Theron's POV
The mate bond hit me like a lightning strike to the chest.
I froze in the doorway, every muscle in my body locking tight. This couldn't be happening. This was impossible.
The woman standing in the center of the blood-soaked room should mean nothing to me. She was a stranger. A criminal. A mate-killer covered in her Alpha's blood.
But my wolf didn't care about logic.
Mate, it howled inside my mind. MATE.
No. Absolutely not.
I'd spent eleven years as Alpha King searching every territory for my fated mate. Eleven years of coming up empty, of slowly accepting I might be mateless forever. And now my wolf decided to recognize her? A murderer who'd just stabbed her bonded mate through the heart?
The universe had a sick sense of humor.
I forced my face into the cold mask I'd perfected over a decade of ruling. No one could know what I was feeling. Not the guards staring at me with wide, fearful eyes. Not the dead Alpha bleeding out on the mating bed. And definitely not the dark-haired woman whose green eyes were locked on mine like she was drowning and I was the only solid thing in her world.
She felt it too. I could see the shock written across her face, the way her hand pressed against her chest like something had just punched through her ribs.
The bond pulsed between us, golden and warm and wrong.
Your Majesty, one of the guards stammered, breaking the frozen moment. He was still on his knees, head bowed. They all were. My power had dropped them the second I entered, an automatic response to an Alpha King's presence.
All except her.
She stood straight and tall despite the blood on her hands and the trembling in her limbs. Her white dress was torn and stained red. Her long black hair had fallen loose from whatever style it had been in. She should look broken, defeated, guilty.
Instead, she looked like a warrior who'd just won a battle she never wanted to fight.
Report, I commanded, my voice colder than winter ice. I couldn't let anything show. Not the confusion. Not the pull toward her. Nothing.
The guard closest to the body spoke without lifting his head. Alpha Damien is dead, Your Majesty. Stabbed through the heart with a silver blade. She— He gestured toward the woman. She killed him. Her mate. On their mating night.
Whispers rippled through the gathered guards. Mate-killing was the worst crime a wolf could commit. The bond was sacred. Unbreakable. Killing your fated mate was like tearing out your own soul.
Is this true? I asked her directly, taking three steps into the room.
The bond stretched between us like a living thing, growing stronger with every step I took closer. My wolf wanted to close the distance, to touch her, to claim what was ours.
I shoved it down ruthlessly.
She lifted her chin higher, meeting my eyes without flinching. Yes.
Just that. One word. No excuses. No begging. No tears.
Interesting.
You admit to murdering your Alpha? Your fated mate? I pressed.
I killed him, she confirmed, her voice steadier than it had any right to be. I'd do it again.
The guards gasped. One actually snarled. She has no remorse! Execute her now!
I raised one hand and instant silence fell. No one questioned my authority. Not even in the face of such an obvious crime.
I studied her carefully, searching for any sign of the mate-bond madness that should be destroying her right now. Wolves who killed their mates died in agony as the bond severed. The pain drove most of them insane before their hearts stopped beating.
Yet she stood before me, whole and alive. Shaken but sane.
And bonded to me instead.
Why? I asked.
Something flickered in her green eyes. Pain. Real, raw pain that made my chest tighten.
He gave me an impossible choice, she said quietly. My mate or my sister. I chose my sister.
A sister. She'd killed her mate to save family.
The bond between us flared hot, approving. My wolf liked her answer. Loyalty to family, to pack, was everything to wolves. Even if it meant breaking the most sacred law we had.
But that didn't explain the impossible situation we were in.
Where is your sister now? I demanded.
Her face crumpled for just a second before she forced it back to neutral. Dead. He had her executed this morning. I killed him for nothing.
Lie. My wolf knew it instantly. I could feel her emotions through our bond—grief, yes, but not the complete devastation of knowing her sister was gone. There was hope buried under all that pain.
She believed her sister might still be alive.
Which meant someone had lied to her. But who? And why?
What's your name? I asked.
Kiera Ashborne.
Ashborne. I knew that bloodline. Old, powerful, connected to the original wolf families. No wonder someone might want to control her through a mate bond.
You're under arrest, Kiera Ashborne, I announced formally, loud enough for every guard to hear. For the murder of Alpha Damien Blackthorn. You will be taken to Blood Court to stand trial.
I won't get a trial, she said simply. Mate-killers don't get trials. They get executed.
She was right. The law was clear.
Nevertheless, I continued, ignoring her point, you are coming with me.
I turned to the guards. Silver chains. Bind her and put her in the prison wagon.
Two guards rushed forward with chains that would burn any wolf's skin. They grabbed Kiera's arms roughly, yanking them behind her back.
The moment they touched her, my wolf roared.
Rage flooded through me, hot and violent. How dare they put their hands on our mate? How dare they hurt what was ours?
I almost shifted right there. Almost tore them apart for touching her.
But I was the Alpha King. I'd built my reputation on iron control. On being merciless and untouchable.
So I forced myself to stand perfectly still and watch as they locked silver chains around her wrists. The metal sizzled against her skin. She bit her lip but didn't make a sound.
Brave. My mate was so brave.
No. Not my mate. She was a prisoner. A criminal. Nothing more.
The bond disagreed, singing between us like a violin string pulled too tight.
Move, I ordered, gesturing toward the door.
The guards dragged Kiera past me. Our eyes met for one brief second as she passed.
Why can I feel you? she whispered, too quiet for anyone else to hear. I just killed my mate. The bond should be dead. Broken. But I feel you like—like
Like I'm your mate instead, I finished, just as quietly.
Her eyes went wide.
I leaned in closer, close enough that my next words were for her alone.
Mates don't kill each other, Kiera Ashborne. The bond won't allow it. Either you're the best liar I've ever met, or your bond with Damien was never real at all.
I pulled back and watched understanding dawn across her face.
Then I smiled. Cold. Sharp. Dangerous.
And I'm going to find out which.