The lights were off when Raina came home, and she should have known something was wrong. The power often went out in this part of town, but her mother and sister always lit the place with their magic during a shortage. Tonight, the darkness was complete and oppressive. She pushed open the door, the hinges creaking in the silence.
No place like home, she thought, wrinkling her nose. Her footsteps echoed up the worn stairs. Neighbors yelled, babies cried, and muffled arguments bled through the walls. We should have left long ago, she thought.
But where would they go? Magic was outlawed. Witches were hated, feared, hunted by the shifters who ruled the city with an iron grip. Raina scowled bitterly.
How were they the bad guys here? How could the shifters—violent half-men, half-beasts who lived in packs like dogs—think her people were the dangerous ones? The shifters had banned magic usage for miles, but Raina’s powers were bound to these lands. Staying meant hiding her powers.
Moving meant losing them entirely. She unlocked the door and stepped into the shadowy hallway of the apartment. Then she paused. It was too quiet.
Eerily so. “Mom? Savvy? ” she called out.
The darkness swallowed her voice. Nobody was home, of course—hence the stifling darkness. But why was the silence so oppressive? Raina’s fingers twitched instinctively, calling forth the small flicker of magic she used to light her path.
Except she couldn’t. The air itself told her to stop. Something was wrong. She wasn’t alone.
Someone was inside, someone near. Her mother’s room. Raina pushed open the door, then screamed. Bound to an old wooden chair in the corner was the shape of her mother, gagged with strips of cloth.
“Mom! ” she exclaimed, rushing forward. But a hand clamped down on her shoulder, yanking her backward. A mouth pressed against her ear, wet and unwelcome.
“If you so much as twitch, your mother dies. ”
The voice was sinister, growling. Raina’s breath caught in her throat. She felt the strength in the man’s grip, the raw, violent power radiating off him.
Perhaps if she’d thought fast, if she’d come up with the right spell, things would have been different. But Raina was stunned with panic. All she could do was suffer the desperate, suffocating beat of her heart. She was dragged into the living room, stumbling and tumbling to the floor.
Then she met her attacker. A man towered over her, his muscular frame casting a shadow that seemed to swallow the entire room. His golden eyes glowed faintly in the dark, cutting through the dim light like a predator’s gaze. He was in his mid-fifties, but his body was all hard muscle and savage, raw energy.
Raina’s stomach dropped. This man was a shifter. Panic surged in her chest. “Please,” she started, her voice shaking.
“We’ve only ever used our magic for simple things—lighting, medicine. Nothing more. ”
“Quiet,” the shifter snapped, his eyes burning into hers. She couldn’t look away.
She was trembling, terror coursing through her veins like ice. He was dangerous, violence barely restrained beneath his skin. Was he going to turn, devour her? She’d heard of witches being skinned alive by men like these.
Men who were not men, but wolves. Savages. Before she could say anything else, her mother was brought into the room by another manlike beast, her bonds cutting into her wrists as they yanked her forward. But she wasn’t alone.
Savvy, Raina’s sister, was being pushed into the room behind their mother, her eyes wide with fear, tears streaming down her face as she struggled uselessly against her captor. Her sobs were stifled by a gag. “No, no,” Raina gasped, her voice breaking. She tried to move forward, but the tall man blocked her path, his presence towering over her.
She was trapped. They all were. The room felt like it was spinning, every second stretching into eternity. Raina’s heartbeat thundered.
What could she do? How could she get her family out of this? Why were these shifters here? “Listen carefully,” the man in front of her growled, his golden eyes narrowing.
“You’re going to do exactly as I say. If you don’t, your mother and sister won’t live to see another day. Am I clear? ”
Raina’s entire world narrowed to those words.
The terror and the certainty of it crashed down on her like a tidal wave. She nodded, her body trembling. “Good,” the shifter said. “Now let’s talk about how you’re going to help me.
”
Two weeks later, Raina sat by the piano, instructed to start playing at nine o’clock sharp. She breathed through her nose and dried her palms on the long gown she’d been told to wear. Never in her life had she worn something so glamorous. She couldn’t have imagined the softness of the material, nor the grandiose luxury of the home that had become her prison.
A shifter’s home. Duncan Kane’s home, to be exact. The man who had taken her exactly seven days ago. Her life had been turned into a living nightmare, and yet it already felt like a lifetime.
Duncan was the beta of the pack of shifters ruling the area. He wasn’t a man one could afford to cross, especially when one was a witch. “I’m sorry,” Raina had rasped as she’d been thrown into the back of his car. “I don’t think I understand.
”
The man had growled a warning rather than a mere sign of impatience. “I need you to seduce my brother. Our Alpha. ”
Seduce his brother.
If it weren’t for the menacing golden gleam in this shifter’s eyes and the fact that her mother and sister were being held hostage back at the flat, she might have thought she was in a bad romantic comedy. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know any spells for that,” Raina replied. “That would require using dark magic, and we don’t. ”
“Well, then make him fall in love with you the traditional way,” the shifter had interrupted, impatience marking his features.
“The traditional way? ” Raina’s face fell. “I’ve never even had a serious boyfriend, and you want me to throw myself at some guy? ”
“You won’t have to become his lover,” Duncan interrupted, raising his hand in impatience.
“Just get him to grow attached to you. Become his confidant of sorts. ”
“Why? ”
“To get him to tell you things, of course,” Duncan had purred like a content beast about to devour its dying prey.
“Things you’ll report to me discreetly. ”
“You want me to be your spy? ”
“Precisely. Though in time, I’m hoping you can do more than just report his comings and goings.
