He Betrayed Our Fated Bond, And I Severed It All

Kael stopped on the last step. His shirt hung open. His hair was a mess.

He saw the ring on the table first. Then he saw me.

"What's this?" He picked it up between two fingers like it was a bug. "A tantrum?"

"A return," I said.

"You want me to chase you." He tossed the ring in the air and caught it. "That's cute. You'll be back in three days, Seraphina. Crying. Begging to sleep in your own bed."

"Then you won't mind waiting."

He smirked and climbed back up the stairs.

Marta and I left for the east cottage before the candles burned out.

---

Three days later, the territory council met in the High Hall.

I arrived late on purpose. The doors were already shut, and I could hear the nobles laughing inside.

Tobin met me at the side door. He pressed a leather folder into my hands.

"It's all there, my lady. The Elder from the northern pack signed it last night. She said you'd need a witness."

"Did she send one?"

"She sent me." He swallowed. "Don't make me regret it."

I pushed the doors open.

Every head turned.

The long table ran the length of the hall. Twelve noble families. Two Elders. And at the head, Kael, leaning back in the Alpha's chair.

Beside him sat Lois.

In my seat. The carved oak chair with the moon on its back. The Lady's chair. She wore a green silk dress I had ordered for the spring festival. It was still pinned at the waist where the tailor hadn't finished.

"Oh," she said, and covered her mouth. "Seraphina. I didn't think you were coming."

Lord Dunmore snickered into his cup. Lady Pellow leaned over to whisper to her daughter. They all wanted the same thing. They wanted me to cry.

Kael didn't even sit up. "You're late. Take a chair at the end. Lois is helping me today."

"Helping with what?" I asked.

"Council business."

"Does she know the grain count for the south fields?" I walked down the length of the table. "Does she know which border captain is owed back wages? Or which two families here can't be seated next to each other because of the river dispute?"

Lois blinked. Her smile slipped.

"That doesn't matter," Kael said.

"It will."

I stopped at the head of the table and set the folder down in front of him. I opened it.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Two things." I spread the pages out. "First, a dissolution of the marriage contract. Signed by me. Witnessed by an Elder of the northern packs."

Someone's cup hit the table.

"Second," I went on, "a formal petition. I am rejecting my fated mate under the Old Law."

Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. Even the fire seemed to quiet down.

Elder Hask, the oldest man in the room, leaned forward on his cane. "Lady Seraphina. Do you understand what you are saying?"

"Yes, Elder."

"The Rejection hasn't been done in this pack in sixty years."

"Then it's overdue."

Kael stood up so fast his chair scraped the stone.

He grabbed the papers. He ripped them in half. Then in half again. He threw the pieces into the air, and they floated down over the table like snow.

"There," he said. "Done."

Then the air changed.

It pressed down on my shoulders like a hand. Then like a wall. My knees wanted to fold. My Omega blood screamed at me to lower my head and bare my throat.

Around the table, the nobles bowed in their seats. Lady Pellow's daughter whimpered. Lois giggled, but her face had gone white.

"Kneel," Kael said softly.

My spine bent an inch. Then two.

I locked my knees.

"You'll kneel," he said, "and you'll apologize to this council for wasting its time. And then you'll go home where you belong."

"I am home." My voice came out rough. "It just isn't here."

"Kneel, Seraphina."

"No."

His eyes flashed silver. The pressure doubled. Sweat rolled down my back.

I turned my head, slowly, and found Elder Hask.

"Elder. Recite the Ninth Article of the Old Law."

The old man stared at me. Then at Kael. His lips moved.

"Louder, please," I said.

He cleared his throat. "'The Rejection of a fated bond belongs to the one who rejects. It requires no consent. Not of mate, not of Alpha, not of Elder. The Moon gives the bond. The wolf may give it back.'"

The words hung in the air.

Kael's grip on the table cracked the edge of the wood.

"You can tear up paper," I said. "Tobin has three more copies. You can't tear up the law."

The pressure lifted all at once. I almost fell forward. I caught myself on the back of a chair and didn't let them see my hand shake.

Kael laughed.

It wasn't the sound I expected. It was easy. Almost bored.

"Fine," he said. "Play your little game. Let's see how long it lasts."

"One more thing."

I reached into my sleeve and pulled out a small silver seal. The Lady's seal. It stamped every grain order, every trade pass, every seating chart, every letter to every captain on every border.

I set it on the table in front of Lois.

"Congratulations," I told her. "It's yours now."

She stared at it like it might bite. "What do I do with it?"

"Ask him."

I looked at the council. "As of this moment, I no longer handle the affairs of this territory. Not the granaries. Not the trade roads. Not the households. Any letters that come to me will be sent back unopened."

Lord Dunmore half rose. "Now wait—the autumn shipments—"

"Ask the Alpha," I said.

Kael sat back down and crossed his arms. "Let her go. She's bluffing. She'll be back by supper asking for her seal."

I walked out. My shoes were loud on the stone. Nobody stopped me.

---

Two hours later, I was in the cottage garden, pulling weeds out of Marta's herb bed, when the first rider came up the path.

It was Benric, the granary master. His face was gray with dust.

"My lady! The south granary—they've opened the wrong stores. The new grain went out to the villages and the old grain's sitting there, rotting. Nobody knew which was which. You always marked the doors."

"I'm not your lady anymore, Benric."

"Please—"

Before he finished, a second horse came pounding up. A trade captain I barely knew.

"The northern road is blocked. The Varrow caravans turned back at the border. Their pass had no seal. They say they won't come again without your stamp. Twenty wagons, my lady. Salt and iron."

I pulled another weed. My hands were steady now.

The third messenger didn't even dismount. It was a page from the High Hall, panting.

"The council dinner! They put Lord Dunmore beside the Corvell family. There was a fight. Lord Corvell drew a blade. The Alpha had to break it up himself."

Marta came out of the cottage, wiping her hands on her apron. She looked at the three men. Then at me.

"Two hours," she said quietly.

"Two hours," I agreed.

And then I heard it. Hoofbeats again, heavier this time. A big black horse came up the path too fast, kicking gravel into the herbs.

Kael swung down before it stopped.

He didn't look bored anymore.

He had the silver seal in his fist.