GAMBLED TO THE RIVAL ALPHA (18+) 🌶️🌶️

{OPHELIA}

I had spent two hours in front of the vanity mirror, letting the pack’s stylized attendants pin my long, wavy red hair into an half-up style.

I hated it. I hated the way the tight pins pulled at my scalp, and I hated the stuffy, sapphire-encrusted gown that weighed down my shoulders.

But tonight was the the highest social event on the regional calendar; The inter-pack unity gala. And as the Luna-to-be of the Silver Crest Pack, I was expected to look the part of a flawless prize. A perfectly polished diamond of effeminacy, if you may.

“Hold still, Ophelia,” Silas had chided earlier, while he adjusted his silver cufflinks in the mirror behind me.

He looked every bit the golden heir of Silver Crest. With his styled blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and fine suit, he looked like a prince out of an ancient fairy tale.

“We represent the future of Silver Crest tonight," he had added. "My father expects perfection.”

'Perfection,' I thought, wrinkling my nose. It was a word Silas used often.

I took a deep breath, resting my palm against my chest. Beneath the silk of my dress, right over my heart, I could feel the faint flare of our mate bond. It wasn't a roaring flame, but a steady hum.

We had been paired by fate eight months ago, and since then, I had built my life around the sacredness of that connection. A mate bond was divine. It was the anchor of wolf culture. An unbreakable link meant to survive through time itself.

I believed in it with every fiber of my being.

"Ophelia?"

Silas’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts as our black limousine glided to a halt in front of the Grand Crystal Hall. Outside, the flash of cameras and the murmur of high-ranking wolves filled the air.

"I'm ready," I cleared my throat, putting on my best, serene Luna smile.

"Good." Silas offered me his arm, his grip firm as he escorted me out of the car. "Let's not delay."

The Grand Crystal Hall was a neutral territory venue. It was a structure of white sparkling stone, towering chandeliers, and floor-to-ceiling glass that looked out over the dark forests dividing the northern and southern territories.

Tonight, wolves from every major pack in the region were gathered under one roof. Silver Crest, Sunburst, Frostfall and the pack everyone spoke of only in hushed tones.

The Bloodmoon Pack.

As we stepped into the ballroom, the scents of expensive champagne, roasted meats, and hundreds of overlapping wolf signatures hit my nose.

Nyx, my wolf, shifted restlessly inside my mind. Her paws tapped against the plane of my subconscious.

'What is it?' I queried.

'Careful,' she whispered in response. 'Too many Alpha signatures.'

'It’s just political posturing,' I reassured her, smoothing down the front of my dress. 'We stay at Silas’s side, smile for the elders, and go home.

"Ah, the golden couple has arrived!" An elderly voice roused me from my subconscious conversation with my inner canine and I looked up.

Alpha Alexander Grey, Silas’s father, approached us with a glass of liquor in hand. With blonde hair, greying at the sides and styled similarly to his son's, the old man had eyes that mostly reflected zero warmth.

He glanced at me, nodding once in mild approval, before turning his stern gaze onto his son.

"Silas," he said. "The elders from the Council are near the east balcony. Make your rounds."

Silas gave a curt nod.

"And remember what is at stake for our pack's trade expansion this quarter." The Alpha's eyes narrowed in a subtle warning. "Don't embarrass me."

"Of course, Father," Silas replied smoothly.

However, I caught the subtle twitch in his jaw.

Alexander's gaze remained on him for seemingly eternity, before a grunt rumbled in his throat and he spun around, walking away.

"Shall we?" Silas turned to me.

"Yeah."

For the first hour, we played the dutiful political figures. I smiled until my cheeks ached, exchanged polite pleasantries with high-ranking matrons, and listened to Silas talk about Silver Crest's growing military numbers and land acquisitions.

But as the night wore on, I couldn't ignore the subtle shift in Silas’s demeanor.

He was distracted. His eyes kept darting past the crowd toward the private VIP wing of the hall—a section reserved for high-stakes gambling and confidential Alpha negotiations. He kept checking his platinum wrist watch, his fingers tapping an anxious rhythm against his thigh.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, stepping closer to him so the surrounding nobles couldn't hear. "You seem tense."