I aim for you to be able to exert some influence on my brother. ”
Influence. How was Raina supposed to influence anybody, especially seeing how shifters hated witches with the passion of a thousand suns? “It’s unlikely your Alpha brother would take interest in a witch,” she’d protested.
“So why ask me? ”
Duncan had smirked, though it was more a display of teeth than a smirk. “Not to worry. We’ll make sure he never learns you’re a witch.
I have it on good authority that you can make potions to mask your scent. Appear human, or perhaps make one think you were a shifter yourself. ”
Raina had kept quiet. How could this outsider know so much about what witches could or couldn’t do?
It was unheard of. “Most importantly,” Duncan had added, “I hear magical oaths are quite the thing to ensure someone keeps their end of a bargain, no matter what. ”
Raina had gasped. How did he know about this?
Magical oaths were prohibited amongst witches because of how dangerous and life-threatening they could be. A witch under oath was bound to adhere to whichever agreement they’d sworn, or suffer the consequences—usually through death. “Oaths are abominations,” she’d snapped, anger taking precedence over her fear. “You don’t understand what you’re asking me to do here.
”
But the shifter had laughed, a cold, indifferent laugh. He did understand it seemed, and he did not care. “Why do you think I came all this way if not for insurance? You’ll swear with your magic that you won’t tell anybody about our agreement, or I kill both your mother and sister right now.
”
So in the end, there hadn’t been much of a choice. Raina had sworn an oath one her magic would bind her to for the rest of her life. Never would she be able to tell anyone about hers and Duncan’s pact, that she was being forced to seduce his brother in exchange for her mother and sister’s lives. And now, seven days had passed, and she was about to meet the reason why she’d been taken in the first place.
The clock struck nine, and Raina began to play. Meanwhile, across town, the first punch landed squarely on Aiden’s jaw. A dull thud that barely registered. He was being held against the wall of a dingy bar by another shifter who must have had a name, though Aiden had had too much to drink to remember it.
The guy had red hair and a red face with fury in his eyes. “You’re no better than any of us,” Redface snarled, spittle flying as he slammed Aiden harder against the wall. “Not anymore,” Aiden shrugged, rolling his head lazily to look at the guy. “Look, she wasn’t interested.
You were boring her, man. Read the room. ”
Redface let out a growl of rage, his fist crashing into Aiden’s ribs with a sickening crack that barely made Aiden grunt. “You’re a disgrace to your pack,” the shifter spat, breath hot and rancid.
“You’ll never become Alpha, and everyone knows it. ”
Aiden rolled his eyes. Did this guy really think he hadn’t heard it all before? He let himself be hit again, feeling the man’s fist slam into his ribs with more force.
There was the crunch of bone. His own, probably. “No wonder your father’s ashamed of you,” Redface spat. Another punch came, aimed at his face this time.
Aiden grabbed the guy’s wrist mid-swing, his fingers tightening like a vice. “I’m bored,” he muttered, voice low. Then, with a single twist, he sent the man crashing into the wall. Redface whined as he hit the floor, the impact knocking him out cold.
Aiden straightened, brushing dust off his jacket, his body relaxed despite the fight. He glanced down at the man’s unconscious form, his lip curling in mild amusement. Then he turned to Redface’s two friends, who had been standing behind the entire time, staring at him with wide, fearful eyes. Aiden wiped some blood off his split lip and arched an eyebrow.
“Anyone else want to go? ” he asked, amused. He stepped forward, but they were already backing away. Cowards.
They bolted, disappearing into the shadows of the bar. Aiden snorted, shaking his head. “Didn’t think so,” he muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair. The crowd around him mostly packmates barely reacted.
They’d all seen it before. The deep-rooted anger that bubbled beneath the surface, constantly looking for an outlet. Everyone knew why it was there. Everyone knew that Redface wasn’t entirely wrong.
His father was ashamed of him. It was no secret. With a sigh, Aiden rolled his shoulders, testing the pain in his ribs. He was healing already—the perks of being a shifter.
The bruises would be gone by morning, broken ribs right as rain. The numbness though, that stuck around. Back at the pack house, Raina’s melody was soft and haunting, evoking a melancholy that sank deep into the room. Her fingers glided over the keys, light as feathers.
Her magic helped her learn the piece in record time. Before this week, she hadn’t sat at a piano in years. It wasn’t all she’d had to learn, though. Duncan had drilled her on pack hierarchies that made no sense to her.
“A human wouldn’t appeal to an Alpha, and as we discussed, a witch even less so. ”
“My scent might seem like a shifter’s thanks to this,” she’d replied, pointing to the small vial of potion she carried around her neck. “But I don’t know a spell that would allow me to shift. ”
“We’ll say you are a wolfess—a shifter who cannot shift.
Slightly disgraceful, but it’ll have to do. ”
“I didn’t know those existed. ”
“They tend to live amongst humans rather than within a pack, which we will say you’ve been doing. It’ll explain your shortcomings regarding our way of life.
That said,” Duncan had bent his head towards her, his entire posture all the more threatening, “wolves have instincts. Ones you’ll have to feign. We’re territorial and possessive, but we also respond to dominance. ”
“Dominance?
”
Duncan had sighed tiredly. “Whenever you’re in the presence of a more dominant wolf—which in your case will be almost always—your posture must project submission. The more dominant the other wolf, the more submissive you’ll act. ”
“So especially with your brother,” Raina concluded, “who needs to become fond of me.
