Chapter Four : The Agreement

Vera’s POV

Cassian's reply arrived two days later, carried by an Ironclaw messenger who refused refreshments and requested a private audience with Adrian. 

I was reviewing winter stores with the steward when a guard came to fetch me, and I followed him to the council chamber without asking why my husband suddenly wanted me present.

Adrian stood at the head of the table with Mordecai beside him. A letter bearing Ironclaw's black seal lay open between them, and a second document had been prepared for signatures. Neither man offered me a greeting when I entered.

“Cassian has agreed to receive you,” Adrian said. “His council requires a formal transfer document, and the arrangements will be completed once the healers certify that you are suitable.”

“Suitable for what?” I asked. “You have been speaking about a transfer for days, but neither of you has explained what Cassian expects from me after I arrive.”

Mordecai indicated the chair opposite him. “Alpha Cassian's fiancée, Elara, has been declared unable to conceive. Ironclaw requires an heir to protect its succession, and the transfer would place you under Cassian's authority for that purpose.”

I looked at the document without touching it. “You intend for me to bear his children while he remains engaged to another woman, and you believe I should hear this as an ordinary condition of travel.”

“Do not twist the agreement,” Adrian said. “Cassian's household needs an heir, and you have no children after three years of marriage. The healers believe there is no medical reason you cannot conceive.”

“The healers have never examined me for this purpose,” I replied. “You have taken a marriage that you wanted to end and turned it into permission for another man to use me.”

Mordecai slid the document toward me. “You will reside at Ironclaw, submit to the household's medical supervision, and bear the children required to establish the succession. Lady Elara will raise those children in her position as Cassian's future Luna.”

I read the first page, then the second. The words were written in the same careful script used for land grants and military appointments, and the final section allowed for my release only after the receiving household determined that enough heirs had been secured.

“How many children?” I asked. “You have written that I may be released when the obligation is satisfied, but you have not said who decides when that happens.”

“That will be determined by Ironclaw's succession requirements,” Mordecai answered. “We cannot promise a number before the receiving council assesses its needs.”

“So it could be one child, or several, or every year of my life until somebody decides I have done enough.” I pushed the pages away. “I will not sign this.”

Adrian's jaw tightened. “The transfer does not require your signature to be valid. The Alpha's authorization and the receiving bloodline's acceptance satisfy the old law.”

“Then why did you bring me here?” I demanded. “If you have already decided that my consent means nothing, what possible reason is there for making me listen to the terms?”

“Because you need to understand what is expected when you reach Ironclaw,” he said. “Cassian is not patient with disobedience, and I would prefer that you arrive without causing a diplomatic incident.”

I turned to Mordecai. “You have known me since I was a child in the servants' quarters. You watched me marry Adrian, and you have seen the work I did as Luna. Are you really going to certify this?”

“The preservation of the bloodline is greater than any one person's comfort,” he replied. “Your circumstances are unfortunate, but the law offers you a protected place in a respected Alpha household.”

“Protection should not mean that I lose the right to decide whether I have children.” I rose from the table. “You can write whatever you like in that ledger, but you cannot make me agree with it.”

Adrian caught my wrist as I passed his chair. His grip was not painful, but the familiarity of it made me angrier than if he had shouted. He had barely touched me in months, yet he still expected to stop me whenever I tried to leave a room.

“Do not embarrass me when Cassian's escort arrives,” he warned. “Whatever you think of this arrangement, it is the only lawful way to end our marriage.”

I pulled my hand free. “You should have thought about your embarrassment before announcing Selene as your mate in front of our guests. I will not protect your reputation while you send me away.”

The escort arrived the following morning with two covered carriages and a written order for my departure. 

Lyra helped me pack the clothes I owned before my marriage, and I left the jewelry Adrian had given me on the dressing table because I did not want to carry another reminder of his generosity.

“You could try speaking to him once more,” Lyra suggested as she folded my winter cloak. “Perhaps he will let you remain here until everyone has had time to calm down.”

“He has had six months to consider what he wanted,” I answered. “He does not need more time, and I will not beg to stay where I am unwanted.”

Adrian waited in the entrance hall with Selene beside him while the Ironclaw guards loaded my belongings. 

I had reached the carriage when the escort captain called me back to check the papers against his travel orders. 

“What happens if I refuse the arrangement once we arrive?” I asked him. 

He glanced at the signed agreement before answering in a voice that carried clearly across the steps. “Any children you bear Alpha Cassian will be surrendered to Lady Elara to raise as her own.”