Betrothed To The Alpha, My Soul Answered His Dearest Friend

Elias left first.

He muttered something about seeing to his horses and walked out without another glance at me. The door shut behind him, and the air in the study felt thinner. My skin still burned where his scent had touched it.

Kael didn't sit back down.

He stood by the window, watching the courtyard below. His fingers drummed the stone sill. Once. Twice. Then they stopped.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Don't." He turned around. "Elias has ridden through blizzards with an arrow in his thigh. He doesn't get tired from a 'long ride.' And you looked like you'd seen a ghost."

"I was still angry. With you."

"Were you?" He crossed the room slowly. He circled me once, like a wolf circles a carcass it hasn't decided to eat yet. "Because for a second there, you didn't look angry. You looked scared."

My pulse jumped. I kept my hands folded.

"Your best friend walked in while your bride was in tears. What did you expect me to look like? Thrilled?"

He studied my face for a long moment. I made myself hold his stare.

Then he laughed. Short and dry.

"Fine. Keep your secrets, little Omega. You'll find I don't need them."

"I don't have secrets, Kael. You're the one with a woman at the fountain."

"Ah. Back to that." He sat on the edge of his desk and folded his arms. "Good. Let's finish it. Because I'm done pretending for you."

"Pretending?"

"Being gentle. Being patient. Holding doors for you at dinner." He shrugged. "It's tiring, Elara. And since you've already seen behind the curtain, I don't see the point anymore."

Something cold slid down my spine.

"Say what you came to say."

"You came to me." He smiled. "But fine. Here's the truth. I don't love you. I never have. I never will. And that has never mattered, not once, because this marriage was never about love."

"I know it's a treaty."

"No. You think you know." He leaned forward. "Do you know how many raiders crossed the eastern ridge last winter?"

I said nothing.

"Two hundred. Rogues from the Ashen Wastes. Frostmarch held them off because I sent them grain and steel. Do you know where that grain came from?"

My throat tightened. "Ironvale."

"Ironvale's fields. Draven's roads. Frostmarch's swords. One chain, Elara. Three links." He held up three fingers and folded them down one by one. "Break one, and the whole thing snaps."

"Then you shouldn't have—"

"Shouldn't have what? Kissed a woman I actually want?" He shook his head. "That's nothing. That's a fountain and a few lanterns. What you're thinking about doing is a war."

"I haven't said what I'm thinking."

"You don't have to. I read the treaty too." His voice went soft. Almost kind. "The dishonor clause. Your father's little escape hatch. You were up all night staring at it, weren't you?"

I didn't flinch. I didn't let myself.

"So that's why you're afraid," I said quietly. "Because it's real."

"It's ink." He stood. "Let's say you prove it. Let's say you drag Lois in front of the council and they void the alliance. Ironvale walks away 'without penalty.' Then what?"

"Then we're free."

"Free to starve." He stepped closer. "Your grain routes run through my land. Close them, and your harvest rots in the carts. Your father's soldiers hold the northern pass with Draven steel. Pull it back, and the rogues walk right through Ironvale. You know what rogues do to Omega villages, Elara?"

My nails dug into my knuckles.

"Stop."

"Children first. They're easier to carry off."

"Stop it."

"And my council?" He went on like I hadn't spoken. "They won't call it a voided treaty. They'll call it an insult. An Omega bride spitting on the Draven name a week before the vows. My warriors will want blood, and I'll be honest with you, I won't hold them back very hard."

"You'd march on my father because you got caught?"

"I'd march on your father because you made it public." He tilted his head. "See the difference? I didn't start anything. You did."

The room was very quiet. Somewhere below, a horse whinnied in the courtyard. I wondered if it was Elias's.

I hated myself for wondering.

"You're a monster," I whispered.

"I'm an Alpha." He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His touch was warm. I wanted to bite his hand off. "Every family in Ironvale. Every farmer, every pup, every one of those stubborn elders you fought Hilde for yesterday. Their lives are sitting right here." He tapped my chest, right over my heart. "On you."

"That's not fair."

"Life isn't." He let his hand drop. "So here's your choice. You smile. You wear the white. You say the vows, and you never mention that fountain again. Ironvale eats. Frostmarch fights. Everybody lives."

"And the other choice?"

"You run to your father. You wave that clause around. And when the smoke clears, every grave in Ironvale has your name on it." He picked up his tea and took a slow sip. "Not mine. Yours."

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

Because I had done the math too. All night, I had done it. And no matter how I counted, his numbers kept coming out the same as mine.

"You planned this," I said. "From the beginning. You knew I'd find out someday, and you knew I'd have nowhere to go."

"I hoped you'd be smart enough not to look." He set the cup down. "But here we are."

My wolf stirred. Not at Kael. She turned her head toward the door, toward the courtyard, toward the faint ghost of pine and rain that still hung in the air.

*Mine*, she whispered again. Softer this time. Aching.

I pressed my lips together so hard they hurt.

Six days ago, all I wanted was for Kael to love me. Last night, all I wanted was to get away from him. And now, the only thing my body wanted was standing in the courtyard with his horses, and he was the one man in the world I could never touch.

If I broke the engagement, my people would bleed.

If I kept it, I would spend my whole life at a table across from the Alpha my soul had chosen, watching him call me his brother's wife.

There was no third door. Kael had bricked them all up.

"Do we understand each other?" he asked.

I lifted my chin. My eyes stung, but I didn't let anything fall.

"Perfectly."

"Good girl." He walked to the door and opened it for me, as polite as ever. Then, as I passed him, he caught my elbow and leaned down close to my ear.

"One more thing, Elara."

His grip tightened until it hurt.

"Whatever happened between you and Elias in this room, I'm going to find out what it was." His breath was warm on my cheek. "And if it's what I think it is, you won't be the only one who pays for it."