”
“Yes. Heath is the most dominant wolf in the pack. The leader. Everyone looks up to him, and you’ll come to notice they adapt their behavior to better please him.
”
“So everyone bows down to his every wish? ” Raina resumed with a frown. She wasn’t sure how she, who wasn’t even a real shifter, was meant to attract the attention of someone used to being worshipped. But Duncan had this covered.
“I’ve planned your introductory meeting step by step. You’ll need to learn how to play this,” he’d added, handing Raina a piano sheet. “Surely one of your spells can help. ”
Now, days later, the music had become her only companion.
The only thing that knew the depths of her soul. And apparently, the way to entrap Duncan’s brother in her nets. She got to the part during which she knew her audience would step in. She tried to forget about it, to get lost in the music.
The chords blended, creating a tapestry of sound that hummed with nostalgia. Above her, onto the mezzanine accessible from the upper floor, she was being watched. A presence settled upon her shoulders like an impossible weight. She played on, aware of it traveling up and down her back, settling on the exposed nape of her neck.
Duncan said she’d look delicate. He’d said the Alpha would like it. As the last note faded, it left a hollow stillness in its wake. For a moment, it felt as if the entire room held its breath with her.
Then, above her, someone began to clap. Aiden wasn’t exactly sure how long he’d been sitting at this poker table, only that it had been too long. But Aiden liked to win, and he didn’t mind playing the long game. “Raise,” he announced after pretending to think about it for a moment.
He had four of a kind, so in reality, there was nothing to think about. But he was drunk enough that it took him a little longer than usual to calculate his odds. His phone rang before he could get his new whiskey. “Yeah,” he sighed into the phone.
Jackson, one of his father’s guards, said something he couldn’t hear over the music. Good. Aiden would never have picked up if speaking to the guard didn’t imply his father would hear what his son was currently up to instead of working. He didn’t tend to do things that wouldn’t end up pissing the Alpha off.
Driving the old man nuts was his new creed. It would have been sad, Aiden being way past the age for teenage-like rebellion, if it wasn’t so satisfying to see the old man finally at a loss on how to deal with him. “Can’t hear you, Jax,” he teased into the phone. “But tell Dad I say hey.
Wait, no—tell him to join me. He’d love this. ”
His father absolutely would not love this. If the Alpha had ever partied in his youth, those days were long behind him.
So far behind, he’d probably forgotten what fun even felt like these days. Fun only annoyed him, though. Most things did. Jackson began to sound agitated now.
Aiden deduced his father must be letting his anger out on him. He’d feel guilty, except he’d been the outlet for his father’s anger since birth. So in his humble opinion, the bodyguard could take one for the team. But then he caught a word amidst the refrain of the current pop song.
“Wait—what was that? ” he asked carefully. “I said,” Jackson exclaimed, “that your father’s met someone. ”
Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose.
“And why would I care? He’s a grown-ass man. ”
On the other end of the line, Jackson cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well,” he began, before taking a pause.
Aiden rolled his eyes as he was finally handed his new drink. He downed it hurriedly because he was going to need it if he was going to pursue this conversation. “Spit it out, Jax. ”
“Your uncle thinks he’s going to marry her,” the guard said.
“The old man married. ”
Aiden snorted. “Is this a joke? ”
There was an awkward pause on the other line.
“You need to come home, Sir,” Jackson said eventually. “You need to come home right now. ”
Aiden rolled his eyes, wondering what home even was. The dim, nearly empty casino he currently sat in was just as much a home to him as the house he grew up in with his father.
And he’d only been here once. “Why would I do that? He certainly doesn’t need my blessing if he wants to go ahead and get married. ”
“Sir,” Jackson interrupted, “if your father takes a new mate, then that means he could have a new heir.
”
“Then so be it,” Aiden cut, ignoring the slight unease erupting at the thought. “I think I made it pretty clear I don’t care about becoming Alpha anymore, haven’t I? ”
Jackson became silent again. “You don’t mean that, Sir,” he said eventually.
“You can’t mean that. We need you. Everyone looks up to you. ”
Aiden hung up the phone.
Then he ordered himself another drink. The Alpha was terrifying, though it was hard to pinpoint why. Perhaps it was the angry scowl constantly on his face, or the rage barely hidden under the surface. Raina hadn’t known him long, only a month, but he sought out her company often for some reason.
Maybe because she barely spoke up around him. He didn’t look like a man seeking any opinions. He was obviously one who believed he knew best, always. His name was Heath Kane, and he came by at random times, often late at night, and asked her to play the piano.
He was a man in his early sixties, tall with slightly graying hair, who might have been handsome if not for the hardness in his eyes—a hardness that felt as if it was dissecting your soul and didn’t like what it found. He wasn’t easily pleased, that much was obvious. He drummed his fingers against the nearest surface when growing impatient, which was almost always. The Alpha gave Raina the impression of a beast trapped in a cage, a mind filled with concerns she had no insight about.
But then Raina played, and he relaxed. Slowly, the lines of his face smoothed, the hardness briefly disappeared, and the beast evaporated, leaving an aging man in its stead. It made her feel like a wildlife tamer. Tonight, he’d stood behind her while she played that same song over and over.
Raina was sick of it, but Heath apparently could listen to it all day. “You play it just like she did,” he’d whispered. Raina could feel his breath against her nape. His large, calloused hand touched her shoulder.
Her entire body grew rigid. She found herself unable to move. She didn’t want him to touch her. She didn’t want to pretend like she liked it.
