Chapter two

Silence filled the room as Rowan strode through the doorway, his broad shoulders nearly filling the space.

My father stood up almost immediately, his expression brightening as he looked at Rowan.

"You made it in good time," he said, gesturing towards the seats.

Rowan nodded and walked towards the chair closest to mine. The mark on my wrist began to burn. It seemed the mate bond was still reacting to his presence, even after everything that had happened.

I turned towards Nathan, wanting to see his reaction.

His face had gone pale. He looked between my father and Rowan before suddenly standing up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.

"Father, he can't be here! He killed my father!" he exclaimed, staring at my father as though demanding an explanation.

My father slowly turned towards him, his expression unreadable, though a hint of annoyance crossed his face.

"Sit down. I invited him," he said coldly.

Nathan hesitated before lowering himself into his seat. He clearly wasn't happy about it, but he didn't dare argue further.

My father turned his attention to me.

"So, you rejected Rowan?"

My eyes widened as I stared at him.

How did he know?

"How… how did you know, Father?" I stammered, searching his face for any hint of an explanation.

"Eliza told me an hour ago." His eyes stayed fixed on me. "Ten years ago, the seer predicted that you would awaken your wolf by your eighteenth birthday, and that your mate would be a man from the north. I sent for Rowan the moment his war ended. A mate like that would have brought me the northern army." He paused. "The seer died, and you never awakened your wolf. You're twenty-one now, Alice, and you're still wolfless."

His voice was cold, each word cutting deeper than the last.

My hands began to shake as I stared at him, and I struggled to keep my tears from falling.

"And why are you telling me this?" I asked, my voice cracking.

I turned to look at everyone in the hall, hoping someone would say something, anything, but nobody did. My blurry eyes finally landed on Rowan.

His cold eyes seemed to burn through me, but there wasn't a single trace of concern on his face.

What had I expected? That he would care about me after I rejected him?

A dry laugh escaped my lips as I looked away.

"You rejected your mate, Alice." My father's voice rang through the hall, drawing my attention back to him. "You have no importance in this house anymore."

I froze.

"When the seer named your mate, I signed a second contract with the Brickwells, who hold our southern border, in case the bond failed," he announced loudly. "It has failed. You are to marry their son by the next Lunar Moon."

I stared at him, unable to believe what I had just heard. Was this really all I was worth to him?

"No!" I snapped, my voice loud enough to echo through the hall. "You can't tell me what to do. I'm not your property!"

I glared at my father, refusing to back down even when his expression darkened.

"Alice, the contract was signed when the seer made her announcement," my mother explained calmly. I turned towards her, my mouth falling open.

"Are you serious?" I snapped. "I don't even know him, and you expect me to marry him?"

I placed my hands over my face, trying to control my growing frustration. How could they expect me to marry a man I'd never even met simply because a seer had said so?

"There's a way out," my mother continued.

I quickly lowered my hands and turned to her. "And what is it?"

"If you find someone willing to marry you before the Lunar Moon, the contract will be broken."

A glimmer of hope lit up inside me. A small smile spread across my face as I considered her words. Good. All I had to do was find someone willing to marry me. That couldn't be too difficult, could it?

"Sister, do you honestly think anyone would be willing to marry someone like you?" Eliza scoffed, her eyes roaming over me. "You're nothing but a used shoe."

I clenched my jaw.

"And you're nothing but a fox that keeps stealing everything I throw away!" I snapped back.

My chest heaved as I glared at her. I was done. Done with being insulted, done with being treated like I was worthless, and especially done with people who claimed to be my family but didn't give a damn about me.

I caught Rowan's eyes dropping to my wrist, to the mark that wouldn't stop burning, and then lifting again as if he had seen nothing.

Nathan sat through our argument without showing the slightest interest. His gaze remained fixed on Rowan, as though the rest of us didn't exist.

"Why are you here after what you've done?" he asked coldly.

Rowan slowly turned towards him. The atmosphere in the hall seemed to change. His presence was suffocating, carrying the same commanding aura I had always associated with an Alpha.

"I came because I was asked. I'll leave when I'm done," Rowan replied calmly. His tone left no room for argument. For the first time since he'd entered the hall, Nathan seemed to have nothing to say. Someone willing to marry me.

I looked across the hall at the one man in it who had every reason to say no.