Mated To The Dying Ruthless Alpha

Kira Hayes POV:

The living room door flew open, slamming against the wall. Dinah stood there, her face stripped of its fake smile, leaving only raw, ugly hatred.

"Kira, you ungrateful wolf! You think you've grown claws?"

I calmly slid my phone back into my pocket, my eyes meeting her furious gaze. "I just don't want to marry a dying man. Is that so wrong?"

Dinah let out a cold, sharp laugh. "You have no choice. Either you marry him and buy this family time, or..." Her eyes narrowed with a cruel glint. "You will never see your mother's things again."

She expected me to crumble, just like I had for the past twenty years. She didn't know I was back to claim everything they had taken from my mother, and from my sister.

I looked at her, and a slow, deliberate smile spread across my face.

"Alright," I said.

Dinah froze, her mouth slightly agape. "What... what did you say?"

I took a step toward her, closing the distance, and lowered my voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I said, 'I'll marry him.' But not for free."

I walked past her, back into the living room. Derrick and Paige looked up, their expressions a mixture of anger and confusion. A neat white bandage was now plastered on Paige's forehead, making her glare even more venomous.

I walked straight to Derrick and placed my phone on the table in front of him. On the screen was a quickly drafted agreement.

"I want all of my sister Caroline's shares in Hayes Corporation," I stated, my voice ringing with newfound authority. "And half of the bride price the Carlisles are paying."

Derrick's pupils contracted. "Are you insane?" he growled. "Caroline's shares are held by the Pack now. They are Pack assets!"

I met his furious gaze without flinching. "She left no will. According to Pack inheritance law, as her only living immediate family, I am the primary heir. You may be managing them, but they belong to me."

My knowledge of the law, their own laws, clearly startled him. I wasn't supposed to be this smart. I was the family idiot.

"As for the bride price"—I glanced at Dinah, whose face was turning a blotchy red—"since I'm the one risking widowhood, taking half as hazard pay seems perfectly reasonable, don't you think?"

"This is blackmail!" Dinah hissed, her body trembling with rage.

I shrugged. "You can see it that way. Or, you can watch the Hayes Pack default on a marriage contract, lose all credibility, and get devoured by our rivals."

I presented the choice, cold and simple. Their pride, or their survival.

Derrick stared at me, his eyes searching for any sign of weakness, any hint of a bluff. He found none. My heart was beating steadily, my resolve as hard as the marble under my feet.

The silence stretched, thick with tension. Paige started to speak, but Dinah shot her a look that silenced her.

I knew the calculation happening in Derrick's mind. His Pack's future versus the humiliation of giving in to the daughter he despised.

After what felt like an eternity, he spoke, the words ground out from between his teeth. "The bride price... one-third. At most."

I didn't argue. I simply picked up my phone and moved my thumb toward the delete button. "It seems we have nothing to discuss. I'm disappointed, Father. To give up the entire Pack for such a small amount of money."

My thumb hovered over the screen.

"Half!" he roared, his control finally snapping. "You get half! The shares and the bride price, it's all yours!"

I stopped, a triumphant smile finally breaking through my cold facade. "Excellent. I'll need a legally binding document, notarized by the Pack's lawyer. Until I have that in my hands, I won't be meeting with anyone from the Carlisle family."

Derrick slumped back in his chair, looking ten years older. He waved a tired hand at the butler. "Do as she says."

Dinah and Paige looked like they had swallowed poison. Their glares could have set me on fire.

I pocketed my phone and turned to leave. At the door, I paused.

"Oh, and one more thing." I looked back at Dinah.

"Have all of my mother's belongings packed and sent to my room. If a single item is missing..." I let the threat hang in the air, my eyes locking onto hers. "I will make you regret it."

A tremor ran through her. In my eyes, she saw something new, something she had never seen before.

Something that terrified her.

I walked out and returned to my assigned room, the smallest and most remote in the entire manor.

The moment the door closed behind me, the facade of strength crumbled. I sagged against the wood, my body shaking. That was the first step. The next would be facing the Carlisle Pack, a beast far more complex than the Hayes family, and an Alpha I couldn't read.

I needed more information. Especially about the night my sister died.

I opened the encrypted channel to Zane.

"Zane, I need everything you can find on Caroline's fall. Specifically, any communication records between her and Dorian Carlisle from that day."

The reply was almost instantaneous. "On it. And a heads-up, X. Dorian's Beta, Leo Foster, is putting out feelers on the UmbraNet. High price for any information on a healer who goes by 'X'."

I stared at the message, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across my lips.

They were looking for me.