But she had to. Slowly, she turned to meet the Alpha’s gaze. He was looking through her again, looking for what he wanted to see. “Again,” he commanded, waving his hand distractedly.
“Play it again. ”
Raina held a breath. Crisis averted. But for how long?
She’d started playing a few keys and had quickly been interrupted. “From the top,” Heath had asked. He didn’t scream when angry. Instead, his tone would grow infinitely calm, and all the more chilling for it.
She dreamed of this voice now and woke up terrified. She wished she’d never have to see the Alpha again. Later, she reported to Duncan. It had all gone as usual.
The Alpha had listened in silence as always, then left. The following day, she was told she’d be moving into the pack house. The Alpha’s home. He’d requested her presence, and her piano would have to be brought in as well.
“That piano’s mine,” Raina said. “But what Heath wants, Heath gets,” Duncan ground out, resentment crossing his features before he remembered himself. “You’ve done well,” he added. “Don’t forget your cover story.
You’ve been rescued from a pack of rogue wolves. You’re vulnerable and scared. You need protection. ”
Raina did feel vulnerable and scared, and she had been attacked by wolves—though she supposed the Alpha couldn’t know his own brother had led the attack.
“When can I see my family? ” she asked quietly. It had been weeks. Her throat was grabbed.
Not hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough to let her know it very well could. “You’re in no place to be making demands,” Duncan reminded her. He spit out his words when he got angry. It was disgusting.
“Right now, the Alpha comes to you to soothe his nerves. Listening to you play the song his beloved mate used to love makes him feel better. It’s a start, but it’s not enough. You need to make him confide in you about what?
”
“How am I supposed to find out what you want to know if you won’t tell me what it is? ”
The look Duncan gave her in response stunned her into silence. “There’s nothing I don’t know,” the man snapped, voice dripping with disdain. “This is about influence.
Planting certain ideas into his head. That’s how you help me. Just by making that cute little pout of yours. ”
Raina held down the very pressing desire to bite Duncan’s finger off.
“And what ideas should I be planting? ”
“That he can trust me. Me, and no one else. ”
Aiden jumped out of his car, his shoes crunching against the gravel as he made his way up the steps to the pack house.
The grand entrance opened up to familiar territory. A butler, Lars, bowed slightly to welcome him. “Welcome home, Sir,” he said, voice crisp as always. “Your father’s in the dining room.
”
Aiden nodded but didn’t move forward just yet. He knew how to make an entrance, and besides, before going into the wolf’s den so to speak, he needed to know what she was like. “What’s she like? ” he asked Lars, cocking an eyebrow.
A brief, unimpressed grimace flickered across the older man’s face. “Who do you mean, Sir? ”
Aiden snorted. So not even worth acknowledging, then.
Another inconsequential mistress. Another fleeting fancy in Heath Kane’s long line of women who could never replace Aiden’s mother. Marriage. Yeah, right.
He followed Lars down the hall, the walls of the house towering and familiar in their cold, aloof polish. As they neared the dining room, the butler leaned in slightly, his voice lowering. “Sir, you should know. Your father’s taken an unusual liking to the girl.
”
This made Aiden blink. Girl. His mind flickered to the last few mistresses his father paraded around. None of them had ever been referenced as girls.
They’d been women. He frowned. The butler stepped into the dining room to announce his arrival, but Aiden brushed past him with a wave. “I can announce myself, thank you.
”
He barely registered Duncan or his father. His eyes were immediately drawn to the guest sitting at their table. The girl—for she was a girl, and a particularly young one at that. Early twenties at most, with an unassuming air about her that clashed with everything his father was.
Long black hair and wintry skin. She’d been dressed like she was going to mass and sat with all the presence of a shy adolescent. She did have a rather pretty, heart-shaped mouth, Aiden supposed begrudgingly. He’d give her that, if he must.
But her blue eyes were too wide, too clear and curious, full of odd wonderment. Why was she holding Aiden’s gaze like so? Surely this couldn’t be his father’s new girlfriend, he thought with a scoff. What could Heath possibly want with someone so plain?
Honestly, save for her lips, rose-colored and full, she was really nothing special. Why her? What had she done to deserve his father’s attention? The girl was still looking at him.
Staring, come to think of it. Did she not know she should be lowering her gaze? It felt like she was calling him out somehow. Aiden held back the urge to twitch.
But then the faintest blush grazed her cheeks, and he smirked. Those pink lips of hers were parting ever so slightly, and Aiden was no idiot. He knew what that meant. Interesting, he thought, filing that bit of information away.
She finds him attractive. His lips twitched upward in the faintest of smirks. Back at the pack house, Raina adjusted her cream-colored dress as she stepped into the lavish dining room. The warm morning light cast a soft glow across the gleaming breakfast table, which would have been pleasant if not for the fact that Raina would rather be anywhere else.
Heath’s mansion, more luxurious than Duncan’s, might have felt somewhat homely if not for its atmosphere—something she couldn’t pinpoint but that constantly made Raina feel inadequate. It wasn’t just the looks she received from the shifters coming and going around the place. Maids, butlers, guards, and cooks. The house itself felt like it was always watching.
She’d been here for two weeks. Better here than with Duncan, though. Unlike him, the Alpha left her alone. He was mostly absent, off doing things Raina wasn’t privy to—meetings, pack business, or perhaps something else entirely.
She didn’t ask, for it was clear she was expected to play a certain role. One of quiet femininity, of endless bounds of subdued patience. She was the Alpha’s broken little bird, one who existed only when he wished to hear the piano. An object—as long as she didn’t become one of desire.
