Thirty Days

Tyler's hand was still locked around my arm.

"My mate isn't going anywhere."

The pain under his fingers had changed from sharp to hot. I looked at his hand, then at his face. "You rejected me in front of the entire pack. You don't get to use the word my when I try to leave. Take your hand off me."

His jaw tightened. "The bond isn't severed."

"I know. I was at the office where your paperwork made that very clear." I kept my voice steady even though my stomach was still tight. "I accepted a job with Black Ridge. I am leaving because I chose to leave. Not because Eric chose for me. Not because you chose for me. Me."

For the first time, Tyler hesitated.

Eric spoke from behind him. "Black Ridge recognizes her stated choice. If she says she is leaving, we will not treat her as a forced transfer, a possession, or anything else you can claim between packs."

Tyler looked over his shoulder. "Stay out of this."

"She already answered for herself," Eric said. "I'm making Black Ridge's position clear. If she changes her mind, Black Ridge stops. If she says she is leaving, we do not help you hold her here."

Tyler's attention snapped back to me. "You don't know what you're walking into."

"Maybe not," I said. "But that is still mine to find out. You don't get to reject me, grab me, and then call that concern."

That was all Eric added. No threat. No Alpha speech about who was stronger. He did not touch me or tell me to get behind him. He left my answer where I had put it. I looked back at Tyler. "Release me."

Nearby Crown security had stopped pretending not to watch. Two Black Ridge staff stood near the vehicle. Everyone could see Tyler's hand around my arm and the red mark growing beneath it.

Tyler's fingers loosened. I pulled my arm free at once and stepped out of his reach. The skin hurt when I touched it. The mark was darker than it had been a minute ago, but I could move my arm. "Thank you for discovering basic manners under public observation."

Tyler barely seemed to hear me. His eyes stayed on Eric, then shifted to the Crown security officer closest to us. "Invoke Crown-heir review. Now. I am challenging cross-pack recognition until the mate case is resolved."

Of course he was. A hand had failed, so he had found a desk.

The security officer spoke into his radio. The Black Ridge vehicle stayed where it was. My bag remained on my shoulder. I was physically free, but apparently my afternoon had been promoted from public grabbing to government delay.

Crown security led us inside to a secure registry desk. A clerk opened my mate file. Eric stayed a few steps away from me. Tyler stood on the other side of the desk and looked like he was trying to win an argument by refusing to blink.

The clerk rose when a tall man in a dark suit entered. "Chancellor Vane. The direct-heir review was invoked at the transfer area."

So this was Silas Vane. He sat, read the recorded rejection and my refusal to accept it, then looked at me. "Ms. Cross, Prince Tyler's status activates the Crown-heir review clause. The review period is thirty days."

"Thirty days for what?"

"Formal severance and cross-pack registry recognition may be delayed while the review remains open."

I folded my sore arm against my stomach. "Can he make me live with him for thirty days?"

"No."

"Can he stop me from leaving Crown territory?"

Vane's expression did not change. "Not by mate status alone. The clause does not grant bodily control, sexual access, or authority to force your residence."

Tyler said, "She's my fated mate."

Vane turned his head toward him. "And the law still does not make her your property, Prince Tyler."

Silence settled for half a second. I almost liked the Chancellor. That felt dangerous enough to keep to myself. "Then what happens to my job?" I asked.

"The registry cannot complete ordinary cross-pack recognition while the review is open," Vane said. "You may physically leave under a protective arrangement while the case remains pending."

I frowned. "Say that without the Council language."

The clerk glanced at Vane. Vane did not seem offended. "Your mate record and ordinary cross-pack registration remain unresolved for the review period. That can delay how the transfer is formally recorded. It does not require you to remain in Crown territory."

That was the answer I needed. The paperwork could follow me around like an unwanted relative. My body did not have to stay with it. I looked at Eric.

He did not answer for me. "If that is what you want, Black Ridge will use the lawful arrangement available."

"It is what I want."

Tyler's mouth flattened. "You're really leaving with him."

"I'm leaving for the job I accepted. We have covered this."

Vane returned his attention to the file. "Then the immediate bodily question is settled. The registry issue remains open for the review period."

Thirty days was ugly. Thirty days could interfere with paperwork and pack recognition. But it was not a cage. Tyler could slow the legal ending of a bond he had already broken. He could not use it to choose my bed, my home, or where my feet went next.

I let my sore arm hang at my side instead of protecting it against my body. It still hurt. The red mark had not vanished because an official had used the correct words. But Tyler was no longer touching me, and the law Vane had just stated did not give him permission to start again.

Vane moved to close the file. Then he stopped. His eyes narrowed slightly at something below the mate record. "There is another filing attached to this household record."

My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag. "Another mate filing?"

"No." Vane scrolled once. "A separate household debt claim."

The words hit harder than they should have. Maybe because Malik's account papers were still inside my bag. Maybe because I had spent too many years learning that money problems in my family usually had Raymond standing somewhere nearby. "Whose filing?" I asked.

Vane looked at the name on the screen, then back at me. "Raymond Cross," he said. "And your name is attached to it."