She wanted to refuse out of spite. But the fear in his eyes—carefully hidden but there—reminded her that they were both trapped in this. She might be his prisoner, but he was just as much a hostage to the Council's demands.
"I established baseline protocols for bond analysis," she said finally. "Comparing biochemical markers between bonded pairs, rejected bonds, and unbonded wolves. The preliminary data suggests significant neurological changes in bonded individuals—changes that persist even after the initial bonding period."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning the bond physically alters brain structure. Whether that's parasitic or adaptive, I can't say yet. But it's concrete evidence that the bond is more than just emotion. It's biological manipulation."
Kael absorbed this, nodding slowly. "Anything else?"
"I need access to the restricted archives. Historical records of bond-rage, forced bondings, rejection cases. The Council has been documenting this for millennia. That data could prove patterns of manipulation and control."
"Elder Thaddeus controls those archives personally."
"Then I'll need your authority to override him."
"That will make him even more suspicious."
"Good." Aria finally reached for her wine, taking a long drink. "Let him be suspicious. Let them all be suspicious. I'm not here to make friends."
"No, you're here to survive long enough to prove your point." Kael stood abruptly, pulling a small box from his pocket. "Which brings me to the other reason for this dinner."
He opened the box. Inside was a delicate silver chain with a pendant—a stylized wolf and moon, the traditional symbol of a claimed omega.
Aria stared at it. "No."
"It's not a marking," Kael said quickly. "Just a visible claim. Something to show the Council that you've accepted your place at my side."
"I haven't accepted anything."
"Then pretend." He held out the necklace. "Please. This will buy us time."
Aria looked at the pendant, at Kael's carefully neutral expression, at the window beyond where the sun was setting in shades of gold and crimson. In two hours, she'd be standing before the Council. They'd be looking for any excuse to kill her.
And this small piece of silver might be the only thing keeping her alive.
"Fine," she said quietly. "But I'm putting it on myself."
She took the necklace from him, their fingers brushing for a moment. Kael's breath caught—the bond again, overwhelming him—but he said nothing.
Aria fastened the chain around her neck. The pendant settled just above her heart, cool metal against her skin.
A visible claim. A public lie.
The price of survival.
"We should go," Kael said, voice rougher than before. "The Council is waiting."
They walked through the palace corridors side by side, every servant and guard they passed noting the necklace at her throat and bowing deeper. Whispers followed them—the Alpha King and his omega mate, fated and bonded, a love story for the ages.
Aria kept her expression neutral and her stomach steady and her mind on the research waiting back in her laboratory.
The Council chamber was a semicircular room dominated by a raised dais where twelve alphas sat in judgment. Elder Thaddeus presided at the center, ancient and severe, his eyes tracking Aria's every movement with predatory intensity.
"Alpha King Kael," Thaddeus intoned, voice carrying through the chamber. "You requested this session. Speak your purpose."
"I request the Council formally recognize my bond with Dr. Aria Thorne," Kael said, hand settling possessively on Aria's lower back. The touch burned even through her blouse—or maybe that was just her imagination. "She is my fated mate, and as such, deserves the protection and status afforded to the Alpha Queen."
Murmurs rippled through the chamber. Several Council members looked pleased. Others—led by Thaddeus—looked murderous.
"Fated or not," Seraphina Bloodmoon spoke up from Kael's left, "she was conducting illegal research. She's a criminal."
"She was," Kael agreed smoothly. "But under my authority, her research continues legally. Bond optimization studies that could benefit all of our kind."
"Bond destruction, you mean," Thaddeus said, his eyes flashing with something that wasn't entirely natural. For a moment, Aria could have sworn they turned black. "We've reviewed her work, Alpha King. This omega seeks to tear down everything the Moon Goddess has given us."
"She seeks to understand the bond," Kael corrected. "As should we all. Or are you afraid of what she might find, Elder Thaddeus?"
The temperature in the room dropped. Challenging the Council directly was dangerous, even for an Alpha King.
Thaddeus smiled—thin, cold, wrong. "I fear nothing but the corruption of our most sacred institution. This omega has poisoned minds and broken bonds. Now she seeks to poison yours. I move for her immediate execution, bond or no bond."
"Seconded," Seraphina said immediately.
Other Council members shifted, some nodding, others looking uncertain.
Aria felt Kael tense beside her. This was it. The moment where politics and power would decide if she lived or died.
She stepped forward before Kael could speak.
"With respect, Council," she said, voice carrying clearly through the chamber, "if my research is so dangerous, why not let it speak for itself? Give me thirty days. Let me present my findings publicly. If I'm wrong, you can execute me then. If I'm right..." She smiled, sharp and challenging. "Then maybe you should be asking why you're so desperate to prevent the truth from emerging."
The chamber erupted in shouting. Half the Council was on their feet. Kael grabbed her arm, whether to protect her or restrain her she couldn't tell.
But Elder Thaddeus simply sat there, staring at her with those wrong, black eyes.
And smiled.
"Very well," he said, voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "Thirty days, Dr. Thorne. Present your research to this Council and let us judge your theories. But know this—when you fail, when you cannot prove your wild claims, your execution will be public and absolute. No bond will save you then."
"I accept your terms," Aria said before Kael could object.
Thaddeus's smile widened. "I'm sure you do. Session adjourned."
The Council members filed out, some still arguing, others shooting Aria looks that ranged from pitying to hostile. Within minutes, only she and Kael remained.
"That was reckless," Kael said quietly. "You just gave them a deadline to kill you."
"I gave myself a deadline to prove I'm right." Aria pulled free of his grip, heading for the chamber exit. "Thirty days. That's all I need."
"And if you're wrong?"
She looked back at him, at this wolf who was supposed to be her enemy but who kept protecting her despite every political instinct screaming otherwise.
"Then I guess you'll have to find a new mate," she said.
And walked away before he could see the fear in her eyes.