POV - Kieran
I watched Elara disappear into the darkness, and something inside me died.
My wolf was screaming. Every impulse told me to run after her. To throw her over my shoulder and never let go. To choose her over everything else.
But the Council Elder's words echoed in my head: Thousands of lives count on you. Don't be selfish. "Alpha Kieran." Marcus touched my shoulder. "The assembly rings. It's time."
Time to destroy the only happiness I'd ever known. Time to stand in front of my pack and announce a marriage to a woman I didn't love while the woman carrying my child ran into the night.
I wanted to vomit.
Instead, I straightened my shoulders and walked toward the great hall like a man walking to his execution.
The pack bells rang three times—the signal for an emergency gathering. Within minutes, hundreds of wolves filled the hall. Families. Warriors. Elders. Children. All of them looking at me with trust and hope.
All of them counting on me to keep them safe.
Victoria was already on the platform, beautiful and perfect in her formal clothes. She smiled at me, but her eyes were cold and calculating. This marriage meant nothing to her except power.
"Ready?" she asked quietly.
"No," I replied.
"Good. Honesty." She took my hand, her fingers ice-cold. "Just remember—you're doing this for them. Not for me. Not for yourself. For every wolf in this room who'll die if the Council absorbs our lands."
I knew she was right. But knowing didn't make it hurt less.
The crowd settled. Hundreds of eyes focused on me. I opened my mouth to speak, and the words stuck in my throat.
Because I'd finally spotted Elara.
She stood at the very back of the hall, partly hidden behind a pillar. Her face was pale. Her hand pressed against her stomach—protecting our baby even though she didn't know I could see her.
Our eyes met for one sad second.
Then she turned and ran.
"Begin the announcement," the Elder ordered from behind me.
I tore my gaze away from the empty space where Elara had been standing. My heart was breaking, but I couldn't show it. Alphas didn't break. Alphas stayed strong.
Even when strength felt like the cruelest thing in the world.
"Members of the Northern Territory pack," I said, my voice booming through the silent hall. "I've called this assembly to announce a political union that will protect our future."
Murmurs spread through the crowd. Everyone had heard stories. Now they were getting the truth.
"Victoria Ashcroft, daughter of the High Council Alpha, has agreed to become my mate." The words tasted like ash. "Our union will unite the Northern and Eastern Territories. Together, we'll be strong enough that the Council can't take our lands. The marriage will happen within the month."
Some dogs cheered. Others looked shocked. A few whispered to each other, probably remembering my rule about never touching the same woman twice.
Victoria stepped forward, squeezing my hand like we were actually a couple. "I'm pleased to join your pack. Alpha Kieran and I will build something powerful together."
Lies. Everything was lies.
The assembly continued with official blessings and congratulations. Wolves came forward to shake my hand and offer good wishes. I smiled and nodded and played the part of the happy Alpha.
Inside, I was screaming.
The moment the assembly finished, I ran.
Not toward Elara—I'd lost that right. But toward her room, hoping maybe she hadn't left yet. Hoping I could at least say goodbye properly. Tell her I'd support her and the baby. Make sure she knew I wasn't abandoning her totally.
Her door was open. Her room was empty.
The bed where we'd spent three months finding each other was stripped bare. Her books were gone. Her clothes were gone. Even her smell was fading.
On the pillow lay a single piece of paper.
My hands shook as I picked it up.
Don't look for me. Don't send people to find me. You made your choice, and I'm making mine. Our baby will grow up knowing they were loved, even if they never know their father. Goodbye, Kieran. I hope your political marriage brings you everything you sacrificed us for.
- E
The paper crumpled in my hand. My wolf howled so loud I thought it would tear me apart from the inside.
"She's gone?" Marcus asked from the doorway.
"Yes." The word came out broken.
"The trackers can find her. She can't have gotten far—"
"No." I forced myself to say it. "Let her go. She deserves better than this. Better than me."
