Chapter 2

The Imperial summons for me had arrived yesterday morning.

I'd locked it in my drawer without opening it.

Of course mine was blank, same as my last life.

Now I held the other letter, the one Seraphina pressed into my hand that night.

“It won’t make any difference if you read it.”

My voice was thick of weariness.

Before Lucian could say more, Seraphina appeared in the doorway, wrapped in a sable-fur shawl, her voice soft as silk.“Lucian… must you waste breath on someone else when your mate is shivering?”

Instantly, he turned and swept her into his arms, carrying her back to the furs like she was made of glass.

“My poor mate,” he murmured, wrapping the blankets tightly around her. “I'll have more coals brought in. I'll warm you myself.”

Seraphina sighed, eyes glistening. “Now that we've truly bonded… and someone heard everything through the door… what if Lady Elise spreads rumors? My reputation…”

“Don’t worry,” Lucian growled, his Alpha voice rumbling through the room like thunder. “I’ve marked you, your scent is mine now.

In three nights, under the full moon in the Moon Hall, I will bind your soul to mine before the pack.

Let anyone look at you wrong, and they’ll face my fangs.”

In pack law, an Alpha’s vow to claim his mate is sacred, not just words, but a blood-deep oath sealed by moonlight.

Then he turned to me, eyes ice-cold.

“I was foolish to think otherwise. If you'd been chosen by the Empire, you'd have been begging me last night to save your life.

As a noble daughter, you should know better than to lurk outside a mating room like some gutter rat,” he growled. “Your brother’s away. As Alpha of this pack, I have every right and duty to discipline you

Go kneel in the snow for two hours. Reflect on your shame.”

It was pack law. And he was enforcing it.

My family had moved north only because Lucian came to crush the rebellion. My brother feared for his life, so he brought us all to this frozen keep.

The castle had fireplaces—but northern winters cut like blades. Frost seeped through stone floors, biting straight to the bone.

Last night's blizzard had buried the courtyard in white.

I knelt on the icy cobbles. Within minutes, my lips turned blue.

After two hours, my knees were numb.

When the maid Amy went to fetch coals, the steward sneered, “The Alpha says every ember goes to Lady Seraphina. She's delicate—can't handle the cold.

“No dry wood or coal for you. But there's plenty of wet logs. Take it or freeze.”

Wet wood smoked like poison when burned.

My eyes stung, throat raw from coughing.

But I said nothing. Just ignored it.

I remembered the first winter Lucian marched to the Frozen Wastes.

My brother took me to the front lines to deliver supplies.

Lucian returned victorious—but half-frozen, leg blackened by frostbite, burning with fever.

I heated stones with my own body heat, slipped them into his tent to keep him alive.

I caught the chill that never left me.

The next morning, he found me shaking outside his tent.

Without a word, he dragged me inside, wrapped me in his cloak, and held me against his chest until my teeth stopped chattering.

“The north is cruel,” he muttered into my hair, voice rough but warm,

“but no one I care about freezes while I'm alive.”

That was his Alpha instinct: protect what's yours.

Now, standing in the snow, I clutched the Imperial letter in my fist—and crushed the last ember of hope inside me.

The next day, my brother returned from the battle.

Lucian commanded a feast in his name.

At the long oak table, Lucian hadn't arrived yet.

My brother winked at me, voice low:

“I heard the mate-hunger hex broke last night.

You were in his room, weren't you? I know how you feel about him…

Did you two finally—?”

He didn't finish.

Because Lucian walked in—carrying Seraphina in his arms like she weighed nothing.

He didn't let her sit on the cold chair. Instead, he had servants lay down velvet cushions before gently setting her down.

My brother froze. “What… what's going on?”

The Alpha—proud, ruthless, feared by packs across the realm—had never treated any female like this.

Like she was his whole world.

Lucian spoke calmly, as if stating the sun rises east:

“Seraphina is my mate. I’ve claimed her.”

My brother's eyes widened.

He opened his mouth,but I tugged his sleeve under the table.

Then Seraphina smiled sweetly, rubbing her lower back.

“Oh Lucian, you're too much! I told you I'm fine, just a little sore.

You didn't need to carry me. Now Lady Elise will be jealous again.”

She turned to me, eyes gleaming.

“By the way, Elise,I heard you froze last night?

Not enough coals? Don't worry!

I 'll send you some from my room. After all… you gave Lucian to me.

That was very kind of you.”

Lucian didn't look up. His calloused hands—used to wielding swords—were carefully preparing food for her.

He glanced at me once, his voice flat:

“An alpha holding his bonded mate is none of anyone’s business.

I’m blood-sworn to her elder brother—by pack law, she’s my sister.

And now that we’re bonded, she already has a sister-in-law.

She should be grateful… not acting like she resents it.

“And since I'm your brother's blood-sworn, I've sworn to protect House Valerius.

That includes keeping you in your place.”

Then, colder: “Elise has always been tough—skin thick as hide, bones forged in ice. She doesn't need your fake concern.”

Their words struck like ice to my chest.

The food turned to ash in my mouth.

After the feast, my brother pulled me into a shadowed corridor, frowning.

“What the hell happened? You swore you'd rather die than let Lucian go.

Why did you push Seraphina into his bedroom?”

I looked past him, toward the snow-covered garden where I'd knelt until my blood nearly froze.

“I finally understood something, brother,” I said quietly.