Chapter 226

THIRD PERSON’S POV Derek’s jaw clenched as he lowered the parchment onto his desk, the inked lines of the treaty proposal still burning into his thoughts. The bold signature at the bottom, written in Alpha Draven’s commanding hand, carried more than words—it carried a threat, a shadow that could stretch across his pack’s land like a choking vine. The treaty promised unity, a strengthening of ties between packs, and on the surface it looked no different from countless other political agreements the royals had signed before. To an outsider, it would read as a harmless arrangement meant to keep peace and prosperity flowing between lands. But Derek knew better. He had read too many such documents, studied too many veiled bargains to miss what lay beneath the gilded words. Every line of the treaty reeked of hunger—an ambition sharp enough to cut through stone. Draven had always wanted more, never satisfied with what was already his. The clauses, phrased with careful elegance, left just enou