Chapter 6
"Your thesis," my father repeated, turning the word over like something rotten.
He gestured to his general. "What was this 'thesis' about?"
The general consulted his tablet. "According to her university records, her thesis topic is 'Physical Response Patterns of She-Wolves Under Wolfsbane Exposure.' She's a fourth-year student at Ashford University."
"So you used my daughter as a lab rat." My father's voice was impossibly steady. "For a school paper."
Serena was sobbing now, her mascara running in black rivers down her face. "I didn't know — I swear I didn't know who she was—"
"Her NAME," my father roared, "is ARIA CROSS. Princess of the Blood Moon Pack. The sole heir to every territory from here to the northern mountains. And you treated her like an ANIMAL."
He signaled his warriors. "Seize all her research. Every file, every document, every computer she's ever touched. And contact the university — I want to know who approved human experimentation on their students."
"Alpha King, please—" Serena crawled forward. "I'll do anything. Please, I'll apologize—"
"You'll apologize." My father nodded slowly. "Yes. You will. From a prison cell. For the next twenty years."
"TWENTY YEARS?!"
"Consider it mercy." He turned his back on her. "I wanted to kill you."
The healers had stabilized me enough that I could sit up, wrapped in thermal blankets. An IV dripped warm antidote into my vein. My wolf was slowly, painfully clawing her way back online.
My father returned to my side instantly, his entire demeanor shifting from terrifying Alpha King to worried parent.
"How is she?" he demanded of the head healer.
"Stabilizing, Alpha King. The royal bloodline is fighting the wolfsbane aggressively. She'll recover fully, but she needs rest. The hypothermia was severe."
My father pulled me gently against his chest. "I should have come sooner. My men intercepted a distress ping from your phone before it was destroyed. The location trace took time—"
"It's okay, Dad." My voice was hoarse. "You came."
"I will always come." His arms tightened around me. "Always."
A commotion erupted near the building entrance. Damien was fighting his captors, screaming:
"THIS IS INSANE! You can't just arrest three hundred people! My father is Beta Marcus Ashford — he'll hear about this! The Council will—"
My father didn't even turn around. He simply said: "Call Beta Ashford."
His general made the call on speaker.
It rang twice.
"H-hello?" Beta Marcus Ashford's voice was shaking. He'd clearly already heard.
"Marcus." My father's tone was conversational. "Your son poisoned my daughter, abandoned her in the snow, and watched while another woman injected her with a lethal dose of wolfsbane."
Silence.
"He also publicly humiliated her, replaced her with her stepsister at their engagement party, and locked her in a storage room while she was having a cardiac episode."
More silence.
"I'm calling as a courtesy. Your son will stand trial for attempted murder, assault, and criminal negligence. He will be found guilty because I have video evidence of everything."
"Alpha King—" Marcus's voice was barely audible. "My son — he's my only—"
"Aria is my only daughter." My father's voice went cold as death. "Consider how that feels."
He ended the call.
I looked up at my father. "The video... you'll see everything."
His jaw clenched. I knew he'd see the article Serena pulled up. The one from six years ago. The one about the sixteen-year-old girl nobody believed.
"I know about the article, baby." His voice was rough. "My people investigated it long ago. The Alpha's son who touched you — he's been in my prison for four years."
I blinked. "What?"
"You think I didn't know? You think I wasn't watching over you every single day?" His eyes burned. "I wanted to respect your mother's wish for you to live a normal life. But I never — NEVER — stopped protecting you."
Tears spilled down my face.
"Dad, why didn't you tell me—"
An explosion rocked the east wing of the building.
My father shoved me behind him instantly, warriors forming a shield around us.
Through the smoke, a figure emerged — Serena, wild-eyed, holding a glowing vial.
"If I'm going down for twenty years," she screamed, "I'm taking your precious princess with me!"
She hurled the vial straight at me.
He gestured to his general. "What was this 'thesis' about?"
The general consulted his tablet. "According to her university records, her thesis topic is 'Physical Response Patterns of She-Wolves Under Wolfsbane Exposure.' She's a fourth-year student at Ashford University."
"So you used my daughter as a lab rat." My father's voice was impossibly steady. "For a school paper."
Serena was sobbing now, her mascara running in black rivers down her face. "I didn't know — I swear I didn't know who she was—"
"Her NAME," my father roared, "is ARIA CROSS. Princess of the Blood Moon Pack. The sole heir to every territory from here to the northern mountains. And you treated her like an ANIMAL."
He signaled his warriors. "Seize all her research. Every file, every document, every computer she's ever touched. And contact the university — I want to know who approved human experimentation on their students."
"Alpha King, please—" Serena crawled forward. "I'll do anything. Please, I'll apologize—"
"You'll apologize." My father nodded slowly. "Yes. You will. From a prison cell. For the next twenty years."
"TWENTY YEARS?!"
"Consider it mercy." He turned his back on her. "I wanted to kill you."
The healers had stabilized me enough that I could sit up, wrapped in thermal blankets. An IV dripped warm antidote into my vein. My wolf was slowly, painfully clawing her way back online.
My father returned to my side instantly, his entire demeanor shifting from terrifying Alpha King to worried parent.
"How is she?" he demanded of the head healer.
"Stabilizing, Alpha King. The royal bloodline is fighting the wolfsbane aggressively. She'll recover fully, but she needs rest. The hypothermia was severe."
My father pulled me gently against his chest. "I should have come sooner. My men intercepted a distress ping from your phone before it was destroyed. The location trace took time—"
"It's okay, Dad." My voice was hoarse. "You came."
"I will always come." His arms tightened around me. "Always."
A commotion erupted near the building entrance. Damien was fighting his captors, screaming:
"THIS IS INSANE! You can't just arrest three hundred people! My father is Beta Marcus Ashford — he'll hear about this! The Council will—"
My father didn't even turn around. He simply said: "Call Beta Ashford."
His general made the call on speaker.
It rang twice.
"H-hello?" Beta Marcus Ashford's voice was shaking. He'd clearly already heard.
"Marcus." My father's tone was conversational. "Your son poisoned my daughter, abandoned her in the snow, and watched while another woman injected her with a lethal dose of wolfsbane."
Silence.
"He also publicly humiliated her, replaced her with her stepsister at their engagement party, and locked her in a storage room while she was having a cardiac episode."
More silence.
"I'm calling as a courtesy. Your son will stand trial for attempted murder, assault, and criminal negligence. He will be found guilty because I have video evidence of everything."
"Alpha King—" Marcus's voice was barely audible. "My son — he's my only—"
"Aria is my only daughter." My father's voice went cold as death. "Consider how that feels."
He ended the call.
I looked up at my father. "The video... you'll see everything."
His jaw clenched. I knew he'd see the article Serena pulled up. The one from six years ago. The one about the sixteen-year-old girl nobody believed.
"I know about the article, baby." His voice was rough. "My people investigated it long ago. The Alpha's son who touched you — he's been in my prison for four years."
I blinked. "What?"
"You think I didn't know? You think I wasn't watching over you every single day?" His eyes burned. "I wanted to respect your mother's wish for you to live a normal life. But I never — NEVER — stopped protecting you."
Tears spilled down my face.
"Dad, why didn't you tell me—"
An explosion rocked the east wing of the building.
My father shoved me behind him instantly, warriors forming a shield around us.
Through the smoke, a figure emerged — Serena, wild-eyed, holding a glowing vial.
"If I'm going down for twenty years," she screamed, "I'm taking your precious princess with me!"
She hurled the vial straight at me.