Chapter 3: The Marsh Debt

The marsh stank of rot and copper.

Draven set me down behind a dead tree. “Stay. Don’t breathe loud.”

I could walk now. The leash was gone. I still felt hollow. “I’m coming.”

“No,” he said. “Witches smell omega. You’re bait I’m not using.”

“You called me your mate,” I said. “Mates don’t get left behind trees.”

His eyes cut to me. “Mates who can’t fight get killed. Can you fight?”

I thought of scrubbing floors. Dodging kicks. “No.”

“Then stay.” He pulled a blade from his spine. Long. Black. “If I’m not back by moonrise, run south. My second will find you.”

He left. No sound.

I counted to ten. Then I followed.

The marsh was fog and black water. Trees grew sideways. I heard chanting.

I found them in a clearing. Caiden. Lyra. And her.

The witch.

She wasn’t old. She was young. Beautiful. Bald. Symbols carved into her scalp. She stood in a circle of bones.

“—the bloodline heir,” Lyra was saying. “That was the deal. You remove Wren, I get Caiden, and you get the firstborn.”

“You failed,” the witch said. Her voice was insects. “The omega lives. The Butcher broke my leash. The debt is unpaid.”

Caiden had his hand on his sword. “We can still kill her. Debt paid.”

I stepped on a branch.

All three heads turned.

Lyra gasped. “You’re alive.”

“Disappointed?” I said. My voice shook but it worked.

Caiden drew his sword. “How—”

Draven dropped from a tree.

He landed between me and Caiden. No warning. Just death appearing.

He didn’t look at me. “I told you to stay.”

“I told you I’m not bait,” I said.

The witch smiled. Her teeth were black. “The Butcher and his little leashed wolf. How romantic. Did you enjoy my brand, omega?”

“It itched,” I said.

Draven made a sound. Almost a laugh.

“Debt is debt,” the witch said. “I want the firstborn of the Goddess’s consort. Give me the womb and I’ll leave your pack alone.”

“You’ll leave anyway,” Draven said. “In pieces.”

“You can’t kill me,” she said. “I’m bound to the marsh. Kill me and the marsh drowns your lands.”

“I wasn’t going to kill you,” Draven said. He looked at Lyra. “I was going to trade.”

Lyra stepped back. “What? No. Caiden—”

“You made the deal,” Draven said. “You pay the debt.”

“I offered Wren’s baby!” Lyra screamed. “Not mine!”

“You offered the firstborn of the Goddess’s consort,” the witch said. “You are not the consort. She is.” She pointed at me.

Caiden put himself in front of Lyra. “Touch her and I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Draven said. “Bleed again?”

I stepped beside Draven. My legs shook. “Lyra, why? I never did anything to you.”

Lyra’s face twisted. “You existed. Mother always said the Goddess would choose an omega to humble us. I wasn’t going to be humbled by you. I was supposed to be Luna.”

“So you sold my kid,” I said. “To a witch.”

“To save the pack!” she cried. “The bloodline curse kills our pups. Caiden and I were going to rule. We didn’t need a healed bloodline. We needed power.”

The witch clapped. “Family drama. Delicious. But I still need payment.”

Draven looked at me. “Wren. Can you lie?”

“What?”

“Can you lie to a witch,” he said. “Right now.”

I didn’t understand. Then I did.

I looked at the witch. “I’m pregnant.”

The clearing went still.

Caiden’s sword lowered an inch. “What?”

Lyra’s mouth opened. “You— you couldn’t—”

The witch’s head snapped to me. She sniffed. “You’re not.”

“Blood bond,” Draven said smoothly. “Full consummation an hour ago. In the chapel. The Goddess accepts it.”

He was lying. We hadn’t. But the blood bond we did was real.

The witch stepped to the edge of her circle. “Let me taste. If you lie to a marsh witch, I take your tongue.”

Draven put his arm in front of me. “You’ll taste nothing. Debt is due. Take the firstborn.”

“From who?” the witch said.

Draven pointed at Lyra. “Her. She’s carrying Caiden’s pup. Two weeks. You can smell it.”

What.

Lyra went white. “No. That’s not—”

The witch inhaled. Smiled. “Alpha blood. Young. Unclaimed. Yes. That will pay.”

Caiden turned to Lyra. “You’re pregnant?”

“I was going to tell you,” she sobbed. “After we were safe.”

“You were going to trap me,” Caiden said. Horror and rage.

“You rejected me for her,” I said to Caiden. “She trapped you both.”

The witch stepped out of her circle. The marsh boiled. “A deal is a deal. The firstborn comes to me when it’s born. Or the mother dies now.”

Draven looked at me. “Choice.”

“My choice?” I said.

“You’re the consort,” he said. “The Goddess chose you. The debt is yours to call.”

Me. Omega. Branded. Weak.

I looked at Lyra. Sobbing. Pregnant. She sold my future child.

I looked at Caiden. Who burned me.

I looked at Draven. Who broke my leash.

“Take her,” I said. “Not the baby. Her. Now.”

The witch grinned. “As the consort wills.”

She moved fast. One second Lyra was there. Next she was in the circle, screaming.

Caiden lunged. Draven hit him once. Caiden dropped.

The bones rose. The circle closed. Lyra’s screams cut off.

The witch licked her lips. “Debt paid. The bloodline curse is still yours to solve, little wolf. My sister will come for you next.”

Sister.

The witch sank into the marsh. Gone.

The clearing was quiet. Caiden was out cold. Lyra was gone.

I sank to my knees. My hands shook.

Draven crouched in front of me. “You chose. That’s Alpha.”

“I chose death,” I said. “I’m not Alpha.”

“You chose justice,” he said. “That’s stronger.”

He picked me up. “Summit is five days. We train starting now. Because her sister is worse. And she knows your name.”

He carried me out of the marsh.

Behind us, Caiden groaned.

Draven didn’t look back. “Leave him. He’s no prince now. He’s bait.”