CHAPTER 18: THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN

Nikki stomped into her open room, her heels striking the floor in clipped, angry notes. Her eyes darted at the doorway and her lips curled. Those fools. They couldn’t even close the door. With a sharp exhale, she moved toward her bed and collapsed face-first onto the thick satin spread, pouting like a child denied her favorite toy.

Eberhard came a moment later, calmer but heavy with weariness. He swung the door shut with a firm click and glanced at the jug abandoned by the dresser. His jaw tightened. He bent, scooped it up, and set it neatly on the small table beside the chaise before he let out a long, tired sigh.

"Nik..." he began.

"I cannot believe you let that Beta talk to us like that." Nikki cut him off, voice sharp and muffled against the sheets as she pushed herself up. She folded her legs beneath her, pout turning into a scowl. "How could you just stand there and let him treat us like we are nothing? Like I am nothing?"

Eberhard dragged the high-backed vanity chair closer and sank into it, deliberate and controlled. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, studying his daughter.

"You need to stop letting your pride make you reckless, Nikki," he said evenly. "The Alpha is down, and we cannot afford to provoke the Beta — not now."

Nikki tossed her hair, chin lifting in defiance. "So what then? I should grovel to Ellie like some servant? Let him spit in my face while I beg for scraps of the Alpha’s attention? No, father. I am not weak like that disgusting Omega. I deserve more, and you know it. He should be the one groveling at my feet, begging me for a scrap of my time. Not the other way around."

Eberhard sighed. Sometimes he wished for a son, or at least a daughter with more patience and fewer theatrics. He pictured a child who knew when to take orders, who practiced restraint, who understood that influence was less about hunger and more about timing.

Instead, he had Nikki — fire and spectacle, impulse wrapped around every plan. She treated every slight as an affront and every advantage as a birthright. One tantrum or a poorly timed insult could undo years of careful planning. The moon goddess had a strange sense of humor, he mused bitterly. What crime had he committed in some past life to deserve such a daughter?

"Calm down," he said at last, voice low and steady. "Breathe, Nikki. We wait until the Alpha wakes. This isn’t about what you deserve in the moment, it’s about positioning. You don’t claim the Alpha by shoving your intentions in the Beta’s face. Do you understand me? We need to—"

"But Father," Nikki snapped, bristling, impatience flaring. "This is the perfect chance. If I’m at his side when he wakes, I can..." Her hands fluttered, arranging the scene in her head. "I can be the first face he sees, the one he reaches for, I could remind him who belongs at his side. And then stake my claim before anyone else dares. But that Beta shoved himself between us and ruined everything."

Eberhard closed his eyes for a heartbeat, tamping down bile-hot anger. Of all the bargains he’d struck, he hadn’t bargained for a daughter who could unravel everything with reckless need. She had the hunger of ambition but none of the tact. All she thought about was Ares and how to bed him, blind to the bigger picture even if it bit her on the ankle.

"You are not a child anymore, Nikki," he said, voice tight. "I cannot keep reminding you of our plan. Ellie is the last person we should cross. He looks careless and playful, but he is the most dangerous man in this pack. There is a reason Ares chose him as his Beta."

Eberhard’s jaw ached from grinding his teeth. How many times had he warned her to use her head instead of her mouth? Yet here she was again, fire in her eyes, lips parting to cut him off.

"Listen to me," he ordered, low and sharp. His stare pinned her. "You will not act out again until I give the word. Do you understand me?"

Her mouth opened, then closed. Fury flashed across her face, nostrils flaring, pride fighting, but his tone locked her shut like iron. She nodded slowly, every inch of the motion soaked in resentment. "Yes, Father," she said, the words tasting like poison.

"That arrogance of yours will be your undoing," Eberhard continued. "You think you deserve more, but all you ever do is whine and complain. One misstep, and everything I’ve planned for you — for us, will be gone. Do not test my patience."

Humiliation crawled hot across Nikki’s skin. Her father’s words landed deeper than she admitted. Her nails bit crescents into the blanket. Her fury rewarpay, not at him but at that filthy Omega. If not for her, her father wouldn’t be scolding, wouldn’t be looking at her like a nuisance. The blame fell neatly into place, and her jaw tightened as she made a silent promise: the disgusting witch would pay. She’d make sure of it.

Eberhard studied his daughter for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, methodical, he rose, smoothed his shirt as though shaking off the tension. His tone dropped back into calm command.

"For now, you will do nothing that might upset the beta," he said. "Stay inside your room. I’ll have Seraphine and her daughters bring you whatever you need." His eyes hardened, a silent warning flashing through them. "Wait. Be patient. That is all I ask."

Nikki’s throat tightened, but she forced a composure that passed for obedience. "Yes, Father," she murmured, voice smooth and obedient, mask perfectly in place. Beneath that calm answer, her stomach churned with molten rage.

Eberhard’s eyes lingered a beat longer. He gave a single, approving nod before turning on his heel and heading for the door.

Nikki watched him go, lips pressed into a bloodless line. The door clicked shut, and her restraint shattered. She grabbed a pillow and hurled it viciously at the wood, the soft thud doing nothing to sate her fury. Then she seized another, buried her face in it, and screamed until her voice was raw.