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00:00To let my mate focus on his position, I stayed behind in the old estate, caring for his ailing mother.
00:05In this ten years, Kaylin returned once a year.
00:08He never touched me.
00:09He said that if I were to carry a pup while he was away, there would be no one to
00:13look after me, and that would break his heart.
00:15Every time he left, he cursed himself for his failings, swore on the moon he would come for me once
00:20he had made something of himself.
00:22In the eleventh winter, heavy snow blocked the roads.
00:25Kaylin sent word that he would be delayed.
00:26I was about to bring the news to Lady Meryn when I heard her speaking with my sister-in-law.
00:31Mother, you've been faking this illness for over ten years. How much longer?
00:35What else can be done? Kaylin's heart has always belonged to that sworn sister of his.
00:39They bonded in secret, behind the pack's back.
00:42Their pups are nearly grown. If we don't keep Elena here, she'll go to the city and destroy everything.
00:46Kaylin's rank as Alpha of the Eastern Pack would be finished.
00:49Let it be. Keep quiet.
00:50Kaylin said once his position is secure, he will make it right with Elena.
00:54My eyes burned. Kaylin wasn't struggling.
00:55He was Alpha of the Eastern Pack, and he hadn't been keeping his distance to protect me.
01:01He had someone else.
01:02I went to the training grounds and found the low-ranking warrior who had watched me for years.
01:07Do you still want me as your mate?
01:09Elena, I will treat you well.
01:11Forgive me one month. I march out tonight. This time I'll return with a deed worth claiming you.
01:18I don't need glory. Just come back safe.
01:21I watched him leave, then walked home. The estate should have been dark.
01:25Mother, you should have gone to bed by now.
01:29A tall figure stood against the candlelight. A familiar voice cut through the wind and snow.
01:34Elena, I'm home.
01:38A year had passed.
01:40Kaylin carried himself differently now.
01:42Steadier.
01:43With the quiet authority that comes with rank.
01:46He opened his arms, waiting for me to go to him the way I always had.
01:50I didn't.
01:51You haven't eaten, have you?
01:53Let me make you something.
01:55What's wrong? A year apart and you're not glad to see me?
01:59Are you angry with me?
02:01Go sit with Mother. I'll call you when the food is ready.
02:03Before I'd learned the truth, I had missed him. Had been a little cross with him, too.
02:07No mate wants to be kept so far away. For so long.
02:10But once I understood everything, I stopped wanting anything.
02:13Things became simpler. Better to park quietly than to rage and stay.
02:17I remained silent and cooked in the kitchen.
02:19Kaylin followed.
02:19Elena, what's happened? Have you heard something?
02:22Out here in the backwoods, we barely see a stranger from one season to the next.
02:25What would I have heard? Don't worry yourself, Kaylin.
02:28Elena, I came back to bring you all to the city.
02:30But there's something I need to tell you first.
02:32My chest tightened. I already knew what was coming.
02:34After ten years, he had finally run out of patience.
02:38You must be Elena. I'm Cerith.
02:41Kaylin's sworn sister.
02:42And his mate.
02:44These are mine and Kaylin's.
02:46Go on, call her Auntie Elena.
02:48Auntie Elena.
02:49Elena, let me explain.
02:53Elena, let me explain.
02:54I was ambushed by rogue wolves on the road to the city.
02:56Cerith saved my life.
02:58I only meant to take her in as a sworn sister.
02:59But she had no one, no pack, nowhere to go.
03:02I wanted to give her a home.
03:03It was gratitude, nothing more.
03:04If you're hurt, curse me, strike me, I'll bear it.
03:06I only ask that once you come to the city,
03:08you and she can find some people.
03:10Going to the city is a good thing.
03:12I'm not upset.
03:14Mother hasn't recovered in all this time.
03:16Perhaps the city healers will do what ours couldn't.
03:19Really?
03:20You forgive me?
03:21Elena, start packing tonight.
03:23We leave in two days and we'll make it back for Christmas.
03:27Mother doesn't have much.
03:28Packing her things won't take long.
03:30I'll sort her medicines for the road.
03:31You can all leave at first light.
03:33What do you mean?
03:34You're not coming with us?
03:38I met his gaze.
03:39My voice stayed level.
03:41Kaelin, if we leave for good,
03:43I need to settle the land and the estate first.
03:46Leaving it empty still means taxes to the pack.
03:48That's wasteful.
03:50Go ahead and take everyone home for Christmas.
03:53Once I've handled things here,
03:55I'll come to you in the spring.
03:56When I had first come to this estate,
03:58we lived in a borrowed den with walls that let the wind through,
04:01funding his studies,
04:02saving coin,
04:03until I had bought this house and these two fields.
04:06It had ended the family's hunger.
04:08It had given Kaelin a place to become what he was.
04:11Elena, I'm Alpha of the Eastern Pack now.
04:13Silver is not the problem.
04:14Give the land to whoever needs it.
04:16Save yourself the trouble.
04:17I earned it with my own hands.
04:18I'm not ready to let go.
