CHAPTER THREE: THE COUNCIL OF ELDERS

The silk of the dress felt like ice against my skin, but it was the weight of the collar that truly made it hard to breathe. Every time I moved, the diamonds caught the light, reminding me that I was a high-priced pet.

A sharp knock at the door made me flinch.

Two women walked in, carrying trays of jewelry and makeup. The older one had graying hair pulled into a tight, unforgiving bun. Her eyes were sharp as she looked me up and down.

"I am Eloise, the head of the domestic staff," she said, her voice formal and clipped. "This is Laila. We have been tasked with making you presentable for the Council. The Alpha King does not like to be kept waiting."

Laila, the younger girl, kept her head down. She looked like she wanted to say something, but the presence of Eloise kept her silent.

"Presentable for what exactly?" I asked, my voice trembling. "Is there a reason I’m being dressed up like a doll?"

Eloise stepped forward, her fingers cold as she adjusted the collar. "Tonight is the Contract Recognition. The Elders of the pack must witness the official signing. They need to see that the woman Rider purchased is capable of carrying the Royal bloodline."

"And if they don't think I am?"

Eloise paused, a flicker of pity crossing her face before it vanished. "Then God help you, child. Because the Council is not as patient as our King."

Just as they finished, the door swung open again. Lia stood there, looking stunning in a gold gown that left very little to the imagination. She looked at me with pure, unadulterated hatred.

"Still here?" Lia sneered, walking into the room and dismissing the maids with a wave of her hand. "I thought you might have had the sense to jump off the balcony by now."

"I'm sure you'd love that," I said, meeting her gaze in the mirror.

Lia laughed, a cold and hollow sound. "Don't get comfortable, Bailey. You think that collar means you’re special? It’s a tracking device. Rider doesn't trust you. He thinks you’re a flight risk, just like your pathetic mother was."

I whirled around. "Don't you dare talk about my mother."

"Why not? She ran too, didn't she? And look how that turned out," Lia whispered, leaning in so close I could smell her cloying perfume. "Tonight, the Elders will see you for what you are. A low-ranked Omega who was bought for her womb. Rider will never mark you. He will never love you. You are a vessel, and once you're empty, I’ll be the one to show you the door."

The Great Hall was a sea of dark suits and heavy scents. The atmosphere was stifling. At the end of the hall, on a raised dais, sat the Council of Elders. Seven ancient wolves who held the laws of the pack in their withered hands.

But it was the three men standing in front of them that drew every eye.

The Triplets.

Rider stood in the center, looking lethal in a black tuxedo. To his left was Declan, who had a wicked smirk and eyes that seemed to see through everyone. To his right was Raven, the silent one, his face a mask of cold indifference. They were the most powerful Alphas in existence, and tonight, they looked like they were ready to judge the world.

Rider’s eyes found mine the moment I entered. The air in my lungs vanished. The pull was so strong I almost stumbled.

Rider didn't move. He didn't smile. He just watched me with those piercing gray eyes as I walked down the long aisle toward them.

"She arrives," one of the Elders, a man named Zelda, announced. His voice was like grinding stones. "The daughter of Lancaster. The price has been paid, and the bloodline is verified."

I reached the dais, my heart hammering. Rider stepped down, his hand wrapping firmly around my waist. The heat of his palm burned through the silk of my dress. It wasn't a comforting hold. It was a claim.

"She is the one," Rider said to the Council, his voice booming through the hall. "She will provide the heir to the Thorne line."

"A bold claim, Rider," a new voice interrupted.

I turned to see a man approaching from the side of the hall. He was handsome, with light brown hair and a warm, inviting smile that was a stark contrast to Rider’s coldness. He was an Alpha, too, but his energy didn't feel like a weight on my chest.

"Eric," Rider growled, his grip on my waist tightening painfully. "You weren't invited to this part of the ceremony."

"I’m an Alpha of this pack, Rider. I don't need an invitation to witness a historic contract," Eric said, his eyes locking onto mine. He stepped closer, ignoring Rider’s warning growl. "So, this is the girl. She’s far too beautiful to be hidden away in this dark castle."

Eric reached out, taking my hand before Rider could stop him. He pressed a soft kiss to my knuckles, his eyes never leaving mine. "I’m Eric. If the King here ever forgets his manners, you can always find a friend in me, Bailey."

The room went deathly silent.

I felt the shift in Rider before I saw it. The air began to vibrate with his fury. His scent changed, becoming sharp and overwhelming.

"Take your hands off her," Rider whispered, a sound more terrifying than a roar.

"Relax, Rider. It’s just a greeting," Eric said, though he didn't pull away. "Unless you're worried she might prefer someone who doesn't treat her like a prisoner?"

Rider didn't respond with words. He yanked me back, pulling me flush against his chest. His arm wound around my neck, his thumb resting right over my pulse point. I could feel his heart racing against my back.

"Step away from what belongs to me, Eric." Rider hissed, his wolf surfacing in his eyes. The gray was gone, replaced by a violent, glowing gold. "She is the mother of my children. If you touch her again, Eric, I will consider it an act of war against the throne."

The Elders began to murmur, the tension in the room reaching a breaking point. Declan and Raven stepped forward, their own Alpha auras flaring to support their brother.

"The contract is not yet signed, Rider," Elder Zelda reminded him. "Until the ink is dry, she is not officially yours in the eyes of the law."

Rider looked at the Council, then down at me. The look in his eyes was a mix of possession and something I couldn't name. It looked almost like pain.

