6

DRAKE

"You did what you had to do, Son." My father, Alpha Marcus, pats my shoulder as I watch my uncle Jack carry Briana away in his arms. My face still stings from the claw marks she left on me, and the blood trickling down my cheek tells me they'll scar. A scar that will mirror the wound carved deep inside my chest.

She is my goddess-given mate... and I hurt her. I rejected her. I betrayed her, just like my father told me to do-before he sent Laura Joss and her pack of loyal hounds to ambush her.

When I woke up early this morning, all I wanted was to see Briana's face resting peacefully against the pillow, to wrap my arms around her and whisper that I loved her.

Instead, I slipped out of bed quietly and made my way to my father's office. He was speaking with Laura when I walked in. I dismissed her, not wanting her to know Briana was my mate.

Once she was gone, I told my father the truth. That Briana and I had found each other. That I wanted to end the ridiculous marriage contract from ten years ago. I expected anger, yes, but part of me still hoped he'd be proud I had found my true mate. Instead, he was unyielding. He said I would still marry Laura.

Then he told me something that made my blood run cold-he had ordered Laura to attack Briana.

I bolted to my feet, ready to run to her side, but his Alpha command crushed me back into the chair. I begged him to stop, pleaded for Briana's safety, reminding him of how her parents gave their lives for Moonveil Pack. But he reminded me of the "promise." That unless I married Laura, Alpha Norman Joss would destroy us all-Briana included.

"I'm going to my room," I mutter, shoving my father's hand off me. The hate coursing through my veins is too strong. If I stay near him, I'll strike him, and I know I'll lose. My only relief is that he doesn't seem to realize I disobeyed him and didn't hit Briana when he ordered me to.

"You did what you had to do, Drake," my father calls after me. "If you had broken the engagement, Norman Joss would have carried out his threat. He would have destroyed Moonveil Pack-our home-just as punishment for me killing his mate." His words are a warning, a reminder that my chains to Laura are forged in blood.

The pack disperses now that the cruel show is over. Some whisper about the changes to come when my aunt Linda and uncle Jack leave. Linda had been furious when she realized what was done to Briana. She renounced her position in the pack, breaking every tie, and declared I would regret losing Briana. She said following my father blindly would only lead me into misery.

I asked if Briana bore a betrayal mark like me, but Linda told me she wouldn't. Briana had fought back after I rejected her, so the mark would not appear on her. Then she turned her back on us all and left to chase after Jack. Linda should have been the rightful Alpha-my father's older sister-but pack law says only men can lead.

I cast one final glare at my father before walking into the pack house. My steps are heavy as I climb the stairs, trying to control the rage boiling inside me. If I don't, I'll lash out at someone who doesn't deserve it.

"Drake."

Her voice drips like poisoned honey.

I stop mid-step and turn. Laura stands in the doorway of the sitting room, a smirk curling her painted lips. The bruise Briana left on her face is gone, healed completely. My mind flashes back to Briana's torn clothes, the blood staining her skin, the scent of wolfsbane in her wounds.

"Is that girl gone?" Laura sneers, her smirk widening.

A growl tears out of me before I realize it. Rage floods my chest at the way she dares speak about my mate. Before I can think, I'm standing in front of her, my hand locked around her throat, my eyes burning into hers.

Laura has hated Briana from the beginning, long before she knew we were mates. She always tormented her, always tried to drive a wedge between us, simply because Briana was my friend.

And the truth is, none of this would be happening if not for Laura.

When I was ten, my father and I visited Blood Oath-Laura's pack-to sign a treaty. It should have secured us as allies. But Laura saw me at the welcome dinner and decided she wanted me. She told her mother she wanted me as her playmate, and that someday she would make me hers.

That night, her mother kidnapped me. She locked me in an abandoned shack, and for hours I thought I'd never see home again. My father tracked me down and attacked my captors. He struck down Laura's mother right as Alpha Norman arrived with Laura in his arms.

They both watched her mother die. And from that moment, Norman swore his revenge. His demand was simple: when I turned twenty-one and became Alpha of Moonveil Pack, I would marry Laura. If not, he would slaughter everyone in my pack.

My father had no defense. Norman mocked him, pointing out that the kidnapping had happened on his land. With my father's scent all over her wounds, no one would believe the truth. If Norman told the council that my father killed her without reason, they'd believe him over us.

And so my fate was sealed that night. A mate bond to Laura, forged not by the goddess, but by fear, blood, and blackmail.