Ariana POV: I waited eight years for Kaiden Romero. The day he walked into the Enforcer Station, he came to bail out the bastard who had violated my best friend. "I demand to see your Alpha! That animal Darryle almost ruined my Gemma!" My mother, Brenda Melendez, slammed her palm onto the front desk, her voice already hysterical. The Beta officer behind the counter didn't even look up from his files. "Ma'am, Darryle Romero is a high-ranking bloodline member of the ruling family. We have to follow protocol." "Protocol doesn't mean shielding an attempted rapist." I stepped forward and pulled my mother's trembling arm back. I was an Omega that the Melendez pharmaceutical clan had judged genetically frail since childhood, with chronic low blood sugar that made my vision swim if I stood too long. After my father betrayed us and ran off leaving a mountain of debt, my mother raised me alone. She feared high-ranking pack politics more than anything, and she couldn't stand to see me wronged. At the end of the hall, the heavy iron grate of the holding cell clanged open. Darryle Romero swaggered out, his bleached blond hair slicked shiny, adjusting his French cuffs while dragging his greasy gaze over us. "Well, well, the two charity cases of the Melendez family, daring to make a scene here?" My mother shrieked and lunged at him. I wrapped my arms around her waist, my boots scraping harshly against the floor as I barely held her back. Darryle sneered. "Keep that rabid bitch of yours on a leash, Ariana. This is Romero territory." I dug my nails into my palms, glaring at him through gritted teeth. "What you did to Gemma at that hotel—you will pay for it." He rolled his eyes. "That lowly Omega threw herself at me. Isn't your kind always desperate to latch onto a high-ranking wolf's knot?" I was shaking with rage, about to fire back, when the air in the lobby suddenly sank, as if someone had sucked all the oxygen out of the room. A domineering scent of cedarwood and morning dew slammed into my nostrils. My heart rammed against my ribs, my blood heated, and goosebumps erupted across my skin. The fated mate recognition hit hard and precisely—even after all these years, my body recognized him first. My legs went weak, my arms lost their strength, and I had to brace myself against the reception counter. Inside me, that frail little wolf whimpered softly: Mine! I turned my head stiffly. Kaiden Romero walked in, backlit by the moonlight. The fated Alpha of the Silver Peak Romero Pack, the billionaire CEO of a multinational conglomerate. Eight years ago, after our first shift, he took my hand and said we'd go to Imperial Academy together. Then he vanished, severed our mind-link, and left without a single word. Twelve years of secret devotion, and I became the laughingstock of the entire territory. Now, in a black suit, his silver-gray eyes swept across the lobby, and the sheer genetic suppression of a pureblood Alpha forced every Beta officer to bow their heads. "Kaiden..." The name slid from my dry throat, carrying twelve years of hidden feelings and resentment. Seeing him, Darryle's arrogance vanished instantly. He hurried over, knees trembling. "Cousin! You finally came to bail me out. These lowlifes have all gone insane!" My heart sank to the bottom. I stared at Kaiden in disbelief. He was here to bail out a rapist? Kaiden's gaze passed over Darryle and landed coldly on my face, as if looking at garbage on the street. He scanned my pale cheeks and clenched fists, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly, his Adam's apple bobbing. Brenda yanked me behind her like a mother hen shielding her chick. "Don't think being the Alpha means you can get away with everything!" Kaiden ignored her completely and strode closer. The crisp sound of his leather shoes hitting the floor trampled on my frayed nerves. The cedarwood scent grew closer, nearly drowning me. I bit my lower lip hard, refusing to show weakness in front of the man who had abandoned me. He stopped half a step away, his tall shadow swallowing me whole. Behind him, Darryle gloated. "Cousin, this shameless Omega is causing trouble. Throw them out!" Kaiden tilted his head, his silver-gray eyes cold and sharp, and spoke his first words to me in eight years: "Finish the bail paperwork, take your people, and get out of my sight."

