Chapter 4

When Darius married Dorothy three years ago, she was nothing but a penniless, jobless omega with an extraordinarily rare blood type. He had been practical about it - a resource to be claimed before other packs discovered her value. He wasn't even sure if she'd finished college, or if she'd ever gone to one. Come to think of it, he also had no idea where she'd been living before he brought her to Silver Creek territory. The background check his enforcers had run was perfunctory at best - they'd confirmed her blood type and little else. As Alpha, he hadn't needed more. He also realized, with a faint prickle of guilt, that he'd never cared what part of the continent she'd run from before she entered his territory. Once she became his mate in name, she sank quietly into housewolf duties in the Luna's wing: gentle, silent, her wolf nearly invisible in the bustling hierarchy of Silver pack. She was a shadow—always present, never seen. Now, she'd left with nothing but the clothes he saw her in last—no claim to the territory, no demand for compensation, not even a plea for sanctuary. Yet sometimes, when he crossed the threshold, his wolf twitched—expecting her. Missing her. How was she supposed to fend for herself now, with nothing and no one? Would her wolf even remember how to survive alone after years of submission? Darius dreaded the emptiness her absence left. He ran through possibilities, each one making his muscles tense, his Alpha's instincts bristling. Had she reached her old pack? Was she holed up in some hospital room, weaker than before? Did she have anyone left in the world? His wolf growled, agitated. He barked a command to his Beta. “Leif, contact the clinic's director. I want all security footage for the past hour—this wing and the parking compound. And send two enforcers to my estate. If they spot Dorothy anywhere near the territory boundary, report to me directly.” "Yes, Alpha," Leif nodded, immediately pulling out his phone. The Beta's eyes betrayed a question he wouldn't dare voice: why such urgency over an omega the Alpha had publicly dismissed? Darius ignored the unspoken query. His wolf was restless, unsatisfied. The pack's resource—rare blood that could sustain Isolde through her pregnancy—had walked out. He needed to track it. That was all. That had to be all. He told himself it had nothing to do with the memory of Dorothy's scent fading from their bedroom, or the empty spaces in the closet she'd left behind—or the fact that, foolishly, she'd never once complained during three years of being treated as less than Luna. *** Dorothy's POV I started fidgeting as the Rolls Royce pulled into the circular driveway in front of the five-storey house perched atop a hill. My wolf stirred anxiously, recognizing the scents of home territory after three long years away. Grand and leafy trees, some of which were a hundred years old, stood silently like sentries, guarding the front entrance, welcoming me home. The Blackwood pack lands always had this effect—ancient, powerful, protective. Lucian got out, held open the door for me. His Alpha scent, similar to our father's but with its own distinct notes, washed over me reassuringly. I climbed out, walked past green lawns and flowering shrubs on both sides, jogged up the stone steps, paused at the threshold. I hesitated, uncertain of her welcome after such a long absence. "Go on." Lucian gave me a bolstering pat on the shoulder, “the Black Wood pack has found their lost princess.” I stepped inside, and everything was just as I’d left it. The same sun through the same windows. The same scent of cedar polish and distant jasmine. As if the house had waited, holding its breath for three years. Tall arched windows let in plenty of natural light, illuminating my father as he rose to his feet. Matthias McAllister—Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, set down the newspaper he'd clearly been pretending to read. He rose slowly, his powerful frame unfolding as he faced me. "So, you've finally decided to end your rebellion and come back to your pack?" I launched myself into my father's arms,burst into tears. His scent—pine, authority, home—enveloped me completely. Dad sighed, one large hand stroking my back in slow, soothing motions. "You didn't even let me finish my speech. I had a whole thing prepared about wayward wolves and pack loyalty." I smiled through my tears, feeling the vibration of his chest against my cheek. "You can still lecture me, Alpha Matthias. I'm all ears." My father pulled back, studying my face with eyes that missed nothing，he shook his head. "Looks like Silver Pack has punished you enough." Anger flashed across his eyes. I cowered slightly, though I knew the anger wasn't directed at me.He was thinking about Darius. Like Lucian, he had used his own resources to monitor my situation, discreetly and from a distance. The pack