Eileen's POV

 

Before I even reached the entrance of the Vance mansion, the shouting hit me.

 

It was the kind that made the air physically tremble—deep, feral, and packed with a fury so intense that even the stoic guards stationed outside looked visibly rattled.

 

My steps slowed. The heavy iron gates stood wide open, framing the long stone path that led up to the imposing estate. The place radiated a suffocating sense of authority.

 

Then, the roar came again.

 

“YOU DISGRACEFUL FOOL!”

 

Thanks to the intel I’d dug up before coming here, I recognized it instantly. The voice belonged to Asher Vance. Even muffled by the thick mahogany doors, the patriarch’s rage was unmistakable.

 

My chest tightened. I hesitated on the front steps, hovering just outside the entrance, when another voice rang out from inside.

 

Chris.

 

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

 

The sheer, unapologetic entitlement in his tone made my fingers curl into fists. Inside the grand hall, something slammed violently—a heavy chair scraping, or perhaps a fist hitting a table.

 

“You dare say that again?” Asher thundered.

 

Holding my breath, I pushed the heavy door open just a crack, peering inside.

 

The grand hall was ablaze with crystal chandeliers, but the atmosphere was thick enough to choke on. Chris was kneeling dead center on the marble floor. His usually immaculate hair was a disheveled mess, his face twisted into a mask of stubborn resentment.

 

Standing over him was Asher. Even in his twilight years, the patriarch’s presence was terrifying. With his silver hair and piercing eyes.

 

And standing just a half-step behind him—

 

Adrian.

 

He stood tall and entirely silent, his posture relaxed but coiled with lethal intent. His expression was a wall of cold, unreadable ice.

 

Chris lifted his chin, refusing to back down. “I chose Liora because she’s a blatant upgrade from Eileen!” he snapped defensively. “Is that a crime?”

 

My stomach dropped. But Chris was just getting started.

 

“Let’s be brutally honest here. Everyone knows Eileen is painfully plain. She’s nothing compared to Liora.”

 

The words stung more than I cared to admit. My grip on the doorframe tightened until my knuckles turned white. Inside the room, several members of the Vance pack exchanged uncomfortable, sidelong glances.

 

Chris let out a bitter, mocking laugh. “Besides, her reputation is already ruined. After the spectacle at the banquet, who in their right mind would want her? She should be getting down on her knees and thanking me for even considering marrying her in the first place.”

 

Each syllable felt like a physical slap to the face.

 

“She can’t survive in our world without me,” Chris continued, his chest puffed with arrogance. “Without the Vance name backing her, she’s a nobody. A charity case.”

 

A few of the elders frowned, clearly distasteful of his lack of tact, but Chris scoffed right past them.

 

“She humiliated her own parents! Honestly, she owes me for tolerating her dead weight for so long.”

 

Anger, hot and blinding, flared in my chest. Just as I braced myself to shove the door open and give him a piece of my mind—Chris dug his grave even deeper.

 

“Well… if she’s truly that desperate,” he drawled lazily, a sickening smirk playing on his lips, “I suppose I could throw her a bone.”

 

The entire room fell deathly silent.

 

“If Eileen is shameless enough to crawl back and beg me, I might reluctantly let her stick around as a second wife.”

 

For a split second—everything froze.

 

Then—

 

CRACK!

 

The sound was deafening, echoing off the high ceilings like a gunshot. I blinked in pure shock.

 

Adrian had moved so fast he was practically a blur. The heavy wooden cane in his hand had come down mercilessly across Chris’s back.

 

Chris let out a bloodcurdling scream, collapsing onto his hands. “AH—!”

 

But Adrian wasn't finished.

 

CRACK! Another brutal strike landed. Adrian’s expression was no longer just cold; it was terrifyingly detached.

 

“With every word you’ve spewed tonight,” Adrian stated, his voice a low, rumbling menace, “you have insulted your pack, your family, and your own name.”

 

CRACK! “You publicly humiliated a woman who once trusted you.”

 

CRACK! “You dragged the Vance legacy through the mud.”

