Page 69 of The Reaper's Vow
“Anselm must be getting sloppy with his security if outsiders were able to breach his walls.”
“The Bellandi security protocols aren’t what concern me, father. It’s Lockhart’s obsession with my mate.”
“Wouldn’t you be obsessed with such a rare female within claw’s reach?” Hudson continues, settling into his chair with the glass cradled in his hands. “Lockhart wants power, and more territory. He gets both with her.”
“He willneverhave Karina,” Damien snarls.
The whiskey burns my throat as I take sip, but I welcome the distraction from the chaos in my mind. “So, what now? Do I spend the rest of my life running?”
“You take up your birthright.”
I nearly choke on my second sip. “My what?”
“You are the rightful heir to the Rosewood pack lands—territory that’s been disputed since your mother disappeared. Your uncle, Remus, was her successor, but he didn’t hold it long. You may very well be the last of the true Rosewood line. Remus died childless. With the right backing, you could take back what’s yours.”
“I don't want territory.”
“Are you rejecting my son? Because he is my heir and will inherit this pack and territory.”
I feel Damien's immediate, violent rejection of that idea. His wolf snarls beneath his skin, protective and possessive.
“I'm not rejecting him.”
Hudson assesses me with new interest. “So, you accept what you are? What your bloodline means?”
My head spins with too many revelations. Elena Rosewood. Female alpha. Disputed territories. I've spent my entire life running from the wolf inside me, calling her a monster, keeping her caged. What if she's been something else all along—not a curse but a birthright?
“I don't know what I accept yet,” I admit, setting the whiskey glass on Hudson's desk with a soft clink. “But I know I won't keep running.”
Damien moves closer, his presence steadying me even without physical contact.
“The full moon is tomorrow night,” Hudson says, rising from his chair. “If you complete the bond with my son, you’ll be under Marek protection. No wolf would dare challenge a pair carrying both our bloodlines.”
My jaw tightens. “Is that why you’re suddenly fine with me at Damien’s side? Because of who my mother was?”
“Don’t mistake practicality for acceptance,” Hudson replies coldly. “I had plans for my son. Years of negotiations with the DeLupo pack, territory exchanges, political alliances—all of it undone because of you.” His gaze pierces through me, weighing my worth against his abandoned ambitions. “But I’m not blind. A Rosewood female bound to my son? That’s a power play no alpha in his right mind would turn down.”
Damien bristles beside me. “You will take care in how you speak about her.”
“Watch your tone,” Hudson warns sharply. “I am still your Alpha.” His attention snaps back to me. “Yes, this changes everything. Marek and Rosewood united could forge thestrongest pack the West Coast has seen in centuries. The wolves you’ll create…”
“I’m not a broodmare,” I bite out. “I won’t be used to churn out some super-pack just because my mother was an alpha.”
“You think too small, girl. This isn’t about breeding. It’s about reclaiming what was stolen when your parents vanished. The Rosewood lands lie fractured, carved up by lesser alphas who fed like vultures. With you as heir, and my son by your side, we could restore the order that should have been.”
“What if I don't want any of it? I want Damien, but that’s it. I don’t need lands or packs. None of that. Just him.”
“Then you're a fool,” Hudson says bluntly. “Lockhart won't stop hunting you. Neither will the others who want the Rosewood territory through you. You can run, but eventually someone will find you. The question is whether you'll face them as a victim or as the alpha you were born to be.”
“I don't know how to be an alpha.”
“Neither did your mother. Elena was twenty-three when she first manifested alpha traits. Younger than you are now.”
My wolf perks up at this information, pressing closer to my consciousness like she's been waiting for this conversation her entire life. The sensation is so intense it makes me dizzy.
“How do you know so much about my mother?” I ask, sinking into one of the leather chairs facing his desk. My legs won't support me anymore.
Hudson exchanges a look with Damien that I can't interpret. “Because I was there when she challenged the Blackrock Alpha for territory. Watched her tear his throat out with nothing but claws and fury.” His stare drifts somewhere far away. “Your mother was magnificent. And terrifying.”
