Chapter 10 The Invitation
Vanessa's POV
The moment Isabella and I stepped through the heavy oak doors of Shadowveil Pack House, a roar of pure rage echoed from somewhere deep within the building, so violent it seemed to shake the crystal chandelier overhead. My stomach dropped, and I felt Isabella's hand instinctively grip my arm as we both froze in the entrance hall.
Reginald appeared almost instantly from the corridor, his face pale and drawn. He always carried himself with quiet confidence, but now his movements were jerky and anxious as he rushed toward us. He quickly grabbed my mother's elbow and steered us both toward a small sitting room off the main hall.
"What happened?" Isabella demanded the moment the door closed behind us.
Reginald spoke, his voice was low and urgent. "Silverstone Pack terminated every single trade agreement we had with them. Everything. The mineral rights, the border passages, the joint security arrangements—all of it, gone as of this morning."
I felt the blood drain from my face. Isabella's grip on my arm tightened painfully.
"That's impossible," my mother said. "Those contracts were ironclad."
"Try tens of millions in annual revenue," Reginald said grimly. "And that's not even counting the strategic value. Without access to Silverstone territory, our trade routes to the eastern Packs are completely cut off."
Reginald's gaze sharpened on me. "You and your mother went to Silverstone territory today. What exactly happened during that visit?"
Isabella stepped forward before I could respond, her face a perfect mask of innocent confusion. "Nothing happened, Reginald. We were barely there for twenty minutes. We delivered Alpha Marcus's message to one of the Pack House staff—some subordinate who wouldn't even let us see Alpha Sebastian properly. The man was incredibly rude."
I jumped in quickly. "It was humiliating, honestly. We were kept waiting like servants. We never even got close to Alpha Sebastian himself."
Reginald's frown deepened. "I'll reach out to my contacts in Silverstone territory," he finally said. "In the meantime, both of you stay away from anything related to Silverstone Pack."
He left, and I waited until his footsteps faded before grabbing Isabella's wrist and practically dragging her upstairs. The moment we were inside my bedroom with the door locked, I pressed a finger to my lips and squeezed her arm hard—a warning that we couldn't afford to let anything slip.
Once I was certain she understood, I released her and began pacing. "I don't believe it," I said suddenly. "I don't believe that pathetic little nobody is actually Alpha Sebastian's daughter."
Isabella looked up at me, confusion and desperate hope warring on her face. "What do you mean?"
"Think about it logically," I said, ticking off points on my fingers. "If Elara really were the long-lost daughter of one of the most powerful Alpha families, why didn't anyone from Sterling Pack come to collect her years ago? We've had her for eighteen years. If the Sterlings had been searching for their missing daughter, don't you think they would have found her? These are people with unlimited resources."
I thought back to all the times Elara had played the innocent martyr. "Her biological parents lived in some backwater town in Mississippi, that they were Omegas barely scraping by. How could she be Alpha Sebastian's daughter?"
Isabella stood up, her posture straightening. "You're right. If she really were Sebastian Sterling's daughter, there would have been some kind of formal announcement."
"Exactly," I said firmly. "I think what happened today was just an unfortunate coincidence. Alpha Sebastian took offense at us making a scene on his property. That's all. He probably doesn't even know who Elara really is."
My mother actually laughed. "Of course. That little schemer probably told him some sob story, playing the victim like she always does. She's probably been working as a maid in their household."
"She's always been manipulative," I agreed. "She's probably doing the same thing with the Sterlings."
I was about to respond when my phone buzzed. What I saw on the screen made my entire body go rigid.
The notification was from our academy's group chat. Someone had just posted a screenshot of a formal invitation, and the image made my hands start to tremble—heavy cream cardstock with the Sterling Pack crest embossed in silver, elegant script announcing:
[Alpha Sebastian Sterling request the honor of your presence at a formal reception celebrating the return of his daughter, who has been reunited with her family after eighteen years of separation.]
Isabella looked over my shoulder and made a sound like a wounded animal. "No," she whispered. "That can't be real."
"Wait," I said slowly. "We need to get invitations to this reception. Think about this strategically. There are two possibilities here, right?"
"First possibility—Elara isn't actually Alpha Sterling's daughter. Maybe she's conned them somehow, maybe this whole thing is some kind of elaborate fraud. If that's the case, and we show up at this reception, we can expose her. We can prove to Alpha Sterling that he's been deceived by a manipulative little schemer. Shadowveil Pack would be doing him a favor by revealing the truth, and we could use that to restore our agreements, maybe even strengthen them."
Isabella's expression shifted from panic to cautious interest. "And the second possibility?"
"If she really is his daughter," I said, my voice hardening with calculation, "then we show up as the family who raised her for eighteen years. The family who took in a lost Alpha's child and cared for her all this time. Alpha Sterling would be forced to acknowledge us publicly, to thank us for our years of service. He couldn't just throw us out or ignore us without looking like an ungrateful bastard."
I turned to face my mother directly. "Don't you see? Either way, we win. Either we expose a fraud and become the Pack that saved Alpha Sterling from embarrassment, or we position ourselves as the generous family who raised his daughter, and he owes us. Big time."
Isabella's eyes were starting to gleam with understanding. "You're talking about compensation."
"I'm talking about massive compensation," I corrected. "We raised an Alpha's daughter for eighteen years, Mother. We fed her, clothed her, educated her, gave her a home. That's not something that should go unrecognized. If Sebastian Sterling is half the honorable Alpha everyone claims he is, he'll feel obligated to reward us appropriately."
"The trade agreements," Isabella said slowly, her mind clearly working through the possibilities. "If we play this right, he might not only restore them but improve the terms. After all, we did him an enormous service, even if we didn't know it at the time."
"Exactly," I said, feeling a cold smile spread across my face. "We could turn this disaster into the best thing that ever happened to Shadowveil Pack. All we have to do is show up at that reception, play the role of loving, concerned family members, and let social pressure do the rest."
Isabella's eyes suddenly lit up with a new thought, her expression shifting from calculation to excitement. "Vanessa, do you realize what kind of event this is going to be? Every major Pack will send representatives. There will be Alphas, heirs, the most powerful families in our world—all gathered in one place."
"This is an opportunity for you too," Isabella said, her voice taking on an eager edge. "Not just for the Pack, but for your future. You need to prepare yourself—get the most stunning dress we can find, something that will make you absolutely radiant. Make sure you're the most beautiful woman in that ballroom."
"Mother, what are you—"
"Think about it," Isabella interrupted. "You'll be surrounded by Alpha heirs from Packs far more powerful than Shadowveil. This is your chance to catch the attention of someone who can offer you so much more than what we have here. A better match, a stronger alliance, a future with real power and status."
I stared at her as understanding dawned. "You want me to find a better match at the reception," I said slowly.
"Why not?" Isabella said, her eyes gleaming with ambition. "You—who actually have breeding, education, and grace—can certainly use this opportunity to secure a match worthy of your qualities. You need to make sure every single one of them notices you."
I felt a smile spreading across my face as I caught her vision. "You're right. This could be the social event of the decade. Everyone who matters will be there."
"Exactly," Isabella said firmly. "So we need to move fast. I'll handle getting the invitations."