The Price of Being His Mate

Sylvia’s POV

For one terrifying second, nobody seemed to move.

Cassian was on his knees, his broken arm pressed against his chest. His face had gone pale, but hatred still burned in his eyes. Julian stood over him, calm and terrifying, his golden eyes bright beneath the dark fall of his hair.

“Who…” Cassian’s voice trembled. “Who the hell are you?”

Julian tilted his head. “You were so eager to break my bones a moment ago. Now you want my name?”

“I asked you a question!”

“And I heard you.”

Cassian tried to stand, but pain tore across his face, forcing him back to one knee with a strangled sound.

“Cassian!”

Clara rushed forward and reached for him, then stopped when Julian’s gaze shifted to her. Her concern looked convincing. Almost.

“Look what she has done,” Clara cried, pointing at me. “Sylvia brought this dangerous rogue into her home. He was angry. That doesn’t justify breaking his arm!”

“I’ll surely report this rogue to the elders! Cassian spat. “I’ll have him dragged and chained in the pit where he belongs.”

Without saying a word, Julian took one step closer. “Say that again if you’re man enough to face me.” His voice was cold.

Cassian’s threat immediately died in his throat as the golden light in Julian’s eyes seemed to deepen—a strange pressure spread through the foyer, pressing against my skin. Even Clara went still.

For several seconds, Cassian stared at Julian’s face. His gaze caught on the scars, then on those unmistakable eyes. Fear flickered across his expression before he could hide it.

“No,” he whispered, his breath turning uneven. “Those eyes…” 

Julian’s mouth curved into a faint smile. “Something wrong?”

Cassian looked up at Julian as if a ghost had stepped out of a grave. He had entered my home believing he could take whatever he wanted. Now he looked as if the floor beneath him had cracked.

“Julian Sinclair…” His voice trembled. “This… can’t be. You’re supposed to be dead.”

“And yet you’re the one on the floor.”

Cassian’s face twisted. “You think breaking my arm makes you Alpha? The elders will never accept you. The packs won’t follow a feral exile who crawled out of a fighting pit—“

The words had barely left his mouth when Julian moved again. I saw the decision in his shoulders before he made it. He was going to strike Cassian again. Maybe he would do much worse.

“Stop.” My voice was quiet, but he stopped. “Let him go.”

Julian’s head turned toward me. The anger in his eyes was still there, fierce enough to make my pulse jump.

“This son of a bitch threatened you.”

“And he’ll keep threatening me if we give him a reason to make himself the victim.” I held his gaze. “Think, Julian. If Cassian leaves here broken beyond repair, the elders will use it against you before you can challenge him. He wants them to see you as a monster.”

For a moment, Julian said nothing. Then, after a brief pause, he finally stepped back.

Cassian dragged in a breath as Clara helped him rise, careful not to touch his injured arm. He leaned heavily on her, his face twisted with pain and humiliation.

“This isn’t over!” He shouted, turning toward me. “You have no idea what you’ve started.”

“I know exactly what I started,” I shot back, forcing myself to hold his gaze. “You have twenty-four hours to vacate the Mercer packhouse. The deed is in my family’s name. If you want to challenge that, do it through the proper channels.”

A muscle ticked so tightly in Cassian’s jaw that I feared his teeth might shatter. 

“You’ll regret humiliating me, Sylvia.”

“Then you should stop giving me reasons.”

Clara’s gaze slid to Julian. She tried to hide her fear, but I noticed the way her fingers tightened around Cassian’s sleeve.

“You can’t trust him, Sylvia,” she said quietly. “Whatever he claims to be, he’s dangerous. He’ll turn on you the moment you’re no longer useful.”

I smiled, though her words made something twist in my stomach. “Keep that advice to yourself. It might be of use to you one day.”

Her expression hardened. Before she could respond, Cassian pulled her toward the door. A few steps later, he looked over his shoulder at Julian.

“The elders will hear about this before sunset.”

“Then don’t keep them waiting,” Julian said.

The door slammed behind them, and silence settled over the foyer. Only then did I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My hands were trembling at my sides, but I curled them into fists before Julian could notice.

“Are you hurt?” His voice broke the silence.

“No.”

For a moment, his eyes moved over my face, searching for a crack in my answer. 

“You don’t have to pretend with me.”

“I’m not pretending.” I glanced briefly at the door before looking back at him. “I’m assessing the damage. Cassian will go straight to the elders and Clara will make sure he tells the story in a way that paints us as the villains.”

“Let them talk.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one whose family name is already under attack.”

His expression shifted. “You think I don’t know what it costs to have a name used against you?”

The question caught me off guard. For a moment, the feared fighter standing before me looked less like a weapon and more like a man who had spent years being hunted by the very people who should have protected him.

I looked away quickly, fixing my attention on anything other than him. The golden glow in Julian’s eyes had faded, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened when he called me his mate. 

I had made a deal with him. I needed his blood, his power, and most importantly, his help in reaching my family vault. But I had never agreed to become tangled in some fated bond.

“About what you said,” I turned sharply toward him.

“Which part?”

“The part…” My voice caught in my throat. “The part about being your mate. This arrangement began as a deal. I chose you because we could help each other. I didn’t choose—” I stopped, frustrated by how difficult it was to say. “I didn’t plan for this.”

His jaw tightened.

“I’m not forcing you to accept being my mate, Sylvia.”

“Then don’t treat me like something that belongs to you.”

Something flickered across his expression when he heard those words. For a second, I thought he would argue. Instead, he took a slow breath.

“Fine,” he said. “You make your choices. I’ll make mine.”

It wasn’t an apology. It wasn’t a promise, either. But it was more than I had expected from a man who had just broken another man’s arm for touching me.

I needed space to think. The elders, Cassian, Clara, the vault—too many problems were closing in at once. Without hesitation, I turned toward the hallway, determined to get away from Julian before my thoughts became even more tangled.

I took one step.

A sudden, searing pain struck my ankle.