"Then let’s sign it," Rider said.

He grabbed my hand, dragging me toward the stone table where the parchment lay. A silver dagger sat beside it.

"Wait," I whispered, my voice breaking. "I haven't even read it."

Rider paused, leaning down so his lips were right against my ear. His breath was hot, sending shivers down my spine that I hated myself for feeling.

"You don't need to read it, Bailey," he murmured, his voice a dark caress. "All you need to know is that once your blood hits this paper, you belong to me. Body, soul, and every breath you take."

He picked up the dagger.

I looked at Eric, who was watching with a look of intense concern. I looked at the Elders, who were waiting like vultures. Then I looked at Rider.

"Sign it, Bailey," he murmured. His voice was a low vibration that seemed to command the very blood in my veins. "Accept your place in this pack, and I will ensure your life is one of luxury. Defy me, and you will learn exactly why they call me the Cruel King."

I looked at the parchment. It was thick, yellowed with age, and covered in the elegant, looping script of the Wolf Laws. To everyone else, it was a treaty. To me, it was a receipt for a transaction where I was the goods.

Eric took a step forward, his amber eyes searching mine. "You don't have to do this, Bailey. The Council cannot force a signature obtained through duress. There are other ways. Other packs."

Rider’s snarl was instantaneous, a visceral sound that ripped from his chest. He didn't even turn his head. "One more word, Eric, and I will have your tongue. She is not a guest. She is a debt paid in full."

I looked at the Elders. Zelda sat with his hands folded, his face as cold as the stone floor. He didn't care about my soul or my consent. He only cared about the prophecy of the Thorne line and the strength of the future Alpha.

Lia stood near the pillars, her face pale with a mix of fury and jealousy. She wanted to be in my position, yet she looked at me like I was a disease. She wanted the crown, but she didn't want the man who came with it. I, on the other hand, was terrified of the man but drawn to his scent like a moth to a flame.

"I'll sign," I whispered.

The word felt like a betrayal to my own wolf, who was pacing restlessly in the back of my mind. Rider’s grip on my waist tightened for a split second, a flicker of triumph crossing his features.

He didn't hand me the dagger. He took my right hand, his fingers surprisingly gentle as he guided my index finger toward the blade. The tip was razor sharp. With a swift, practiced motion, he pressed the steel against my skin.

A single drop of crimson blood welled up.

"Now," Rider commanded.

He pressed my bleeding finger onto the bottom of the parchment. The blood soaked into the paper, spreading in a small, jagged circle. Rider didn't waste a second. He took the dagger and sliced his own palm, pressing his hand over my bloody fingerprint.

"It is done," Zelda announced, his voice echoing. "The contract is recognized. Bailey of the Crescent line is now the ward and consort of the Thorne Triplets. May the Moon Mother bless the union."

The room erupted into low murmurs. The weight of the ceremony felt like a physical burden on my shoulders. I was no longer a free wolf. I was a Thorne asset.

Eric looked at me one last time, a look of profound sadness in his eyes, before he turned and walked out of the hall. He knew as well as I did that there was no coming back from this.

Rider turned me around to face him. He didn't care about the witnesses or the protocol. He reached up, his thumb tracing the line of my lower lip. His scent—dark cedar and expensive bourbon—wrapped around me, clouding my judgment.

"You are mine now, little wolf," he said, his voice dropping so low only I could hear. "Don't think that signing this paper makes you a Queen. It makes you a servant to this bloodline. You will eat when I tell you. You will sleep when I tell you. And you will give me the sons I require."

"Is that all I am to you?" I asked, my voice trembling with a mix of anger and the strange, unwanted pull of the bond. "A biological necessity?"

Rider’s eyes darkened. He leaned in, his nose brushing against mine. "Right now, you are a headache. But by the time I'm done with you, you’ll be begging for the very chains you hate."

He stepped back, addressing his brothers. "Declan. Raven. She is moved to the Royal Suite tonight. See to it that her things are transferred. I have matters to discuss with the Council."

Declan, the triplet with the playful but dangerous smirk, stepped forward. He leaned in, sniffing the air around my neck with a boldness that made me gasp. "She smells like trouble, Rider. My favorite kind."

Raven remained silent, but his black eyes were fixed on me with a cold, analytical stare. He didn't need to speak to be terrifying.

"Take her," Rider snapped, clearly annoyed by Declan’s proximity.

Declan gripped my arm, his touch much lighter than Rider’s but no less firm. "Come along, Princess. Let’s get you settled into your new cage. It has a great view of the forest you’ll never be allowed to run in."

He led me out of the hall, Lia’s hateful glare burning into my back the entire way. We walked through winding corridors of cold stone and velvet tapestries until we reached a set of massive gold-leafed doors.

"Here we are," Declan said, pushing the doors open.

The suite was breathtakingly beautiful, filled with fresh lilies and silk furniture, but all I saw was the heavy lock on the door.

"Eloise will be here shortly to assist you," Declan said, pausing at the threshold. He looked me up and down, his smirk fading into something more serious. "A word of advice, Bailey. Don't try to run. Rider has a way of finding things he owns, and he isn't gentle when he has to retrieve them."

He closed the door, and I heard the unmistakable sound of a deadbolt sliding into place.

I was alone.

I walked over to the large window, looking out at the sprawling territory of the Thorne pack. The moon was high, casting a silver glow over the trees. Somewhere out there, wolves were running free. Somewhere out there, there was a life I would never have.

I sat on the edge of the massive bed, my head in my hands. The collar felt heavier than ever.