THE OFFER

Eden's POV

Three days passed in a haze of numbness and mechanical routine, going through the motions at the hospital while avoiding all calls from my family and former friends. I checked on my mysterious patient every shift, the man everyone called the Rogue King, though no one could tell me his real name, and each time I entered his room, I felt that strange pull again, stronger than before.

He woke up on the fourth day while I was checking his bandages, and those golden eyes opened to stare directly at me with an awareness that made me freeze. "You saved my life," he said, his voice deep and rough from disuse, carrying an accent I could not place, and the simple statement sounded like both a question and an acknowledgment of debt.

"I am a doctor, it is what I do," I replied, trying to maintain professional distance even though my hands trembled slightly as I adjusted his IV, and I could feel his gaze tracking every movement I made. Up close like this, I could see that his eyes were not just gold but flecked with amber, and they seemed to see straight through all my careful defenses.

"Most doctors would not touch someone like me," he said, a hint of dark amusement in his tone, and he shifted on the bed with a wince that told me he was in more pain than he wanted to admit. "The police told the staff I am dangerous, a criminal, someone who should be left to die, yet you worked for three hours to keep me alive, why?"

I did not have a good answer because I had asked myself the same question, why had I fought so hard for a stranger when I had never been the type to take unnecessary risks. "Everyone deserves a chance to live," I said finally, meeting his intense gaze despite the way it made my pulse race, and I saw something flicker in his expression, surprise maybe, or recognition.

He studied me silently for a long moment, and I became uncomfortably aware that I was still wearing my hospital scrubs from a double shift, my hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, and I probably looked exhausted. "You are Eden Ashford," he said, and it was not a question, which sent alarm bells ringing in my head because how did this dangerous stranger know my name.

"How do you know who I am," I demanded, stepping back from the bed and glancing toward the door, suddenly aware that we were alone and he was much larger than me, even injured. My instincts, the ones my parents always told me to ignore, were screaming conflicting messages: danger and safety, run and stay, fear and... something else I could not identify.

"Everyone in Crescent City knows the Ashford family," he said, watching my reaction with those unsettling golden eyes, and there was something calculating in his expression that made me nervous. "I also know that four days ago, you were supposed to marry Matthew Kingsley, but he married Celestine Montgomery instead, leaving you at the altar in front of two hundred guests."

The humiliation washed over me fresh and sharp, made worse because this stranger knew the most embarrassing moment of my life, and I felt my cheeks burn. "I do not see how that is any of your business," I said stiffly, turning to leave, but his next words stopped me cold.

"What if I could give you the power to make them all pay," he asked, his voice dropping to something low and compelling, like a devil making an offer too good to refuse. "What if I could make you so wealthy and powerful that Matthew would spend the rest of his life regretting his choice, and your family would have to acknowledge you as their equal instead of treating you like a disappointment."

I turned back slowly, knowing I should walk away, but curiosity and something darker, the desire for revenge maybe, kept me rooted in place. "What are you talking about," I asked, hating how my voice sounded breathless and eager, like a drowning person reaching for a lifeline.

He smiled, and it transformed his harsh features into something devastating, dangerous beauty that should have sent me running. "My name is Roland Blackthorn, and I rule the Rogue Lands outside the city limits," he said, each word precise and weighted with meaning. "I need a queen, someone to stand beside me for three years and help legitimize my claim to territories that traditional packs want to steal, and in exchange, I will make you the wealthiest woman in Crescent City and give you the resources to destroy anyone who has hurt you."

"That is insane," I said, but even as the words left my mouth, I was considering it, turning the offer over in my mind and examining it from every angle. "Why would you choose me, you could have anyone."

"Because you saved my life when you had no reason to, which tells me you have integrity," Roland said, shifting to sit up straighter despite his injuries, and his gaze never left my face. "Because you are an Ashford, and your family's reputation will give me credibility with the traditional packs who see me as nothing but a criminal, and because I can see in your eyes that you want revenge as much as I do, even if you will not admit it yet."

He was right, I did want revenge, I wanted Matthew to regret throwing away five years for a woman who had already rejected him once, and I wanted my family to see me as something more than their convenient, obedient daughter. But marriage to a stranger, someone the police called dangerous, seemed like an extreme solution, and yet, what did I have to lose that I had not already lost.

"Three years," I said slowly, testing the words, and Roland nodded. "What would you expect from me during those three years, because I am not going to..." I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, but he understood.

"The marriage would be purely contractual, you would have your own rooms, your own life, and I would never touch you without permission," he said, his tone businesslike now, like we were negotiating a real estate deal instead of my entire future. "All I need is for you to appear at my side for important events, play the role of my devoted queen in public, and help me navigate the politics of the traditional packs who will not take me seriously without a respectable woman vouching for me."

It sounded too easy, too simple, and I knew there had to be a catch, but before I could ask more questions, my phone buzzed with another call from my mother. I glanced at the screen and felt that familiar dread, knowing she would demand I come home, apologize for the scandal, and probably try to arrange another advantageous marriage to save the family reputation.

"I need time to think," I said, looking back at Roland, and he nodded like he had expected that response.

"You have twenty-four hours," he said, pulling a card from somewhere and holding it out to me, his fingers brushing mine as I took it, and the brief contact sent electricity racing up my arm. "My people will be watching, when you are ready to accept, just call that number."

I left his room in a daze, tucking the card into my pocket and trying to focus on my remaining patients, but my mind kept circling back to his offer. That night, I finally went home to the Ashford Estate, a sprawling mansion in the most expensive part of the city, and I knew immediately that something was wrong because my parents were waiting in the formal living room.

"Eden, sit down," my father Richard said in the tone he used when delivering bad news, and my mother Patricia looked like she had been crying, though I suspected it was more from anger than sadness. I sat in the chair across from them, still wearing my scrubs because I had not bothered to change, and I waited.

"Matthew's family is threatening to sue us for breach of contract over the wedding expenses," Richard said bluntly, his cold blue eyes showing no sympathy for what I had been through, and I felt my stomach drop. "They claim you must have done something to drive him away, and they want compensation for the embarrassment and financial loss."

"That is ridiculous, he is the one who married someone else," I protested, but Patricia waved her hand dismissively.

"What you feel does not matter, what matters is protecting the Ashford name," she said, her perfectly manicured fingers gripping her wine glass, and I saw the truth in her eyes, they were not concerned about me at all. "We have been discussing options, and we think the best solution is for you to apologize publicly, take responsibility for the failed wedding, and perhaps consider a marriage to Robert Chen, he has been interested in you for years and his family would appreciate the alliance."

I stared at them in disbelief, realizing they expected me to sacrifice myself again, to marry another man I did not love just to save their reputation and business interests. "No," I said, the word coming out stronger than I expected, and both my parents looked shocked because I never refused them anything.

"Excuse me," Richard said, his voice dropping to that dangerous quiet that usually made me back down, but not this time.

"I said no, I will not apologize for Matthew's betrayal, and I will not marry Robert or anyone else you choose," I said, standing up and feeling something shift inside me, like a door opening that had been locked my entire life. "Actually, I am already getting married to Roland Blackthorn, and you are all invited to the wedding."

I walked out before they could respond, ignoring their shocked shouts, and I pulled out Roland's card with shaking hands. I called the number, and when his deep voice answered, I said three words that would change everything: "I accept your offer.”