"So, a defective Omega dictates our war plans now?" Hagar spat on the stone floor, without even looking my way. "An Omega who cannot even shift."
I gripped the hilt of my sword so hard my knuckles turned white. The old leather of my glove creaked in the silence of the hall.
"Your teeth will fall out before you finish that thought, Hagar." I leaned forward, letting the heavy Alpha aura wash over the table. "My plans concern only Silverclaw."
"Your plans smell of weakness," Selena's voice cut through the air like a thin blade.
She sat directly opposite me. Her blood-clot-colored dress emphasized the paleness of her face. She didn't even try to hide the bitter scent of jealousy that clogged my nostrils.
"Tell us, Cale," her fingers drummed against the oak tabletop, "how do you intend to lead the pack if your bond with this... girl is dragging you down? We all feel it. This tension."
"You feel only what I allow you to feel," I straightened, squaring my shoulders. "Alina is a tool. Nothing more."
"A tool for which you restructured the security in the west wing?" my father interjected.
Edrick sat at the head of the table, as motionless as a rock. The heavy wolf pelt on his shoulders seemed like a part of his own body. His gaze drilled a hole through me, demanding answers I myself was afraid of.
"Isolation is necessary for control," I cast a short glance at the map spread out between us. "She is bait. Silverclaw considers her my weakness. Let them come. They will find only traps."
"You marked her," Hagar narrowed his eyes, baring yellowed teeth. "A mark is not a trap for the enemy. It is a chain around your neck. You have tied your life to a broken toy. If she dies of exhaustion, you..."
"She will not die." I slammed my palm against the table. The inkwell jumped, splashing a drop onto the parchment. "The mark is a means of absolute submission. You see her as a mate? Fools. I see her as a slave whose will now belongs to me until her last breath."
Inside, the wolf twisted in rage. Lies! Ours! Protect! The growl in my head was so loud that I went deaf for a second.
"Is she begging for mercy through that bond?" Selena tilted her head, a dangerous spark igniting in her eyes. "I saw you flinch when you entered the hall. Is she suffering?"
"Her suffering is the guarantee of her loyalty." I forced my voice to sound as cold as possible. "Every flash of her pain is another knot in the leash. I feel nothing for this bond but contempt. It is mere physics. Biology that I have pressed into my service."
Father nodded slowly.
"Reasonable. If it is true."
"Do you have reason to doubt my strength, Father?"
"Strength is not in words, Cale. It is in how you look at the borders." Edrick pointed to the northern reaches. "Silverclaw is massing forces at the gorge. They won't care about your 'tools' if they don't bring results."
"There will be results." I jabbed a finger at a point on the map. "We strike here as soon as they decide I am too busy with my 'mate.'"
"You are already too busy with her," Selena stood abruptly, her chair flying back with a crash. "You aren't even here right now. You reek of rain and damn wild herbs. You are covered in her."
I felt a whisper crawl through the hall. The elders exchanged glances. The air grew heavy with their doubt.
"Selena, sit down," my voice dropped to a barely audible growl.
"Or what? You'll set your bond on me?" She walked around the table, approaching me. "Look at yourself. The Great Heir, who cannot focus on tactics because his Omega is somewhere out there... breathing too fast?"
I lunged to my feet. The distance between us closed to an inch.
"I said—sit down."
"You're pathetic, Cale. You lie to us, you lie to Father. But you cannot lie to yourself. Your hand trembles when you reach for the map."
I grabbed her by the elbow, squeezing until it crunched.
"My hand will not waver when it comes time to slit the throat of anyone who questions my authority. Including you."
She didn't look away. A promise of retribution burned in her eyes. She knew. She saw the cracks in my armor.
"Enough," Edrick raised his hand. "Cale, the defense of the eastern slope. Your proposals."
I forced myself to release my fingers. Selena stepped back slowly, rubbing her reddened skin.
"We will post additional patrols by the old mine..." I began to speak, but the words stuck in my throat.
The scent. That scent again. Wild mint, damp earth, an icy stream. Alina.
