All Chapters of Reborn Before the Mark: I Married His Wolfless Uncle: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Karl took Lorelai away from Caelan's protest and into a private records room. One table. One door. No servants. He closed the door but did not lock it, and the small mercy made her notice every dangerous thing about him more clearly.The rejection wound twisted under her ribs. Karl shortened his stride without mentioning it. That quiet attention was more unsettling than an order would have been.Her wolf paced beneath her skin, grieving the destiny Lorelai had severed. Karl waited until she chose a chair before taking the one opposite.“Sit if you need to.”“I can stand.” Lorelai released the table edge.He put a leather folder and a blank sheet on the table. His hands were large, controlled, and nowhere near hers.“You already described Greyhaven.”“I described discomfort.” He placed the folder between them.“Greyhaven is dangerous. Not because it is poor. Because it is full of people who survived authority deciding they were disposable.”“Moonridge cannot force me back into the bond

“This marriage will not take place.”Caelan’s voice carried through the chapel. The officiant froze behind the altar. Garrick stopped beside the first row.Lorelai kept her hand on Karl’s arm.The severing wound clenched so violently that her fingers tightened against his sleeve. Caelan saw it. Hope broke across his face.“You feel that,” he said. “You can pretend you do not want me, but your wolf knows the truth.”Her wolf knew the shape of his presence, the familiar reach of his scent, the promise built into their blood before either of them had chosen it.It remembered nothing of Aria’s blade. Nothing of Greyhaven burning. Nothing of Lorelai dying alone with Caelan’s mark on her neck.The wolf wanted what destiny had placed before it.Lorelai wanted a future.“Step aside,” Garrick ordered.Caelan did not look at his father. “If you speak those vows, you will destroy your position in Moonridge.”A murmur moved through the witnesses.There it was. Rank. Reputation.“You were raised to

By morning, someone had prepared a leader's wife's breakfast: heated water, eggs, and berries while the settlement lived on rations. Lorelai saw the mistake at once.Someone had laid out a dark wool dress finer than anything she had packed, with a silver clasp at the throat bearing the Ashborne crest. Lorelai stared at it for a long moment.“Who arranged this?” Lorelai asked.The woman’s eyes dropped to the tray. “The kitchen.”“And the dress?”“Maria brought it from storage.”“For me.” A hesitant nod.“Does every resident receive heated water in the morning?”“No.”“Eggs?”“No.” Lorelai lifted the tray.The woman’s alarm surfaced immediately. “Lady Ashborne, you do not have to carry that.”“Do not call me that.” The woman looked even more alarmed.“Lorelai is sufficient.”“But Karl—”“Did Karl order this?”“No.”Conversation faded when Lorelai returned the tray. She kept bread and porridge from the distribution line, nothing more. Let Greyhaven judge her by the same ration and the wor

Karl did not ask Lorelai about Blackwater Ford again. That was worse than an accusation.Greyhaven sealed the tainted goods and protected what remained. Karl gave concise orders; no one needed an Alpha command to understand the danger.Then he took Lorelai outside. Why does the route matter more than the contents? Because it leads to the place where someone can prepare an attack on you.No Alpha command pressed against the room. Karl gave an instruction, and Greyhaven moved. Lorelai followed him outside.“Where are you going"”“To determine who could have altered the cargo.”“The route matters more than the contents.” Karl stopped. His gaze settled on her with the same controlled attention he had given the hidden seal.“Why"”Because the route led to your corpse.The driver confirmed a forced stop at a roadside station near Blackwater Road. Lorelai found a fresh wedge mark on the axle: the wheel had been sabotaged to make that stop inevitable.Someone wanted strangers to have the cargo