He Betrayed Our Fated Bond, And I Severed It All

The front doors banged open just past midnight.

I was still awake. I had kept his dinner warm for four hours.

Kael Ravenmoor, Alpha of the Ironfang Pack and lord of this estate, walked into the great hall with a woman in his arms. He carried her like she was made of glass.

Her name was Lois. Everyone in the pack knew it. Nobody said it in front of me.

She wore his Alpha coat, the black one with the silver wolf stitched on the collar. Nothing else, as far as I could tell. Her bare legs swung over his arm.

"Put me down, Kael," she giggled. "I want to say hello."

He set her on her feet. She padded across the cold stone floor and stopped right in front of me.

"Lady Seraphina." She tilted her head. "You're up late. Waiting for someone?"

"I live here," I said.

"Oh, I know." She turned and called over her shoulder, loud enough for every servant in the hall to hear. "Kael! Can I sleep in the master bedroom tonight? The big bed? The one for husband and wife?"

The maids froze. A footman nearly dropped a tray.

I looked at Kael. I waited for him to laugh it off. To send her to a guest room. To do anything.

He loosened his cuffs instead.

"Sleep wherever you want," he said.

My mark burned. Right below my collarbone, the fated mate sign the Moon Goddess had pressed into my skin flared hot, like someone had touched a coal to it.

"Kael." I kept my voice low. "Not in front of the staff."

"Why not?" He finally met my eyes. His were gray and flat. "Let them hear it. I'm tired of pretending."

"Pretending what?"

"That this marriage means something." He stepped closer. "If the Elders hadn't held that fated mate prophecy over my head, I'd never have married you. A soft little Omega who can't even shift on a full moon? You were a condition. Nothing more."

Someone gasped behind me. Probably Marta, the old housekeeper who'd braided my hair on my wedding day.

My hands went numb.

Three years. Three years of running his household. Three years of nursing him through two border wars. I had sat by his bed for nine nights when the rogue claw poisoned his blood. I had sung to him while he shook.

"A condition," I repeated.

"You heard me." He nodded toward the sideboard. "Now be useful. Pour Lois a glass of wine. The red. She likes the red."

Lois dropped into his chair at the head of the table. She crossed her legs. The coat slid open at the knee.

"Thank you, Seraphina," she said sweetly. "Not too full. I'm watching my figure."

I walked to the sideboard.

I poured the wine. My hand didn't shake. I was proud of that.

Then I turned and hurled the glass at the floor between her feet.

It exploded. Red wine splashed up her bare shins and across the hem of Kael's coat. Glass skittered under the table.

Lois shrieked.

"Get out," I said.

"Kael!" She jumped up, clutching the coat closed. "She's crazy!"

"Get out of my house," I said again, louder. "Get out of my husband's coat. And get out of my sight."

I took a step toward her.

Kael moved faster. He was in front of Lois before I could blink, one big arm sweeping her behind his back. His shadow fell across me.

"Your house?" His laugh was short and ugly. "You don't own one stone of this place."

"I've kept it standing for three years."

"You did what any Omega is supposed to do." He said it slowly, so every servant could catch each word. "You cooked. You cleaned. You warmed my bed when the Elders told you to. That isn't love, Seraphina. That's duty. A dog fetches, too. I don't thank the dog."

The hall went dead quiet.

And I laughed.

I couldn't help it. It came out of me thin and strange, and it didn't stop for a few seconds. Kael's brow pulled down. Lois peeked around his shoulder, confused.

"A dog," I said. "That's what you think I am."

"I think you should go to bed." His jaw tightened. "Somewhere else."

He turned, scooped Lois up again, and climbed the main staircase. Toward the master wing. Toward our room.

Her laughter floated back down. "Goodnight, Lady Seraphina!"

The door upstairs slammed.

The servants scattered like birds. Only Marta stayed. She touched my elbow.

"My lady," she whispered. "Come to the kitchen. I'll make you tea."

"No." I stared at the ceiling. "I'm going up."

"My lady, please—"

"My things are up there, Marta."

I climbed the stairs. My legs felt like they belonged to someone else.

Our bedroom was next to my dressing room. Same wall. Same thin wall I had complained about for three years, and Kael had never fixed.

I heard them before I reached the dressing room door.

Lois's voice, high and breathy. The headboard knocking. Kael's low growl.

He knew I could hear. He knew exactly where I'd be standing.

The mark exploded with heat.

I doubled over and grabbed the doorframe. It wasn't pain. It was worse than pain. It was want. My whole body pulled toward that wall like a tide toward the moon. The bond was screaming at me. Go to him. He's yours. Go.

My knees hit the floor.

"No," I said through my teeth. "No. You don't get to decide this."

My fingers dug into the rug. Sweat ran down my neck. Every instinct in my Omega blood begged me to crawl to that door and knock.

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper.

Slowly, the wave pulled back.

I stood up.

On my left hand sat the Lady's ring. A moonstone in old silver. The Elders had slid it onto my finger while Kael stood beside me with his arms crossed, not even looking.

I twisted it off. It stuck at the knuckle. I pulled harder until it came free.

I walked back down to the great hall, where the wine was still drying on the stones. I slapped the ring onto the long table. The sound rang out in the empty room.

Marta appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"Pack my trunks," I told her. "Only what I brought with me. I'm moving to the east cottage tonight."

"Tonight? My lady, the Alpha—"

"The Alpha is busy."

She swallowed. Then she nodded.

"And Marta." I pulled my shawl tighter. "Your nephew. The one who trades with the northern packs."

"Tobin?"

"Send him a message before dawn. Tell him I'll pay whatever he asks." I looked up at the dark staircase. "I need him to find someone who still knows the old rite."

Marta went pale. "Which rite, my lady?"

"The Rejection." My mark gave one last angry throb. "I want this bond cut. All the way to the root."

Upstairs, the noise had stopped.

A door creaked open.

And heavy footsteps started down the stairs.