Chapter 0239

My meeting with Donovan was wrapping up when Nathaniel's panicked mind link hit me like a freight train.

"Alpha, kitchen. Now." His voice came through gritted teeth, laced with pain.

"What happened?"

"Just...get...here..." Each word sounded like it cost him.

I bolted from my office, taking the stairs three at a time. The scene in the kitchen froze me mid-step.

Every pack member knelt with necks bared—including my strongest warriors. Nathaniel stood off to the side, barely upright, his submission clear despite his struggle.

At the center stood my mate, gripping Reginald's wrist as the Lead Omega knelt before her. Behind them, two young Omegas huddled against the wall, untouched by the suffocating aura that had everyone else gasping.

No time to wonder why they were immune. The pack was suffering.

"Seraphina, explain this."

She turned—and I saw Valeria's golden eyes blazing. "Drop the aura. Now."

The force hit me like a battering ram. My back foot slid half an inch before I locked my knees.

Don't you fucking kneel, Dorian.

Try me. My wolf snarled back. Submission had its place—behind closed doors, not when my mate was crushing our pack under her power.

"Talk to me. I can't fix what I don't understand."

She jerked her chin toward the cowering girls. "He was beating them."

Reginald spat on the tiles. "Lies!"

Copper flooded my tongue. Seraphina's growl shook the room. "The taste of your deceit is—"

"Metallic." I finished. Her head whipped toward me.

"Yes. Like blood and pennies." A Guardian trait I'd apparently inherited.

I crouched before the girls. The older one flinched when I reached for her bruise.

"Why are you scared of me?" I kept my voice softer than the whimper she made.

Her darting eyes landed on Reginald before skittering away. Seraphina's answering snarl made the bastard whimper.

"Answer me." I caught her chin gently. "No Omega should fear their Alpha."

The younger one pointed a shaking finger. "He said you'd banish us if we complained."

Dorian's roar in my skull matched the fury burning through my veins. Every pack member had the right to bring grievances directly to me. This corruption festered because I'd been spread too thin.

The kitchen reeked of fear and betrayal. But worst of all? The metallic stench of lies from the man who'd poisoned my pack against me.