Fire

MERIKH

I sat at my desk and looked at the fire. The office was quiet. My son was asleep in the other room, and my new wife was in the bath. My mind was busy. I could still feel the warmth of Maya’s skin on my fingers. Her wrists had been so small, so fragile under my hands, but her eyes had been full of a wild, beautiful fire.

The door to my study opened. Thomas, my Beta and my most trusted friend, walked in. He closed the heavy wooden door behind him and stood in front of my desk.

"The mole in the Red Leaf pack just sent a message, Merikh," Thomas said. "He confirms that Caleb has officially announced the banishment. The pack believes Maya is gone forever. They think she is wandering the neutral zone as a weak, useless rogue. They have no idea she is here with you."

"Good," I said. "Then our plan is going exactly how we wanted."

Thomas looked at the tablet on my desk. He saw the green light of the digital marriage registry. He frowned.

"Are you certain about this, Merikh?" Thomas asked. "You just married her. You signed a legal contract with a woman you met two hours ago in a dirty tavern. Is this safe?"

"It is completely safe," I said. "Maya is the daughter of the Silver Crest Alpha. Her blood is pure. The Lycan Council cannot say anything against our child. They wanted me to find a noble wife. Now I have one."

"But she is broken, Merikh," Thomas said. "She just lost her son. She is full of grief and anger. She is not a normal woman who will sit quietly in your castle and smile for the cameras."

"I do not want a woman who sits quietly and smiles," I said. "I want a woman who has a reason to fight. Her anger makes her strong. She will survive the pregnancy because she wants to live to see Caleb die."

Thomas stepped closer to the desk. He looked directly into my eyes.

"And what about the other clause?" Thomas asked. "The one about love? I saw the contract, Merikh. You wrote that if either of you falls in love, the deal is canceled. Why would you agree to such a dangerous rule?"

"Because it is a rule I cannot break," I said. "I am incapable of love, Thomas. You know what I am. You know what my life has been."

"I know," Thomas said. "But you are a man. She is a very beautiful woman. She has a strong spirit. Are you sure you can touch her, sleep in the same bed with her, and never feel anything?"

"I am sure," I said. "My heart does not work that way. I will give her my soldiers, she will give me my heir, and we will destroy our enemies. That is all this is. It is a business transaction. There is no risk of love."

Thomas looked at me for a long time. He sighed and nodded his head. "If you are sure, Sire. I will begin preparing the soldiers for her tomorrow morning. We will have them ready in the courtyard."

"Thank you, Thomas," I said. "Dismissed."

Thomas bowed his head and walked out of the room. He closed the door quietly behind him.

I was left alone with my thoughts. I stood up from my chair and walked to the large glass window. I looked out at the dark trees of the forest.

I was a cold and distant man. I knew that. My life had made me hard. The only warmth I had ever known was the love of my mother. She was a gentle woman, but she had been forced to hide me from my father for the first ten years of my life.

I was a bastard. Under the law, I had no right to the throne. But the old Lycan King had discovered me, and he had loved me no less than his legitimate sons. He saw my strength, and he made me his successor anyway. That had made Caleb hate me even more.

I had been jealous of Caleb for years. He had always had everything so easy. He was a legitimate Alpha. He had a perfect territory, a perfect life, and a perfect wife.

I had watched Maya from a distance for a long time. I knew her father. I knew how strong she was. Caleb did not deserve her. He was a weak, pathetic man who only cared about his own pleasure. I had actually been plotting to steal Maya away from him for months. I wanted to take her because she was the most valuable thing Caleb owned, and I wanted to see him suffer without her.

Fate had simply put her in my path tonight.

But my chest felt tight when I thought about her son. I hated that I had arrived at that tavern so late. If I had driven faster, if I had gone to the Red Leaf territory a day earlier, I could have stopped Caleb. I could have saved her little boy, Leo.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the cold glass of the window.

My mind flashed back to the bathroom.

I remembered the moment I gathered her heavy, wet hair into my hands. I had lifted the thick locks to tie them back with the rubber band. And that was when I saw it.

On the back of her neck, right below her hairline, there was a small, distinct mark. It was a scar shaped like a crescent moon.

My breath caught in my throat just thinking about it.

I had seen that exact mark before. It was eight years ago. I had been young, angry, and incredibly drunk after a battle. I had spent a night of intense, dark passion with a woman in a small cabin on the border. I could not see her face in the dark, and she had fled before the sun rose. But I remembered the feel of her soft, thick body under mine. And I remembered pressing my lips against that exact crescent moon mark on the back of her neck.

It was a drunken mistake. I had tried to find her for years, but she had vanished.

It cannot be her, I thought to myself. It is not possible. She was Caleb's wife. She was the daughter of Silver Crest. Why would she have been in that border cabin eight years ago?

The coincidence was too big. It was impossible. But the image of that scar would not leave my mind.

I shook my head to clear the thoughts. It did not matter right now. I had a war to win.

I would have my revenge on Caleb. I would take his power. I would take his treasures. I had already taken his wife, and eventually, she would bear me my heir.

I walked back to my desk and picked up my glass of whiskey. I took a slow drink. The alcohol burned my throat, but it did not stop the image of Maya’s face from appearing in my mind.

I had told Thomas that I was incapable of love. I had told Maya that our contract would break if we felt anything. I had to keep that rule. I had to stay cold. If I let myself feel anything for her, I would lose everything I had worked for.

But as I looked at the closed bathroom door, I knew I was lying to myself about one thing.

I would do just about anything for Maya.

She was a real diamond. She was the most beautiful, strong woman I had ever seen, and she had been treated like garbage by a man who was not worthy to breathe the same air as her. She deserved much better than Caleb. She deserved the world.

And I was going to give it to her, even if I had to burn every pack in this region to do it.