Ariana POV: Kaiden's words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head. Darryle's grin split wide, and he looked at me provocatively. "Hear that? The Romero CEO told you to get lost." I took a deep breath, pushed down the dizziness from my low blood sugar, and stepped out from behind my mother to face Kaiden's cold, lifeless eyes. "Kaiden Romero, do you know what he did at the hotel last night?" My voice was shaking, but I didn't back down. Kaiden slid his hands into his pockets, his face expressionless. "Pack law goes through the Enforcer Station's procedures, not through you shouting in the lobby." I turned to look at Darryle and caught him silently mouthing at me: Gemma is a whore. Something in my head snapped. I shook off my mother's hand and charged straight at him. The Beta officers nearby moved to intercept, but Kaiden raised a hand—one cold gesture—and they all froze in place. I reached Darryle, raised my right hand, and slapped him across his disgusting face with every ounce of strength I had. Crack! The crisp slap exploded through the lobby. Darryle's head whipped to the side, a thin trail of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. The entire lobby went dead silent. My mother gasped and covered her mouth. Darryle stood frozen, as if unable to believe a lowly Omega dared to strike him. "You bitch, you dare hit me?" Darryle roared, eyes bloodshot, his thick arm rising to smash down on me. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for a blow strong enough to snap my neck. The pain never came. A terrifying pressure exploded through the air, pressing down like a block of lead. I opened my eyes. Kaiden stood right in front of me. He hadn't moved a finger—just let out a low growl from deep in his chest: "Kneel." Darryle's raised arm locked mid-air, and his knees slammed into the floor with a thud. He was drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, like a stray dog pinned underfoot, unable even to lift his head. Kaiden turned around, his tall frame bearing down on me again. He lowered his head, his hot breath carrying the cedarwood scent across my cheek. "Was it worth dirtying your hands for a piece of trash?" His voice was pitched low, only for me to hear, his jaw clenched tight. I backed up until my spine hit the reception counter. He planted one hand on the counter beside my waist, knuckles white, trapping me in his scent without touching me. I lifted my chin, glaring at him through reddened eyes. "As long as he pays the price, I don't care if my hands get dirty." Kaiden's eyes darkened. He stared hard at my lips, his throat bobbing heavily, as if suppressing some urge. The next second, he let out a cold laugh, straightened up, and stepped back from the suffocating proximity. "Take this idiot and get him in the car." Kaiden ordered his Beta second-in-command waiting by the door, Josue Mitchell. Josue immediately stepped forward, hauled the limp Darryle off the floor, and dragged him outside. My mother panicked. "You can't just take him away! This isn't over!" Kaiden didn't even look at her. His back was to me; his voice was hard as iron. "The Romero family will handle this our own way. Stay out of it, Ariana." He said my name. That familiar tone made my heart skip a beat, but he walked out the glass doors without looking back, the black Maybach's taillights quickly vanishing into the night. I leaned against the counter, cold sweat soaking through my back.

Ariana POV: Walking out of the Enforcer Station, the late autumn wind cut straight through my thin coat. Supporting my mother, my own legs weak, I shuffled across the parking lot to our beat-up secondhand sedan. "I told you those high-ranking Alphas are all rotten! He dumped you eight years ago, and now he's covering for a criminal!" Brenda slammed her palm on the steering wheel and started the engine. I pressed my forehead against the cold car window, watching streetlights slide past, Kaiden's silver-gray eyes filling my mind. "Mom, let's go to the Pack Clinic first. Gemma's waiting for us." I rubbed my temples, pushing down the sourness in my throat. The car fell silent, only the rattling engine left. Half an hour later, Pack Clinic. The antiseptic smell in the hallway made my empty stomach lurch. I pushed open the ward door. Gemma Ball was curled up on the bed, her face white as paper. Tears fell the moment she saw me. I hurried over and hugged her. "It's okay, Gemma. I won't let Darryle get away with this." Gemma shook her head against my shoulder, her voice trembling. "Ariana, I'm sorry... Darryle targeted me because I took that mating ceremony contract for our studio..." I froze. "What contract?" "Kaiden Romero and your stepsister Clarine's mating ceremony." Gemma buried herself in my arms, her voice barely audible. Kaiden POV: The private underground fighting pit beneath the Romero estate reeked of mildew and old blood. Under the dim overhead light, two Beta guards pinned Darryle to the bloodstained concrete floor. "Cousin! Why did you bring me here? I'm your own cousin!" Darryle's voice shook as he watched me take off my suit jacket. I slowly unbuttoned my cuffs and rolled my sleeves to my elbows, revealing the deep silver scars on my forearms. The warmth in my eyes was long gone. "Cousin?" I sneered, Ariana's pale face and reddened eyes at the station flashing through my mind. The thought that Darryle might have touched her had me on the verge of snapping. From the shadows, Josue spoke quietly. "Alpha, the Council of Elders is watching closely. If someone dies..." "Shut up." I growled. The giant wolf inside me roared for blood, my vision staining dark gold. I lunged and kicked Darryle in the chest. The crack of breaking ribs exploded through the underground chamber. "Ah!" Darryle screamed, sliding several meters, coughing up blood. I walked over and grabbed him by the collar. "Which hand touched her?" "I didn't! That Omega—" I didn't let him finish. I twisted his right wrist and snapped it clean. His pig-like squeals did nothing to calm the tearing violence in my head. For twenty straight minutes, the pit held nothing but dull impacts and begging, until Darryle lay in a pool of blood, barely breathing. I took a towel from Josue and wiped the blood off my knuckles, my temples throbbing. "Dump him in the Pack ICU. Tell the Elders he was ambushed by Rogues on the street." I ordered coldly. "Yes, Alpha. And Miss Ariana..." Josue hesitated. "She can never know." I rubbed my aching temples, dropped the bloody towel on the floor, and walked into the dark corridor.