Raina counted herself lucky. But when would this all end? When would Duncan be satisfied with her endeavors? Whatever he thought or said, Raina was there to listen and silently agree, ever quiet and reserved.
He didn’t say much, most times. Raina felt he didn’t even see her. He’s lonely, she thought, though can one really feel sorry for a man who cannot stand anybody but a silent, broken stranger? “Raina,” a voice commented, scattering her thoughts.
“I see life at the pack house has been doing you good. ”
Raina forced a brief smile as she met Duncan’s eyes across the breakfast table. Why was he here? To watch her, to remind her of who she worked for?
She turned to Heath, who rose to greet her. “Good morning, my little songbird,” the Alpha said, pulling out a chair for her. Raina cast her eyes down in a show of modesty, her eyes landing on the table. It had been set for four, she noted distractedly.
Duncan’s watchful gaze prickled at her skin. Did he expect her to drive the conversation somewhere? Luckily, he and Heath began talking in low tones, their words blending into background noise as she drowned it all out. Raina liked to pretend that she was at home, that Mom was making tea, that Savvy was doing her nails and complaining about yet another heartbreak.
If only she could hear from them. The door to the breakfast hall opened to one of the butlers, who cleared his throat nervously before speaking. “Alpha,” he said, bowing slightly. “Aiden has arrived.
”
Aiden. Raina tried to remember if she’d heard the name before. Possibly. She thought she recalled whispered questions and vague rumors.
Something about a scandal or two. A man’s voice interrupted, cutting through the room like a blade. “I can announce myself, thank you. ”
Then its owner stepped into the room.
A man only a couple of years older than Raina. His clothes were elegant but wrinkled, his hair unkempt as if he’d just woken up from a nap. Yet his movements were alert and lively. There was something carefree and untamed about him.
His gaze, a bright, gleaming green, immediately zoomed in on her with an intense, calculated focus that rooted Raina to her chair. She knew she should lower her eyes. Pack hierarchy dictated as much. But she couldn’t.
Not when he was still staring at her like that. Something about him demanded her attention. He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen, and the realization left her feeling exposed. Though not as much as when she found herself on the receiving end of his pointing finger.
“Is this her? ” he asked, tone almost affronted. “Don’t tell me this is her. ”
Heath rose from his chair.
“Are you too good to be on time now, boy? ” he snapped. “Sit down. ”
“Oh, cut the crap, Dad,” the man retorted.
Raina’s jaw almost dropped. She’d never heard anybody speak to the Alpha like that. Like he was—well, a normal person. She briefly met Duncan’s eyes, who silently beamed at her.
Meanwhile, Aiden, Heath’s son, was ranting to his father about an upcoming marriage. “Don’t be ridiculous,” Heath barked back. “I never said I was planning to marry her. ”
Raina’s heart skipped a beat.
Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Was he talking about her right now? No one had told her anything about a wedding. No one had even hinted at it.
She’d ask somebody to explain, except it was obvious she wasn’t meant to take part in this discussion at all. “Raina’s important to me,” Heath explained, meeting her eyes briefly. It was no effort for her to lower her gaze. How was she important to him?
He didn’t know anything about her whatsoever. She barely spoke up around him, if at all. “I’m planning to adopt her,” the Alpha concluded. A deafening silence befell the room.
Adopt her? Raina thought, surprised. Why would he do that? What would Duncan think of this development?
She didn’t dare look at him. He’d sent her to seduce the Alpha, not to become his ward. “Adopt her? ” Aiden scoffed.
“Why would you adopt her? ”
“So I finally experience what having a decent progeny feels like,” Heath replied with a sardonic smirk. Duncan looked quite pleased, and Raina almost let her shoulders sag. Except then she met Aiden’s eyes again, and his look was downright affronted.
“I apologize for my son,” the Alpha said right as Raina’s piano recital came to an end. It was just the two of them in the music room as per usual, and it was late, nearing midnight. Beside them, a fire burned away in the chimney, the sound of which now filled the air. Raina didn’t know what to say.
What was the right thing to say? “He thought we were getting married,” she observed, before realizing that if there was anything right to say, this wasn’t it. Why mention this marriage thing at all? She certainly didn’t want to give Heath the wrong impression.
“Duncan told him so, hoping this would get him to come home,” the Alpha explained, giving her a long, assessing glance. Raina wondered what this meant. Where Aiden had been. She also wondered why Heath never talked about him.
He was his son, after all. And from what she’d gathered, his only one. She phrased none of this out loud. Instead, Raina nodded, hoping to hide her nerves.
Apparently not very well. “I would never make advances towards you, child,” Heath said with a frown. “I hope you know that. ”
Her gaze snapped back to meet the Alpha’s briefly.
He seemed sincere. This was good, right? She hoped this was good. She hoped for a lot of things—that her mother wasn’t withering away in worry, that her sister wasn’t getting into trouble.
“You’re safe here in my home, as part of my pack, and you always will be. But you’re not a prisoner. You can go wherever you like and leave whenever you see fit. ”
Raina held back a snort.
If only. If it were up to her, she’d never even come here in the first place—amongst these people who’d hate her if they knew what she really was, and who didn’t even particularly like her as she was now. But she couldn’t exactly explain why her family was being held hostage. Her magic wouldn’t let her.
“Thank you,” she murmured, forcing the words out of her mouth. Heath thought she’d been attacked and that she now had amnesia. He thought she needed help, and he was being kind to her. She supposed perhaps if it wasn’t for the magical oath, she could have asked for his help.
