Chapter 2

The Blackthorn gates were taller than I remembered.

Iron and dark wood stretched high above the stone walls, the pack crest carved deep into the center. Two guards stepped forward as the car stopped. They checked the papers the messenger had given me, then opened the gates without a word.

I kept my hands folded in my lap the entire ride up the long driveway. The territory looked the same—dense forest, clean roads, the main house rising like something built to last centuries. Everything about Blackthorn spoke of power that never had to explain itself.

The car stopped at the front steps. I stepped out and smoothed the simple black dress I had chosen. Nothing elegant. Nothing that tried too hard. I would not give him the satisfaction of thinking I had dressed for him.

A tall man in a dark suit waited at the top of the stairs. I recognized him from the old days—Rylan, Kael’s Beta. His expression gave nothing away.

“Miss Ashford,” he said. “Alpha Voss is expecting you.”

I followed him inside. The entrance hall was quiet, the kind of quiet that came from money and control. My heels clicked against the marble. Every sound felt too loud.

Rylan led me to a study on the second floor. He opened the door, stepped aside, and closed it behind me.

Kael stood by the window with his back to me.

Even without seeing his face, I knew him. The broad shoulders. The still way he held himself. The weight of his presence that filled the room before he spoke a single word. His scent reached me a second later—dark, familiar, and unwanted. My wolf stirred hard under my skin, confused and restless after three years of silence.

He turned.

Time had not softened him. If anything, it had sharpened the edges. His dark hair was shorter. His jaw looked harder. The same cold gray eyes that had looked through me on the night of the rejection now settled on my face without hesitation.

“Selene.”

My name in his mouth sounded the same as it always had. Controlled. Distant.

I kept my voice steady. “Alpha Voss.”

He gestured to the chair across from the large desk. “Sit.”

I did. He remained standing for a moment longer, then took his seat. A black folder already waited on the desk between us—the same one I had been given the night before, only thicker now.

“You’ve read the initial terms,” he said.

“I have.”

“Then you understand this is not a negotiation.” He opened the folder and turned it toward me. “One year. You live in this house. You attend required pack functions as my wife. You remain exclusive. At the end of the year, if an heir has not been conceived, the contract may be extended by mutual agreement or dissolved with the debts still cleared. Silverpine will remain under Blackthorn protection either way.”

I scanned the pages. The language was precise. Clean. There was no room for emotion in any of the clauses.

“And if I refuse?” I asked.

Kael’s gaze did not move. “Then the creditors take what is left of your pack within the month. Your father’s medical care ends. Silverpine dissolves. You already know this. That is why you are here.”

The truth sat heavy between us. I hated that he was right.

I turned another page. My signature line waited at the bottom, blank and final.

“Why me?” The question left my mouth before I could stop it. “You could have chosen anyone for a political marriage. Why the woman you rejected?”

Something flickered in his eyes—too fast to name. Then it was gone.

“Your pack still holds old territorial rights that border mine,” he said. “Absorbing Silverpine through this contract is cleaner than taking it by force. And you are already known to my people. It requires less explanation.”

Business. Always business.

I picked up the pen.

My hand did not shake. I made sure of it. I signed my name on the line in clear, dark strokes. The ink dried quickly.

Kael watched me the entire time. When I set the pen down, he reached across the desk, took the folder, and added his own signature beneath mine. The sound of the pen against paper was the only noise in the room.

He closed the folder.

“Rylan will show you to your rooms,” he said. “You will have the east wing. Meals are at set times. Pack gatherings will be scheduled in advance. You are not required to speak to me outside of necessary matters.”

I stood. My legs felt steady enough.

At the door, I paused. I did not look back when I spoke.

“I will fulfill every term of this contract, Alpha Voss. But do not mistake my signature for forgiveness.”

Silence stretched behind me.

Then his voice, low and even.

“I never asked for it.”

I stepped into the hallway. Rylan was already waiting. He led me down a long corridor lined with tall windows. Afternoon light cut across the floor in sharp lines.

My new rooms were large and coldly beautiful. A sitting room. A bedroom. A bathroom with marble and glass. Everything was perfect. Nothing felt like mine.

I set my small bag on the bed and walked to the window. From here I could see the training grounds in the distance and the dark edge of the forest beyond.

Three years ago, Kael Voss had stood in front of two packs and told the world I was not his choice.

Today I had signed a paper that made me his wife.

I pressed my palm against the cool glass and exhaled slowly.

The contract had begun.

And I already knew the hardest part would not be surviving the year.

It would be surviving the man who still lived under my skin, whether I wanted him there or not.