Part One - The Alpha’s Defiance

Snow pressed heavily against the wide windows of the Volchenko estate, the storm outside howling like a wounded beast. Inside, the air was just as tense, suffocating in its silence. Anastasiya Volchenko sat at the head of the long oak table, her dark green eyes sharp and unyielding, her Alpha presence filling the room even without a word spoken. At twenty–eight, she was already the queen of Russia’s underworld.

Her father, Aleksander, sat across from her. His shoulders were slumped with age, his once-dominant aura dulled into the calm neutrality of a Beta who had stepped aside. Seventy–three years had stolen his edge, but not his expectations. His voice, though tired, carried authority.

“Anastasiya,” he began, his gaze heavy, “you are twenty–eight. You sit on the throne I built, but the weight of it will not remain steady without an heir. It is time you considered marriage. A strong Alpha male, or at least a union that produces one.”

The words struck her like iron nails, but she didn’t flinch. Instead, she leaned back in her chair, cool and defiant. Her voice cut through the air like a blade.

“If I must have a heir to carry on, then this organisation isn’t stable.”

Tatiana, her mother, scoffed loudly, her perfume thick and cloying, the scent of an Alpha who had grown too used to indulgence. “Your father is right. A Volchenko without legacy is like a wolf without teeth. Viktoriya would already be married, if you weren’t clinging to this nonsense idea that you can run everything alone.”

At the mention of her sister, Anastasiya’s jaw tightened. Viktoriya sat smugly at Tatiana’s side, her delicate Omega scent laced with arrogance. Spoiled rotten by their mother, Viktoriya looked down her nose at Anastasiya, lips curling into a mocking smile.

“Perhaps,” Viktoriya purred, “the problem is that our dear Alpha sister is too… choosy. Or perhaps she doesn’t want a husband at all.” Her tone dripped with venom, but her eyes glittered with knowing mischief.

Anastasiya ignored her, though her hands curled into fists beneath the table. Her family didn’t know. They didn’t need to. Her truth—that her heart only beat faster for women, not men—was hers to keep, and not a weakness to be exploited.

Only Dimitri, sitting quietly at her right, offered a measure of comfort. A Beta, calm and clever, he was the only sibling Anastasiya truly trusted. He gave her a small, knowing look, as if to say breathe, sestra.

Aleksander’s voice broke the tension again. “You may think strength alone can hold this empire, but legacy is power too. You will not live forever, Anastasiya.”

Her eyes flashed. “Then I’ll build something so strong it doesn’t need my blood to survive.”

The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut flesh. Even Tatiana faltered, lips pressing thin. Viktoriya’s smirk faded, but not her resentment.

At last, Aleksander sighed, leaning back with the weight of years. “You are as stubborn as I once was. Perhaps more. But remember, child—wolves without heirs become prey.”

Anastasiya said nothing more. She didn’t need to. Her Alpha presence, sharp and unyielding, filled the room, pressing down on them until even Tatiana averted her eyes.

This was her empire. With or without a husband. With or without an heir.

And deep inside, though no one else knew yet, she would rather burn the world than let them force her into a bond she did not want.

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