Thorne's POV
My hands are shaking on the steering wheel.
I grip it harder, willing them to stop. Alphas don't shake. Alphas don't feel guilty. I did what needed to be done. The omega—Sable—she signed the contract. She agreed. This is business.
So why can I still hear her crying?
I park outside Vivienne's building and sit in the darkness, trying to breathe. My wolf is going insane, clawing at my insides, howling to go back. Back to the penthouse. Back to her.
She's bleeding, my wolf snarls. Our mate is bleeding and we left her.
"She's not our mate," I say out loud. "The spell worked. Rowan confirmed it."
But my chest aches like something's been ripped out.
I slam out of the car and take the elevator to Vivienne's penthouse. She opens the door in red silk, smiling like she knows exactly what I need.
"There's my husband." She hands me wine. "How was the wedding?"
The word 'husband' grates. I'm not her husband. I'm Sable's husband now. Legally. On paper.
"It's done." I down the wine in one gulp. "She's pregnant by morning if the timing's right."
"Oh, I'm sure your biology worked perfectly." Vivienne traces a finger down my chest. "You look tense, darling. Let me help with that."
She kisses me. It should feel good—this is Vivienne, my choice, my partner for eight years. But all I can taste is Sable's tears.
I pull away. "Did Rowan confirm the suppression?"
"Straight to business." Vivienne pouts but pours more wine. "Yes. He called an hour ago. The spell is holding perfectly. Even if that omega is your true mate—and honestly, what are the odds?—you won't feel a thing."
Relief floods through me. "Good. That's good."
"It's perfect." Vivienne sits on my lap, wraps her arms around my neck. "Now we can proceed with the real plan. She gives you an heir, satisfies the Council, and stays quietly out of sight. Meanwhile, you and I continue running this empire together. Like we always planned."
"Like we always planned," I repeat. But the words taste wrong.
Vivienne studies my face. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"
"No." Too fast. "She's just a means to an end."
"Then why do you look like someone died?" Her eyes narrow. "Thorne. What happened tonight?"
I stand, dumping her off my lap. Walk to the window. The city glitters below—my city, my empire, everything I built on my parents' graves.
"It was harder than I expected," I admit quietly. "She's so... young. Scared. And I just—"
"You just did what needed to be done." Vivienne's voice hardens. "Don't you dare go soft on me now. We planned this for months. That omega is nothing. A womb with legs. If you start caring about her feelings, you'll ruin everything."
"I don't care about her feelings." But even I don't believe myself anymore.
Vivienne comes up behind me, wraps her arms around my waist. "Come to bed. Let me remind you why we're together. Why we work and she's just... temporary."
I let her lead me to the bedroom. Let her undress me. Let her erase the memory of Sable's silver eyes wide with pain.
This is familiar. Comfortable. Vivienne knows my body, knows what I like, knows how to make me forget.
Afterward, I lie staring at the ceiling while Vivienne sleeps against my chest. But I don't feel satisfied. Don't feel anything except empty.
My phone buzzes. Security alert from the penthouse.
My heart stops. Is Sable okay? Did something happen?
I check the camera feed. The bedroom is dark. I can barely make out her shape on the bed, curled into a ball.
Still. Too still.
My wolf lunges against my control. GO TO HER. NOW.
"What's wrong?" Vivienne mumbles, half-asleep.
"Nothing. Just checking the penthouse." I watch Sable's still form, and something cold slithers down my spine. "I should go back. Make sure she's—"
"Make sure she's what? Still breathing?" Vivienne sits up, suddenly wide awake. "Thorne, you're being ridiculous. She's fine. You have staff checking on her."
"I didn't leave staff. I told them to stay out of the master bedroom."
Vivienne's face goes pale. Just for a second. Then she smiles. "Well then, she's alone like she deserves. Let her think about her new life. It'll teach her to know her place."
Something in her tone makes my blood freeze. "Vivienne. What did you do?"
"What do you mean?" Too innocent.
"You've been planning this longer than I have. You suggested the omega bride. You found the witch. You—" Realization hits like a truck. "You're enjoying this. Her pain. You want her to suffer."
"Of course I do!" Vivienne's mask drops. "She's stealing my position! I should be your wife, bearing your children! But no—the Council won't accept a Beta mate. So yes, I want that pathetic omega to know exactly what she is. A rental womb. Nothing more."
I stare at the woman I've spent eight years with and see a stranger.
"You're cruel," I say slowly.
"I'm practical." She grabs my arm. "Don't you dare judge me. You're the one who took her virginity like a business transaction and left her bleeding. I'm not the monster here, Thorne. We both are."
