Charlotte was wedged into the crawlspace beneath the desk.
The sudden violence of the move had ripped her flank back open again, and hot, crimson blood dripped through her fingers, blooming into dark stains on the deep-pile carpet.
She grit her teeth, cold sweat beaded at her temples, her left hand tightening its grip on her dagger.
Outside the desk, the rhythmic thud of combat boots on the carpet drew closer. Step by step.
Edric sat elegantly in his executive chair, legs crossed. He looked perfectly composed, though his knee was pressed firmly against Charlotte's shoulder.
Charlotte set her jaw shut, fighting to keep her breathing quiet and shallow. To steady herself, she reached out and dug her fingers into Edric's thigh.
Through the fine fabric of his suit, she felt his muscles lock instantly.
His Alpha heat was an assault on Edric's Beta senses. She could feel it—his heart rate was starting to spiral out of control.
Meanwhile, her pheromones—the scent of chilled cedar—was starting to coat the air.
Looking up at the darkening intensity in Edric's eyes, she knew he felt it too: that primal, fated shiver that marks a true mate.
"Edric, Charlotte is an armed and dangerous fugitive," the lead officer's voice was right there, inches away. "We have to conduct a full sweep. Please, step aside."
"Step aside?" Edric let out a dry, mocking laugh, a sharp glint flashing behind his gold-rimmed glasses. He didn't budge.
Instead, he leaned back, his toe seemingly "accidentally" brushing against the cold line of Charlotte's waist, sending a faint tremor through her body.
"This isn't just the residence of the Brown Wolf King; it's a registered diplomatic consulate.
It houses the highest-level secrets of the Empire." Edric slammed his palm onto the desk, the sound booming over her head.
"You want to toss my desk without a shred of evidence? Who the hell do you think you are? "
"Was it that little pretender over at the White Wolf Clan who hasn't even been crowned?"
"I... well..." The officer stammered.
The sound of the slap cracked through the room like a gunshot. "Tell Valeria that if she wants to toss this room, she'd better bring a warrant signed in the late King's own blood!"
Stunned by Edric's near-manic show of force, the guards beat a hasty retreat.
The heavy doors thudded closed, the tension in the room finally snapped.
Charlotte crawled slowly from under the desk. Ignoring the blood still seeping from her side; instead, she propped herself up against the desk with one hand, her other hand flying across his keyboard.
Right in front of Edric, she brazenly planted a bypass programto hijack the guards' comms.
Edric watched her, his expression a tangled mess of conflicting emotions. He pulled out his phone and dialed an encrypted number.
"Rowan, get over here with your best surgical kit. I need you to save someone... someone who's about to blow this whole world wide open."
Edric's private safe room was hidden behind a bookshelf.
Charlotte lay half-sprawled on the surgical table. Her fierce aura had faded with the blood loss, making her look dangerously pale under the dim lights.
"Brace yourself," Edric murmured, kneeling beside her. He began cutting away the fabric of her shirt, which had fused to the wound.
"I've truly never met a woman like you," he whispered, his eyes searching hers as he meticulously cleaned the gash with a cotton swab.
Charlotte looked down at him. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
She had hacked his channels right under his nose; a man as calculated as Edric couldn't stand a variable he couldn't control.
And that was exactly her "way in."
"Edric... that was quite a slap back there. You're a natural." Charlotte murmured, purposely letting her voice go raspy and seductive.
Edric flinched, his hand slipping slightly.
She let out a soft groan, her eyes welling with a calculated vulnerability. She curled her body inward. "That hurts..."
[Ding! Major emotional spike detected! Favorability unlocked. Favorability +30%. Total Progress: 35%!]
Charlotte knew that this rare display of weakness had struck a chord deep within Edric.
His breathing slowed, and his voice softened in spite of himself. "It hurts, does it? And yet you were brave enough to break into my house?"
"Because... I knew you were the only one clever enough to play along." Charlotte reached out and grabbed his lapel, tilting her head back to meet his gaze.
"I want you to be my blade. When I take back my throne, the Brown Wolves will have full autonomy—and you will be the most powerful Beta in history."
Before Edric could answer, the door to the safe room swung open. A man in a white lab coat, reeking of antiseptic and ozone, stormed in.
[Ding! New romance target unlocked—Rowan Greybourne!]
"Edric, you've lost your mind! You're harboring a king-killer? "
"Do you want to take the whole clan down with you?" Rowan barked, his eyes full of unconcealed loathing as they landed on Charlotte.
"She's a victim," Edric said, stepping between them.
"A victim? All the evidence points right at her!" Rowan scoffed, but Edric pulled him aside.
After a tense standoff, Rowan shoved Edric toward the door. "Fine. Get out. You're in the way. If you've decided to keep her alive, I'll fix her up."
By the surgical table, Rowan flashed a cold, spiteful smile as he pulled out a suturing needle.
He clearly wanted to make the "king-killer" pay. "Since you're an Alpha with such 'tough' genes, I assume you won't be needing local anesthesia?"
The needle pierced her skin. The raw, agonizing sensation of the thread pulling through flesh was enough to drive most people mad.
But Charlotte didn't so much as flinch. She actually propped herself up on one elbow, watching Rowan work with eyes like iron.
Her voice was ice-cold. "You're three millimeters off to the left. Is this it? Is this the best the Grey Wolf 'prodigy' can do"
Rowan's hand jerked, the needle nearly pricking his own finger.
He looked up in shock, only to meet Charlotte's mocking, half-smiling eyes.
"Keep going," Charlotte sneered. She watched as Rowan finally dropped his petty games and turned deadly serious. Only then did she slowly close her eyes.
She knew that after tonight, they would both understand one thing: She was no one's pawn.