"Did you notice? She needed two separate transfers to reach that amount—nine thousand five hundred, then five hundred more. She didn't even have enough in her own stores."
"I think Lyra might have truly lost her senses. She spent more time in the dens than anyone this past year, and now at season's end, she gets nothing? Not a single mark of reward, and she has to give tribute on top of it? I would lose my mind too."
Their words stung like silver against bare skin, but every syllable fell within my expectations.
Soon enough, the pack liaison Lily came to summon me. The Alpha wished to see me.
I entered Aurora's private chambers within the central den. She was draped in fine furs, her golden eyes bright with satisfaction, her Alpha scent thick and commanding in the enclosed space.
When she saw me, she threw back her head and laughed, the sound echoing off stone walls. Then she crossed the room and clapped a hand on my shoulder, her grip firm enough to remind me of the power difference between us.
"Lyra, honestly, what are you doing? You're not a pup anymore—why are you playing these stubborn games with me? That tribute demand was just a misunderstanding, nothing more. You're the heart of our pack's tracking operations, and more than that, you're my sister-in-bond. How could I ever let you feel so wronged?"
The Alpha spoke to me with the same familiar warmth she always used, treating me as an equal, a packmate, a friend.
But I had made my decision. I would never again swallow the empty promises she dangled before me.
Ten years ago, Aurora and I had shared a den during our training years.
She was born of Alpha blood, heir to the wealthy Frostveil lineage. I was a poor omega with nothing but sharp instincts and a gift for tracking.
After our training ended, Aurora wanted to establish her own territory. She would provide the resources and connections; I would provide the skills and strategies.
Ten years of building together, and now our pack numbered in the hundreds—a territory of real significance. But the mark-rights Aurora had promised me, the tribute shares she had sworn would be mine—none of it had ever materialized.
This time, she had used the promise of ten thousand marks as seasonal reward to string me along for another full year.
But I would not be deceived again.