Stolen Night

The Council dismissed them coldly. Fourteen days remained before the hearing that would decide whether Nia would stay trapped in a marriage that had been broken for years.

She left the chamber without looking back. Riven walked beside her in silence. He offered no empty words or promises that everything would be fine. He simply stayed close, a steady shield between her and all the staring eyes.

At the Ashenmoor guest wing, Riven opened the door for her.

Then a knock sounded.

An attendant from Ashenmoor stepped inside and bowed. “Alpha Riven.” He nodded toward Nia. “Luna.”

Riven kept his face guarded. “What is it?”

The attendant gestured to the servants behind him. Two wolves carried silver trays covered with cloth. “Alpha Kieran has sent a peace offering. A private meal and wine as a gesture of goodwill before the Council meets again.”

Nia’s fingers tightened. “A peace offering?”

“Yes, Luna,” the attendant said, keeping his eyes lowered. “He hopes it shows good faith.”

Riven did not even look at the trays. “Take it away.”

The servants froze. The attendant blinked in surprise. “Alpha?”

“I said take it away.” Riven’s voice stayed calm.

Before the servants could move, Elder Osric spoke from the doorway. “I would advise against that. Rejecting a peace offering right after a public dispute could be seen badly by the Council.”

His jaw tightened. “I don’t need Kieran’s kindness.”

“No,” the elder replied, glancing briefly at Nia. “But the Council needs to see restraint from both sides.”

He met Nia’s eyes for a moment, then nodded. “Inspect everything.”

The servants checked every dish and the wine while Garrick watched closely. “Nothing appears unusual, Alpha,” one of them finally reported.

Only then did Riven give a small nod. “Leave it.”

The servants bowed and left the room. A guard entered after knocking. “Luna, Liora of Ironveil requests an audience.”

Garrick stepped forward right away. “I’ll send her away.”

Nia looked toward the door. She thought of the woman who had once been like a sister, the one who had known all her secrets and held her hand through childhood. “Let her come in.”

“Are you certain?” Riven asked gently.

She met his eyes. “I spent five years believing her words. I can survive five more minutes.”

Respect flickered in Riven's eyes, and he gave a single nod. "Garrick.”

The two men left the room. A few moments later, Liora entered. Nia barely recognized her. The confident woman she once knew looked broken, with swollen eyes and a pale face. As soon as the door shut, Liora started crying.

“Nia… Goddess, Nia…” She took one step forward and stopped. “I’m sorry. I loved you like a sister… but Kai deserved a father.”

Her eyes sharpened. “There it is. The reason.”

Liora froze. “What?”

“You keep talking about what Kai deserved,” she said calmly. “But what about me? You watched me suffer. You watched me drink those herbs every morning. When you saw me drink them, did you ever for once tell him to stop?”

The room fell silent. Liora lowered her eyes, and Nia had her answer.

She walked to the door. “Liora.”

Her old friend looked up.

“Goodbye.”

Liora stared at her with tears in her eyes. “Nia… I’m sorry.”

She opened the door. “There’s nothing left.”

Liora hesitated for a few seconds, then walked out. Nia closed the door behind her and did not watch her go.

Outside in the corridor, Liora’s footsteps stopped. The tears disappeared from her face. A servant waiting nearby lowered his head. Liora gave him a small smile. “Tell Alpha Kieran… it’s done.”

The servant bowed and disappeared down the hall.

Nia looked toward the door as Riven and Garrick returned.

Riven took one look at her and understood. He didn't ask what had happened. He simply walked into the room.

Garrick cleared his throat. “Well... on the bright side, nobody died today.”

She stared at him. "That is your idea of comfort?"

Garrick shrugged. "You'd be surprised how often survival counts as a good day."

A laugh escaped her before she could stop it. She blinked in surprise. It had been so long since she'd laughed that the sound hardly felt like her own.

Riven noticed but said nothing. He simply looked away to give her a quiet moment. “Garrick,” he said, his voice returning to its usual tone. “Escort Elder Osric back to his chambers and increase the guard around this wing.”

Garrick looked between them, then bowed. “As you command.”

The room fell quiet after Garrick left. Nia's eyes drifted to the untouched meal, and her stomach tightened.

He noticed. “You’re still thinking about the tea.”

“I know it sounds foolish,” she said.

“It doesn’t.”

“I watched people smile at me while they destroyed my life.” Her fingers tightened on her sleeve. “How am I supposed to know who is telling the truth anymore?”

He said nothing at first. He reached for her cup, brought it to his lips, and drank. Then he took a piece of the roasted meat and ate it. Only after swallowing did he set the cup back down. “Better?”

She stared at him. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Warmth flickered in his eyes. "Anyone can make promises. It's what they do that matters.”

His words lingered with her. Nia lifted the cup and took a slow sip. For the first time in days, she drank without wondering if someone meant her harm.

They talked until the meal grew cold. There were no titles, no accusations, and no mention of the Council—just two people learning who the other truly was.

“Do your people fear you?” she asked.

“Some do,” he replied. “The rest argue with me.”

“Garrick?”

“Mostly.”

She shook her head. “I think I would like your pack.”

Riven looked at her. “You haven’t met them.”

“No. But I think I would like people who can argue with their Alpha.”

Then the cup slipped from Nia’s fingers and shattered on the floor. Both of them froze. Her hand started trembling.

Riven grabbed the edge of the table. “Something is wrong,” he muttered.

She reached for him. Riven caught her, but his own strength failed. He collapsed beside her on the floor.

Morning light filtered through the curtains. Nia groaned softly as she opened her eyes. Pain throbbed behind them.

“Where…” Her voice came out weak.

The room slowly came into focus. This wasn't the sitting room. She was lying in a large bed.

A chill ran over her skin. Her hand moved instinctively and found nothing beneath the blanket.

Her heart sank. "No..." She clutched the blanket to her chest and scrambled backward until her back hit the headboard.

"No... no..."

The sudden movement beside her made her freeze. Riven lay next to her, still unconscious and just as exposed.

A scream ripped from Nia's throat.

Riven's eyes flew open at once. The moment he saw her clutching the blanket to herself, panic written across her face, he looked away. Without a word, he picked up another blanket from the foot of the bed and draped it over her shoulders, careful not to look at her. Only after she was covered did he wrap one around his own waist. Even then, his eyes stayed on her face.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

“I… I don’t know,” she whispered, her voice shaking.

“Do you remember anything?”

Nia searched through her foggy mind. The meal. Their conversation. The cup slipping from her hand... and then nothing.

She shook her head. "No. I don't remember anything after the tea."

"Neither do I." Riven's expression hardened. "Someone planned this."

Before she could respond, the doors burst open with a loud crash.

Nia flinched. Riven moved immediately, stepping between her and the doorway to shield her with his body.

Kieran entered first, followed by Elder Osric, other alphas, warriors, and servants. Everyone saw the scene.

The room fell silent.

Kieran’s face showed perfect pain and betrayal. He looked from Nia to Riven and back again. “So… it seems you have already chosen your next Alpha. The Council need not waste time on a marriage that has already ended.”

Nia’s face burned with shame. “That is not—”

She could not finish. What could she say? She remembered nothing.

“Enough,” Riven said firmly.

No one listened. The whispers had already started before anyone left the room.

“The Luna spent the night with Alpha Riven…”

“Is that not her husband's uncle…”

"Seems she is moving from one Alpha to another…”

Nia’s blood turned cold.