her, Kael kept walking.
"Despite her sacrifice for this pack you treat me like I led the rebellion myself. I REFUSE TO BE YOUR MATE!!!" Anya screamed when
Kael stopped near the Packhouse great room, running a hand roughly through his perfectly coiffed hair. "Fine," he ground out. "You want your mother's position? The Elders will be here shortly. You will sit in the great hall. You will not speak unless spoken to else you'll be sent to the library again. And when this crisis is over, you will never be allowed this close to me again." Kael stated and entered the great hall.
Anya stood still remembering her days in the library. After her mother's death and Kael became Alpha, he was so angry that he locked her in the Pack Library for months. Anya is sure she read every damn book in that library during her confinement.
One after the other, the Elders and key Pack members arrived, their faces etched with fear and confusion. Kael, ice-cold and utterly composed once more, addressed them.
Anya watched as the council argued and gave their opinion about their situation. She could sense their fear, Kael's defeat, she suddenly felt responsible for the whole thing. She suddenly walked out of the hall and entered Kael's car.
"To 4500, Citadel Tower, Sterling Avenue please" she ordered the driver and the car zoomed off.
That was her father's address or…her home, the house she grew up in before her father led the rebellion. She and her mother left after they chose to support the pack, since then, she hasn't stepped into that house.
During the ride, she bore memories of how good things used to be; her mother's smile, their family time, then her horrible experience under Kael.
She could stay. She could forget Kael, forget the Pack, and side with her father. She wouldn't have to endure Kael's cruelty anymore—but her mother had given her life for the Pack, and that duty still burned inside her.
The car was easily let in by the securities at Sterling Avenue since she was familiar with them, nothing stopped her from getting to her father's house.
"Wait here till I come back, be prepared to leave anytime" she ordered the driver and entered her father's house.
"Miss Anya" one of the staffs exclaimed, her eyes widened in astonishment
"Hello, Zara" Anya greeted, a big smile curled up her face.
"You are very welcome," Zara said with excitement. She was so happy if Anya hadn't been her boss, she would hug her. "Let me inform Mr Malik you're here"
After Zara left, Anya paced the central living area and smiled as she recalled memories.
Soon, Mr Malik walked down the stairs, his calm composure momentarily cracking into surprise.
"Anya," he said, his voice laced with caution. "To what do I owe this visit? Did the Alpha finally throw you out?" Malik questioned, struggling to hide his excitement
Anya dropped her purse, She rushed forward, and threw her arms around her father.
"Oh, Papa, I've missed you so much," she wept, burrowing into his shoulder. She didn't let him see her eyes. "I can't do it anymore. I hate him. I hate the Pack. He's destroying everything, and he treats me like dirt!"
Malik hesitated, then slowly returned the embrace. He was a ruthless rebel, but Anya was his only daughter. The loss of his wife and the forced separation from Anya had left a gaping wound.
"My star, my beautiful girl," he murmured, his guard dropping slightly. "I knew you wouldn't stay with that brute forever. Magnus raised Kael to be cruel."
Anya pulled back, letting down her tears. "He used me in court today, Papa. He used me just to fail. I tried to help them win, but I just... couldn't."
Malik smiled, "My plan was flawless, little light. No matter what game Kael plays, no human law can beat a 170-year-old Charter. I always knew your heart would lead you home."
They settled onto the sofa. Anya steered the conversation toward her mother.
"I think about her all the time, Papa," Anya said softly, her voice catching. "I wish she were here to tell me what to do."
Malik's facade finally crumbled. His eyes welled up. "She was the best of us, Anya. She died fighting for a fool's cause, but her spirit… she was a true wolf. If she had lived, she would have agreed with me. Kael is too young, too weak, too obsessed with his human ideals to lead. He's going to get them all killed."
They bonded over the shared pain of loss, until the love they once bore returned. She kept him talking, asking about his plans and his preparations, until the hour grew late.
"I need sleep, Papa," she yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I'm so exhausted."
Malik stood, his face softened by memory and reunion. "Of course. Your old room is ready. I'll get you a glass of warm milk."
Anya watched him walk toward the kitchen, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
'Soon', she thought.
She took the glass of milk from her father, drank it and they bid each other a good night.
She waited until Malik's door was safely closed and the apartment was silent. Anya moved quietly out of her room to her father's home office.
