Chapter 4

The crowd steals glances at me, pity in their eyes. I just smile faintly and turn to leave.

The bracelet was never mine; I will not bind myself to him, so his heirlooms are unnecessary. When I leave, these gifts will be returned unopened.

Shawn and his entourage depart, but Quinn calls after me, her smile smug. "That scene back there sting, sister?"

I pause but don't look back.

"That bracelet is only the beginning," she murmurs. "Shawn loves me. Even if we both wear his mark, you will remain below me, unloved and alone for the rest of your days."

My fingers shake; that final life is gone. I have vowed not to love Shawn again, and this time I have taken another road, determined not to retrace the old steps.

I close my eyes briefly, then walk away without a word.

Quinn's frustration crackles behind me. Then her gaze sharpens, venomous, as if a new scheme's brewing.

That night, as I settle into bed, my door crashes open. A cold hand yanks my wrist, dragging me from the sheets.

"Leah!" Shawn's voice is ice, his eyes blazing with fury. "How could you be so cruel? Sending wolves to throw your sister in the lake?"

Pain shoots through my wrist as I meet his glare. "I didn't do it!"

"Didn't?" He scoffs.

"Quinn's too kind to lie about you."

In his eyes, Quinn is pure, but what about me?

"I'd never hurt her," I say, voice shaking as I fight the pain.

"I have no reason to hurt her."

"No reason?" His eyes are cold.

"You love me. I love her. That's reason enough."

He flings my arm aside.

"I know everything you've done—staying up all night to nurse me through the fever, taking a blade meant for me, even smashing the zither you loved just to please me…"

Each word pales my face further.

"But all I owe you is gratitude," he replies.

"I love your sister. Had you kept to your place, I would have shown you the respect due a mate. Instead you defied me and struck Quinn—an act I will not forgive."

"It wasn't me!" I choke out.

He doesn't listen to me at all.

Grabbing my arm, he barks, "Guards! Throw her in the lake. She stays there till dawn. No one pulls her out without my say."

Icy water closes over me. I surge upward, only to be forced beneath again by the guards. My throat scorches, sight dimming. In the blur, Shawn stands unmoved on the bank while Quinn, cloaked and fragile, presses against him.

"Shawn…" Her voice trembles. "She didn't mean it. Forgive her…"

"You're too kind," he murmurs, arms around her. "If I don't punish her now, she'll only hurt you worse later."

He tucks her closer. "Don't worry. I'll give you the reins. You'll never suffer."

They turn and leave.

"Shawn!" I scream his name, voice raw.

But he doesn't look back.

Cold slips through to my bone, and I shiver while a hollow laugh rises. If he ever discovers that I was the one who rescued him, the one he ought to have loved, will his heart fracture the way mine is breaking now?

At first light, the guards haul me outside.

My maids swaddle me in blankets, cheeks wet.

"He treats you like this before you even enter the bond," one whispers through her tears. "What will become of you since you're bond with him?"

I'm freezing, lips bloodless, but I shake my head weakly. "I'm… not bonding with him."

"Not bonding with me?" Shawn's voice cuts through.

He stands in the doorway. "Then who else would take you?"