bonds, though strained by my voluntary exile, had never fully broken. The more he learned about the kind of life I led in the Silver Creek pack, the more he grew to despise Darius. If not for his promise to me, he'd have challenged Darius years ago, Alpha to Alpha. "I'm sorry, Daddy," I whispered, guilt washing over me as I thought about what I'd put him through. "I suppose you've learned your lesson." His voice softened, the Alpha giving way to the father. "I have." "All done with that Silverclaw wolf?" A hint of a growl threaded through the question. "All done." And I meant it. Matthias considered me for a moment, his expression softening. "The Moon Goddess creates many wolves for many reasons, honey. Your true mate is still out there." I smiled. "I know, Daddy." Lucian perched on the arm of a sofa, his posture relaxed. "I've booked a private room at Lutter & Wegner. Eight o'clock reservation." "Good."Dad seemed to have just realized his eldest son was also in the room. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" "I took the day off." Lucian grinned, flashing canines briefly. "Which, as the boss, I'm entitled to. I wouldn't miss Dolly's homecoming for the world." "But now that your job's done, don't you think the pack business needs tending? The company's not going to run itself, you know." The Alpha tone returned. "Speaking of pack business," Lucian replied, "Dolly has agreed to take her position in the pack hierarchy. We can discuss details over dinner." "Well now, that's a pleasant surprise."Dad said. Before I left three years ago, my father had been grooming me for a management position within the Blackwood Pack's holdings. Despite being an omega, I had inherited the McAllister business acumen, was ruthless at the negotiating table, but still needed some honing in the area of strategic planning. My father never saw my omega status as a limitation—in the Blackwood pack, every wolf contributed according to their strengths. Dad hoped to groom me-his youngest daughter to eventually take the helm of the entire group. In his mind, being an omega just meant I'd bring different, equally valuable qualities to leadership. I nodded firmly. "I’m not just ready to serve, Daddy. I’m ready to lead." I had wasted three years chasing a mate bond that never formed, ignoring my wolf's increasingly distressed whines. Now that I'd had my heart thoroughly shredded by Silver pack's rejection, it was time to embrace my true place in the wolf hierarchy. "That's my girl,but work can wait till tomorrow. Come, let me show you to your old room." Dad took me by the hand, steered me towards the spiraling central staircase. "Billinger kept everything as it was." "How is Uncle Bill?" I asked, perking up at the mention of our pack's Beta, who had helped raise me. Tall, gangly, with a mind like a steel trap, Uncle Bill was one of the respected elders of the pack. "He's fine. Just ran out for groceries. He knows how much you like those Ruby Roman grapes." The mention of the pack elder remembering my preferences made me feel truly welcomed back. I bounded into my old bedroom, flung myself onto the Super Caesar-sized bed, inhaled the lavender scent of the freshly laundered sheets, then hugged Po, my favorite childhood stuffed toy in the shape of a giant panda. Uncle Bill never missed a trick. He'd kept my space ready, as though confident I would return to the pack where I belonged. "You should take a nap." Dad said from the doorway, his Alpha scent protective and soothing. "I'll come and get you when it's time to go out for dinner." "Okay. Thanks, Daddy." Author's POV Alpha Matthias watched until Dorothy's eyes drifted closed before pulling the door shut. His powerful presence commanded respect.Lucian was waiting for him downstairs. Matthias sat down, folded both hands over his lap. “Now, tell me what you found about the Silver Creek pack. I don't want the publicity stuff. I want the dirt.” Lucian brought up a passcoded file on his tablet, scanned it to refresh his memory. “We can start with a she-wolf called Isolde Reed…” After a three-hour strategy dinner that ended well past midnight, Alpha Matthias tucked Dorothy into bed, pressing a kiss to her forehead before slipping out into the hall. Downstairs in his study, Lucian was already waiting with a dossier spread out across the desk. Plans for the week were scrawled with ruthless precision—pack business, alliance maneuvering, and one particular event in bold lettering: WELCOME BACK GALA — DOROTHY OF BLACKWOOD PACK AS HEIR “The guest list?” Matthias asked, sipping his aged whiskey. “Handled.” Lucian flicked a finger across his tablet and narrowed his eyes. “You'll be happy to know the Silverclaws are at the top of it.” Matthias gave a dangerous smirk, the kind only an Alpha who'd been challenged too many times and had never lost could wear. “Let them come see what they threw away.”