Chapter 2

MORRANA

"THE ALPHA IS OURS!"

Skarre clawed frantically at the walls of my mind, desperate to break through the surface as the reality of the bond crashed over us. My heart hammered against my ribs and for one horrible moment, I could only stare at the man standing across from me, wondering what kind of cruel joke the universe thought it was playing.

Anyone else—a Delta, a rogue, even a fucking human. Anyone but the man who ruled my nightmares.

"Fuck," I breathed, the curse trembling on my lips as the invisible bond tying my soul to his seemed to grow heavier by the second, pressing down on me with its crushing weight.

"Anyone but him..."

Unlike me, Alpha Caius remained still, watching me with the unnerving patience of a predator that had finally found its prey.

He didn't look shocked or frightened. If anything, he seemed almost prepared for this moment.

"Sit down."

His slow, deep voice vibrated through my chest.

"I'd rather stand," I choked out, forcing my spine straight despite the tremor running through my muscles. I refused to give my body the satisfaction of submitting to him.

His green eyes narrowed, the golden flecks within them flashing with warning.

"I didn't offer a suggestion, Morrana."

Hearing my name roll off his tongue with that authority tore a mournful whine from Skarre as she clawed at the back of my ribs, begging me to obey, to be good, to listen to our Alpha. I shoved her down and planted my feet firmly against the rug because there was no fucking way I was going to listen to this bastard. Even with my wolf whimpering inside me, I met his gaze.

"You didn't look surprised."

Caius watched me for a moment before leaning back in his chair.

"I had a hunch."

He said it with such casual indifference that my stomach twisted.

"I figured it out six years ago."

The blood seemed to drain from my face. "You knew..." Cold dread slowly replaced the burning shock in my chest as I stared at him, trying to comprehend what he had just admitted.

"All this time, you knew I was your mate... Is that why you called me here today?"

His expression remained unreadable.

"You're smart, Morrana."

The words landed like salt against an old wound.

A bitter laugh bubbled up in my throat before I could stop it, echoing through the luxurious office. "And yet..." I shook my head, unable to believe what I was hearing. "You never bothered. You ran the other way."

"I didn't run, Morrana. I made a calculated decision for the sake of this pack."

He shot back, his eyes flashing with sudden heat.

"Calculated decision?"

The anger I'd been holding back finally broke through.

"My father died fighting your father's war!" I stepped toward his desk, my hands curled into fists. "He gave his life for the Varro name, and what did you do? You let us starve. You let the pack elders strip away our benefits while you sat in this fucking office playing God!"

Caius didn't move. There wasn't even a trace of guilt in his expression.

"Your father did his duty. That is what warriors do."

His voice remained disturbingly calm.

"The pack does not owe handouts to survivors who cannot contribute."

His words lodged in my chest like thorns.

"Ungrateful bastard!"

I stepped closer, refusing to let the tears burning behind my eyes fall.

"It's a fucking curse to be your mate. Just reject me and end this."

His expression didn't change, which somehow made me hate him even more.

"Are you done?"

Caius rose from his chair.

His sheer size made the room feel smaller, but I refused to step back as he crossed the distance between us. The scent of cedarwood and winter smoke surrounded me again, reminding me of the bond I desperately wanted to forget.

"Let's get one thing straight," he murmured, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

"I am not going to formally reject you. The Moon Goddess does not take kindly to an insulted bond."

He held my gaze as he continued, his tone becoming colder with every word.

"A formal rejection of an Alpha's true mate brings a curse. It could rot our crops in the fields, weaken our warriors at the borders, and bring consequences to the entire pack. I will not compromise the safety of my people for your pride."

"So what's the play, Alpha?"

I leaned toward him.

"Are you going to parade the trash around as your Luna?"

"Never."

The answer came without hesitation, and the force of that single denial gnawed at my soul, making Skarre shudder within me.

"Your rank is below even an Omega's. I will never publicly acknowledge you. As far as the world is concerned, you are nothing to me."

That one hurt.

I swallowed it down and lifted my chin.

"What do you want?"

My voice came out quieter than I intended.

Caius's gaze remained fixed on mine.

"There are rules, Morrana." His voice was calm and merciless. "And you will follow every one of them without question."

"What rules?"

"You will tell no one about this. Not a single soul. You will never approach me in public, and if we happen to be in the same room, you will look at the floor."

His expression hardened.

"You will never touch me. And... You will never let another man touch you."

A cold laugh escaped me.

"You expect me to live like that?"

"You'll adapt."

His answer was so effortless that disbelief nearly made me laugh again.

"You expect me to be your slave in the shadows while you live your perfect little life?"

"And what about Cecilia?"

Her name tasted like poison on my tongue. Everyone in the territory knew about the glamorous, high-ranking female he had been seeing for the past year.

"Are you going to keep pretending she's your everything?"

"Cecilia is my girlfriend in name." Caius didn't even blink. "She is necessary for the political alliance. She keeps our borders secure and our trade routes open, and I intend to keep it exactly that way. She serves a purpose."

His eyes settled on me.

"You do not."

The words landed without even a shard of shame.

