Chapter 7

My mother was still on her knees, pleading for our family, when Dominic's phone buzzed on his desk.

I watched through the office window as his expression completely transformed, his wolf immediately alert, his entire body going rigid as he read whatever message had just arrived.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Thornton," he said to my mother, his voice suddenly distant and final. "But this doesn't change anything at all. My wolf has chosen its path."

She slapped him across the face.

The sound echoed through his office like a gunshot, and every employee—human and supernatural alike—took a collective step backward. Striking someone in their workplace was a serious breach of pack protocol.

"You're a disgrace to everything decent," she whispered, her wolf's judgment absolute. "The Goddess will punish you for breaking sacred vows."

She walked out with her head held high despite her tears.

Three days later, we threw Sophie the elaborate birthday party she'd been planning for months.

"Smile for the camera," I whispered to Dominic as we posed for photos. "We have an agreement to keep up appearances until after today."

For two excruciating hours, we played the perfect pack family—cutting cake, opening presents, singing off-key while our daughter beamed between us, her young wolf happy and content, completely oblivious to the fact that her world was about to implode.

"I wish," Sophie said as she closed her eyes and blew out all seven candles, her wolf making the wish with her, "that Mommy and Daddy could spend more time together like this every day. That our wolves could run together like they used to."

Dominic's hand found mine briefly under the table, and for a moment I saw something that might have been genuine regret flickering in his eyes. His wolf whimpered softly at our daughter's innocent wish.

The doorbell rang just as we were serving the second round of cake.

"I'll get it," I said, but Dominic was already moving toward the front door.

"That's okay, I've got it."

He opened the door to reveal Scarlett, absolutely stunning in a designer dress that probably cost more than most people's monthly salary, holding an elaborately wrapped gift. Her wolf's scent immediately flooded our home—marking territory that wasn't hers.

"Surprise!" she said brightly, stepping into our home as if she had every right to be there.

Every single conversation in the room stopped dead. The wolves in attendance—about half our guests—immediately tensed at the scent of an uninvited Crimson Fang wolf in another pack's territory.

"I hope you don't mind the intrusion," she continued, looking directly at me with a smile that didn't reach her calculating eyes. Her wolf was deliberately challenging mine. "I wanted to meet Sophie properly."

The gift was clearly expensive—some kind of collectible doll that must have cost more than most people spend on rent.

"Who are you exactly?" one of the other mothers asked, confusion clear in her voice.

Scarlett's smile became radiant, triumphant. "I'm Dominic's partner." Her wolf's possessiveness radiated through the room.

Partner. Not girlfriend, not friend—partner, with all the implications that word carried in werewolf society.

"And I absolutely can't wait to get to know Sophie much better," she added, kneeling down to my daughter's eye level. "We're going to be spending so much time together. Maybe I can even help train your wolf when she fully manifests."

The implications hit me like a physical blow to the stomach.

She was publicly claiming her place in my daughter's life, in front of everyone we knew—and worse, claiming a right to influence my pup's wolf development.

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