C4

"Our mothers bound our fates before we could even walk. How could I possibly be the one to sever that blood-oath?"

I kept my gaze fixed on the floorboards of the Nightbane entryway, refusing to look Kaelen in the eye. I could feel the weight of his stare, heavy with a silent fury that matched my own. He didn't want this union any more than I did, but in the Duskwild Expanse, an Alpha’s word especially a dead mother’s word was law.

"Marvelous! Simply marvelous!" Darius clapped his hands together, his voice oily with a joy that turned my stomach. To him, I was just a pawn to be traded for a seat at the Blackthorne table. "The Blackthorne Pack and the Nightbane line, united at last. Kaelen, please, stay for the feast. Our hunters brought in a fresh kill this morning."

Kaelen’s lip curled in a micro-snarl as he looked at my father. "I have no appetite for Nightbane hospitality. I have pack matters to attend to."

He gestured to Director Halric Voss to begin wheeling him toward the Obsidian Den Garage. As the chair rolled past me, Kaelen raised a gloved hand.

"Is the girl coming, or is she just going to stand there?"

It wasn't an invitation; it was a summons.

"Don't embarrass me, Lyra," Darius hissed into my ear, his hand gripping my shoulder hard enough to bruise. "You cross him, and you’ll find yourself back in the Expanse without a copper to your name."

I shook him off and followed the silent hum of the wheelchair. I knew exactly what Darius was thinking—he saw gold and power. He didn't see the eight years of frozen hell he’d put us through. He didn't see that I had no intention of being his bridge to the Blackthorne wealth.

I followed Kaelen into the shadows of the garage, but as the door hissed shut, the man in the chair suddenly rose. He stood with a fluid, lethal grace that made my heart hammer against my ribs. I knew it.

"You’re faking the paralysis," I whispered, my voice echoing in the concrete space.

Kaelen turned, his eyes flashing a predatory gold in the dim light. He crossed the distance between us in two strides, pinning me against the cold metal of a sleek Obsidian truck.

"You’re a bold little pup, aren't you?" he growled, his voice a low vibration that vibrated in my chest. "Why are you so desperate to tie yourself to a 'cripple'? Is it the Blackthorne treasury? Do you think being an Alpha's mate will buy back your dignity?"

I forced myself to breathe, to meet that terrifying gaze without flinching. "I was two years old when the scrolls were signed, Kaelen. I didn't even know what gold was, let alone a treasury. I am here because my mother believes in the old ways." I swallowed, my voice softening. "You were ten back then. If anything, I should be the one complaining about marrying an old wolf like you."

Kaelen let out a sharp, jagged laugh. "Old? You’ve got a silver tongue, I’ll give you that."

The air between us crackled. My fists were clenched at my sides, every instinct screaming at me to run, but I couldn't. I needed the dowry.

"Look," I said, lowering my voice. "I know you’re faking this to get the Nightbanes to back out. I know you don't want me. So let’s strike a bargain."

Kaelen leaned in closer, his scent pine and cold iron overwhelming my senses. "A bargain? What could a stray like you possibly offer an Alpha?"

"Thirty days," I said, lifting my chin. "We bond for one month. In that time, I fulfill the oath to our mothers. After thirty days, we declare the bond incompatible and sever it. You go back to your life, and I go back to mine."

Kaelen's eyes narrowed. "A one-month marriage? Why would you want that?"

"Because the oath only said we had to marry, not that we had to stay that way," I countered. "You clearly have someone else the woman at the boutique. Elowen Frost. You want her, not me. This way, you honor your mother and get your freedom."

Kaelen’s jaw tightened at the mention of Elowen. "You're more observant than you look."

"Is it a deal?" I pressed, ignoring the sweat trickling down my spine.

"And what do you get, Lyra? No wolf does something for nothing."

I looked away. I couldn't tell him I needed the month to force my father to sign over the land deeds. "My mother is sick. She needs to see this promise kept before... before she gets worse. I won't let her die thinking I’m a vow-breaker."

Kaelen studied my face, searching for the lie. "Fine. Thirty days. No ceremony. No pack-mating ritual. Just the legal scrolls and you move into the Blackthorne Estate tonight."

His phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, and for a split second, the ice in his expression melted. He turned away to answer, his voice dropping to a gentle tone I hadn't heard before.

"I have to go," he said, turning back with his usual mask of indifference. "Pack your things. I’ll send a car."

By the time the moon rose over Ironvale City, I was standing in the foyer of the Blackthorne Pack Estate. There were no flowers, no guests, only a cold piece of parchment with our names on it. To Kaelen, I was a temporary inconvenience. To me, he was a means to an end and the secret father of the life growing inside me.

The estate was massive, a fortress of stone and glass, but it felt empty.

"This is the Alpha’s Shadow Chamber," a woman said, appearing from the shadows of the hallway. She looked me up and down with a clinical eye. "I am Mirelle Ashen. I manage the household. You'll find your quarters are ready."

She didn't offer a tour or a welcome. She just handed me a key and pointed toward the Silverclaw Wing.

"Don't expect the Alpha to visit," Mirelle added coldly. "He has his own routines. Stay out of the Ember Hall unless you're summoned."

I nodded, clutching my small bag of toiletries. Thirty days. I just had to survive thirty days in this house without Kaelen discovering that the "night of snow and fear" he shared with Elowen was actually a night spent with me.

I walked into my new room and shut the door, the click of the lock sounding like a prison cell. I leaned against the frame, my hand trembling as I touched my stomach.

"Just thirty days," I whispered to the dark. "Then we're free."