Chapter 20 · Alpha on a Chain

The black veins reached his throat.

I watched them crawl up Kade's neck like cracks in glass. Slow. Deliberate. They pulsed with each heartbeat, spreading toward his jaw.

He didn't flinch. Just stood there in the center of the pack hall, half the council staring, and tilted his head like he was daring the curse to finish the job.

"Kade." My voice came out steadier than I felt.

He didn't look at me. "It's done."

"What's done?"

"The seal." Silas stepped forward, holding that damned signet ring between two fingers like it might bite. "The inscription isn't wolf. It's vampire. Old vampire."

The hall went silent.

I felt every pair of eyes swing toward me.

No. Not now. Not like this.

Kade's gaze finally found mine. His eyes had gone dark, the gold bleeding out at the edges. "My father made a deal. Vampire blood for power. The curse is the price."

"That's insane," I said. "Your father wouldn't—"

"He would." Kade's voice was flat. Dead. "And he did. The ring proves it. The bloodline curse isn't punishment. It's a contract."

Silas turned the ring over. The inscription caught the torchlight.