Elowen POV
I'm throwing clothes into a bag when someone pounds on my door.
"Elowen! Open this door right now!"
Cassian. Again. He's been outside my chambers for three hours, begging, explaining, swearing his feelings are real.
I don't care anymore.
I grab the border patrol volunteer form I signed and shove it into my pocket. The eastern territories are dangerous—rogue attacks, territorial disputes, wolves die out there all the time.
Perfect.
"Elowen, please! Just let me explain—"
I rip open the door. Cassian stumbles forward, eyes red like he's been crying. Good.
"Explain what?" I snap. "That you made a bet about bedding me? That 500 gold was worth destroying the first person who made you feel less than second-best?"
"It wasn't like that! The bet happened before I knew you—"
"But you didn't cancel it, did you?" My voice is ice. "Even after all those talks. All those kisses. Last night when I gave you everything, that bet was still active."
He goes pale. "I was going to cancel it! I swear, I just—"
"Just wanted to collect first?"
"No! God, no. I just..." He runs his hands through his hair, desperate. "I didn't know how to tell you without losing you."
"So you kept lying instead. How noble."
"My feelings are real!" He reaches for me. I step back like he's poison. "Everything between us was real. The bet stopped mattering after that first night in the garden—"
"Then why didn't you tell me?" I scream. "Why did I have to hear it from guards laughing about how easy I was?"
Cassian flinches like I hit him again.
"Because I'm a coward," he whispers. "Because I was terrified you'd look at me exactly the way you're looking at me now."
"Good. You should be terrified."
I shoulder my bag and push past him.
"Where are you going?"
"Away from you. Away from Thaddeus. Away from this entire nightmare."
I march straight to the High Alpha's office. Thaddeus sits at his desk, Lyria perched on the edge reviewing documents. They look perfect together—golden and powerful and everything I'll never be.
Thaddeus barely glances up when I enter.
"What is it, Elowen?"
No greeting. No concern. Just impatience.
I drop the volunteer form on his desk.
"I'm joining the eastern border patrol. We leave at dawn."
Now he looks at me. "That's a dangerous assignment."
"I know."
"Wolves die out there."
"I. Know."
Lyria's eyes narrow. "Why would you volunteer for something so risky?"
Because maybe if I'm lucky, I won't come back. Because staying here, watching Thaddeus love you while his brother breaks my heart, will kill me slower.
"I need to be useful," I say instead. "Since I'm clearly not useful here."
Thaddeus studies me for a long moment, then shrugs. "Fine. Sign here."
That's it. No argument. No concern. His own mate volunteers for a suicide mission, and he just signs the paperwork.
I shouldn't be surprised. But somehow, it still hurts.
"Your guard Vesperine will accompany you," he adds, already looking back at his documents. "Dismissed."
I leave before I do something stupid like cry.
Dawn comes cold and grey. Vesperine—a fierce female Alpha with midnight-black hair—helps me mount my horse. Twelve other wolves make up our patrol unit, all of them seasoned fighters.
All of them staring at the wolfless Omega who doesn't belong.
"Stay close to me," Vesperine mutters. "These territories are no joke."
We ride out as the sun rises. I don't look back at the palace. Don't think about Cassian's desperate face or Thaddeus's indifference.
I just ride.
Ten miles from Ironhart territory, Vesperine's head snaps up.
"Ambush!" she screams.
Wolves explode from the tree line—thirty, maybe forty, wearing Ravenspur colors. Our twelve fighters don't stand a chance.
Vesperine shifts immediately, her black wolf massive and snarling. She tears into the attackers, trying to protect me. But they keep coming, coordinated and deadly.
I'm pulled from my horse. I hit the ground hard, air knocked from my lungs.
When I look up, a man stands over me.
Black hair. Violet eyes. Beautiful in a dangerous way.
"The Miravel heir," he says, voice smooth as silk. "How fortunate."
Around us, the fight ends. Half our patrol is dead. The rest are pinned by Ravenspur wolves. Vesperine struggles against three attackers, blood on her muzzle.
"Let them go," I gasp. "This is about me, isn't it? Just take me."
The black-haired Alpha smiles.
"Alpha Alaric Ravenspur," Vesperine snarls. "You're violating neutral territory!"
So this is Alaric. Thaddeus's rival. The Alpha who's been fighting with Ironhart over border rights for years.
"Neutral territory ended two miles back," Alaric says calmly. He looks down at me. "Stand up, Omega."
I force myself to my feet, knees shaking.
"If you're going to kill me, just do it."
"Kill you?" He laughs. "Why would I kill such valuable leverage?"
He signals his wolves. They start binding the survivors, including Vesperine who's fighting every second.
"Thaddeus Ironhart's mate," Alaric continues, circling me like prey. "Do you know how long I've waited for an opportunity like this?"
"He won't pay ransom," I say flatly. "I'm just a land merger. He doesn't care if I live or die."
Something flickers in Alaric's violet eyes. Surprise? Interest?
"Then this will be an interesting experiment." He grabs my arm—not rough, but firm. "You're coming with me, Elowen Miravel. And we're going to have a very long conversation about your husband's many crimes."
"He's not my husband. Just my Alpha."
"Even better."
He starts dragging me toward horses hidden in the trees. I look back at Vesperine, who's still struggling.
"Don't hurt them!" I beg. "Please. They were just following orders."
Alaric pauses, studying me. "You plead for wolves who'd abandon you in a heartbeat?"
"They're innocent. This is between you and Thaddeus."
For a long moment, he just stares. Then he signals his Beta.
"Take the Miravel girl. Leave the others alive but take their horses. Let them walk home with a message: I have what Thaddeus values most."
"He doesn't value me," I whisper.
Alaric's smile is sharp. "Then he's even more foolish than I thought."
They throw me onto a horse. Bind my wrists. Alaric mounts behind me, one arm around my waist to keep me steady.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Ravenspur Keep. My home." His breath is warm against my ear. "Don't worry, little Omega. I'm not going to hurt you."
"Then what are you going to do?"
He kicks the horse into motion, and we plunge into the forest.
"I'm going to give you a choice," he says quietly. "Stay with an Alpha who doesn't want you, or help me destroy him."
My blood runs cold.
Because part of me—the broken, furious part—whispers: Yes.