“Your son doesn’t seem to like me very much,” she observed, because hope was too painful a thing to hold on to. She thought about the way Aiden had looked at her at breakfast, for all of the ten minutes he’d deigned to stay amongst them—only long enough for an espresso—like Raina was some puzzle he was eager to solve and yet didn’t enjoy. He clearly wanted her gone. His contempt for her was obvious.
Unsurprising. Everyone she’d met here looked at her with contempt. But instead of the expected relief she tended to feel at being overlooked, Aiden’s dislike had only made her want to prove him wrong. Surely because if she were to remain in Heath’s good graces, she couldn’t afford to displease his family.
“He’s ungrateful and spoiled, which is my fault, I suppose,” the Alpha said, interrupting her thoughts. “I’ve been too lenient with the boy, starting with letting him grow up in this house for so long. Do you know I only sent him away to train when he was six? ”
Raina blinked.
“Oh, wow,” she replied, because she had no words. Was six supposed to be old to be sent away? The Alpha sighed, frustration marking his features. No, it was more than frustration—anger and contempt.
She knew what contempt looked like now. Except for once, it wasn’t directed at her. “He does as he pleases, when he pleases, and he doesn’t care about anything other than himself. And I’m supposed to give over the pack to him?
He isn’t ready. He will never be ready. ”
Raina frowned. She hadn’t realized until now, hadn’t stopped to consider this, but Aiden was the Alpha’s son.
This made him his heir, did it not? “Are you worried he will not want to become Alpha when the time comes? ” she asked, snapping her mouth shut as soon as Heath’s piercing gaze landed back on her. “It’s not about what he wants,” the man barked.
“It’s about what the pack needs. And it certainly doesn’t need Aiden’s—. ”
Raina kept quiet. From what she’d gathered, whoever inherited Heath’s title must be chosen by him.
He got to decide, and unless the entire pack rebelled—which was unlikely—his chosen successor became the next Alpha. “But Aiden is Heath’s only child,” she thought. “If not him, then who? ”
“He hasn’t even found a mate yet,” Heath growled, seemingly lost in thought once more.
“To be fair, Duncan hasn’t either. ”
Raina stilled. Duncan. Why would the Alpha compare his son to Duncan?
And then it hit her. Duncan was the Alpha’s younger brother. And with Aiden out of the picture, this made him Heath’s most likely successor. Meanwhile, Aiden paced his room, his agitation growing with every step.
The girl played piano for his father. The great Heath Kane, Alpha of the pack, was spending most of his time in the company of some barely legal, random wolfess girl, all because she could somewhat play the piano. It just didn’t make any sense. She barely said a word.
Just sat there gaping like a fish. But somehow, because she could manage to pluck out some Chopin, she was suddenly the most fascinating thing that ever lived. He snorted, shaking his head. If his father was so obsessed with music, he could have had Aiden take piano lessons.
He would have, once upon a time. Hell, he would have done anything to please the man. God knows he’d tried. But even when Aiden still played the perfect son, practically running the pack in his father’s stead, it hadn’t been enough.
Well, no more. He was done. Done with his father’s impossible standards. Done with this suffocating house.
And done with the entire charade. Aiden grabbed his jacket and set off to find some party, some faraway city, anything to drown out the noise in his head. But for some reason, he found himself wandering into another part of the house. His feet stopped in front of a door, and before he could think twice, he was inside.
Only then did it occur to him. This was her room. Raina. What kind of name was that anyway, he thought, knowing fully well he was picking at straws now.
The room was dark and pristine, without a trace of being lived in, apart from faint traces of her lingering scent. Most wolves carried their emotions in their scent—fear, anger, desire. But hers was subdued. He wondered if it was because she didn’t have a wolf.
His father was obsessed with a shifter who couldn’t even shift. But somehow, it was Aiden who was lacking. Perhaps he really was as disappointing as he’d been told. Before he could dig into that thought, the door swung open.
Aiden was startled for a second, though he recovered quickly. “You don’t even play that well,” he taunted, his voice low and mocking. Raina was frozen in the doorway, her wide eyes locking onto his. She stood there, her fingers clutching the edge of the door, ready to flee.
This won’t do. He took a step closer, almost without thinking. Raina’s face flushed, and he wanted to see how far that blush could deepen for him. If her breath would hitch the way it had at breakfast.
Purely out of curiosity, of course. “Though apparently, playing music is all that you do, so I can’t help but wonder why my father’s so enthralled by you. Did you cast a spell on him? ”
Raina’s eyes flickered, and for the briefest moment, something flashed across her face.
“Are you accusing me of witchcraft? ” she asked. Aiden rolled his eyes. “Relax.
I’m not about to accuse you of being a criminal. ”
Raina flinched. But the way she kept looking at him, even though he knew she was unsettled—he took another step, watching her reaction closely. Her pulse was fast.
He could hear it, feel it in the air between them. Beneath the subdued layers of her scent, there was a wildness to her that didn’t quite fit with the fragile girl image she projected. “What are you doing here, Aiden? ” the girl whispered as he came to stand right in front of her.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he noted, his voice taking on a darker edge. “What are you doing here, playing house in the Alpha’s home, of all places? ”
Her eyes widened at his words, but she didn’t look away. If anything, she squared her shoulders slightly, her back straightening.
Then she smiled, bending her head toward Aiden. “Jealous? ” she whispered. The defiance was unexpected.
Against his mind, his wolf purred. So she has claws, he observed. “I did think the cottage-girl routine was a tad overdone. What makes you think it’s a routine?