She's right. God help me, she's right.
My phone buzzes again. Another security alert.
But this time it's not from my bedroom camera.
It's from the garage. Motion detected. Vehicle entry.
I pull up the feed and my heart stops.
A black SUV with no plates. Three men getting out, heading for the penthouse elevator.
And I recognize the build of the man leading them.
Caelan Greystone.
"No." I'm already moving, grabbing my clothes. "No, no, no—"
"What's happening?" Vivienne demands.
I don't answer. I'm running for the door, calling my head of security. "Lock down the penthouse. NOW. There's a breach—"
"Sir, I'm showing the elevator accessing the penthouse floor. How did they get your codes?"
They shouldn't have my codes. No one has my codes except—
My blood turns to ice.
Someone inside gave them access.
I'm in my car, speeding through red lights, my wolf completely feral. Sable is alone. Defenseless. And Caelan Greystone—my biggest rival—is in my home.
The drive takes eight minutes that feel like eight hours.
I burst into the penthouse. The living room is empty. Nothing disturbed.
Then I hear voices from my bedroom.
Male voice. Calm. Gentle.
And Sable's voice, shaking: "I don't understand. What do you mean 'experiment'?"
I run down the hallway, slam open the bedroom door.
Sable is standing there in a towel, hair wet, eyes wide. Caelan Greystone is showing her papers—my private files, my confidential research.
"Get away from her!" I snarl.
Caelan doesn't flinch. Just looks at me with those knowing gold eyes. "Hello, Corvinus. I was just explaining to your wife what you really are."
"She's not your concern."
"She became my concern when you bought her like livestock." Caelan turns to Sable. "Did he tell you about the others? The omega breeding program his company is developing? You're the test case, Sable. If you successfully carry his heir, he's planning to buy twenty more omegas for 'genetic diversity.'"
Sable looks at me. Those silver eyes are full of horror. "Is that true?"
My mouth opens. Closes. The files Caelan is holding are real—contingency plans Vivienne and I discussed months ago.
"It's not what it sounds like—"
"It's exactly what it sounds like." Caelan hands Sable the folder. "You're not his wife. You're his experiment. And if you stay, you'll never be anything more."
Sable opens the folder. I watch her face go from shock to devastation as she reads. Plans for multiple omega acquisitions. Projections for breeding timelines. Cost-benefit analyses that reduce women to numbers.
"Sable—" I step forward.
She steps back. "Don't. Don't come near me."
"Those are just theoretical—"
"THEORETICAL?" Her voice breaks. "There are names here! Ages! You already have twenty omegas picked out! Girls as young as eighteen!"
"I would never actually—"
"You took my virginity an hour ago and left me bleeding alone!" Tears stream down her face. "You're capable of anything!"
Caelan puts a protective hand on her shoulder. My wolf goes ballistic.
"Take your hand off my wife," I growl.
"Your wife?" Caelan laughs. "You mean your purchased incubator? No, Thorne. She's coming with me. I'm offering her something you never would."
"What's that?"
"A choice."
He looks at Sable. "Come with me right now. I'll protect you, give you resources to start over. Your brother will still get treatment—I'll pay for it. But you'll be free. Or—" He glances at me. "Stay with this monster and become what he wants. A nameless womb producing heirs for a man who'll never love you."
Sable looks between us. My heart is hammering. If she leaves, the Council will revoke my Alpha status. Everything I've built will crumble.
But more than that—and this terrifies me—if she leaves, I'll never see her again.
"Sable," I say, and my voice cracks. "Please. Just let me explain—"
"Explain what?" She clutches the towel tighter. "Explain how you were going to use me and throw me away? How I'm just the first of many?"
"The spell—" I stop. Can't tell her about the mate bond suppression. Can't admit that even now, looking at her, my wolf is screaming that she's ours.
"What spell?" Sable's voice goes deadly quiet.
And Caelan smiles like he's won.
"Oh, she doesn't know about that part either? This gets better and better." He turns to Sable. "Ask him about the witch. About the suppression magic. Ask him what he's been hiding from you since before you even met."
Sable looks at me. "What is he talking about?"
The security alarm blares. Red lights flash.
And from the living room, a woman's scream: "THORNE!"
Vivienne.
We all run. She's standing in the middle of the penthouse, and she's not alone.
My cousin Malachi has a gun to her head.
"Hello, family." His smile is insane. "Sorry to crash the party. But see, I've been listening to your security feeds for weeks. And I just heard something very interesting." His gold eyes—warped by blood magic—fix on Sable. "This omega is Thorne's true mate. The spell is already breaking. And that means—" He cocks the gun. "She's the key to destroying you both."