A POISONED WELCOME

YVONNE POV

Jacinda's smile remained in place, but the change in her scent betrayed her.

Fear.

Her arms were still open, waiting for me to embrace her before the watching pack. When I did not move, she slowly lowered them.

"I never wanted to take anything from you," she said. "I did not know you existed until the Council found you."

"You know now."

"Yes." Her gaze dropped to my bandaged wrists. "What happened to you was terrible. I hope we can begin again as sisters."

Nyx growled inside me. Jacinda sounded sincere, but Lillian's blood was clear beneath her perfume. I wondered how many messages had passed between them before I arrived.

Before I could answer, Lark pushed through the servants and dropped to her knees in front of Aldric.

"Alpha, you cannot believe everything she told the Council," she said. "Flora only wanted to speak with her. Yvonne caused her death and then used the investigation to disgrace Everstead."

Whispers moved through the crowd.

Aldric looked down at her. "The royal healer found Flora's scent on the bruises around Yvonne's arm. Several witnesses also heard Flora summon her to the lake alone."

"Flora served this pack for years. Why should we believe a rogue who left three dead wolves behind her?"

"You demanded that Yvonne be restrained before the Council questioned her," Aldric said. "Now you accuse my daughter of murder in front of my pack."

"I was only protecting Lady Jacinda."

The words escaped before Lark could stop them.

Aldric removed the silver Everstead crest from her uniform.

"You serve Everstead, not one member of my family. Take her to the holding cells."

Two guards seized Lark. She twisted in their grip and looked back at me with hatred in her eyes.

I smiled.

She understood that I had not forgotten what she tried to do.

When the guards took her away, Aldric faced me. "You demanded a public entrance, and you have one. Do not turn every grievance into a spectacle."

I raised my bandaged wrists. "Your representative tried to kill me before I reached your border. The spectacle began before I arrived."

His eyes narrowed. "You were not taught diplomacy."

"I can learn your rules after I know they will not be used to bury my body."

Callum descended the steps. He had Aldric's height and Luna Weston's eyes, but there was no welcome in his expression.

"You have been here for less than five minutes, and one of our servants is already imprisoned because of you," he said. "Jacinda welcomed you kindly. You could at least show some respect."

"You must be Callum."

"I am your elder brother."

"By blood. Nothing more yet."

His expression darkened. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"A brother should meet his missing sister before deciding he hates her."

"I do not hate you."

"Then your face needs to learn that."

Callum stepped towards me, but Aldric's Alpha command stopped him.

"Enough."

Luna Weston came down the steps. Her gaze travelled across my face as though she was searching for the infant she had lost twenty-one years earlier. One hand lifted towards me, then stopped before touching my cheek.

"Yvonne," she whispered.

In my dreams, my mother had held me and cried for everything we lost.

The woman standing before me appeared afraid to come closer.

'Our Luna,' Nyx said bitterly.

'Not yet.'

Luna Weston lowered her hand. "Welcome home."

The vehicle behind me opened, and Calder stepped out.

All the Everstead wolves lowered their heads. Luna Weston bowed while Aldric gave a respectful nod.

I remained standing.

Calder's gaze found me first. "Please continue. I am here as the Crown's witness and to ensure the Council's terms are honoured."

Aldric faced the gathered pack.

"The Werewolf Council has identified Yvonne Holloway as my biological daughter and a descendant of Everstead's ruling bloodline. She will be recognised as a member of the Alpha family and a candidate in the succession."

The Council investigator recorded his statement.

Aldric turned towards the gates. "Open them."

The silver gates moved apart, and I walked forward alone.

The moment I crossed into Everstead territory, a force struck the centre of my chest. A deep pulse travelled beneath the ground, and the old silver crest above the gate began to glow.

Light spread through the carved wolf and raced along the walls towards the Pack House. Protection marks that had remained dark for generations awakened one after another.

Gasps rose from the crowd.

Nyx lifted her head.

'The pack knows us.'

Warmth filled my body as Everstead's bond reached for my wolf. The guards beside the gate lowered their heads without receiving an order.

Aldric stared at the glowing crest. Luna Weston covered her mouth, while Callum's anger disappeared beneath his shock.

Jacinda stepped backwards.

