In Front of the Alpha Council.

Rebecca’s POV

Orvayn’s warning followed me all the way back to the apartment.

Individual choices can sometimes affect the safety of an entire pack.

I had heard similar words in my first life. Everyone had made it sound like marrying Davis was my duty. Nobody had asked what I wanted until it was too late.

I dropped my bag on the kitchen counter and pulled out my phone. I needed answers, not another promise that everything would be fine.

I called my mother.

“Rebecca? Is everything okay?” she asked when she answered.

“I need to ask you something, Mom. Are our family and the Dravens negotiating a formal alliance?”

There was a brief silence.

“We have discussed business cooperation,” she admitted. “Our families share interests in security, property, and other commercial ventures. It makes sense for us to work together.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.” I gripped my phone tighter. “Has anyone discussed marriage as a way to strengthen those ties?”

My mother said nothing.

That silence made my stomach tighten.

“Mom?”

“No agreement has been finalized, Rebecca,” she finally replied. “Your father and I would never make a decision about your future without your consent.”

“Have you discussed the possibility or not?”

“We have considered different ways our families could become closer.”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

“So, marriage has been discussed.”

“Not as a final decision,” she insisted. “Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying.”

“How am I supposed to understand it? You say nobody has decided anything, but you won’t give me a straight answer about whether it has been discussed.”

“Rebecca, I’m sorry.” Her voice softened. “I didn’t mean to make you feel excluded. I’ll speak with your father, and we will explain everything to you properly.”

I wanted to believe her, but I knew how these things worked. Nobody needed to sign an agreement before expectations started forming. Sometimes, all it took was for powerful families to discuss a future until everyone began treating it as inevitable.

“I need you to understand something, Mom. My future isn’t a business asset. Even if an arrangement benefits the Browns Pack, that doesn’t mean I’m obligated to accept it.”

“I understand,” she said quietly.

“I hope you do.”

After ending the call, I stared at my phone before opening Aevrion’s contact.

He answered after the second ring.

“Rivi? Why are you calling me now? Is something wrong?”

“I want to ask you about the Dravens.”

He became more alert. “What about them?”

“Have you heard anything about our families arranging a marriage between me and Davis?”

“I’ve heard about the business discussions, but nobody has told me about a formal arrangement involving you and Davis.”

“Would you support it if our parents said it would strengthen the Browns Pack?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

“I would consider any proposal that genuinely protected our family,” he said at last.

I let out a humorless laugh.

“That’s exactly what everyone said before I married him.”

“Rebecca, I didn’t say you had to marry him.”

“But you would consider it if someone convinced you that it was good for the pack.”

“I would consider the proposal, not force you to accept it.”

“Protecting our family cannot mean sacrificing the freedom of one of its members, Aevrion.”

“I never intended to control you.”

“I know you didn’t. But good intentions don’t automatically make a decision fair.”

He went quiet.

I waited, but he didn’t immediately defend himself.

After several seconds, he finally spoke. “I need to think about what you’re saying.”

“Please do. Because I don’t want anyone deciding my future for me again.”

“I hear you, Rebecca.”

I ended the call and set my phone down.

At least I had made myself clear. Whether anyone listened was another matter.

By evening, I was sitting at the kitchen counter with my presentation notes spread around me. I had been trying to review them, but my attention kept returning to my conversations with my family.

I was so focused on the papers that I didn’t notice Davis enter the kitchen until he stopped beside me.

“Did the presentation go badly?”

I looked up. “No. It went well.”

“Then why do you look like you’re preparing for a war?”

“Maybe because I have more than one problem to deal with.”

His eyes moved over the papers before returning to my face.

“Did something happen after I left you with my father?”

I hesitated, then pushed my notes into a neat pile.

“Your father asked me about my family’s plans.”

Davis’s expression changed.

“What exactly did he ask?”

“He wanted to know whether my parents had discussed the future of our families. He also reminded me that individual choices could affect the safety of an entire pack.”

Davis exhaled slowly and pulled out the chair beside mine.

“He spoke to me about something similar.”

I turned toward him. “What did he say?”

“He mentioned the possibility of a formal introduction between us.”

I stared at him.

“A formal introduction?”

“He didn’t call it an engagement or an arrangement. He said our families might want us to get to know each other better because of their business interests.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I didn’t make a decision.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t believe either of us should be pushed into a relationship we don’t want.”

I studied his face, searching for any sign that he was simply telling me what I wanted to hear.

Davis leaned forward, resting his arms on the counter.

“Rebecca, I know you don’t like me, but I’m not going to agree to something that forces you into a relationship with me.”

“Families don’t need signed agreements to create pressure, Davis. Once they start treating two people as though their future together is inevitable, saying no becomes much harder.”

“I understand that.”

“Do you? Because it’s easy to say you won’t force me when nobody has asked you to make a choice yet.”

His jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t snap at me.

“Then I’ll make this clear now. I won’t agree to anything without discussing it with you first.”

I looked down at my hands.

His words should have reassured me. A part of me even wanted to believe him. There was something unsettling about how seriously he listened whenever I spoke about my choices, as though my opinion mattered even when it challenged him.

That was the problem.

In my first life, I had believed Davis would eventually learn to love me. I had mistaken small moments of kindness for promises about the future.

I wouldn’t make that mistake again.

“Can I ask you something?” I said.

“Anything.”

I almost laughed at his confidence.

I turned to face him fully, forcing myself to meet his eyes.

“If our families had nothing to gain from our relationship, would you still want me?”

Davis went completely still.

For the first time since I had known him in this life, he looked as though he had no idea what to say.