While Alaric Stone was away, Anya kept busy during the day, throwing herself into work, tidying the apartment, cooking meals she knew he would like when he returned.
At night, she lay on his bed, surrounded by his scent, replaying his words in her mind.
Wait for me.
Still, an unease lingered beneath the surface, subtle but persistent, like a distant echo she could not silence.
****
During work, her phone rang and the name on the screen made her pause.
Sebastian Fang.
She hesitated before answering. "Hello?"
"Anya," Sebastian said smoothly, his voice relaxed, almost familiar. "Are you free tonight? I'd like to take you out for dinner."
Her response came immediately, firm and polite. "I'm sorry. I already have someone I like. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to go out with you."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, followed by a soft chuckle.
"Relax," Sebastian said lightly. "It's just dinner. No expectations. No hidden intentions. I promise."
Anya frowned slightly, gripping her phone tighter. "I don't think—"
"Think of it as repaying the help for saving you the last time," he interrupted gently. "Technically, you still own me"
She fell silent.
She told herself that it was only dinner and she had set the boundaries with him.
After a long moment, she exhaled. "Alright. Just dinner."
Sebastian's smile was audible through the phone. "Good. I'll pick you up at seven."
When the call ended, Anya stared at the screen for a long time, her chest feeling oddly tight. Something about the decision unsettled her, but she pushed the feeling aside.
Before leaving, she opened her messages and typed quickly.
"I'm meeting someone for dinner tonight. Just letting you know."
She hovered over the screen, then added nothing else and she pressed send.
The message went through.
Minutes passed.
Then more.
Her phone remained silent.
Anya stared at it, her thumb brushing the edge of the screen. She told herself Alaric was busy and that he trusted her.
Still, as she slipped her phone into her bag and reached for her coat, the quiet felt heavier than it should have.
*****
The moment Anya got into Sebastian's car, a chill crept up her spine.
The interior was clean, quiet, almost too quiet. The doors locked with a soft, final click that sounded far louder than it should have. Sebastian smiled at her from the driver's seat, polite and composed, but something in his eyes felt unreadable.
"Seatbelt," he said casually.
She reached for it, fingers clumsy, her movements suddenly slower than usual. The scent inside the car was unfamiliar. Not unpleasant, just sharp and heavy, clinging to the air. It made her head feel light.
"You okay?" Sebastian asked, glancing at her.
"I think so," Anya replied, though her voice sounded distant even to herself. "I just feel a little dizzy."
"Long day," he said smoothly, starting the engine. "Close your eyes for a moment. You'll feel better."
The streetlights outside the window stretched into glowing streaks. Her vision blurred, the edges of the world softening as if someone had turned down the focus. Her heartbeat grew uneven, thudding hard against her ribs.
Something was wrong.
Anya tried to reach for her phone, but her hand would not cooperate. Her fingers felt numb, heavy, as if they no longer belonged to her. Panic flared briefly in her chest.
"Sebastian…" she whispered.
"It's alright," he said calmly. "Just relax."
Her eyelids fluttered. The last thing she saw was his hand steady on the steering wheel, his expression unnervingly calm.
Then the darkness closed in.
The sounds of the city faded. The hum of the engine became distant. Her thoughts scattered, slipping through her grasp one by one.
And finally, there was nothing at all.
*****
When she woke, her wrists were tied above her head to a metal bed bolted to the floor. Her head throbbed, and the room smelled of disinfectant and concrete. A single overhead light lit the small, windowless space.
She tested the restraints. Leather straps secured tightly around her wrists, firm but not cutting into her skin.
"Why are you doing this?" she demanded, steadying her voice despite the pounding in her skull.
Sebastian stood a few feet away, jacket immaculate, hands clasped behind his back as though they were in a boardroom instead of a locked cell. "I'm using you," he said calmly. "To destroy Alaric Stone."
Her jaw tightened. "You're delusional."