"Malik wouldn't keep his most sensitive research in a digital format Kael's hackers could touch. He would use physical copies". She thought as she moved.
The home office led to a secure, climate-controlled archive room. It was filled with books, documents, maps, and binders labeled with corporate names.
She bypassed a simple biometric lock, Malik had reused his birth year, and began tearing through the documents relating to the Land Use
Her eyes scanned pages of legal history, property transfers, and tribal lineage reports. Malik had been thorough; he had built an iron-clad case. But then, tucked inside an old, brittle folio labeled "Indigenous Exemptions," she found a single, hand-written annex.
It was an addendum to the original Charter, added in 1847. The addendum, written in elegant script, stated that the "Keepers of the Hearth" were exempt from the population containment clause only if the current legal titleholder could trace their direct lineage to the original signatories of the Charter, specifically those of the Keepers Bloodline,' who were recognized by the Council as hereditary protectors.
She felt a surge of adrenaline, her breathing shallow. "Keepers Bloodline... hereditary protectors', she thought.
Malik had used the Charter to destroy Kael, but he had missed the escape clause, a loophole that proved Kael's innocence.
Anya quickly snapped photos of the entire addendum with her phone. She slipped the phone into her inner pocket just as she heard a floorboard creak in the hallway outside the archive.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. Malik was awake. She had seconds.
She slipped out of the archive and into the shadows of the living room just as Malik, holding a baseball bat and looking utterly savage, scanned the hallway.
"Anya?" he called out, his voice now devoid of warmth. "I heard a noise. Are you alright, little light?"
Anya stumbled back into the living room, pretending to be startled awake. "Papa! I... I heard a thump. I think it was just the wind."
Malik lowered the bat, his expression suspicious but softening at the sight of her frightened face. "Just the wind. Go back to sleep, my dear. We have a long, bright day ahead of us."
She immediately emailed the photos and a brief, coded explanation to Ms. Davies, with the subject line "URGENT: Addendum to Charter."
It was risky, but time was running out, and Kael's life, though he hated her, was tied to the Pack.
Exhausted, Anya deleted the email from her phone's sent folder, slipped the device under her pillow, and finally fell into a deep, troubled sleep.
By morning, Anya was wrenched awake by a loud, furious slam against her door.
"Anya! Get out here! Now!" Malik roared.
She shot out of bed, grabbing her suit jacket. Malik stood in the doorway, his face twisted in a rare mix of fury and disbelief. He held his phone, displaying an aggressive headline.
"The judge has summoned me," Malik bit out. "Apparently, Kael's lawyer found new evidence overnight. They are talking about rescinding the evacuation order! How did they get ahead of me?"
Anya adopted a confused frown. "I don't know, Papa. I just got here last night."
"Don't play games with me! That Charter was impenetrable!" He stopped, his eyes narrowed, searching her face. "You were here all night. Did you talk to Kael? Did you tell them something?"
"I told them nothing," Anya insisted, her composure cracking under the pressure. "I barely spoke to Kael all day. I was focused on… your rebellion."
"My rebellion? You call fighting for the human world and for their right to exist my rebellion?" Malik scoffed, throwing his hands up. "I saved you, Anya! Alpha Magnus, Kael's father, was power drunk! He was going to turn this entire city! He wanted to slaughter every human and raise them as mindless wolves!"
Anya's facade vanished. The truth of her mother's death, the years of Kael's abuse, and the weight of her Pack duty all boiled to the surface.
"And you think my mother died for that?" Anya screamed, tears streaming down her face. "She died defending the Pack from the chaos you started! She died because you chose war when you should have chosen counsel! You were his best friend! You were supposed to save him, not stab him in the back!"
Malik's face was etched with pain and self-justification. "I tried! He wouldn't listen! He was going to create a catastrophe! I made the hard choice, Anya. The one you are too young to understand!"
"No," Anya whispered, shaking her head. "The hard choice was hers, to fight for the home you abandoned! I stand with her! I stand with the Pack she died to save!"
She shoved past him, grabbed her purse, and didn't look back as she ran out of the apartment. She threw open the car door, tears blinding her, and didn't stop to explain to the stunned driver.
"King's Corporation," she choked out, wiping her eyes fiercely. "Now. Drive!"