Kate brought the tray of empty glasses back behind the bar and started running them through the dishwasher with even, methodic movements. In the same set of moves, she took two more bottles of the pinot noir and pitcher of lager and placed them on her tray to take over to the crowd of lycans. Wordlessly, she refilled glasses, took more empties, acknowledged orders, and retreated again.

Darius had dropped off several trays of his famous foie gras and several baguettes for her to toast and serve before locking himself in the office. Pack business was apparently going well, judging by almost every lycan being a high-level beta, though Harper was nowhere to be seen. Even a few female gammas had been allowed to come, flanking a pair of timid omegas.

The rare appearance of the females had sparked the younger males to push the tables against the wall, get Kate to crank up the music, and turned the night into an impromptu party that only a tight-knit community like the wolves could pull off. There was dancing and laughing. A delta tried his hand at flirting with one of the omegas and was immediately chased off by the other females.

The pack was in a good mood. It was the perfect opportunity for her to build a better relationship with some of the other betas and get to know some of the females. Omegas were so rarely let out of the pack houses, and this was probably the only time she would ever see them.

And yet... she floated through the night. Caught in a limbo of being physically in the bar while her mind wandered miles away to another. To that nightclub. To him.

Cyrille.

A mix of rage, hurt, and frustration welled in her throat every time she let herself think his name. Each time her magic came to the surface, and the bracelet burned. Even though she hadn't been able to find one of the bracelets, it was surprisingly easy to push it back down. She should have taken an extra minute to find the damn thing, but the last thing she wanted was to still be there when Cyrille got back.

That had to be the effect of feeding. He was right. She wouldn't be out of control all the time if she didn't restrict her diet. Damn him. Damn him to the deepest circles of hell, or the veil, or whatever pit he had crawled out of. Screw him and his cocky, know-it-all smirk that made her heart do a river dance.

What would her father think if he knew?! Actually... wait... That was the wrong question. Her father probably would have wholly approved of what and who she did. What would her mother think?! Yeah, she... no, damnit, her too. Not necessarily approved, but she wouldn't want to kill Cyrille the way that Kate wanted to.

She shook her head and ran her hands through her hair to tug at the roots. It didn't matter what her parents would have thought of her sleeping with Cyrille. She hadn't seen them in over fifteen years. She only had herself, and she didn't approve.

She wanted to speak to Danika. That vampire had a good sense about men. If she were here, she would take one look at Cyrille, what he was doing to her, and knock Kate upside the head until her sense came back.

Someone touched her elbow, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Darius pulled her aside, so they were standing at the door of the kitchen. "Don't freak out," he told her quietly.

Panic immediately started to rise in her chest. "What happened?" she hissed.

"Nothing... yet."

"Darius, I swear to- what is going to happen then?"

The bar suddenly went completely quiet. Deadly quiet. Kate turned to see what was going on, and Darius's grip on her elbow tightened. Ice filled her veins, and she couldn't believe her eyes.

The werewolves were all down on one knee, kneeling to three males standing at the door. She didn't know who the other two were but standing ahead of them was none other than Aarón-fucking-Guerrero. The werewolf king. The very man she had tried to kill barely a week prior.

She needed to run. She needed to run now!

Darius kept her in place. "I said don't freak out," he reminded her in a whisper. "Do you know who they are?"

"The Alpha King," she breathed.

"Yes. On the left is Alpha Phillipe Courture. On the right is Alpha Jean Claude la Chapelle."

She felt sick. One alpha was bad enough, three alphas were unheard of. Then again... she'd heard that the Alpha King's own pack was full of alphas. "What are they doing here?" she looked up at Darius, still thinking that she should get the fuck out of there as soon as possible.

"It's the omega trade. It's usually done very privately to keep casualties to a minimum. But Guerrero wants to change that. He wants to show the world that the werewolves can be united."

"I shouldn't be here," she took a step back further into the kitchen. "I have to go, Darius, I can't-"

Darius's grip tightened again. "Aarón told me what you tried to do," he whispered. "He's not angry with you. But he does want to talk after the trade."

"Please no," she shook her head and tried to pull his hand loose. "I didn't... I didn't technically do anything. Please, if the rest of the pack finds out..."

"You can't run away from this one, Kate. I'll be right beside you the whole time. You've trusted me this far, kid. All I'm asking is to hang onto that a little longer."

"It has been a hell of a month, Darius. I am fresh out of trust."

"Please."

She stopped fighting and met his eyes. What the hell was wrong with her lately? "I am so leaving you in the freezer next week." She spat. "You know those stupid puppy-dog eyes never would have worked on me five years ago."

"Five years ago, you could barely open a bottle of beer without hiding under the table. So I'd say this is a good step forward."

"I hate you."

"Love you too, kid."

Her mouth fell open, but before she could say anything else, he half-dragged her back out to the main room to stand at his side behind the bar. It was still quiet, but the mood had lightened somewhat. There were more lycans than before, many of whom she didn't recognize. They must have been from Courture's pack.

