Chapter Seven

Killian POV

The meeting is already tense before I even step foot inside the chamber. Caelan and his two Beatas are seated beside each other at the long table. They are postured like kings in waiting, as if the outcome is a formality and not a negotiation. They look comfortable and confident, too confident, then again, they don't know the reason behind this meeting yet.

Two elders are already seated, Elder Brannick and Elder Ysa. Neither of them speaks when I enter, they know this isn't a conversation for small talk. Not when we're meeting here. It's a reckoning. One that's been building since the moment I caught Aurora's scent in the hallway, and everything I thought I could control shattered in my hands.

Taking my seat at the head of the table, the one that belongs to Nightwind's Alpha, the one I've held for over a decade, I let my gaze cut to Caelan. I don't speak, I let the silence stretch on just long enough for his smile to falter.

“We’re not going through with the bond and the marriage,” I say without any hesitation.

Brannick straightens slightly, and Ysa's eyes narrow at me, but it's Caelan who speaks first.

“You must be joking.” His voice is calm, but his hand curls into a fist on the table, showing he's anything but calm. “The wedding’s tonight. Our packs are prepared, and this alliance has been promised.”

“It’s not happening.” I say, without blinking. “Nightwind is retracting the agreement.”

"On what grounds exactly?" one of Caelan's Betas demands as he leans foward. “The terms were signed. Your daughter was offered. She agreed—”

“She was commanded,” I correct coldly. “That’s not the same thing.”

“She’s your ward,” Caelan snaps. “Her agreement is your voice, she doesn't need to say anything if you agree. You made the choice, and I accepted. You don’t get to change your mind just because—”

“I’m not here to debate rights or customs,” I snap, my voice cutting through the room. “I’m ending the bond for the safety of my pack, for the safety of my family.”

That gets their attention, now they are even more interested in what I'm saying.

Brannick leans in, his fingers steepled before him. He fixes me a hard look. “Explain.”

“Caelan’s recent movements along the western ridge have gone unaddressed." I explain. "Patrols have crossed into contested ground. Tensions have risen among border scouts. There’s talk of expansion. And I will not place our only unmated daughter into a territory where instability is growing, especially when she would be bound to the one stoking it.”

I don't move, I stay perfectly still and let the words settle in the room.

Caelan’s face darkens. “You dare accuse me of violating sacred lines?”

“I’m not accusing,” I reply, my voice even. He knows that I'm not accusing it's a fact and he doesn't like that I'm putting the facts out there for the elders to hear. “I’m stating a fact. Your wolves have been sighted where they don’t belong. You’ve ignored warnings. You’ve denied trespass, yet the evidence is clear. If I send Aurora into your lands now, I may as well be sending her into a war.”

Ysa exchanges a glance with Brannick, but neither speaks. They know I have a right to refuse for this, Aurora is the only daughter in this pack. She may not be from my bloodline, but she's still classed as the packs daughter.

Caelan rises from his seat, his body is trembling just slightly as he fights to stay in control. “Do you realize the insult you’re delivering to my entire pack? To me?”

His innocent act needs to end now not later. “I’m well aware,” I answer, standing as well as he can't tower over me. “And I don’t give a damn about your pride. My pack’s safety comes first. Aurora stays here.”

“You’re claiming instability,” Brannick says slowly. “But you haven’t provided a full report. No scout logs. No neutral accounts.”

“They’ll be sent by midday, Monday,” I tell him. “But I don’t need a war to begin before I act. If Caelan’s wolves are moving like they’re testing our borders, I won’t hand him one of ours as a token of peace.”

“She’s not a token,” Caelan growls. “She’s a promise.”

I scoff, he holds onto the promise like it can't be broken. “She was,” I say quietly, “but that promise is broken.”

The room is heavy with silence and I wait. I can feel my wolf pacing beenath my skin, he's straining against the mask that I've kept in place since the moment I threw that cloth at her and walked away. The bond is still burning in my chest and hers.

“She was raised for this bond,” Caelan says at last, quieter now, as if he's learning that nothing he says can change this. “Trained for it.”

He thinks that will sway me and make me do things different, agree to this bond, but I won't.

Gripping the back of my chair, I stare at him and keep my voice calm. “She’s endured enough training, you're right about that. The fact is though, what she needs now is protection. And if you truly want peace with Nightwind, you won’t fight this.”

He says nothing, but his Betas bristle beside him, they don't utter a word either. The room has shifted again, because he knows he can't make this move without consequences. If he keeps pushing or pushes too hard, the elders will begin to question why he's so desperate for Aurora, they'll dig and they'll find cracks that he can't afford to be shown.

“We’ll expect compensation,” he says finally, his voice low. I expected this, I'm backing out of a deal so he wants something in return. “Your daughter’s hand was promised. You owe me something.”

“I’ll offer trade in the spring,” I reply. “Our next shipment of pelts and iron from the north line. You can take that back to your council and explain the offer, but you make them aware that Aurora is off the table.”

Caelan nods stiffly, but his eyes are cold. He knows there’s more to this. Even I can see it in the way he watches me as he gathers his cloak and turns toward the door.