~WAVERLY~
The Alpha's voice was a verdict, not just an ordinary sound. It sat in the air, heavy and unmoving, like the stone gargoyles that guarded the palace eaves. Kade Evermont did not look at me with the eyes of a father. He looked at me with the cold, administrative gaze of a monarch balancing a ledger where my soul was the currency.
"The path is clear, Kaeren," he repeated, his hands folding neatly atop the mahogany desk. "As per the ancient protocols of the Evermont line, an Alpha cannot lead without his mate. To cast aside the woman you have publically claimed and marked would be to admit the crown is a fraud. The Council would strip you of your title before the moon sets. Therefore, you will continue to take Waverly as your mate. She will remain within the estate, and the pack will recognize her as the soul-bound counterpart to your wolf."
He paused, a shadow of something harder crossing his face. Beside him, Beta Marcus shifted, his eyes gleaming with political triumph.