He blinked, pulling his gaze back to me. A barely visible sheen of sweat stood out on his forehead.

"I'm fine, Lia," he said, using the pet name he knew I tolerated. "Just pack business. Pressing matters."

He took a long drag from his glass, finishing the liquid in one gulp.

"What kind of pack business?" I pressed. "Is it-"

"Nothing for you to worry your pretty head about."

The snap in his tone sent my eyebrows lifting and my face flushing in embarrassment.

He caught himself, softening his expression as he reached out and touched my cheek. "I just...I just need to step away to handle a quick meeting with some investors in the VIP lounge. Stay here with Lady Arabella, alright? I’ll be back in twenty minutes."

I turned my head slightly, noticing Lady Arabella Dupont standing a few feet away near the champagne tower. She was a high-ranking noblewoman of Silver Crest. Sleek and beautiful, she had pitch-black hair, straight nose and eyes that always seemed to judge everyone around her.

She gave me a tight, polite smile, sipping her wine.

"Silas," I turned back to my mate, "your father said—"

"My father isn't playing the long game," Silas interjected sharply, dropping his hand from my face. "I am. Just wait for me here."

Before my lips could part to form a protest, he turned on his heel and made his way through the curtains that separated the main ballroom from the exclusive VIP corridors.

I stood alone in the center of the bustling room, feeling an odd chill bite into my bones.

'He's hiding something,' Nyx growled softly from deep within me. 'The bond feels filthy and sour.'

'He's just stressed about his father,' I retorted.

It was a satisfying lie meant to make myself feel better, although the churning of my stomach reflected the futility

I walked toward the perimeter of the room in an attempt to escape Arabella's silent, watchful gaze. I stepped near the grand staircase, looking down at the crowd, trying to ground myself.

That was when the atmosphere in the hall shifted. And by the moon goddess, it was instantaneous.

The lighthearted chatter dissolved to tense whispers. The orchestra seemed to falter for a beat. The air in the room was saturated with a power so dark and commanding that several lower-ranking wolves lowered their heads by instinct.

Nyx slammed her front paws down in my mind, standing at full attention.

'Alpha,' she whispered in a primal recognition.

I turned my head toward the main entrance doors.

Stepping into the hall was a man who looked like he had been sculpted out of shadow and a dark authority.

He was extraordinarily tall—at least six-foot-four—with a broad frame that stretched the fabric of his custom-tailored suit. His dark hair was styled back, revealing a fine jawline. His eyes were a striking, vibrant shade of forest green. Those jade orbs were seemingly hypnotic enough to freeze someone in place.

'Diego Pereira,' the words echoed in my head as I swallowed a lump that formed in my throat.

That was the infamous "Vicious Alpha" of the Bloodmoon Pack. Stories about him were legendary across the territories. They said he was a monster on the battlefield. An Alpha who expanded his borders without mercy, executing traitors without a second thought or even as much as a blink. Whispers claimed his wolf was a ginormous, bloodthirsty beast that answered to no one.

Diego looked like a king surveying a conquered territory. Beside him walked Miguel, his Beta, a man with sharp features, and not far off was a scarred, stoic Gamma who scanned the room like a hawk.

Diego didn't spare the staring crowd a single glance. His eyes swept over the place with a stoic indifference.

Then, his gaze shifted upward. Toward the balcony where I stood.

And our eyes locked.

It lasted for only two seconds, but in those two seconds, a strange spark shot straight down my spine seemingly pulling the air right out of my lungs. Diego’s eyebrows pulled together slightly as his gaze roamed around me. From my red hair, down to the dress, and then back to my face.

An almost undetected smirk touched the corner of his lips before he broke eye contact, turning casually toward the VIP wing—the very same wing Silas had disappeared into minutes ago.

My heart banged against my ribs like a trapped bird.

'What was that?' I gasped mentally to my wolf.

Nyx didn't answer. She was at the edge of my consciousness, staring after the dark Alpha, her tail swaying in intrigue.

I looked down at my trembling hands. Silas was in that private room, and now the most dangerous Alpha in the realm had just walked in right behind him.

An ominous pit opened in the bottom of my stomach.