Maybe I’ve just taken a liking to your father. ”
Aiden reached out slowly, his fingers brushing her chin. She didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull back.
“Nobody likes my father,” he said, his voice almost a whisper now. “Not even me. And he’s my father. ”
Her breath hitched at his touch, and Aiden felt a surge of satisfaction—until her next words came out of her mouth.
“Is that why you’re acting out like a petulant child? ”
“Acting? ” he smirked, noting how her gaze flickered to his lips for the briefest of seconds. “It’s not an act.
I just woke up one day and figured why the hell not. ”
Raina raised an eyebrow. “Because you think you can get away with everything you want, is that it? ”
Her scent washed over him, and it messed with his head.
It didn’t help that she was staring at him still, her wide blue eyes searching his face. “I know I can,” he murmured. Then, before he could think better of it, he raised his wrist to her neck, giving Raina a challenging look. He assumed this was how he’d get her to back down, because no shifter woman would just let him scent-mark her after only knowing Aiden for all of ten minutes.
But to his surprise, Raina just blinked at him. “What are you doing? ” she asked, though she didn’t move away. Aiden snorted.
Really? So she was back to playing the wide-eyed innocent again. He winked, applying pressure to her pulse point, rubbing his skin against hers. Raina let him.
She let him, and she stared, her blue eyes wide and unafraid, almost as if she had no idea what she was letting Aiden get away with. He probably should stop. But the idea of his father smelling him on his little pet was tempting. He’d be furious.
Perhaps enough to finally disown him for good. What a relief that would be. Yes. This was precisely why he insisted on rubbing his scent all over Raina.
And not at all because he liked how perfectly they blended together. Back in her room, Raina pulled the blankets tighter around herself, but it did nothing to block out the memory of Aiden’s fingers brushing her chin, his skin against her neck. Her heart beat a little faster at the thought, her skin heating up again like it had last night. She hated that he had this effect on her.
That his presence had stirred something inside her she hadn’t expected. She knew better than to stir trouble, especially with someone who had as much power as he did. Aiden was a stranger. But more than that, he was Heath’s son.
She shifted under the sheets, feeling the warmth of the morning sun creeping through the curtains. She should have told him to leave and stood her ground. But instead, she’d let him stay. She’d let him touch her.
And he’d been surprised by it. She remembered his cocky exterior had faltered, if only for a moment, when she didn’t flinch or push him away. Was that why she’d let him do it? Because she’d seen that flicker of surprise, that little crack in his confidence, and it had made her feel like she had some kind of power over him?
Her lips parted as she exhaled slowly, her thoughts still tangled. She’d felt nothing but powerless for weeks. But this stranger’s gaze had made her feel seen. Like she existed again outside of Heath’s needs and Duncan’s manipulations.
Like she was more than a pawn. She had wanted him to keep looking at her like that. Her pulse quickened again as she remembered the way he’d leaned in, his voice low and mocking but eyes searching. A warmth spread through her body, pooling in her stomach.
It didn’t end even when a maid later revealed what Aiden had done. “He scent-marked you! ” she exclaimed when she came in to help Raina do her hair. Raina wasn’t sure what this meant, so she let the maid speak, stuttering out her words.
“The Alpha will be furious,” she whispered, eyes wide. “His son, leaving his scent all over you like this. Like you are his. It isn’t proper.
”
She’d stopped there, but she’d said enough for Raina to more or less understand what Aiden had done was frowned upon in shifter society. Probably an attempt to annoy his father. He seemed pretty intent on doing so. She would have been offended upon understanding what Aiden had done.
Here she was, minding her own business, but somehow Aiden thought he could just come in and use her to piss off his father. Raina was fighting for her own life, for her family, for crying out loud. Granted, he didn’t know that. Still, she should have been furious.
But last night, for the first time in months, she had felt alive. Like her presence mattered. She knew what it felt like to be looked at as a pawn. And that wasn’t how he’d looked when he touched her.
Stop it, she scolded herself, forcing her mind back to logic. Aiden was just like his father. Manipulative. Dangerous.
Someone who couldn’t be trusted. He was probably playing with her, trying to figure out her weaknesses. That was all this was. A game.
But that didn’t stop the flutter in her chest or the lingering heat on her skin when she thought of him. If this was a game, then it was one she now intended to win. Later that morning, Aiden leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, watching his father’s face turn red with rage. “How dare you?
” Heath’s voice boomed, echoing through the walls of the house. “Scent-marking your sister under my roof, like some animal! ”
Aiden didn’t flinch, not even at the word sister, despite how ridiculous it sounded. He was used to this.
Heath’s disapproval was steady, predictable, almost comforting in its consistency. It was the one thing Aiden could rely on. His eyes flickered to Raina. Sister, he thought with a snort.
His scent still mixed with hers, and it satisfied him deeply. Something inside of him clenched because Heath could probably smell it too. Their scents combined, his and Raina’s, lingering in the air. That was all it was about, he told himself.
Making his father angry. That was the reason why he liked it. Heath’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Look at her!
” he spat. “This poor child was attacked, for God’s sake. Who knows what happened to her out there? She barely remembers anything.
”
Aiden opened his mouth to retort something snide about how convenient that sounded. But then he noticed Raina tremble. Just a slight shake in her shoulders at first, almost imperceptible. Then she erupted into soft, broken sobs.
The words died in his throat. Tears were for the weak, Aiden knew this. But hers made him uncomfortable. His fingers twitched, and for a second, he wanted to move and offer comfort.
