C2

“You think a mere pack brother cancels a bond registration for a welcome run?” I asked, my voice slicing through the silence like a silver claw.

I let out a jagged laugh, staring directly into Ethan’s shifting eyes. “That’s truly touching. Are you positive he’s just your brother, Lila, or is he the secret mate you’ve been hiding in the shadows?”

Ethan’s face darkened, the Alpha blood in him simmering. “That is enough. Aria, show some respect and apologize to Lila this instant.”

I tightened my grip on the edge of the table, my resolve hardening like stone. “I’m making a blood oath here and now. I will never bind myself to Ethan Draven. If I ever crawl back to this pathetic excuse for an Alpha, let the Moon Goddess curse him to never sire an heir to the Draven line.”

I didn't wait for a reaction. I turned and stalked out of the Sunrise Den, leaving the air heavy with the scent of a broken oath.

“Aria’s got quite the bite for a lawyer, doesn't she?” Victor Draven chuckled awkwardly behind me, trying to break the tension.

“Ethan, don’t let it get to you,” Dominic added. “Just show her a little dominance on the ice at practice tomorrow; she’ll remember her place and come crawling back.”

“Why even chase her?” another social Alpha scoffed. “Don't spoil your females, Ethan. If you do, they’ll think they can run the pack better than you.”

“Shut your mouths!” Ethan roared. I could hear the frustration snapping in his voice even as the door swung shut.

Lila leaned into him, her voice a poisonous honey. “Ethan, are you worried about her? I can go to the Stone Legal Chambers and apologize if it helps you feel better. I don't want to be the reason for your anger. Look, you’ve made the whole pack uncomfortable.”

I remembered how she used to nudge him under the table at Northbridge Academy, those subtle omens of the betrayal to come.

“I’m not angry with you, Milly,” Ethan’s voice softened, losing its edge. “I could never stay mad at you, no matter what Aria does.”

“I feel the same,” she whispered.

While they laughed, I made my way to the Draven Alpha Estate. It was a sprawling territory gifted to us by High Alpha Magnus as a mating present.

“Aria? You’re back early,” Linda Torres, the pack maid, said as I walked through the heavy stone archway. “Weren’t you and Ethan sealing the bond at the Council Hall today? Why are you alone?”

I didn't answer. I went straight for the stairs, grabbing my single suitcase. I only needed the essentials.

As I passed Ethan’s study, I saw his tablet on the desk. My mind flashed back to a night months ago when I’d reached for it to check the hockey scores, and he’d nearly taken my head off.

“Why so possessive of a piece of tech?” I muttered.

I tapped the screen. A password. I tried his birth date. Denied. I tried my own. Denied.

Then, a memory surfaced—Lila’s arrival at the estate years ago. September 2nd. Labor Day. I punched in 0902. The screen flickered to life.

My stomach did a slow roll as I opened the gallery. No pack documents. No hockey strategies. Just 3,344 photos of Lila.

Lila in the forest. Lila shifted. Ethan and Lila at the Manchester airfield. There wasn't a single image of me. The only proof I existed in his life was the formal portrait in the bedroom, and even in that, he looked like he was facing an executioner.

He’d always claimed he hated the camera. Apparently, he only hated it when I was in the frame.

I powered it down and wiped my prints.

“Are you leaving on another legal circuit, Aria?” Linda asked as I dragged my suitcase toward the front door.

“Something like that,” I replied, my voice steady and professional. I didn't look back.

The next evening, Ethan walked into the estate to a tomb-like silence. No scent of me. No messages.

“She’s got some nerve, trying to play hard to get now,” Ethan muttered to himself. “Linda! Did Aria come home yesterday?”

“She did, Alpha. She packed a bag and mentioned a business trip. She didn't give a return date.”

Ethan paced the floor. “Is she actually working a case, or is this just another tantrum?”

He convinced himself she’d be back. The wedding portraits were already taken. The pack expected the union. The Council registration was just a formality to him.

“She won't walk,” he whispered, a smirk touching his lips. “She loves the Draven name too much.”

He went upstairs to the guest wing—we’d been sleeping in separate rooms for months—completely failing to notice the massive gap on the wall where our portrait used to hang.

His phone rang. High Alpha Magnus.

“Ethan, is the bond registered? The pack link hasn't updated.”

“Grandpa, something came up at the Den. We’ll finalize the paperwork after your birthday gala. I forgot to mention it.”

“See that you do. I don't like loose ends. And I heard the adopted girl is back?”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. He remembered how Magnus had tried to marry Lila off five years ago to a rival Alpha, and how she’d vanished into the northern territories the next morning. It was only after Ethan got engaged to me that the family peace had been restored.

“Yeah, she’s back,” Ethan said.

“Fine. Tell your father to bring her to the gala. She’s still part of the pack. But Ethan... get that license signed with Aria. Understood?”

“I understand.”

Ethan rubbed his temples. The gala was tomorrow. He opened his chat with me. The last message was his own, telling me he couldn't make it to the Council. He waited for me to type, but the screen stayed blank.