Page 23

Chapter

Twenty

T he walk to Matthews' temporary quarters gave Mia time to compose herself.

Her wolf paced restlessly beneath her skin, hungry for confrontation, but she needed to be calculated.

Cold. The psychologist rather than the Alpha.

Through the mate bond, Jim's heartbeat created a steady rhythm against her own—still there, still fighting. Still mine, she thought fiercely.

Matthews' scent hit her nostrils before she reached his door—expensive cologne attempting to mask something sour and wrong beneath.

Like silk draped over rotting meat. She inhaled deeply, confirming what she'd suspected since the first challenge: beneath the wolf musk lay the unmistakable copper-sweet scent of vampire blood.

She knocked once, firmly.

"Enter." Matthews' voice carried that irritating confidence that had grated on her nerves from the first moment he'd set foot in Wolf Valley.

The guest cabin was sparse—just a bed, table, and two chairs—but Matthews had somehow made it look like a military command center.

Maps covered one wall, with red pins marking locations throughout the territory like drops of blood on snow.

A silver flask sat open on the table, releasing tendrils of that copper-sweet smell into the air.

Matthews stood by the window, his perfect posture almost comical in its rigidity. Dying sunlight caught the silver in his dark hair, giving him an aristocratic appearance that might have been attractive if Mia hadn't known what lurked beneath.

"Alpha Lee." He turned, a practiced smile spreading across his face like oil on water. "To what do I owe this pleasure? Checking on your competition?"

Her wolf snarled at his presumption, but Mia kept her expression neutral. She closed the door behind her with a soft click. Through the bond, she felt Jim stir—even poisoned, he sensed her elevated emotions.

"I had some questions about the challenge today." She moved further into the room, casually glancing at the maps. Territory markings, but with unusual notations she didn't recognize.

"Ah, yes. Unfortunate business with that contaminated wolf." Matthews gestured to the empty chair with the magnanimity of a king granting an audience. "Please, sit."

"I prefer to stand." Mia positioned herself where she could see both the door and Matthews. "Interesting how that creature knew exactly where to find us, don't you think?"

A flash of something—irritation? concern?—crossed Matthews' face before disappearing beneath that perfect smile. "Territorial invasions have increased recently. We've had similar problems in the Northern Pack."

Mia tilted her head, studying him with clinical precision. "Interesting theory. But that doesn't explain how the creature knew exactly who to attack."

Matthews leaned against the windowsill, the picture of casual confidence. The dying light cast strange shadows across his too- perfect features. "Perhaps it sensed the competition. Animals can be quite intuitive."

"Yes, they can." Mia took a deliberate step closer, inhaling deeply. "They can smell fear, lies... vampire blood."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. Matthews' smile remained fixed, but his scent shifted subtly—adrenaline spiking through the artificial cologne like lightning through clouds.

"A serious accusation, Alpha Mia." His voice dropped lower, honey over broken glass. "Especially from someone whose judgment might be... compromised by personal feelings."

"You mean Jim." She kept her voice even, analytical, though hearing his name on Matthews' lips made her wolf bare its teeth. "Let's discuss him. Funny how he was the only one injured today."

"Pure coincidence."

"Like the arena explosion during the first challenge? Another coincidence that nearly eliminated him?"

Matthews' smile tightened, showing too many teeth. "You seem determined to see conspiracies where there are none."

Mia circled the table slowly, trailing her fingers along the worn wood. Each movement calculated, predatory. "Did you know that as a psychologist, I'm trained to notice patterns? Micro-expressions, vocal shifts, pupil dilation. The body betrays what words try to hide."

"Fascinating." Matthews crossed his arms, muscles coiling beneath his expensive shirt. "But irrelevant."

"Is it?" She stopped directly across from him, close enough to see the unnatural sheen in his eyes.

"Your pupils dilated when I mentioned vampire blood.

Your right hand twitched—classic stress response.

And your scent..." She inhaled dramatically, letting him see her process the information.

"Even expensive cologne can't mask that distinctive copper smell. "

Matthews' facade slipped for a fraction of a second, revealing something cold and ancient in his eyes. Through the bond, Jim's presence flared—protective instinct breaking through the poison's hold.

"You're making a mistake, Mia." The threat in Matthews' voice was silk-wrapped but unmistakable.

"No, you made the mistake." She tapped her temple, allowing herself a small smile. "You underestimated what a deadline wolf learns to notice when they can't rely on shifting. I've been watching you since you arrived, and everything about you is just... slightly wrong."

A muscle twitched in Matthews' jaw. "Be careful, Alpha."

"Tell me about the blood trafficking." Mia leaned forward, placing her palms flat on the table. The wood was smooth, worn by years of use, grounding her. "Is it just a side business, or is that why you're really here? Wolf Valley sits on a strategic border, after all."

"You have no idea what you're talking about." His voice remained steady, but the black veins briefly visible at his collar told another story.

"Don't I?" Mia raised an eyebrow. "Vampire blood enhances werewolf strength.

Makes us faster, stronger. Almost unstoppable.

But it comes with a price, doesn't it? Addiction.

Dependence. Eventual corruption." She nodded toward the silver flask, its contents glowing faintly in the dying light.

"How many times a day do you need a fix now, Matthews? "

His composed expression wavered like a mask cracking. "You're making dangerous accusations without proof."

"The proof is in your veins." Mia pushed harder, using every technique she'd learned about breaking down psychological defenses. "Did you start by choice, or were you forced? How long before the benefits weren't worth the side effects? The rage, the blackouts, the loss of control?"

