CHAPTER 2: FORCED ALLIANCE

The heavy oak doors of Kael's private study slammed shut, locking out the noise of the Great Hall.

"You aren't walking away from this, Elira," Kael said, stripping off his heavy leather battle gauntlets and tossing them onto his desk. "We need to align our story before the elder council reconvenes at dawn."

I stood near the hearth, keeping my hands resting over the folds of my dress.

Being trapped in this narrow space with him forced the mate bond to pulse — a heavy, electric tug pulling at my chest. I suppressed it, forcing my spine straight.

"There is no story to align," I said, my voice cutting through the quiet room. "You publicly humiliated your wedded wife to appease a woman who uses your dead brother's name as armor."

Kael's jaw tightened. "I made a political decision to keep this pack from fracturing. Ethan's officers were ready to challenge my succession tonight. By elevating Vera, I secured their loyalty and protected his unborn child. Why can't you see the logic in that?"

"Because you didn't just elevate her, Kael." I stepped toward him until less than two feet separated us. "You gave her my seat. You told the elders that an omega lacks the strength to lead, validating every slur they have thrown at me for three years."

"You are an omega, Elira!" His voice rose. "You don't carry an Alpha aura. You cannot intimidate rival territory lords or command war parties."

"I managed this entire estate for two years while you were buried in northern mud." I looked straight into his eyes, unflinching. "I balanced the winter grain reserves. I negotiated trade terms with the mountain clans without losing a single wagon. I kept the elders from turning on your Beta. Do not speak to me of strength, Alpha. I did your job, and I did it without needing an Alpha aura to hide behind."

Kael blinked, caught off guard by the precision of my answer.

For three years he had treated me as a quiet, compliant fixture of his house. He hadn't realized I knew every ledger, every border treaty, every vulnerability in his pack.

His expression softened. He reached out, his thick, calloused fingers brushing against the side of my neck, over my pulse point.

"I know what you did for the keep," Kael murmured, voice dropping low and rough. "I haven't forgotten it. But politics is dirty. I need Vera in that seat for optics. In private... you're still the only woman who holds my mark."

A wave of raw vulnerability hit me. My breath hitched.

For a second, the old part of me — the part that had spent three years praying for his return, the part carrying his child in my womb right now — wanted to lean into his chest and tell him everything.

Then I smelled it.

Faint lavender oil, on the cuff of his tunic.

I pulled back, breaking his touch before it could finish undoing me.

"If I'm the only woman who holds your mark," I whispered, "why does Vera carry your personal signet ring?"

Kael froze. The warmth in his eyes died, replaced by sharp, guarded wariness.

"What are you talking about?"

"The gold signet ring." I advanced on him, refusing to let the question soften. "The one etched with the three stars of your personal bloodline. Ethan wore the Alpha crest. Why did Vera have “yours” before you ever marched north?"

Kael looked away toward the hearth, his hands clenching into fists.

"It isn't what you think."

"Then tell me what it is."

Before he could answer, sharp pounding rattled the study door.

"Kael! Please!" Vera's voice sobbed from the corridor. "The elders — they're arguing over the succession decrees — I feel faint —"

Kael's focus shattered instantly.

The question of the ring got tossed aside like it never mattered, the way everything about me always seemed to when her voice entered a room.

He unlocked the door and stepped into the hallway, where Vera stood clutching a silk handkerchief.

"Go back to your quarters, Elira," Kael ordered over his shoulder, taking Vera's arm without looking back at me. "We'll finish this later."

I didn't go to my quarters.

I turned toward the lower stairwell instead, pulling my cloak tight, heading straight for Dr. Hana's infirmary. My medical records needed to be locked away before Vera realized exactly what I was carrying — before tonight's humiliation became tomorrow's target.

As I reached the top of the steep stone stairs, Vera lingered behind Kael, stepping into the shadows near the landing.

The weeping act vanished.

She lifted her hand, letting the heavy gold signet ring swing from its silver chain, catching the dim torchlight.

"He will never give you the answer, Elira," Vera sneered softly, stepping closer to the wet stone ledge. "Because deep down, you already know who he chose first."

Before I could reply, Vera's face contorted into wild panic.

She grabbed my left forearm, slammed her own back against the cold stone wall, and let out a piercing, hysterical shriek that echoed down the rafters.

"Kael! Help me! She's pushing me!"

Vera threw her full weight backward into the dark stairwell, her fingers digging into my sleeve — dragging me over the ledge with her, into the drop below.