Calder came to stand beside me. "You wanted Everstead to recognise you without my help."

I watched the light move across the walls. "It just did."

"It did more than that." His voice lowered. "These wards are tied to several ancient territories. Other old bloodlines may have felt them awaken."

"Including Everstead's enemies?"

"Especially its enemies."

The light faded, but his warning remained.

My return had not only announced me to Everstead. It might have told every powerful wolf waiting beyond its borders that a White Wolf had come home.

Calder's fingers brushed mine. "I will find out who felt it."

The bond warmed between us, but I continued towards the Pack House before anyone noticed.

Inside the main hall, a family portrait hung above the fireplace. Aldric and Luna Weston stood in the centre, with Callum on one side and Jacinda on the other.

There was no space for me.

"That portrait was completed three years ago," Luna Weston explained. "We can arrange another after you settle in."

"I did not ask for an explanation."

Pain crossed her face before she hid it.

Aldric sat at the head of the long table. Luna Weston and Jacinda sat on his right, while Callum took the chair on his left. Calder sat in the place reserved for royal guests.

The only empty chair stood near the far end.

Matron Graves approached it. "Miss Yvonne, your seat is here."

I did not move. "Why am I seated below Jacinda?"

"These places were arranged before your arrival."

"Then arrange them again."

Callum released a humourless laugh. "You cannot enter our home and begin moving everyone around."

"This meeting concerns the succession. I will not sit beneath the other candidate because your household hoped I would never return."

Aldric looked towards Matron Graves. "Move her chair beside mine."

The argument ended there.

Matron Graves placed my chair between Aldric and Callum, directly across from Jacinda.

"The blood ceremony will take place tomorrow morning," Aldric said. "If Everstead's moonstone accepts you, your name will enter the succession register."

"I will attend."

"Jacinda selected a ceremonial dress for you," Luna Weston said.

Jacinda smiled carefully. "I chose one in Everstead's colours. I hope you like it."

"I am certain you chose it with great care."

Something cold flashed through her eyes.

When the meeting ended, Calder stopped me near the staircase.

"Do you want one of my guards outside your room?" he asked.

"One guard until the ceremony is over."

He nodded. "One guard."

'He listens,' Nyx said.

Calder's mouth curved as though he had sensed the thought. "You still doubt me."

"You have known me for one day."

"Then I have time to change your mind."

Heat moved through the bond. I turned away before he could see my reaction.

The north suite stood at the end of the family corridor. Two servants were fastening a silver plaque to the door.

YVONNE CHASE.

The plaque could not return the twenty-one years I had lost, but it meant Everstead could no longer pretend I did not belong there.

Inside the suite, a white box rested on the bed. A silver ribbon surrounded it, with a card beneath the knot.

For my sister. Welcome home.

Jacinda's name appeared below the message.

Matron Graves reached for the ribbon, but Nyx growled fiercely that I caught her wrist.

"Do not touch it."

I moved closer and inhaled. Lavender covered the scent of silk, but something cold and metallic remained underneath.

I cut the ribbon with my knife. A silver ceremonial dress lay inside, embroidered with Everstead's crest.

At first, nothing appeared unusual. Then the light caught the inside of the collar.

Fine silver thread had been woven beneath the ordinary stitching. More of it lined the wrists and waist, hidden wherever the fabric would press against my skin.

I lifted one strand with the tip of my knife. Heat travelled through the metal and into the handle.

Matron Graves went pale. "That is pure silver."

Once the fabric warmed against my skin, the hidden thread would begin to burn. By the time the ceremony started, the pain would make it difficult to concentrate or call Nyx forward.

The dress had been designed to make my wolf fail before the entire pack.

"That gown came from Jacinda's private seamstress," Matron Graves whispered.

"Who handled it?"

"Jacinda chose it. Madame Porche made it, Flora inspected it, and Lark sealed the box, then two maids delivered it here."

Too many hands and too many possible lies.

"Should I call the Council investigator?"

"Not yet. Close the door and send Calder's guard for the royal healer."

"What should I tell Jacinda if she asks about the dress?"

I lowered the lid and replaced the ribbon.

"Tell her it fits perfectly," I said. "And tell her I cannot wait to wear it."