Something dark flickered in Matthews' eyes—pain, maybe, or recognition. "You think you understand, but you don't."

"Then explain it to me. Psychologist to patient." She softened her tone deliberately, creating an opening. The same voice she'd used with countless broken wolves. "How did someone like you—an Alpha, respected, powerful—end up dependent on vampire blood?"

The calculated vulnerability worked. Matthews' posture shifted slightly, a crack appearing in his perfect facade.

"It started as an edge. Just a drop, before important negotiations." His voice took on a distant quality, as if seeing another time. "The Northern Territory borders three vampire clans. We needed something to level the playing field."

There, Mia thought. The truth always wants to come out.

"Then my benefactor approached me. Offered a more... sustainable arrangement. Said the old ways of vampire-wolf relations were changing, that there were opportunities for those willing to evolve."

Mia nodded encouragingly, while her heart raced with triumph. Through the bond, she felt Jim's attention sharpen—even through the poison, he was tracking her progress.

"One drop became two. Then a vial. Then..." Matthews gestured to the flask with something like self-loathing. "The strength it gives is... intoxicating. I could protect my pack better than any Alpha in history."

"But then they had leverage over you," Mia suggested gently, her voice holding false understanding. "The vampires controlling the supply."

Matthews' laugh was bitter as winter wind. "You catch on quickly. Yes, the price kept increasing. Territory. Information. Eventually... distribution services."

"The blood trafficking."

He nodded once, sharply. "It's a billion-dollar underground market. Supernatural blood has... effects on various species. Vampires discovered they could dilute werewolf blood to sell to humans—gives them temporary strength, heightened senses. Our blood, their distribution network."

Mia kept her expression sympathetic, though her wolf raged at the admission. Her pack's blood, sold like a commodity. "And Wolf Valley?"

"Strategic location." Matthews straightened, some of his composure returning like armor sliding back into place. "Your territory connects three major underground routes. With the right leadership, it could become the central hub for the entire southern distribution network."

"With you as Alpha."

"With me as Alpha," he confirmed, a hint of his earlier arrogance returning. "Your pack would be protected, wealthy beyond imagination. The Council would never need to know."

Mia leaned back, making a show of considering his words while internally cataloguing every detail. "And if I were to go to the Council with what I know?"

Matthews' smile turned predatory, all pretense of charm evaporating.

"What exactly do you know, Mia? You have no evidence.

No proof. Just the word of an Alpha with obvious feelings for her competition.

" He spread his hands in mock innocence.

"Who would they believe? The respected Alpha Matthews with an impeccable bloodline, or the former deadline wolf trying to manipulate the Mating Challenge? "

His confidence grated against her nerves, but Mia kept her expression neutral.

Through the bond, Jim's presence flickered—weaker now. Time running short.

"You make a compelling point." She forced a smile.

"I usually do." Matthews moved closer, his scent—wolf musk and vampire blood—filling her nostrils like poison. "Consider a different path. Accept me as your mate. Together, we could build something extraordinary."

"And Jim?" The question came out steadier than she felt.

Just thinking about Jim—dying, fighting, still trying to protect her through their bond—made her chest ache.

Something dark and cold flickered in Matthews' eyes. “Could be an unfortunate casualty. But, I’ll keep him alive. Just to please you. The venom will ensure he's no longer a concern."

The casual dismissal of Jim's life—her mate, her heart, her everything—nearly shattered her control. But she forced herself to nod thoughtfully, even as her wolf howled for blood.

She turned toward the door. "I need time to consider my options."

"Of course." His voice carried false magnanimity. "But don't take too long. The final challenge approaches, and decisions must be made."

At the door, Mia paused. "You've given me a lot to think about."

"I hope you make the wise choice, Alpha Lee." The threat beneath his words hung in the air between them like smoke.

With a final nod, Mia stepped outside, closing the door behind her. The evening air hit her face, clean and pine-scented after the corruption of Matthews' cabin.

Only when she was several yards away did she allow herself a small, satisfied smile, fingers brushing over the phone in her pocket where the recording app still ran.

"Got you, son of a bitch," she muttered, the smell of pine and approaching rain cleansing the stench of vampire blood from her nostrils.

Her victory was short-lived.

"Looking for something?" Matthews' voice came from directly behind her, his hand closing around her wrist with supernatural speed.

Mia hadn't heard him approach—impossible for a regular werewolf, even an Alpha. The hybrid strength from the vampire blood had enhanced his abilities beyond what her senses could track. Her heart slammed against her ribs as she realized how badly she'd underestimated him.

Matthews' fingers dug into her wrist with bruising force, making her bones grind together. Her hand opened involuntarily, the phone tumbling to the pine-needle covered ground between them.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" His voice carried no emotion as he crushed the phone beneath his designer boot. The crack of breaking plastic and glass echoed in the quiet forest like gunshots. "Amateur move, Mia. I expected better."

Mia's wolf surged forward, fangs pressing against her gums, claws itching to extend. She was physically smaller than Matthews, but she was an Alpha too—and this was her territory. Through the bond, Jim's alarm spiked, his wolf raging against the poison that kept him from reaching her.

"You've made a fatal mistake, Matthews." She kept her voice steady despite the racing of her heart. Through their connection, she sent Jim a fleeting thought— If this goes wrong, know that I love you. That you were always my choice. Always my heart.

"You should have killed me while you had the chance."