"You still don't understand why I chose you," Sebastian continued, studying her expression with measured curiosity. "Out of everyone in his life, you are the only one who truly matters."
Anya glared at him. "I don't care why. Let me go."
A quiet laugh left him. "Alaric Stone hasn't told you anything, has he?"
"Told me what?" she demanded.
"That he isn't just a CEO," Sebastian said evenly. "He is the future Alpha of the Central City wolf pack."
The words settled heavily between them. She stared at him, trying to make sense of what she had just heard. "What are you talking about?"
"Wolves," Sebastian replied, pacing slowly across the concrete floor. "A powerful bloodline that has ruled this region for generations. Strength reinforced by loyalty. Authority secured through lineage. And you…" His gaze fixed on her. "You are his mate."
"That's impossible," Anya said, though her pulse had begun to quicken. "You're lying."
"If I were lying," Sebastian replied, stepping closer, "why has he stayed near you since you were young? Why has every threat around you been quietly removed? Why does he react to you as though your presence dictates his control?"
Memories flickered through her mind when Alaric arrived at the right moment, the intensity in his eyes when someone stood too close, the restraint he seemed to exercise only around her during his teenage years.
Her fingers curled against the restraints. "Even if that were true, it has nothing to do with you."
Sebastian's smile sharpened. "It has everything to do with me."
He reached forward and lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"As long as you exist, Alaric's power grows stronger. You anchor him and stabilize his wolf. You reinforce his dominance and secure his claim. With you at his side, he becomes nearly impossible to defeat."
Anya jerked her face away from his touch. "Whether I exist or not, you will never defeat him."
"You still fail to understand," Sebastian said, his tone softening into something colder. "An Alpha's greatest strength is also his greatest vulnerability. Remove the mate, and the wolf destabilizes. Grief fractures judgment, and rage clouds strategy. If I eliminate you, he will break."
Her breath trembled despite her effort to remain composed.
"And if I choose something more calculated," he continued, leaning closer, "if I mark you as my Luna and sever whatever bond you share, the damage would be far deeper. His wolf would feel it constantly, and the fracture would never truly heal."
She forced herself to meet his eyes. "You're insane."
"Perhaps," Sebastian replied with a faint, satisfied smile. "But watching the future Alpha of Central City lose the woman he loves, knowing she stands beside me instead, would be far more satisfying than killing him outright."
****
Alaric was meeting with his pack when it happened.
Something inside him twisted violently, as if an invisible hand had clawed at his heart. His breath hitched, sharp and ragged, and pain stabbed through his ribs, forcing him to brace one hand against the table. Around him, voices faded into silence.
Anya.
The bond screamed in terror beneath his skin, filled with raw, urgent fear. Every instinct told him she was in danger. His muscles tensed, claws itching to break free, and his wolf's rage slammed against his control. Someone had reached for her, crossing a line that could never be forgiven.
Her presence flickered in his mind, distant and muffled, wrapped in something dark and foreign that twisted their connection.
"No," he growled under his breath, voice low and raw.. His senses sharpened unnaturally. His heart pounded, each beat hammering through him like a drum of warning. His heart pounded, each beat hammering through him like a drum of warning.
An enemy was trying to claim what belonged to him.
Alaric snatched his phone from the table with hands that shook with barely contained fury. A single message blinked on the screen:
"I'm meeting someone for dinner tonight."
His chest constricted. He dialed her number once, twice, the tone echoing in the silence of the office. No answer.
The bond spasmed violently, weaker this time, as though she were being dragged farther away into shadows he couldn't reach. His wolf surged inside him, tearing through every layer of control, growling, snapping, hungry for retribution.
"Alpha?"
Leo's voice reached him through the haze, tentative and cautious.
"We're going back," Alaric said, his words low, lethal, stripped of warmth. "Now."
Leo did not argue. He could feel it too, the air around them thickening with raw Alpha fury.
Alaric moved before another second passed. Whoever had touched her had made the gravest mistake of their life, and he would see to it that they paid in full.