The torchlight trembled across the stone walls as Isabella faced Ryan in the quiet, moon-washed gardens behind the Citadel. The air was cool, but her skin burned—anger, confusion, longing twisting beneath her ribs like wire.
Ryan stood several paces away, chest rising and falling with jagged breaths. His wolf stalked inside him, claws raking, pacing in furious circles.
He wouldn't look at her.
He wouldn't come near her.
And it was driving her mad.
She broke the silence first, voice soft but shaking."Why did you run?"
His jaw flexed. "I'm trying to protect you."
"From what?"
He inhaled sharply—then shut his mouth.Shoulders tight.Eyes burning.Wolf snarling.
"Ryan," she whispered. "Tell me."
His gaze flicked away.
And for the first time since she'd met him…she saw it.
Not rage.Not arrogance.Not even jealousy.
Fear.
Real, bone-deep fear.
Her pulse stuttered.
"Ryan—"
"You shouldn't have followed me." His voice scraped like gravel. "You shouldn't… gods, Isabella, I can't keep doing this with you."
Her throat tightened."You think I can?"
The garden fell silent again.Too silent.Every torch flame flickered sideways as if holding its breath.
A muscle in his cheek twitched.
Then—slowly, painfully—he stepped back.One step.Another.
"I'm leaving," he said.
Isabella's stomach plunged."You're what?"
"Leaving the palace. Tonight."
"Why?"
His eyes shone with that same impossible fear."Because it's the only way to keep you safe."
Her heart thudded once—hard.But instead of fear, something white-hot surged through her.
Fury.
"You don't get to make decisions for me," she snapped, stepping toward him. "Not anymore."
"I do," Ryan rasped, "if the alternative is losing you."
Her breath caught.
The bond trembled between them—reaching, clinging, aching.
But underneath it…
Something else.
Something wrong.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Ryan," she said quietly. "What aren't you telling me?"
His chest tightened so visibly she could almost hear the crack.
He didn't answer.
But something tugged at her senses—a faint shift in the air,a whisper against the bond,a flick of intuition sharpened by hunger and instinct.
Her gaze drifted behind him.
And froze.
Half-hidden on the garden bench beneath his discarded ceremonial jacket…a folded parchment glinted in the moonlight.Gold wax.Crest of the Elder Council.
Her breath stalled.
She moved before he realized it.
"Isabella—"
Her fingers closed around the parchment.
His wolf snarled, sharp and panicked.
But she had already broken the seal.Unfolded the paper.Read the first lines.
Her eyes didn't make it past the second sentence.
Her fingers went cold.
Her chest hollowed.
The words blurred, but she didn't need to see them again.They were already carved into her mind.
By decree of the Elders' Council…Alpha Ryan Steel is hereby bound to the matrimonial alliance with Lady Leona of the Crimson Peak Pack…
Her lungs squeezed painfully.She looked up slowly.
Ryan stood perfectly still.
Like a wolf cornered.Like a man watching his world collapse.
"Isabella—"
"You're betrothed," she whispered.
He flinched.Actually flinched.
"It's not what you think."
"Oh, really?" Her laugh was sharp, broken. "Because it seems extremely clear."
"It was arranged years ago. Before—"
"Before me?"
"…yes."
The word was almost inaudible.
"And I've been fighting it," he continued, voice rough. "Every day. Every meeting. Every threat."
Her hands trembled.She tightened them into fists until the parchment crumpled.
"I trusted you," she said hoarsely.
"I wanted to tell you," Ryan whispered. "I tried—"
"But you didn't."
The hurt bled through her voice like poison."You let me stand beside you. Rule beside you. Sleep under the same roof. Feel…"Her voice broke."Feel things for you."
His wolf made a tortured sound deep in his chest.
"You are the only one I want," Ryan snapped. "The only one I—"
"Then why hide this?"
His throat bobbed.Because he didn't want her to walk away.Because he knew she might.
Because he was terrified.
"I should have told you," he whispered.
"But you didn't."
Silence pressed in.
Cold.Merciless.Final.
"And Leona?" Isabella forced out.
Ryan's eyes flickered.
"She knows."
The world shattered.
"…she knows," Isabella repeated.Her voice was barely audible."So she's known for years. And I—your supposed mate—find out like this?"
Ryan took a step toward her.
She stepped back.
"Don't," she warned.
He froze.
"Isabella, please—"
"No."Her voice sliced the air."I danced with another Alpha for five minutes and you nearly lost your mind. But you—"She held up the parchment like a knife."—you've been promised to another woman this entire time?!"
His wolf roared inside him, claws raking at his ribs with fury and shame.
"I am not hers," he growled.
"But the Council thinks you are."
"I don't care what they think."
"Then why hide it?"
His breath hitched.His control cracked.The bond shuddered violently between them.
"I was afraid," he rasped. "Afraid you'd walk away before I could fix it. Afraid you'd look at me the way you are right now."
Her heart twisted so hard she nearly gasped.
"Then you should have trusted me," she whispered.
"I know," he whispered back.Pain lined every word."I know."
She stepped back again.
He reached for her without thinking—instinct, bond, desperation—
"Isabella—"
She shoved him.
Hard.
Hard enough that he stumbled back a full step, shock blasting across his face.
"Don't touch me."
The command hit like a blade.
Ryan's breath shattered.His wolf let out a low, broken sound.
"I can't—" Her voice cracked. "I can't look at you right now."
Something in his chest tore open.
He stepped toward her again—helpless, pleading—
She raised a hand.
And he stopped instantly.As if bound by magic.
Her eyes glistened—furious, betrayed, heartbroken.
"I'm done being your afterthought," she whispered."If you want me… you should have chosen me."
"I did choose you," he whispered, voice wrecked."Every day. Every moment."
"Then prove it."
She brushed past him.Didn't look back.Didn't hesitate.
Because if she did—If she saw his face—she might break completely.
Ryan didn't move.
Couldn't.
The moment she was gone, his wolf howled inside him—raw, violent, desperate.
He sank to his knees in the cold grass, breath shaking, hands trembling.
And for the first time since becoming Alpha King…
Ryan Steel felt powerless.And utterly, terrifyingly alone.