Marcus stared at me like I'd lost my mind. Maybe I had.
I spent the rest of the night in my office, looking at Elara's note and hating myself. The political match would happen. Victoria would become my mate in name. And somewhere out there, Elara would raise my child alone.
This was what being an Alpha means. Choosing duty over love. Sacrificing happiness for duty.
My father would be happy.
Just before dawn, pain shot through my chest.
I gasped, grabbing at my heart. It felt like someone had wrapped hot wire around my ribs and was pulling it tight. My wolf surged forward, panicked.
Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.
The pain surged three times, then settled into a dull ache that wouldn't leave.
Marcus burst through the door. "What happened? I felt your sorrow through the pack bond—"
"Elara," I gasped. "Something's wrong with Elara."
"How do you know?"
"I can feel it." My hand pressed against my chest where the pain burned. "We never finished the mating bond, but there's something connecting us. And she's in danger."
I didn't wait for permission. I shifted and ran.
My wolf followed the invisible link that tied me to Elara. Through the forest. Past the territory lines. Into the dangerous wild lands where pack law didn't exist.
I found her bag first, thrown aside on a trail. Then I smelled blood—not much, but enough to make my vision go red.
"ELARA!" I howled into the darkness.
No answer.
I ran faster, following her smell. It led to a small area where the trail went cold. Like she'd disappeared into thin air.
No. Not vanished.
Taken.
I circled the clearing, looking for clues. That's when I found it—a second smell mixed with Elara's. Male. Wolf. Familiar in a way that made my skin crawl.
It couldn't be. He'd disappeared six years ago. Everyone thought he was dead.
"Looking for someone, cousin?"
I spun around.
Cassian stepped out of the darkness, and he was holding Elara's unconscious body in his arms.
Rage exploded through me so strong I almost lost control. "PUT HER DOWN!"
"She's not hurt," Cassian said quietly. "Just sleeping. I couldn't let her run off pregnant and scared in the middle of the night."
"You TOOK her!" I snarled, my wolf barely contained. "You kidnapped a pregnant woman—"
"I saved her," Cassian corrected quietly. "From you. From your picks. From a life of being the Alpha's embarrassing secret."
His words hit like knives because they were true.
"Give her to me," I commanded.
"So you can what? Take her back to your area where your new fiancée wants her dead? Where the Council will force you to give up the child?" Cassian shook his head. "I don't think so."
"This isn't your business—"
"It became my business the moment the ritual activated." Cassian's eyes glowed orange in the darkness. "Did you think I wouldn't notice, Kieran? Did you think I wouldn't feel it?"
Ice filled my veins. "What are you talking about?"
"The blood ritual the Elders did when we were children. The one that was meant to strengthen the Blackthorn Alpha line." Cassian's voice was heavy with meaning. "It didn't fail. It's been dormant all these years, waiting for the right spark to wake it up."
"No," I whispered.
"Yes." Cassian looked down at Elara's sleeping face with an emotion I recognized because I'd felt it myself. Love. "She activated it. For both of us. And when she gives birth to your child, the rite will complete. We'll both be bound to her in ways that violate every pack rule that exists."
My world turned sideways. "The Council will execute us."
"All three of us," Cassian agreed. "Unless we disappear. Unless we protect her together."
"I can't abandon my pack—"
Lightning cracked across the sky even though there were no clouds.
Both Cassian and I looked up as magic rolled through the air like thunder. Ancient magic. Forbidden magic.
"They're coming," Cassian said quickly. "The Council felt the ritual start. They're sending hunters."
"How long do we have?"
"Minutes. Maybe less." Cassian thrust Elara into my arms. "Run, cousin. Protect her. I'll hold them off as long as I can."
"You'll die," I argued.
"Then I'll die protecting what matters." Cassian smiled sadly. "Go. Before it's too late."
The forest exploded with Council troops.
And I ran with Elara in my arms, finally understanding that I'd never had a choice at all—the moment I met her, my fate was set.