RIVEN'S POV
Riven watched the new Alpha cradle the broken Omega like she was made of glass and wanted to vomit.
She was soaking wet, wrapped in blankets, looking completely helpless. And Ash was carrying her through the packhouse like she was the most precious thing in the world instead of just another Omega who should have learned by now that survival meant accepting her place.
This was not how packs worked.
Riven had grown up watching Kade rule. His half-brother understood the fundamental law of pack hierarchy. Strength ruled. Fear maintained order. Weakness was exploited until it disappeared or the weak did. It was brutal but it was honest. Everyone knew where they stood. Everyone knew what the rules were.
This outsider was destroying everything.
In three days, Ash had killed three Betas, exiled another, and turned the entire pack structure upside down. Now Omegas were eating at the main table. Now they were being protected instead of used. Now the hierarchy that had taken generations to build was crumbling because one rogue Alpha decided to play savior.
The worst part was that some of the younger wolves were actually listening. Actually starting to believe that this new way was better.
Riven knew better.
He knew that the moment you showed weakness, enemies would exploit it. That the moment you treated lower ranks like equals, they started thinking they could challenge you. That the moment you cared about someone, they became leverage against you.
Ash was going to lose this pack because he was too weak to hold it.
But Riven was not.
That night, Riven gathered his loyalists in the old storage barn on the edge of Blackwater territory. Six wolves who understood that the old ways were the right ways. Who had thrived under Kade's rule and wanted that stability back. Who were smart enough to hide their disgust at Ash's mercy.
They stood in the darkness while Riven laid it out.
The new Alpha has a weakness, Riven said quietly. An Omega. He cares about her more than he cares about leading this pack. We use that.
Vorin's cousin Garrett stepped forward. How?
We turn the pack against him, Riven explained. We make them see that his obsession with one broken Omega is destroying pack strength. We remind them why we need hierarchy. Why Omegas cannot be treated like equals. We make them doubt whether this Alpha can actually protect them.
Another wolf, this one named Marcus from the western patrol, frowned. And if they do not believe us?
Then we force a challenge, Riven said. We make it public. We make him have to choose between his authority and his mate. Because he will never let anything happen to her. His wolf will not allow it. And when he tries to protect her instead of fighting properly, he will lose.
The storage barn went quiet as the implications settled in.
One of the younger wolves spoke up nervously. What if he is stronger than you? What if you lose the challenge?
Riven smiled and it was not a kind expression. I will not be alone. And Ash will be distracted.
He let them picture it. An Alpha broken by his need to protect one small Omega. A pack left without leadership. A power vacuum that Riven would fill. Not with mercy. Not with weakness. But with the strength that had kept Blackwater alive for generations.
Garrett's eyes gleamed. When?
Soon, Riven said. We need time to spread doubt. To make the pack question whether Ash really has their best interests at heart. To remind them what real strength looks like.
He looked at each of them. These were the only wolves he could trust completely. The only ones who understood that progress meant going backward. That survival meant returning to what had worked before.
We plant seeds, Riven continued. We suggest that maybe the Alpha cares more about one Omega than the entire pack. We wonder aloud if his judgment is sound when he is so clearly compromised by the mate bond. We question whether an outsider should have claimed a pack he did not build.
Marcus nodded slowly. And the Omegas? Do we move against them?
Not yet, Riven said. But we remind everyone that they are still lower rank. That their new privileges are temporary. That when real strength returns to this pack, things will go back to normal.
The wolves dispersed quietly, each one carrying the seeds of rebellion that Riven had planted. By tomorrow, whispers would start. By next week, doubt would spread through the pack like poison. By the time Riven challenged, half of Blackwater would be ready for a new Alpha.
Riven was so focused on his victory that he almost missed the sound of breathing from the loft above.
He looked up sharply and caught the tail end of red hair disappearing behind the wooden supports. His body went rigid.
Sera.
The female Omega had heard everything.
Riven's hand moved toward the ladder but he stopped himself. If he went after her now, it would confirm everything she suspected. Better to let her run. Better to let her panic. Better to give her time to make her choice.
Because Sera would have to choose a side. She could go to Ash and tell him about the conspiracy, which meant Riven would have to kill her. Or she could stay quiet and watch Riven take power, which meant she survived but lost Ash's trust anyway.
Either way, Riven won.
He walked out of the storage barn and into the night, already planning the next move. The seeds were planted. The trap was set. All he had to do was wait for the Alpha to make his mistake.
And Ash would make it. Because he was in love.
And love was always a weakness.
In the loft, Sera pressed her hand over her mouth to keep from making a sound.
Her entire body was shaking. She had come to the storage barn looking for supplies for the kitchen and had stumbled into the worst possible conversation. Now she had a choice to make that would change everything.
She could tell Ash what Riven was planning.
The new Alpha who had shown her kindness. Who had protected Omegas instead of hunting them. Who had given her a chance to be something other than Kade's torture tool.
Or she could stay silent and let Riven's plan unfold. Let the old ways return. Let herself slip back into the safety of being a favorite instead of risking everything by becoming a traitor.
Sera looked down at her hands and saw the blood that was no longer there but that she could still feel. Blood from beating other Omegas. Blood from hurting Zara. Blood from surviving by becoming just as cruel as the wolves who had taught her to survive.
She had spent five years thinking that was the only way to live.
Now she had to decide if she was brave enough to choose something different.
Even if it meant betraying her own side.