Another group of females had arrived and joined with the first group. Seeing the four omegas together, they all looked uncomfortably similar, sharing the same light hair, light eyes, and dimples as La Chapelle. She leaned closer to Darius so none of the other wolves would hear her question. "The four of them could be sisters."

"Two of them are," he whispered back. "La Chapelle's daughters. The other two are his second cousins."

"Thank you all for coming," La Chapelle called over the crowd, and the noise immediately died out. "The trading of omegas is an honored tradition amongst the Parisian werewolf packs. A tradition that my family has participated in for generations. A tradition that we now share with our Alpha King,"

Heads lowered while glasses and flagons raised towards Aarón. Kate stole a look at him while his attention was on the other male. Gods be damned, he was big. Tall, compared to her, but not the tallest among the other alphas. The rest of him was built like a fucking powerlifter. He looked like he could rip her essence out with his bare hands. She knew she recognized him from... somewhere. He was so familiar, but she just couldn't...

"Now, it is my pleasure to introduce this generation's omegas from the La Chapelle pack. My own daughters, Lisette and Coraline la Chapelle. Phillipe, as alpha, you are within your right to claim them as your mates."

Kate leaned in closer to Darius again. "Do none of them see how weird it is that they're trading living beings like they're Pokémon cards?"

"Don't be a smartass," he hissed, an edge coming to his voice. "Not your breed, not your culture."

"I didn't ask to be here, don't get cranky with me when I question your morals."

"Morals tend to take a back seat when your breed is threatened by a lack of reproduction."

She snorted a little too loudly and earned a glare from the nearest pair of deltas. "You live an average of eight hundred years and are considered contagious. You don't have a reproduction problem; you have a P.R. problem."

Darius clenched his jaw but didn't answer. Kate turned her attention back to the alphas. The La Chapelle sisters were now standing on the Courture side of the bar while Philippe presented the omegas from his pack. "I present Allira Lavigne and Brittany Garnier. Jean, they are too close to your blood to be claimed by you or your sons. Instead, as we discussed," He turned to Aarón. "Alpha King, I offer you the omegas of the Courture pack. Both would most certainly bear you strong pups."

The lack of reaction from the packs meant that this had been planned from the beginning. The king's eyes drilled into Courture until the male looked away submissively and then looked down at the females.

Having finally fed on a soul, Kate was able to focus on Aarón's aura. There was nothing on his face, but he was radiating panic. He was grasping at his magic, and it was fighting back. It was like he was trying to force himself to react to them in some way but couldn't.

"Your offer is tempting, Phillipe," Aarón finally spoke, his voice slow and empty of any emotion. "But I'm afraid I must decline."

La Chapelle and Courture exchanged a look, and the tension in the bar thickened. Even Darius looked confused.

"I am not in the position where I can take a breeding mate. Not until every lycanthrope stand together as a unified species," he continued. "However, I will not refuse your omegas. There are suitable males in the spearhead pack that will treat them with the dignity owed to our breeding females and happily give them pups if they so choose. Omegas Allira and Brittany, will you accept this compromise?"

Every single pair of eyes turned on Aarón in complete and utter shock. Whatever was supposed to happen, this wasn't it. Suddenly things were a lot more interesting.

La Chapelle was the first to snap out of the shocked silence, and he cleared his throat quietly. Courture blurted out, "Yes, of course, my alpha."

There was another tense silence before La Chapelle raised his wine glass and a hesitant cheer rose from the crowd. Kate stifled a laugh. Unified pack, her ass!

"Katie!" Someone shouted. "Break out the campaign, girl!"

Still chuckling to herself, Kate slipped past Darius to the liquor fridge. The party resumed with full gusto. Three bottles were grabbed out of the case she brought out, and glasses had already been taken from behind the bar. After putting the rest of the bottles in the fridge for when the wolves would inevitably want them, Kate turned to see all four omegas at the bar staring at her. "Uh," she hesitated. "Can I get you something to drink?"

The two from the Courture pack started to flush and pressed their lips together. The older of the two La Chapelle sisters, however, offered Kate a smile. "We're sorry," she said in a sweet voice she probably used to appease her father. "We've just never seen a female from another breed. Are you the sigma's mate?"

"Oh, hell no," Kate gagged. "Darius is just my boss."

The other sister tilted her head in curiosity. "Your mate allows you to work with an unmated male?"

"I don't have a mate. Do you want a drink or not?"

"Unmated?" asked the first. "How is that possible? You're so pretty. Are you barren?"

Kate turned on her heel and walked towards the back before she said something stupid. She absolutely could not be the one to tell those girls about the world outside the packhouse. They didn't even realize they were trapped. They didn't know how much they were being denied. And how could she judge them? If it weren't for Danika, she would be in the same boat.

She had a cigarette lit before she'd entirely cleared the door to the alley. The night was hot, threatening a hot, dry day that would be impossible to sleep through without air conditioning or venom. Neither of which she had.

