Chapter 4

Sienna's POV

The warm gold of early morning sunlight spilled through the high, arched windows of the Alpha tower, casting long, geometric shadows across the heavy timber floor. I stirred slowly, my eyelids heavy, every inch of my body aching with a deep, liquid soreness that made me smile into the soft dark furs. The air around me was thick with the scent of cedarwood, crushed cloves, and raw intimacy.

I stretched my hand across the mattress, searching for the solid, radiating warmth of Jaxson’s broad chest, but my fingers met only cold, empty sheets.

My eyes fluttered open.

Jaxson stood near the foot of the massive four-poster bed, fully dressed. He wore his crisp, formal Alpha jacket—black leather trimmed with silver thread—buttoned all the way up to his throat, completely concealing the battle scars and dark ancestral tattoos that I had traced with my lips only hours ago. His jet-black hair was combed back with sharp, military precision, not a single strand out of place.

He was staring out the window toward the northern pine forests, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. The absolute softness, the desperate, fevered promises he had whispered into my hair while we lay tangled in the dark, were completely gone. His posture was rigid, cold, and unyielding, built like a wall of solid ice.

"Jaxson?" I whispered, my voice raspy and soft from sleep.

He didn't turn around immediately. A subtle muscle in his jaw flexed, but his posture didn't soften. "You should put your clothes on, Sienna."

The tone of his voice hit my ears like a splash of freezing river water. It was flat, clipped, and completely stripped of warmth. The intimate tenderness from last night had vanished, replaced by the heavy, oppressive authority of a reigning Alpha addressing a subordinate.

My chest tightened, a sharp, cold knot forming right beneath my ribs. I pulled the heavy fur blanket tightly against my bare collarbone, suddenly feeling terribly small and exposed in the middle of his vast, luxurious bedroom.

"Is... is something wrong?" I asked softly, taking a shuddering breath as I sat up against the dark wooden headboard.

Before he could answer, a loud, sharp knock echoed against the heavy oak doors of the suite.

"Alpha," a stern, booming voice called out from the hallway. It was Elder Thomas, his tone laced with urgent official business. "The inner council is assembled in the anteroom. We have the border reports from the Northern Pack, and Alpha Vane’s envoy is requesting an audience regarding Lady Valerie's standing."

Jaxson turned around slowly, his striking golden eyes locking onto mine. But there was no warmth in them now. No glow of the mate bond, no recognition of the soul-shattering intimacy we had shared in the dark. His gaze was icy, calculating, and distant, sweeping over me as if I were a piece of misplaced furniture in his grand quarters.

"Give me two minutes, Elder," Jaxson commanded toward the door, his voice echoing off the high stone ceiling with absolute authority.

"Understood, Alpha," Thomas replied, his heavy footsteps retreating down the hallway.

The quiet returned to the room, but it was no longer the peaceful, warm silence of dawn. It was suffocating, heavy with an unspoken tension that made it hard for me to draw air into my lungs.

"Jaxson, please," I stammered, my fingers tightening on the fur until my knuckles turned white. "You're scaring me. What happened?"

Jaxson stepped toward the bed, his boots making heavy, rhythmic thuds against the floorboards. He stopped two feet away, looking down at me from his towering height. The morning sun caught the sharp angles of his jaw, making him look less like the man who had held me so gently last night and more like a heartless ruler preparing for war.

"Nothing happened, Sienna," he said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Night is over. The sun is up."

"What does that mean?" I whispered, a tremble creeping into my lower lip that I fought desperately to hide. "Last night... you said—"

"Last night was a mistake driven by the moon and high spirits," Jaxson interrupted, his words cutting through the air like a cold steel blade. He didn't flinch, didn't even blink as he delivered the blow directly to my chest. "The mate bond is powerful, but a leader cannot allow basic instinct to dictate the future of an entire pack."

I froze. The blood drained from my face so fast my head spun, a ringing noise starting up in my ears. I felt as though the floor beneath the bed had suddenly given way, sending me plunging into a dark, bottomless abyss.