For the first time, I understood that the man standing in front of me wasn't simply cruel; there was nothing left in him for me to reach, no hidden softness waiting beneath the surface that I could somehow appeal to.

I took a step backward, putting some distance between us so I could breathe.

"It doesn't matter anyway." I swallowed the tightness in my throat before continuing, "Because the second I graduate, I'm taking my mother and leaving this miserable pack. You can keep your secrets and your artificial life. I'm out."

Something in Caius's expression changed as he stepped closer, his presence swallowing the space between us before he leaned down beside my ear.

"Don't say things you can't afford, Morrana."

His hand closed around my neck, forcing me to meet his gaze.

"You're never leaving this pack."

Something in his eyes stopped me from answering. It was a warning, certainly, but there was something else buried beneath it that I couldn't understand.

Suddenly, he released me and turned away as though the conversation were already over.

"Get out of my office."

Before I could steady myself, the doors burst open, and a flash of crimson caught my attention.

Cecilia.

The moment her eyes landed on me, her smile disappeared, replaced by obvious disgust.

"Ugh, Caius, darling," she sneered. "Why is this trash bleeding all over your floor? The smell of wet dog and cheap tobacco is ruining my mood."

Caius didn't even spare a glance at me.

The ruthless Alpha who had threatened me moments earlier disappeared behind the charming mask he wore for everyone else. He walked past me, slid an arm around Cecilia's waist, and drew her against his side.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart." His voice became soft. "Kai brought her in for a disciplinary lecture. Come on. I promised I'd take you into town to shop at the boutiques this afternoon."

Cecilia giggled and threw me one last mocking glance before letting him lead her away.

The doors closed behind them.

I stood there for several seconds, staring at the place where they'd disappeared, before forcing myself to move. My chest ached beneath a weight I didn't know how to carry, but I refused to give either of them the satisfaction of seeing me break.

Every step down the grand staircase felt heavier than the last, yet I kept moving until I reached the entrance, where Kai stood near the railing with an unlit cigarette between his fingers.

His eyes found mine, and for a brief second, his stern expression softened, before he winked.

I blinked, wondering if I'd imagined it, but by the time I looked again, his face had returned to its usual stern, emotionless mask.

I didn't stop to question it though, I walked away.

Rain soaked through my clothes as I made my way down the road, washing the dried blood from my cheek and carrying it into the collar of my sweater. I barely noticed the cold; I just wanted to get home and pretend this entire day had never happened.

By the time I reached the lower edge of town, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. I turned off the main road and took the shortcut behind the old warehouses, hoping to shave a few minutes from the journey.

I was halfway through the alley when Skarre snarled.

"Morrana, watch out!"

I spun around, instinctively raising my arm to protect my face, but I was too late. A hard kick struck my chest and sent me sprawling onto the muddy road, a sharp ache shooting through my ribs.

When I looked up, my body froze.

Draven. His face was still swollen from our earlier fight, with gauze covering his injured nose, and his bloodshot eyes burned with humiliation.

And this time, he wasn't alone.

"Didn't think you'd get away with that shit, did you, Valmont?" His voice was still distorted by his injuries.

He raised his hand, and something silver swung from his fingers, catching the dim gray light filtering between the buildings.

A silver pocket watch dangled from a tarnished chain.

"No..."

My blood ran cold when I recognized it: my father's watch, the only thing he'd left me, which my mother had been forced to pawn three weeks ago just to pay our electric bill.

"Look familiar, Valmont? Found it at the pawnshop down on Main. Barely cost a thing. The guy said your mom practically begged him for twenty bucks for it."

His smile widened.

"Guess it's mine now."

"Give it back." My voice was barely above a whisper, but the rage beneath it was unmistakable.

"Give it to me, Draven, or I swear to Goddess I'll finish what I started this morning."

"Oh, you ain't finishing nothing," Draven barked.

"Get her!"

Toby and Knox lunged forward. I managed to catch Toby with a desperate swing, but Draven immediately closed the distance, his fist landing on the split wound on my cheekbone. A hot explosion of pain blinded me. I stumbled back into the brick wall.

"Keep her up!" Zane shouted, grabbing my arm and pinning it against the brick. Another attacker rushed in, forcing me to twist away as I fought to stay upright, but there were too many of them and nowhere to run.

"Fight! Morrana, fight!"

Skarre's voice thundered through my mind as she fought desperately to force a shift, but my battered body refused to cooperate.

I couldn't shift. I couldn't run. But I wouldn't give up, not while I still had a choice.

Through the haze of pain, I gathered whatever strength remained in me. Just as Knox leaned in to grab my hair, I threw my weight backward, driving the hard back of my skull directly into his face.

A satisfying crunch echoed through the alley, and Knox shrieked, falling back.

"Fucking bitch!"

I tried to run, but my legs barely supported me, and with five of them surrounding me, escape was almost impossible. Soon, they swarmed me, knocking me into the mud.

Skarre kept screaming inside my mind, urging me to hold on, but exhaustion was beginning to drown out even her voice.

The silver watch lay only a few feet away, half-buried in the mud—my father's last gift, the one thing I had left of him.

I had to get it back...