Chapter 5

DRAVEN’S POV

The fortress finally went quiet sometime after midnight.

Rain tapped softly against the black stone walls while servants extinguished the last ceremonial fires downstairs. Somewhere deep inside the eastern wing, guards rotated through their watch shifts.

And upstairs, in my bed, slept the woman who looked at me like I was death itself. I stood alone inside my study with one hand braced against the desk, jaw tight enough to ache.

Little wolf. Gods. I should never have called her that.

The words slipped out the moment I saw her curled inside that carriage like something waiting to be slaughtered. Small. Frightened. Alone.

And the worst part?

She looked at me afterward like kindness scared her more than cruelty ever had. Something ugly twisted beneath my ribs.

Slowly, I reached up and removed the silver mask covering half my face. Cold air brushed across old scar tissue immediately.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror near the fireplace. Varak stared back at me. The Bloodreaver. The monster every territory feared.

My mouth curved bitterly. “Varak really was strong,” I murmured quietly to my reflection. My eyes darkened. “Shame I was stronger.”

Blood flashed through my memory instantly. Snow soaked red. Steel through flesh. Varak, choking on his own blood while his men died around him one after another.

Killing him had been easy. Becoming him afterward had been harder.

Years of practice. Years spent learning another man’s movements, voice, habits and cruelty until even his closest soldiers stopped questioning the face behind the silver mask.

Now sometimes I wasn’t entirely sure where the performance ended anymore.

A knock sounded against the study door. I slid the mask back over my face immediately. “Enter.”

The door opened quietly and Rho stepped inside.

The man moved like a blade hidden inside shadows. “My lord,” he greeted calmly.

I turned away from the mirror. “What news do you have?”

Rho approached the desk slowly. “The scouts confirmed it.” My expression hardened instantly. “Kaelen rejected her publicly before the entire pack.”

The room went still. I already knew that part. I smelled the severed bond on Elara the moment she stepped out of the carriage. But hearing it aloud still sharpened something violent inside me.

Rho continued carefully. “Witnesses claim the rejection happened immediately after the Moon Goddess marked them.”

The bastard hadn’t even given her a choice in the matter. My fingers curled slowly against the desk.

Kaelen saw the Goddess choose her and rejected her anyway.

Interesting. “And afterward,” Rho added quietly, “he traded her to Bloodreaver territory as political compensation.”

A cold laugh escaped me. “So my dear brother finally lost what remained of his mind.”

Rho stayed silent. He was one of the very few people alive who knew the truth. That General Varak was dead. And the man wearing his face was the prince supposedly murdered during the palace purge years ago.

Draven Valerian. Kaelen’s twin.A ghost wrapped inside a monster’s skin. “What about the rumors surrounding the mating?” I asked finally.

Rho’s expression darkened slightly. “There are whispers that the Moon Goddess herself intervened.” My jaw tightened. Exactly what I feared.

For years, I had searched through forbidden archives and buried prophecies looking for one thing.

The Eclipse Omega. Most packs believed the bloodline was extinct. I never did. My thoughts drifted upstairs before I could stop them.

Silver eyes full of fear. The way she physically flinched every time someone raised their voice.

The way she apologized constantly like survival depended on it.

Something twisted unpleasantly beneath my ribs again. “She doesn’t know,” I murmured quietly.

“No.” Silence stretched between us. Then Rho spoke carefully. “What do you plan to do with her?”

The question lingered heavily in the room. Originally? The answer had been simple. Protect the girl long enough to destabilize Silvercrest politically.

Use the rejected mating scandal against Kaelen. Keep her alive until the prophecy reveals itself fully. That was the plan. Then she looked at me like gentleness hurt her.

And suddenly the plan stopped feeling simple. “I haven’t decided yet,” I admitted finally. Rho’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. That alone was concerning.

I always decided. Always. “My lord,” he said cautiously, “if the fractured bond remains active—”

“I know.”

The growl in my voice cut through the room sharply enough to silence him instantly. Because yes. I knew exactly what fractured mating bonds became.

If Kaelen could still feel Elara through the severed connection, then eventually he would feel me too.

The thought should have disgusted me. Instead, something darker stirred inside my chest.

Mine.

The possessive instinct hit so suddenly my jaw clenched hard. Gods. This was becoming dangerous far too quickly. Another knock interrupted the silence.

“Sena,” I called without looking away from the fire.

The door opened again and Sena entered carrying a silver tray with dark crystal glasses balanced carefully in her hands.

Like Rho, she was one of the few people who knew who I really was beneath the mask. Unlike Rho, she disapproved of nearly every decision I made.

“You requested wine,” she said flatly while setting the tray down. I ignored the tone Sena’s sharp eyes moved briefly toward Rho before returning to me.

“She’s asleep?”

“Yes.” Sena crossed her arms immediately. “She looks terrified.” Something cold flickered across my expression.

“She won’t be harmed here.”

“That isn’t what concerns me.” The room quieted again. Rho stepped subtly toward the shadows while Sena lowered her voice carefully.

“She still carries Kaelen’s bond.”

My jaw tightened. “We’ve already discussed this.”

“And I’m discussing it again,” Sena replied sharply. “Fractured bonds change people.”

I said nothing. Her gaze hardened further. “She could betray you.”

The words hung heavily between us.

“She could still choose Kaelen,” Sena continued. “She could expose who you are. And if the territories discover the real Varak is dead before you're ready…”

“I said I’ll handle it.”

The growl in my voice shook the glasses on the tray slightly. Silence followed immediately. Sena stared at me carefully now and it somehow irritated me more.

“You’re becoming attached,” she said quietly. A humorless laugh escaped me.

“To an omega I met hours ago?”

“Yes.”

The immediate answer made irritation flare hotter beneath my skin. Sena knew me too well. Unfortunately.

“She looked at you tonight,” Sena continued carefully, “and you stopped acting like Varak.”

That made me still completely. My eyes lifted toward her slowly. Dangerously. But Sena never backed down from me. “She’s already changing you,” she finished softly.

The room felt suffocatingly quiet afterward

Because the worst part? She was right. I looked away first. “That will not interfere with the plan.” Neither of them looked convinced. Truthfully, neither was I.

Finally Sena sighed softly. “Then at least let me protect her properly.”

My gaze sharpened immediately. “I already assigned guards.”

“And she still needs someone inside the household itself,” Sena argued. “Especially if Kaelen truly severed the bond publicly.”

Kaelen. My brother had no idea what he had thrown directly into my hands tonight. Mine. The instinct returned harder this time but I crushed it down immediately.

“She stays under your supervision,” I ordered. “No servant touches her carelessly. No one speaks to her disrespectfully. If anyone does…”

“I know how punishments work here,” Sena interrupted dryly. Rho very wisely looked away. I ignored both of them.

“And Sena,” I added quietly. She paused near the doorway. “Make sure no harm comes to her.”

Something flickered briefly across her face then. She exhaled quietly before nodding once. “Understood.” Then she left.

Rho followed shortly after. And suddenly I was alone again. The fire crackled softly nearby while rain continued falling beyond the fortress walls.

Upstairs, Elara slept inside my room wearing fear like a second skin.

This was not supposed to happen. She was supposed to be temporary. Useful. A political move. Instead all I could think about was the hollow look in her eyes whenever she thought no one was watching.

The way she trembled every time someone raised their voice. The way she apologized for existing. Slowly, I looked back toward my reflection in the mirror.

Toward the monster staring back at me. Then quietly, almost bitterly, I murmured, “You’re going to ruin everything for her.”