Leaning back against the wall, she stared at the remaining bracelet. Once away from all the noise, Cyrille barged his way back into her thoughts.

I only want to help

Damnit... she didn't need his help. She didn't want his help. She was fine.

The back door opened again, and she groaned when Darius and Aarón stepped outside. Aarón stepped forward and put his hand out for her to shake. "Aarón Guerrero," he said coolly.

"I know who you are, alpha king," she muttered, avoiding his eyes and hand.

"You tried to kill me. Give me one reason why I shouldn't return the favor."

"Aarón," Darius growled a warning.

Kate just shook her head. "I didn't technically try to kill you. It never got that far."

"I don't like technicalities. Darius claims that you are a careful creature. That you would not do this on your own. So, you tell me who sent you to kill me."

"No."

Aarón's hand shot out, wrapped it around her throat, and slammed her against the wall, forcing her to look into his glowing red eyes. Unlike the last time a wolf had her pinned against this wall, she wasn't scared. She could feel his intentions through his aura, stronger now that he was touching her. He was angry... but he wasn't mad at her. Something was testing his temper, eating away at it like a leech.

"Let her go," Darius snarled and grabbed his wrist. "You can't kill-"

"I may not know how to kill a demon, but I do know how to hurt one," Aarón warned, ignoring Darius completely. "Tell me."

She stared into the lycan's eyes. "If that's what you need to do, then fine. I am not afraid of pain."

Just as Cyrille did, both Aarón and Darius stopped growling to stare at her. Just like Cyrille, they felt it too. The sudden empty void opening up and swallowing her emotion. Shutting her down until she was a blank slate. There was nothing they could do to her that she hadn't been through already. And for that brief moment... they felt it.

Slowly, Kate brought her hand up to touch Aarón's arm. Something had been bothering her since her night with Cyrille, and this moment of control might be the only chance she got to explore it. Her magic didn't so much flow as it did sputter out of her. Again, it slipped around him like water off a duck. She couldn't get around his soul or turn his sexual desires onto her. He had a soul, and he wasn't devoid of temptation... but her power had no effect.

And then she felt it. The spark of a presence that she knew better than she knew herself. Memories of her first visit to Tentation came back slowly. That's why she couldn't place him right away. Most of that night was a haze up until the moment Cyrille turned on her. But she did know this Lycan. He was the male Danika had glued herself to early into their night.

She didn't notice Aarón release her and step back right away. It wasn't until he broke her contact that she blinked and looked up. Darius shifted to put some separation between the two and gave Kate an imploring look. "Come on, kid," he urged. "Give us something to work with. Anything."

"I can't," she glared back at him. "I don't bite the hand that feeds my habit."

Darius's eyes widened and understanding washed over his face. "Merde," he muttered.

"What?" Aarón snapped. "Do you know who it is?"

"Yeah... and it's not good."

They stepped away to talk, and Kate lit another cigarette. A thousand questions buzzed through her mind. But the one that had been bothering her all week was answered. Of course, she didn't affect him. Fuck. This was not good. This was even worse than she first thought. It was the worst possible outcome. So bad she hadn't even considered it. And she wasn't allowed to warn her. There weren't many Ancient laws that demons took seriously, but that was one of them. She couldn't say a thing unless Danika asked. Which she couldn't do since Kate didn't even have a phone anymore. Danika would have to come looking for her to ask, and she knew better than to step too deep into lycan territory.

The sound of the door opening and closing made her jump and snap out of her thoughts. Darius walked towards her and leaned against the wall next to her.

Curious and emboldened by her temporary control, she slipped her hand into his and repeated the process of feeling out his magic. Like the alpha king, her magic couldn't find a grip. Unlike Aarón, however, instead of slipping off, her power went right through him. When she finally found it, his soul was a broken, shriveled thing. He was as empty as she was. Her magic didn't affect him because there was nothing for her to feed on. "Oh gods," she breathed.

"I was wondering when you were going to figure it out." He sighed.

She squeezed his hand in what she hoped would be a reassuring gesture. Whether it was or not didn't really matter. He'd suffered one of the worst fates any creature in this world could. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

They stood in silence while they waited for Aarón to come back. It was neither tense nor comfortable. Just two creatures in mutual understanding of one another. Damnit... she was never going to be able to leave Paris, was she?

Aarón returned, frustration emanating off his face and aura. He shoved a box into Kate's hands. "All I need is for you to say his name," he bit out. "Confirm what Darius told me."

She opened the box, and she leaned harder into the wall to keep her balance. Venom. At least six months' worth. The labels all read thirty-five-forty. Even more potent than what Harper had given her. Clutching it to her chest, she looked up to meet the werewolf's dark eyes. She could tell that his frustration wasn't aimed at or caused by her.

"You have my personal guarantee," he said in a low, promising growl. "You will be taken care of."

Kate swallowed the lump building in her throat. "Harper," she finally said in a breathy whisper. "Harper Toussaint. First beta of the La Chapelle lycanthrope pack."

~