Chapter 12
1296 Words
Cane
"He rejected her in front of half the pack," I said into the phone, pacing the back garden of the cabin. "Staged it like a show. She collapsed. Bled out on the stone before I could reach her."
Cole swore low under his breath. "And Karl approved it?"
"Ordered it," I replied. "He doesn’t want his heir bound to an Omega. Olivia was collateral damage."
"What’s the fallout?" Cash’s voice crackled into the line. "The girl okay?"
I nodded to myself, watching moonlight filter through the trees. "Gwen’s caring for her. She and her friend Jordan took Olivia in."
"And the mate bond?" Cole asked. "Still holding steady?"
"Yes. Stronger every day," I said. "She doesn’t know it’s me. There's something going on with her. It's like I can't get a clear read if she's not in her wolf form"
Cash grunted. "You need backup? I’ll come tonight."
"No," I said sharply. "I need to maintain the cover. I’m still 'Alpha Cain' of Emerald Crest. If we’re exposed now, Gwen becomes a target."
Cole jumped in. "Then we get to work. I’ll hack into the brothel’s systems. If the rumors are true and girls are being moved through that place, I’ll find the records."
"Do it quietly," I said. "No alerts. They’re already suspicious of me. Terrance pulled me aside tonight. He’s watching."
"So we keep a low profile," Cole said. "You focus on protecting the girl. We’ll get you what you need."
"And when you’re ready," Cash added, "we’ll burn that place to the ground."
I ended the call and leaned back against the rough bark of a pine tree.
This wasn’t just a mission anymore.
This was personal.
Gwen
Jordan’s face was a mask of barely restrained fury as she slammed the door behind her. "You’re not serious. They can’t make you move back."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. The message had arrived by courier just an hour ago, sealed with my father's mark.
Effective immediately, Gwen must return to the pack house to resume her duties as the Beta’s daughter. No explanation. No option.
"I don’t have a choice," I whispered.
She paced. "You have every damn right to say no."
"I can’t," I said, lower now. "Alpha command."
Jordan froze, then her voice softened. "Gwen... they can’t do this."
But they had. And they would again.
The command settled on me like a physical weight. Every time I tried to speak of it, my throat would seize, my heart would race. My wolf, Akira, clawed at the inside of my skin in protest.
At night, it hurt to breathe. It was as if my soul was bound in chains I couldn’t see. My thoughts grew foggy around the order, like it had embedded itself deep into my instincts.
Later that evening, as I walked alone behind the packhouse to breathe, Cain found me.
He stopped a few feet away, his hands shoved deep in his coat pockets. "You’re moving back."
I didn’t answer.
He stepped closer, tension thrumming off him like heat. "Why?"
My throat closed. I couldn’t speak.
Cain’s jaw tightened. "Gwen, talk to me. Let me help."
I opened my mouth—but nothing came out. Just the static buzz of Alpha power clamping down on my voice. My lips trembled. My hands clenched at my sides.
He stepped forward quickly, eyes wide. "They did this to you?"
I nodded, barely.
His face darkened with fury. "This isn’t just about control. This is about breaking you."
I wanted to scream. To sob. But instead, all I could do was press my hands against my chest and breathe through the fire of invisible chains tightening around my lungs.
Cain’s hand came to rest gently on my shoulder. "Gwen... please."
Tears slipped down my cheeks. I tried to say his name. I tried to say anything.
But the Alpha command was a blade against my throat.
I reached for his hand—just a small touch. Our fingers brushed.
And it said everything I couldn’t.
His eyes softened. He stepped closer, cupping my face gently between his palms. I leaned into his touch.
The pull between us surged, wild and aching. Our lips were just a breath apart—
Then I stepped back.
Not now. Not yet.
He let me go. But his eyes never left mine.
And I knew—I wouldn’t face this alone.
Justin
Gwen was finally back where she belonged.
I stood in the hallway just outside the Beta wing, practically vibrating with excitement. Just a few doors down. So close I could almost hear her footsteps.
She wouldn’t be able to avoid me anymore. Not with the Winter Ball coming in just a week. Not with everything my father had planned.
I adjusted my collar, running a hand through my hair, and grinned at my reflection in the mirror. "Things are finally coming together."
The way she’d looked the last time we were together—nervous, soft, trusting—I’d never forget it. She’d been so sweet beneath me, so eager. She was his now. She just didn’t know it yet.
That new Alpha, Cain, though… something about him rubbed me the wrong way. The way he looked at Gwen. Like she mattered more than duty.
I scowled.
He needed to stay in his lane. Gwen wasn’t his.
Cain
I stood in the shadowed edge of the forest, watching the flickering lights of the packhouse through the thick trees. The message had come just hours ago — Gwen was being forced to move back into the belly of the beast. The packhouse. The place where her father’s control was absolute. The place where Justin prowled like a predator waiting to claim what he thought was his.
A cold knot twisted deep in my gut. I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms. She was so close now—within a few walls, down a few halls from Justin. The thought made my blood boil.
I could almost see it: Justin’s cocky grin when he realized she was back, the way his eyes would darken with possessiveness, the way he’d try to corner her, to remind her of the power he thought he held.
And Gwen, trapped in the middle of it all, shackled by an invisible leash the Alpha had wrapped tight around her throat.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to tear down every damn wall of that packhouse and drag her out of there screaming if I had to.
But I couldn’t.
The Alpha order strangled her voice. The chains were real, and even I—her fated mate, the only one who should hold her heart—was powerless to break them.
I paced the edge of the clearing, mind racing. How could I protect her when she couldn’t tell me what she needed? When every word she might say was silenced before it could leave her lips?
When she was forced closer to the man who’d shattered her trust, who planned to use her like a possession?
I swallowed a growl, bitter and raw. Justin didn’t just hate me—he feared me. And that fear made him dangerous.
But I wasn’t going to let fear win.
No matter what it took, I would be there. Watching. Waiting. Ready to strike.
Gwen wasn’t just some prize to be bartered. She was my mate. My heart. My future.
And if the pack—if her father, if Justin, if Karl—thought they could break her spirit by putting her back under their roof, they were dead wrong.
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to calm the storm inside.
Because the real fight was just beginning.
She was mine.
And Goddess help anyone who stood in my way.
- Writer
