C5

"No need."

I grew anxious at his refusal. "But the silver poison..."

"Let Zyric Fenwolf inside."

Relief flooded my chest. "Alright!"

I was just glad his inner wolf was willing to let someone tend his wounds. What I feared most was him getting angry and refusing help, letting the toxic infection rot his flesh.

I hurried to the iron door and pulled it open. "Zyric, could you come and help the Alpha change his bandages?"

"What?" Zyric blinked, caught off guard.

"Are you entering my space or not?" Vickon's voice cut through the corridor, cold and stern.

Zyric scrambled inside, looking completely shell-shocked as he brushed past me.

How long had it been since the sovereign was this manageable? The new Lady Blackwynd must have some bizarre hold over his beast.

As I stepped out, I caught Zyric giving me a look something incredibly complex flickering in his scent.

I raised my eyebrows, confused, but didn't dwell on it. My mood lighter now, I headed back to my own den.

I remembered my pack-comm device switched off the whole day. Turning it on, I barely had time to blink before Thorne's name flashed on the screen, requesting a link.

My expression turned to ice. I rejected the connection and blocked his bloodline signature, not hesitating for a single second.

Barely a moment passed before another notification came through this time from my father, Lucan Duskclaw.

"Why has your locator been dark all day?" he demanded the instant the link connected.

I lowered my gaze, my tone cool and even. "The power crystal drained."

"You are at Moonhollow Ridge now, correct?"

"Yes. Why?"

"You had better submit to their laws. Now that you are bound to Alpha Blackwynd, stop entertaining any foolish ideas about rogue fighters. Cut off anyone from the borderlands, and do it for good," Lucan warned, his voice sharp through the receiver.

My eyes narrowed. "What foolish ideas do you think I have?"

"Don't play dumb! If Vaelira hadn't let it slip to the elders, I wouldn't have known you tried to run off with an outcast! Thank the ancestors she talked sense into your wolf. Otherwise, you would have brought ruin on our entire bloodline!"

"Do you realize who Vickon Blackwynd is? If you make his beast angry, there will be hell to pay across the territories!"

Vaelira?

A cold glint flickered in my eyes.

Let it slip? Talked sense into me? Yeah, right.

But Lucan wasn't done. "By the way, since you are the Alpha's mate now, our pack needs extra hunting territory. See if you can talk to him about granting us rights to the northern valley."

I rolled my eyes. "The Alpha isn't exactly easy to approach. We'll see."

I couldn't be burdened with his greed and severed the link.

Meanwhile, at the Nightvale den, Lucan was livid after being cut off. "Unbelievable! Bound for just one day and already defying her Alpha father!"

Isolde Grimfen quickly tried to calm her mate. "I will command Zafira to return to our territory tomorrow. I will talk to her myself she always listens to my guidance."

Lucan's expression softened, if only a little. He patted his mate's hand, his tone gentler. "You have done so much for her over the winters. Treated her like your own blood-pup. No wonder she listens to you."

That was what he loved most about Isolde. She had never once mistreated his daughter from his first alignment. If anything, she had spoiled her, so much that people often thought she was Zafira's real mother.

"It is only what my wolf should do," Isolde replied with a graceful smile, her voice gentle. "Vaenya Hollowmere and I were dear pack-sisters. Of course I would look after her pup."

Back at the Blackwynd fortress, after my confrontation with Lucan, I suddenly remembered I hadn't warned Vickon about my father's intentions.

I hurried next door.

Zyric had already left, and the heavy door was ajar. I peeked inside—the bedroom was empty, but the washroom torchlight was on. Vickon must be cleansing his skin.

I hesitated, about to leave, when a loud thud sounded from behind the stone partition.

My face paled; my instincts took over. I rushed over and flung the door open. "Are you!"

There was a heartbeat of stunned silence.

Then—slam!

Without hesitation, I yanked the timber door shut again.

The iron hinges trembled. I stood in the corridor, my face burning red as if my wolf's blood might start boiling. My mind was a total blank.

Silence hung heavy on both sides of the wood.

After a moment, a low, calm rumble sounded from inside. "I merely knocked the marrow-salve off the stone ledge."

"I...I saw," I stammered, barely able to force the words past my fangs.

"...Is there something your wolf required?"

"Oh! I...uh, I just wanted to warn you about something. It is about... well, if my father ever comes asking you for a favor"

Inside, Vickon paused. His lips pressed into a thin line, a flicker of disappointment in his chest that his beast couldn't quite explain. Whatever brief flutter of anticipation he had felt a moment ago disappeared completely.

Everyone said he was on death's door a feral monster, violent and cold. Under those circumstances, it was hardly surprising an omega would marry in with ulterior motives for her den.

Still, for her to bring up territory on the very first day...

"Just promise me you won't grant him anything!"

"...Excuse me?"

Thinking he hadn't heard over the running water, I rushed to clarify. "If he ever tries to use my name to ask for your resources like, I don't know, hunting rights or expanding our pack's boundaries—just ignore his demands, okay?"

Vickon took a couple of seconds to ensure his sharp hearing hadn't misheard.

"Why?"

Why?

My eyes darted around the dark corridor, searching for the right words. "Well, because my bloodline bound me to you, I didn't sell my soul to your treasury. I am your mate, sure, I can share your protection, but that doesn't mean my father's pack gets to exploit you. Why should your dominion pay for their weakness?"

Vickon didn't expect an omega to voice something like that. After a long moment of silence, he replied quietly, "Alright."

For reasons I couldn't name, the sound of his low, gravelly growl made me anxious again especially after the glimpse I had just caught of his massive, scarred chest...

My cheeks flamed hotter. "I will leave you now. Your wolf should rest goodnight!"

I darted off without waiting for a reply, missing the soft murmur from the washroom just as the heavy door clicked shut.

"Goodnight."

Back in my own den, my face felt like it was on fire.

In my previous life, I had been bound to him, and even fled with Thorne after that, but I had never been close to any male. That brief glimpse a moment ago had left my inner wolf reeling...

The next morning, I woke before the twin moons fully set.

I was looking forward to sharing the morning meat with Vickon, so I hurried downstairs, only to find the grand table set for one.

"Where is the Alpha?" I couldn't help but ask the head matron. Had he already left the fortress so early?

Elira Stormveil replied coolly, "Alpha Vickon does not feed with the rest of the pack."

I froze.

He had a habit like that?

In my past life, I had kept my distance from his shadow as much as possible—I had never even noticed his routines.

I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

I had tried so hard to change my behavior this time around, hadn't I? And yet his beast still didn't want to share a meal with me...

The roasted meat tasted like ash, and I barely touched a thing before pushing away from the table.

"Where exactly is the Alpha?"

"Alpha Vickon is commanding the border patrols. Even when he is within the walls, he prefers isolation," Elira said, her face stiff. "Unless it is a matter of pack warfare, you should not disturb his shadow."

I stopped dead in my tracks, turning my gaze onto her. "Elira, what did your tongue just call me?"

"My lady."

I smiled, but there was no warmth in my silver eyes.

"So your wolf does recognize I am Lady Blackwynd the high-ranking mate of this dominion. Do you truly believe I require a matron's permission to move through these halls? If the Alpha has an issue with my presence, I am certain his growl will inform me directly. There is no need for a servant to guard his doors on his behalf. Don't you agree, Elira?"