 

Chris gasped for air, curling into a ball as tremors of agony racked his frame. Cold sweat completely soaked through his designer shirt. “Uncle—please—stop—!” he choked out.

 

Adrian’s eyes were like glaciers. “Your arrogance,” he murmured, raising the cane once more, “has exceeded even my expectations.”

 

Chris finally crumpled completely, hitting the marble floor in a trembling, pathetic heap.

 

Beside them, Asher let out a harsh snort of approval. “Good,” the patriarch’s voice boomed. “You hit him well.”

 

Chris forced his head up, his eyes wide with betrayal. “Grandfather—!”

 

Asher stared down at him, his gaze dripping with absolute disappointment. “You and Adrian were raised under the exact same roof,” he said coldly. “I trained you both. But look at you.”

 

The older Alpha’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Ambitious… yet incompetent. Narrow-minded and utterly useless.”

 

All the remaining color drained from Chris’s face.

 

“You ride on the coattails of being the Alpha’s nephew to rub shoulders with high-ranking packs,” Asher spat relentlessly. “But tell me, in all these years, what actual contribution have you made to this family?”

 

A suffocating silence answered him.

 

“You starve for power,” Asher continued, “yet you lack the spine and the brains to obtain it.”

 

Chris slowly lowered his head, staring at the floor.

 

“And now,” Asher scoffed, the disdain in his voice thick enough to cut, “you have the sheer audacity to dream of taking two wives? You aren't even man enough for one. You are unworthy of calling yourself a Vance.”

 

Chris’s fists shook violently against the marble. “Grandfather… I—”

 

“Enough.” Asher waved a hand, dismissing him like a pesky fly. “You whine like the world is ending over a simple punishment. After all these years, your inner wolf hasn't grown stronger at all.”

 

Several elders nodded in solemn agreement.

 

Asher’s gaze shifted, softening only slightly as it landed on Adrian. A distinct note of pride bled into the patriarch's voice. “Look at Adrian. Ten years ago, when he was exactly your age, he was already helping me manage the affairs of this pack.”

 

Chris’s jaw ticked, the muscles jumping in his cheek.

 

“And you?” Asher challenged. “In your current pathetic state, how could I ever trust you with the future of this pack?”

 

Chris kept his mouth shut, but the toxic resentment boiling in his eyes was impossible to hide.

 

Adrian saw it too. Slowly, methodically, he lowered the cane. Then, he took a deliberate step toward his nephew.

 

Chris flinched, looking up at him with heavy, panicked breaths. Adrian stared down at him, his aura flaring with dominance.

 

“Listen to me very carefully,” Adrian warned, his voice dropping into a lethal, gravelly octave. “You are never to provoke Eileen again.”

 

Chris froze.

 

Adrian’s next words sent a shockwave through the room.

 

“Because Eileen is already mine.”

 

My breath caught in my throat. Inside the hall, an outbreak of stunned murmurs rippled through the family.

 

Suddenly, Adrian turned his devastatingly sharp gaze directly toward me.

 

My heart did a violent flip. Had he... known I was standing here the entire time?

 

Before my brain could command my legs to move, the heavy wooden doors swung wide open. Adrian stood framed in the doorway, tall, broad, and impossibly imposing.

 

Our eyes locked. For a split second, the rest of the world faded into static.

 

Then, his massive, warm hand enveloped mine.

 

My fingers stiffened in pure shock, but he didn’t let go. Instead, his thumb brushed soothingly over my knuckles as he firmly guided me into the grand hall.

 

Every single pair of eyes snapped toward us.

 

Chris stared at me, his jaw practically hitting the floor, his eyes bulging in utter disbelief.

 

Adrian’s grip tightened just a fraction, anchoring me to his side. Then, his deep, commanding voice resonated off the walls, leaving absolutely no room for argument.

 

“Since everyone is gathered here tonight,” he announced smoothly, “there is something I should make official.”

 

You could have heard a pin drop.

 

Adrian looked dead ahead, unblinking.

 

“Eileen and I are engaged.”