"A... a mistake?" I choked out, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. "You told me you had been watching me for years. You told me you wouldn't break me."

Jaxson’s expression remained an unreadable mask, though the dark tattoos creeping up the side of his neck twitched slightly. "I said what was necessary in the heat of the moment, Sienna. You were overwhelmed, and the energy in the hall was chaotic. But we must be realistic."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, flat wooden box, setting it heavily on the nightstand beside the bed.

"What is that?" I asked, my voice barely audible now.

"Moon-tea," Jaxson answered flatly, his golden eyes sweeping over my pale, trembling frame without a shred of pity. "It's a concentrated brew prepared by the pack healer. You will drink it before you leave this room."

The world stopped.

I stared at the plain wooden box sitting on the nightstand, my heart slamming against my ribs so hard it felt like it was breaking my bones. Moon-tea. The bitter, herb-laced concoction given to females to prevent a pregnancy after an unwanted or temporary union. It was a clear, unmistakable declaration: he wanted no permanent tie to me. He wanted no trace of my blood mixing with his line.

"You... you want me to take Moon-tea?" I whispered, tears finally welling up in my eyes, blurring his sharp, handsome features into a smear of dark clothes and silver buttons.

"It is standard procedure," Jaxson said, his tone as cold and detached as an executioner reading a decree. "An Alpha cannot afford loose ends. My council is waiting outside, Sienna. They are expecting a formal alliance with Alpha Vane through Valerie. A mating with a low-ranking Omega, regardless of what the bond dictates, brings nothing to the Bloodmoon Pack. It weakens our standing among the northern territories."

"So I was just... a distraction?" I asked, a bitter, broken sob escaping my throat. "A way to satisfy your wolf for one night before you sell yourself to Valerie for guards and border land?"

Jaxson’s golden eyes flashed with a brief, dangerous spark of warning, his jaw tightening so hard I heard his teeth grind together. "Watch your tongue, Sienna. You are speaking to your Alpha."

The harsh reminder of our ranks crushed whatever tiny shred of hope I had left in my chest. He was right. He was the sovereign ruler of this territory, surrounded by powerful guards, ancient laws, and wealthy advisors. I was an orphan. An Omega who washed dishes and swept floors for copper coins. Last night, in the dark, I had foolishly believed that love and the mate bond could bridge the massive canyon between us.

I had given him everything—my heart, my body, my trust—and he was handing me a cup of bitter tea to erase the evidence.

"I see," I murmured, my voice dropping into a hollow, empty quiet. The fiery panic inside me died out, replaced by a cold, numb reality that settled deep into my bones.

Jaxson took a step back, adjusting the leather cuffs of his jacket. "Put your clothes on. Drink the tea. Once the hall clears, you will return to your duties in the lower kitchen. We will not speak of last night again."

He turned on his heel, his dark cloak fanning out behind him as he walked toward the double doors of the suite. He didn't look back at me. He didn't pause at the threshold. He pulled the doors open, stepping out into the bright anteroom where Elder Thomas and his council of senior warriors stood waiting with armfuls of parchment and territory maps.

"Alpha Jaxson," Thomas greeted him warmly through the opening. "We have the treaty documents ready for your review regarding the northern border."

"Good," Jaxson’s voice boomed from the doorway, completely steady, completely devoid of the man who had sobbed out my name in the dark furs hours before. "Let's begin. We have a pack to run."

The heavy oak doors swung shut with a firm, definitive click that echoed through the vast, silent bedroom like the closing of a tomb.

I sat alone in the massive bed, clutching the dark furs against my naked, bruised body. My chest heaved as silent tears finally spilled over my eyelashes, burning hot tracks down my pale cheeks. I looked over at the small wooden box sitting quietly on the nightstand, its plain surface gleaming in the morning sun.

My wolf, who had sang so loudly with victory just hours ago, curled up deep inside my chest, whimpering softly before falling completely silent.

I was alone. Completely, utterly alone.