The bond pulsed beneath my skin, echoing with a dull pain in my shoulder. Was she crying? No, she was afraid. That fear flowed into my blood, poisoning my thoughts. I saw the map, but before my eyes stood the image of her thin fingers clutching the sheets.
"Cale?" Hagar looked at me mockingly. "You stopped in the middle of a sentence. The mines? What about the mines?"
"Collapse them," I snapped, unable to endure this farce any longer. "Block all entrances. The council is over."
"We haven't discussed the provision supplies yet," Edrick frowned.
"Deal with it without me." I was already headed for the exit, the hem of my cloak slapping against my boots. "I have more important things to do than listen to your whining about grain."
"Go to your chain, Alpha," Selena's poisonous voice trailed after me. "Make sure it doesn't become your noose."
I didn't turn around. The guards at the doors snapped to attention as I flew past them. Мои шаги гулко отдавались в пустых коридорах. My footsteps echoed hollowly in the empty corridors.
I should have gone to the barracks. I should have checked the warriors' readiness. But my legs turned toward the living quarters on their own. Toward the place where my personal ruin was locked behind a heavy oak door.
I tore the bolt off with such a crash it nearly flew out of its sockets. The door slammed against the wall.
Alina flinched. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, huddled in a ball. Her eyes, huge and full of terror, instantly locked onto my face.
"You..." her voice broke into a whisper.
"Me." I closed the door and slid the bolt home. "Why aren't you sleeping?"
"The mark... it's burning." She pressed her palm to her shoulder. "You were angry. I felt everything. Every word."
I reached her in three strides. The air in the room was saturated with her scent, so thick it made my head spin. All the lies I had poured out at the council crumbled into dust.
"You couldn't have heard anything," I grabbed her by the wrist, jerking her toward me.
She gasped, her chest colliding with my leather armor. Her skin was fire. The heat of her body burned me even through the thick clothing.
"I felt the hatred," she tried to pull away, but I only tightened my grip. "Cale, let go. It hurts."
"It hurts?" I leaned down to her ear, inhaling the scent of her fear. "This is only the beginning. Did you hear what I told the elders? You are a tool. You are bait."
"Then why are you here?" She suddenly raised her head. There was no submissiveness in her gaze, only a quiet, exhausting perceptiveness. "Why aren't you with the warriors? Why did you come to the 'bait' immediately after the council?"
"Shut your mouth."
"You're afraid," she whispered. "You're afraid they are right. That you no longer belong to yourself."
I shook her so hard her hair spilled over my hands.
"You belong to me. Every cell of you. Every drop of blood."
"And you depend on that possession," she gasped, but continued to look me straight in the eye. "You smell of me, Cale. Selena is right. You are completely saturated with this bond."
I growled, covering her lips with mine. This wasn't a kiss—it was an attempt to silence her, to subdue her, to destroy that knowledge in her eyes. She was fragile, almost weightless in my arms, but in that moment, she was stronger than my entire pack.
The mark on my shoulder pulsed in unison with her heart. A sharp, dragging pain shot through my spine.
I pulled away, breathing heavily. Her wrist in my hand felt so thin I was afraid of breaking it, yet at the same time, I wanted to squeeze it even harder.
"You aren't going anywhere," my voice was hoarse.
"I'm already in a cage," she lowered her eyes to my hand. "But which of us is locked in tighter, Cale? The one sitting inside, or the one who cannot walk away from the door?"
I pushed her away. She fell onto the bed, her eyes never leaving mine.
"Next week we march to the border. You are coming with me. In shackles, if necessary."
"As a tool?" her voice sounded almost pitiful.
"As my property."
I walked out without looking back. Outside the door, I leaned my forehead against the cold stone of the wall. My hands were still shaking. A single realization pulsed in my head, one I would never speak aloud: I wasn't lying to the council about her.
I was lying about myself.
I didn't control this bond. It controlled me, burning out everything from the inside that once made me an Alpha. And the most terrifying part—I didn't care.
MINE, the wolf purred with satisfaction, falling quiet.
I straightened my cloak and strode away, trying to give my gait the confidence that no longer remained within me. But the scent of wild herbs and rain followed at my heels, reminding me of who was actually holding the chain.