~Prince Kaeren~
I stood motionless as two maids fussed over my cuffs with shaky fingers. One was a young thing, barely twenty.
She fumbled with a sapphire link so intensely that her grip shook, and the jewel tumbled toward the marble floor.
Before it could shatter or roll under the dresser, my hand shot out, catching it an inch from the ground. The maid gasped and her face instantly drained of color.
She dropped to her knees, her forehead nearly hitting the floor. "I—I'm so sorry, Your Highness! Please, I—"
I reached down, gripped her elbow, and pulled her to her feet. "Stand up."
I placed the link back in her hand. "Your hands are shaking because you skipped breakfast to be on time for this shift. Go to the kitchens. Tell them I ordered you a double ration. Don't let me see you faint on my rug."
"I don't like inefficiency," I added, turning away before she could thank me.
She stared at me, wide-eyed, before bowing frantically and scurrying out.
My wolf, Vane, tsked in approval. "Soft but efficient. A fainted maid is a useless maid."
I turned my gaze to the man standing by the window. Austin, my right hand and the only man in this territory I didn't want to bury, was watching me with a raised brow.
He was thirty-two, seasoned, and usually unflappable.
"You're in a good mood for a man who just found a ghost," Austin remarked.
My jaw tightened. The "ghost" was that face.
"I thought you confirmed that woman didn't exist, Austin," I snapped, waving the other maids out.
The door clicked shut, leaving us in the heavy silence of the royal suite. "I told you to find a face that was beautiful enough to be believable but obscure enough to never be found. I needed a stalling tactic, not a scandal."
I had spent three years in Spain, building my own networks and escaping the toxic sludge of the Evermont family. I came back for the throne—not just because I wanted to rule, but because it was the only way to protect my mother from her 'rehabilitation' centers and my sister from being auctioned off as a political bride.
I hated the idea of a family. The Evermonts were a nest of vipers wearing crowns. I had no intention of bringing a real wife into this bloodbath.
"I checked every registry, Kaeren. Digital, paper, hospital records—from the High Class down to the deepest pit of the Outer District. There was no one with that face. She's a glitch in the system. A beautiful, violent glitch." Austin insisted.
"And now the Council, the Delta, and my father's pet lapdogs have seen her," I hissed, grabbing my jacket. "They expect a Luna. They expect the 'Mate from Spain.' If I don't take her, they'll claim I lied to the Pack. If I do take her, I have to explain why a 'High Class Spanish beauty' looks like she just crawled out of a chimney and knows how to break a nose."
"She tasted like fire," Vane reminded me, his tongue licking his fangs. "Dirty, desperate fire. I like her more than the paper dolls."
And for a second—just a second—I wanted to know if that fire would burn the same way twice.
However, Shut up, Vane. I barked instead.
"Gather intel on her," I commanded, checking my reflection. "Every scrap. Who is she?"
"Already on it. She's a foster. Guardians are drowning in debt."
The smile that spread across my face was cold. "Good. That makes it easy. People who love money more than their blood are the easiest to buy. We won't just invite her, Austin. We'll buy and reinvent her. I want her every breath, every movement, and every thought under my thumb. She is going to play the role of my mate, and if she misses a single cue, I'll remind her why the dangerous corners of the outer district are more merciful than I am."
"And your family?"
"They'll be at the conference. Let them watch," I said, heading for the door. "The game begins today."
***
[Evermont Holdings - 12:00 PM]
The lobby of Evermont Holdings was a temple of glass and arrogance. As I stepped through the revolving doors, the loud typing stopped. The whispering ceased.
"Is that him? Prince Kaeren?" a receptionist whispered, her voice audible in the sudden vacuum of sound.
"He's even more terrifying in person," another murmured. "But so beautiful... did you see his eyes? By the Moon… He's a literal god!"
"They aren't wrong," Vane chuckled.
I ignored them, walking toward the private elevator. I was twelve minutes late… on purpose.
The conference room doors were opened by two guards, revealing the "Happy Family." At the head of the table sat my father, the Alpha—a man who loved us in his own stern way, though he had a blind spot for the chaos around him.
To his left was Lynn, his third wife, and her eldest daughter, Sloane. Lynn looked at me like I was a stain on her rug.
"Twelve minutes, Kaeren," Lynn drawled, checking her watch. "I suppose being The Alpha-to-be means clocks are merely suggestions? Or does it mean you now have the power to keep your father waiting?"
"Being the one who actually brings in the Spanish trade deals means I set the time, Lynn. Where is your son? Still recovering from his latest nightclub brawl?" I replied sarcastically, pulling out a chair.
Sloane sneered, "He's doing better than your mother, at least."
I felt Vane growl deep in my chest. "Will they ever stop using your mother's addiction against you?"
I ignored Vane and Sloane, keeping my face neutral. I'd rather bleed to death inside than display an ounce of emotion before these people.
"Brother," Julian beamed.
I looked at him. I knew that sweet tone. It was the sound of a man digging a grave and pretending he was planting a garden. He was thirty-three, born to my father's first love, and the least likeable, if you'd ask me.
"We heard the interview was... interesting. A mystery girl? I'm eager to meet the woman who captured your very guarded heart."
"You'll meet her when she's been properly settled," I said shortly.
My father cleared his throat, leaning forward. "Alright. We are here to discuss the reward shares reserved for the next Alpha. Kaeren has found his mate and is ready to take the throne."
He tapped a file on the table. "If this girl is vetted and signs the blood-bond as your mate... Kaeren will be granted seventy percent of the entire reward reserve."
The silence that followed was absolute—for exactly three seconds.
"Seventy percent?!" my Uncle, who had been silent, thundered, slamming a fist on the table. "That's nearly the entire reserve! You're handing him the kingdom on a silver platter while we scrape for crumbs all because of a kiss in Spain?!"
I knew they'd use that against me… the fact that I claimed I met my mate briefly at a nightclub, kissed before she disappeared.
Lynn stood up. "This is a joke! My children are just as much Evermonts as he is! You're making them beggars in their own house!"
Even my sister, Rose, looked surprised, though she remained silent.
"Father," Sloane spat, face already reddened. "This is a joke. He's a troublemaker who's been hiding abroad for years, and now he gets to own us all? I object. We all object!"
Amidst the chaos and the screaming, I looked at Julian.
He didn't scream and didn't object. He just watched me with that tiny, satisfied smile still on his lips.
"If the law says the Alpha takes the lion's share, then he takes it," Julian interjected, his voice rising just enough to be heard over the noise. "I support Father's decision. After all... it all depends on the girl, doesn't it?"
Vane growled at my brother's cleverness. "He knows she's a weak link. He's going to go after her the moment she steps into the light."
"She is the key," I said, standing up and cutting through the bickering.
I looked at my uncle, then at Lynn. "And the key is mine. If you want a piece of the seventy percent, I suggest you start being a lot more polite to your future Alpha."
I turned and walked out, Austin following close behind.
.
"Austin," I muttered as soon as the doors closed. "The plan has changed. We don't just buy her guardians. We erase her past. If Julian or Lynn finds out she's a shack girl before she's been polished into a Queen, we're dead. Get to that shack. If she so much as blinks wrong, the vipers will have her head."