But then his father reached Raina first. “You’re safe, child,” Heath muttered, his voice dropping into a tone Aiden had never heard him use before. “I’ve got you, my dear. ”
Aiden gaped.
For all the times his father had berated him, torn him down piece by piece, Heath had never offered comfort. And now here he was, cradling this random girl like her fragility was endearing. Besides, Aiden was the one who had upset her. If anything, he should be the one to comfort Raina.
Here, she was mumbling an apology through her tears, and he shifted uncomfortably. It was one thing to upset his father, who’d done nothing but deserve it. Raina, though—she sounded scared. It made him feel much worse than his father had made him feel in a while.
He should have known better than to drag her into his war with Heath. The thought wormed its way into his mind, uninvited and unwelcome. Aiden clenched his fists at his sides, torn between the familiar numbness that had kept him sane for so long and the unexpected wave of guilt creeping up on him. “What do you have to say for yourself?
” Heath snapped, making Raina startle. “Look at what you’ve done. ”
Aiden swallowed hard. He opened his mouth to apologize, the words forming on the tip of his tongue.
Then Raina turned slightly and caught his gaze. And through her tears, she smirked. It was small, barely there, for a split second. Aiden wondered if he’d imagined it.
But no—there it was. A flicker of something knowing in her eyes. His pulse quickened. That smirk.
It wasn’t the look of someone who was scared. It wasn’t the look of someone who was broken. It was something else entirely. Something that stirred a strange mix of emotions in him.
Anger. Fascination. And something dangerously close to admiration. Heath continued yelling, but Aiden barely heard him now.
His focus was entirely on Raina. On the way she was sitting there, letting his father coddle her, while her eyes focused only on Aiden. Later, Raina leaned back in the seat, eyes half-closed, as she let the soft hum of the engine relax her. She hadn’t realized how tense she’d been until now.
The shopping trip was fine. Heath had told her to buy whatever she liked—a sad attempt to cheer her up after the scene this morning. But the real comfort came from replaying the look on Aiden’s face when he’d finally understood her crying fit had been an act. A smirk tugged at her lips, and she let it grow as she recalled the brief flicker of realization in his eyes.
He hadn’t expected her to turn the tables on him. She could practically see the confusion brewing behind that cocky exterior, the way he’d paused, off-kilter, when she met his gaze. She’d enjoyed watching him squirm. But then her smirk faltered as another image crept into her mind.
The vacant look on Aiden’s face before their eyes had locked. His father had been yelling at him, spewing insults like venom. And yet Aiden hadn’t reacted. He wasn’t unaffected, not exactly.
Nor was he defeated. It was more like he just wasn’t there. Like he disappeared somewhere inside himself, away from his father’s reach. The thought nagged at her.
She wondered if he was angry with her now, for using Heath’s protectiveness to her advantage. But then again, Aiden had started it. He’d scent-marked her, after all. She couldn’t just let that slide.
Just as she was starting to convince herself of that, the door to the car swung open. Raina’s heart leaped—not with fear, but something else entirely—when Aiden slid into the seat beside her. He moved with the same casual confidence, his smirk firmly in place. And despite everything, a spark of intrigue lit up in his eyes.
She felt a rush of heat. Why does he always do this to her? She forced herself to remain still, though her pulse quickened, when he handed her a handkerchief. “For you,” Aiden’s voice was low, teasing, as if they were in on some kind of private joke.
“To dry those fake tears you like to cry. ”
Raina wanted to laugh, but she kept her face neutral. “Keep it,” she said with a small, pleasant smile. “You’ll be needing it more than me.
”
Aiden let out a low whistle. “Feeling confident, are we? ”
Raina shrugged, despite the quickening of her pulse. “Well, the Alpha does consider me like the daughter he never had,” she replied.
“That doesn’t say much about his affections,” Aiden rolled his eyes. “I’m the son he’s always had, and that hasn’t gotten me anywhere. ”
“Your father only likes people who need his protection,” Raina taunted. “But he’d resent you for ever needing protection in the first place.
I have the advantage here, and you know it. ”
She was being reckless. She should keep her head down. She should have done so from the start.
But she couldn’t help herself. Not when, after being numb for so long, knowing only fear, her blood felt like it was thrumming again. And not when Aiden, instead of being angry, chuckled, leaning back in the seat with a relaxed ease that unnerved her. “Is that what you want, then?
” he asked. “To be a part of my family? Should I call you sis? ”
She felt that same strange pull.
Like she was alive again. Like she existed beyond this twisted game they were playing. “My father gets easily bored,” Aiden added, catching a lock of Raina’s hair between his fingers. “He’ll be done with you soon enough.
”
Raina’s pulse quickened. He was looking at her like that again. Like he could see her. And like he liked it.
“Then why are you here? ” she countered softly, her eyes flicking to his for the briefest moment. Aiden raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by her response. But there was something more beneath that smirk now.
“Maybe I’m bored too,” he suggested, angling his face towards hers. “You’re only bored if you’re boring,” Raina replied, her breath mingling with Aiden’s. His eyes fell onto her lips, and he inclined his head further towards hers. Heart beating fast in her chest, Raina smirked and raised the back of her hand, so his mouth kissed it instead.
“Back off, brother,” she batted her eyelashes, pushing against his lips. “We wouldn’t want to displease Father now, would we? ”
Aiden snorted. “He isn’t your father,” he said.
“And he’ll remember it soon enough. ”
Raina bent towards him, holding his gaze, and opened the car door behind him. “We’ll see,” she concluded. “Thank you for watching.
”
