Page 79 of The Reaper's Vow
I turn, breath catching despite the fury in my veins. Karina stands in the doorway, wrapped in one of my black shirts. The fabric hangs loose, but the slip from her shoulder bares the silver mark glowing against her skin.
“I told you to wait in my room,” I growl, but she doesn’t even glance my way.
“Alpha Hudson.” Her stride is steady, her shoulders squared. Authority edges every movement now. “I understand Lockhart is requesting a meeting.”
My father inhales sharply, nostrils flaring as her scent fills the room—me woven into her, layered with the sweet musk of a sealed bond. The air hums with it, and my wolf preens with satisfaction even as I fight the urge to drag her behind me.
“Indeed,” Hudson says carefully, weighing every word. “Though I fail to see how this concerns you.”
“It concerns me because I'm what he wants,” Karina replies, moving further into the room despite my silent command to stay back. “And I think it's time we gave it to him.”
“No.” I move between her and my father, my body forming a barrier she'll have to go through to reach him. “Whatever you're thinking, the answer is fucking no.”
“You haven't heard what I'm thinking yet.”
“I don't need to hear it. I can feel it.” I turn to face her fully, my hands finding her shoulders. “You want to meet with him. To face him down like some kind of alpha challenge.”
Her chin lifts, and there it is—that stubborn defiance that makes me want to lock her in a tower and throw away the key. “Maybe that's exactly what this is.”
“Over my dead body.”
“That can be arranged,” my father interjects. “If you continue to defy me in my own territory.”
I whirl toward him, my wolf surging so close to the surface that my vision edges with gold. “Try me, old man.”
“Stop.” Karina's hand finds my arm, her touch immediately calming the beast beneath my skin. “This isn't helping anyone.”
“Neither is throwing yourself at Lockhart’s mercy like a fucking martyr, Karina.”
“Listen to me,” she says. “Lockhart wants me. Not you. Not your pack. He wants to use my bloodline to build his empire.”
“Which is exactly why you're not going anywhere near him,” I snarl, moving to block her path to my father's desk.
She sidesteps me, and for a split second her wolf ripples through the movement—no longer cornered, but alert, sharp, ready. “But he can’t have any of those things now, can he?”
My father leans forward, the calculation in him stirring. “To my knowledge, no one has ever rejected such a bond. In theory, you are beyond his reach.”
“Don’t feed her ideas,” I snap, but Karina doesn’t so much as glance at me.
“You said it yourself, Damien—he’s been watching me for years. Building his fantasy, deciding what I could bring him, the power he could amass through me.” She steps closer to Hudson’s desk, every instinct in me screaming to pull her back, but I hold still as her defiance burns brighter. “Now imagine his frustrationwhen he realizes all of it is gone. That dream dies here, and he’ll want blood for it. Yours. Mine. This pack. Maybe even Bellandis.”
My father tilts his head, considering her words with a kind of detached intrigue. “She makes a fair point, son.”
“Stay out of this, father.” My teeth clench as I step forward, bracing against the tension snapping through the air. “This isn’t your conversation. It’s between her and me.”
“No, it’s not, Damien. This isn’t just about me. I am a box Lockhart wants to check to secure his power base, and he wants me so desperately, he’s willing to enter two different alphas’ territories to get me. He’s not going to stop.” Karina steps forward, her eyes never leaving mine. “Use me as bait. Let Lockhart think he still has a chance. Draw him out and end this once and for all.”
“Absolutely fucking not.”
“Actually,” my father interjects, “that might be worth discussing.”
I whirl on him, ready to rip his throat out, but he holds up a hand.
“Think about it, Damien. If Lockhart believes she's available, he'll be less cautious. More vulnerable. We could set a trap that would eliminate this threat permanently.”
“And put her directly in harm’s way? Have you lost your fucking mind?” I pace the room like a caged predator, unease crawling under my skin. “He’ll notice that her scent has changed. Any wolf with half a nose would catch it instantly. Not to mention my mark.”
My father leans back in his chair, fingers steepled beneath his chin as if he’s already ten steps ahead. “Not necessarily. Not if we’re deliberate about where the meeting happens. Neutral ground, so pack law holds. Somewhere dense with other scents—enough to smother what she carries for now. And she’s still inher cycle. That alone could be enough to muddy the trail. Long enough for us to draw Lockhart in… and finish this.”
