Chapter Five: Shattered Choices

“Nico, just try to hear me out. We can—”

“Stop it!” she thundered. Her voice cracked through the air like lightning. Nelson froze, startled. He had never heard her sound like that since he arrived, never seen her rage burn so openly. It was one of the reasons he had come early—to claim her as his mate, to stake a place in her life. But it was obvious now. She wanted nothing to do with him.

“I don’t like Rowen,” she hissed, her chest heaving. “But he is the only one who can save my kingdom from the desperate killings.”

“My mother and my best friend are dead! Don’t you get it?” Her voice rose again, trembling with grief and fury. Her eyes burned, wide and bloodshot, as she stared at him as if he were the cause of her suffering.

Her hands shook at her sides before she shoved them deep into her pockets, fighting to anchor herself. She froze when she spotted her father approaching from a distance.

“What’s wrong between you two?” Alpha James asked, chuckling as he slapped Nelson’s shoulder in a way that made it seem like nothing was wrong at all. His laughter grated against the storm inside her.

Nico turned sharply and walked off, her gaze cutting back at Nelson with a warning. Don’t come near me.

But her expression wasn’t just anger. It wasn’t only bitterness.

She looked torn—helpless—like a woman caught between drowning and gasping for air. Her shoulders sagged under invisible weight, her steps dragging as though every ounce of life was leaking out of her.

First, she couldn’t find her mate. Then she was told she would marry Alpha Rowen for an alliance. Now that alliance had twisted into something darker: a desperate attempt to end the killings that haunted Moonshadow like a curse.

Her throat tightened. She lifted her face toward the night sky, searching for strength in the darkness. The Moon above the Shadow Pack showed itself rarely—only five times a month, and only during sacred periods. Tonight it was hidden, leaving her in silence.

Nico stared at the empty heavens a moment longer, then turned away and walked. Her steps were slow at first, as though she might turn back. But she didn’t. She kept going until she found herself at the bar.

The sound hit her before the smell did—laughter, shouting, music so loud it rattled her bones. She dragged her feet against the cold stone floor, her oversized slippers scraping as though they carried her unwillingly.

The stench of alcohol filled her lungs, thick and bitter. She grimaced, pressing a hand to her temple, her body exhausted from the endless battles of the day. What else was there left to do but drown herself?

Drink.

She downed one glass. Then another. Then another. By the tenth shot, her eyes burned red, blurring with tears she refused to shed.

“What are you doing here?”

The voice thundered from behind her, and the music stopped instantly. The dark, flashing lights shifted into sharp white. Silence swallowed the bar.

Every female wolf scrambled to cover themselves, shame flooding the room like smoke. Their nakedness had been displayed for pleasure a moment ago, but now? Now the Alpha had arrived.

“It’s her father,” someone whispered. The murmurs rippled across the bar, thick with fear.

Alpha James never stepped foot in a peasant lodge. The fact that he stood here now made Nico’s blood run cold. She knew without being told: she was in trouble. A kind of trouble she hadn’t even asked for.

Her thoughts tumbled wildly:

Why hadn’t her mate found her before time? Who was the killer haunting them? Why was Moonshadow being hunted like prey?

“Take her to the palace. Now.”

His order rang sharp, and he turned on his heel, leaving in visible annoyance. Whether it was because he thought she had run away or because the killings weighed on him too heavily, Nico couldn’t tell. Either way, his anger wrapped around her like chains.

⸻

“Answer me, Nico.”

His hand slammed against the wooden table—again. Always again. Always the same gesture he thought was intimidating, or worse, amusing. But to her, it was nothing but violence disguised as power.

“Dad,” she whispered, her voice trembling but determined. “I said I found my mate. I don’t want to marry Alpha Rowen anymore.”

Her words cracked the air, leaving silence in their wake. She stared at her father, his expression carved into stone, unreadable.

“We can figure this out,” she tried again, her voice softening. “We can solve this without—”

His hush cut her mid-sentence, sharp as a blade. Rage flickered across his face, consuming every trace of reason.

“Alpha Rowen has ten times the soldiers any pack possesses! Why can’t you see he’s the only one who can help us?”

He pressed his lips together, inhaling slowly, then leaned forward, his tone lower, heavier. “This letter was found beside Luna Emerald’s body.”

Alpha James shoved the paper into her hands. Her fingers trembled as she took it, the parchment cold and alien. It slipped from her grip before she could finish reading, falling to the floor.

“We don’t know the next target. We don’t know who they are. Just do this for me. It isn’t that I value Rowen more than I respect your mate… It’s just that—”

A knock shattered the tense air.

“A servant’s body was found dead,” a guard announced breathlessly. Alpha James bolted upright, rushing for the door.

“Nico, we’ll talk about this later, hun,” he muttered, his tone hurried as he swept from the room without another glance.

The door slammed. Silence consumed her.

Until another knock.

She turned, and there he was—Nelson.

“Let’s leave,” he said firmly, his eyes burning with a strange kind of hope. “If we leave this kingdom, we can live our lives. Happily.”

Nico’s lips curled in disgust. She wanted to slap him, to scream at him for thinking escape was that simple.

“Don’t you get it?” he sighed, his brows furrowing, his desperation spilling over.

“What?” she snapped.

“Your clan is rich, Nelson. But too small. Too weak to help my pack.” Her voice trembled with exhaustion as her hand pressed against her temple.

He stilled. And in that silence, she saw it—the look of defeat in his eyes. For the first time, he seemed helpless. Vulnerable.

Was she falling for him? The thought unsettled her, scratching at the edges of her heart.

She excused herself, turning for the door. His hand caught her wrist, gentle but firm.

“I will always be ready when you are,” he said softly. Compassion glistened in his eyes, and she could swear she saw the sheen of unshed tears.

She pulled away, leaving him behind in her father’s office.

And that was the moment Nico’s decision crystallized.

The day her friend died was the day she vowed to marry Alpha Rowen.

The day she promised herself she would protect her pack as Alpha female.

Whether she was traded or sold, the pack came first. Always.

Would this decision come back to haunt her?

Or would it be the nightmare that finally broke her peace?