Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The first thing I noticed was the silence.

It wasn’t complete—wolves still moved, still spoke in low voices—but the second Riven and I stepped fully into the open, conversations dipped. Heads turned. Scents shifted. I felt the weight of their attention like hands on my skin.

Riven’s palm stayed firm on the back of my neck, thumb resting over the claim mark. He walked like nothing in the world could touch him. I walked like every step might crack me open.

I kept my eyes forward.

It didn’t help.

I could still feel yesterday’s choice sitting in my chest like a stone. The words I had said in front of everyone. The way I had stepped toward him instead of away. The memory made my stomach tight. Worse was the bond—warm, steady, and constantly feeding me pieces of Riven’s mood. Right now it carried calm certainty. Possession. A quiet, dangerous satisfaction that he had me out here beside him.

I hated that part of me responded to it.

We passed the training grounds first. A group of younger wolves stopped what they were doing to stare. One of them looked at the mark on my neck for too long. Riven’s fingers flexed once against my skin, and the wolf immediately dropped his gaze.

“They’re going to keep looking,” I muttered.

“Let them.” Riven’s voice was low. “They’re learning.”

“Learning what? That their Alpha drags soft Omegas out of heat dens and parades them around?”

His thumb stroked once over the claim mark, slow and deliberate.

“That their Alpha’s mate walks at his side,” he corrected. “And that anyone who stares too long will answer to me.”

We kept walking.

The closer we got to the main gathering area, the thicker the tension became. I caught fragments of whispers as we passed—some curious, some hostile, a few openly skeptical. My name mixed with Riven’s. The word forced floated by more than once. Each time it did, the bond between us pulled tighter, like Riven was physically restraining himself from reacting.

Then I saw them.

The rejected Omega stood near the elder’s platform with his father and two others from their family. His posture was rigid, chin lifted, but his eyes tracked me the entire way. There was no pity in them. Only cold calculation and the sharp edge of public humiliation.

Riven steered us directly toward the center of the open space instead of around them. Of course he did. He never avoided a challenge; he walked through it.

An elder stepped forward before we fully stopped. His expression was carefully neutral.

“Alpha. It’s good to see you both recovered.” His gaze flicked to me, then away. “There are still matters regarding the claim that some members of the pack would like clarified.”

Riven’s hand never left my neck.

“The claim was made publicly. It was witnessed. Yesterday my Omega confirmed it with his own words in front of half the pack. What exactly needs clarifying?”

The rejected Omega’s father spoke before the elder could answer.

“A cornered animal will say anything to survive,” he said, voice carrying. “That doesn’t make it truth. The boy spent years hiding what he was. Now we’re expected to believe he willingly accepted a claim that stripped him of every choice he had left?”

Several wolves shifted. A few nodded.

My face burned. The urge to shrink back was almost overwhelming. Riven’s fingers pressed a little firmer against my neck—not hurting, just anchoring.

“Careful,” Riven said softly.

The man didn’t heed the warning. “Or what? You’ll silence anyone who questions how you acquired your mate? That’s not leadership. That’s—”

“That’s enough.”

Riven’s voice didn’t rise, but the authority in it cracked through the air like a whip. The bond flared hot and sharp with his anger. He stepped forward slightly, keeping me close, and the wolves nearest to us instinctively gave ground.

“I gave him a choice yesterday,” Riven continued, each word precise. “In front of witnesses. He stepped toward me. He spoke the words. If you want to call that survival, that’s your right. But if you continue to question my mate’s place in this pack, you will do it with your teeth, not your mouth. Am I clear?”

Silence.

The rejected Omega’s father held Riven’s stare for a long moment before finally looking away. The message was received, even if the resentment remained.

Riven didn’t wait for further comment. He turned us away from the group and continued walking, his hand still locked around the back of my neck like a public brand. I could feel the stares following us. I could feel the weight of what had just happened settling over the pack like a new rule.

When we were far enough that the voices behind us faded, I spoke under my breath.

“You didn’t have to make it a challenge.”

“Yes,” Riven said, “I did.”

“They’re never going to accept this cleanly.”

“They don’t have to accept it cleanly.” His thumb brushed the edge of the claim mark. “They only have to understand it. You’re mine. That part isn’t up for discussion anymore.”

I wanted to argue. The words were right there.

Instead I kept walking beside him, the bond humming between us, and tried to ignore how natural the weight of his hand was starting to feel on my neck.

That scared me more than the stares.