04:22Trust me.
04:23Once it's done, I'll come to you.
04:24I won't be long.
04:26Kaelin hesitated.
04:27Kaelin, don't waver.
04:28The council's watching you.
04:29You leave her here and they dig into it
04:31and she says the wrong thing.
04:32Your seed is gone.
04:34I wasn't slow.
04:35I heard exactly what Kareth had just said.
04:38So it wasn't a change of heart that had brought Kaelin back.
04:41If the pack council confirmed it,
04:42they would report it to the High Alpha.
04:44The High Alpha was a man who mated once and meant it.
04:48If Kaelin wanted to keep his rank,
04:50the most important thing was keeping me quiet.
04:52It would be a lie to say that didn't hurt.
04:5513 years.
04:56I had given this mating everything.
04:58Kaelin was pack-born but useless with his hands.
05:00Lady Maren was old and couldn't help.
05:02His brother was worse than useless.
05:03The whole family ran on my back.
05:05I never complained.
05:06I nursed Lady Maren.
05:07I had believed that kind of devotion would hold a mate for life.
05:10I had overestimated what I was worth to him.
05:12I finally understood what they say.
05:14A man who climbs always drops what carried him.
05:17I held back the burn in my eyes.
05:19Kept it from spilling.
05:20So that's what you're worried about?
05:24I can put it in writing.
05:26Whoever asks, I'll say I'm Kaelin's pack-sister,
05:30his adopted blood kin.
05:31Nothing more.
05:32Lady Maren and Kareth both stared.
05:34After a long silence,
05:36Kaelin said, half-believing,
05:38You would really do that for me?
05:40I smiled and nodded.
05:42For you, I would do anything.
05:45But to be safe,
05:47there's something you need to destroy first.
05:50Kaelin was cautious.
05:51What?
05:52I answered without flinching.
05:53The mating scroll.
05:55Yours and mine.
05:58Out here in the back territories,
05:59we hadn't stood on ceremony when we bonded.
06:02A mating scroll.
06:03A shared cup.
06:04That was all it had taken.
06:06No pack record.
06:07No council seal.
06:09So if the scroll was gone,
06:10I was no longer Kaelin's mate.
06:12I only had to wait for the warrior to come home.
06:14Then I could be claimed properly.
06:16I expected Kaelin to want this without hesitation.
06:20Instead, he went quiet.
06:22Elena,
06:22you once told me that scroll was the most precious thing you owned.
06:27You've given so much for this pack.
06:29For me,
06:30if you burned the last thing you held onto,
06:32how much would that cost you?
06:35Let's leave the scroll as it is.
06:37He had seen everything I'd sacrificed.
06:39He had remembered all of it.
06:41And still,
06:42year after year,
06:43he had left me here while he built a life with someone else.
06:46If he could watch out all of that and stay,
06:48then I had no reason left to hold onto one sheet of parchment.
06:52But I knew him.
06:53He wouldn't simply let me go.
06:57Kaelin,
06:58you know how much that scroll means to me.
07:00But for your future,
07:02I have to let it go.
07:04Once you take me to the city properly,
07:07you can make me a new one.
07:09Wouldn't that be enough?
07:11She's right.
07:12Your position can't afford loose threads.
07:17Burn it.
07:19Elena
07:20has done this for you.
07:22Make it up to her later.
07:24Elena,
07:25hiding this from you,
07:26that was wrong.
07:27But trust me,
07:29I will make this right.
07:31Wait for me.
07:32I will come for you myself
07:34with the best claiming gifts I can find.
07:36I'll take you as Kaelin again,
07:37properly this time.
07:38In that moment,
07:39he looked entirely sincere.
07:41I chose not to believe it.
07:44I decided it was only something I was imagining.
07:47I lit both scrolls myself.
07:48The fire took them.
07:50That absurd mating,
07:51those wasted years.
07:52And with them,
07:53the last of what I had held onto
07:55for over a decade.
08:00After Kaelin had gone in with Kareth and the children,
08:02she dropped the act entirely
08:04and sank to her knees in front of me.
08:08Elena,
08:09I failed you.
08:12I hid it from you all these years.
08:16You must hate me.
08:17Her hair had gone fully white.
08:19She was crying without restraint.
08:21I couldn't bring myself to leave her there.
08:23I helped her up.
08:26Mother,
08:27I know you love your son too much.
08:30I don't blame you.
08:32The illness was a pretense,
08:34but your body has ought its real troubles.
08:38When you reach the city,
08:39listen to the healers.
08:41Elena,
08:42how can you be so good?
08:43When I'm gone,
08:45who will ever look after me
08:46the way you have?
08:49No matter what Kaelin does to you,
08:51I will always count you
08:52as my own daughter.
08:54I will never let anyone mistreat you.
08:57I understood her helplessness.
08:59I had never held it against her,
09:00but I was done trusting her too.
09:02She was still a mother.
09:03No matter what she said,
09:05her heart would always tilt toward her son.
09:07If the day came
09:07when she had to choose
09:08between Kaelin and me,
09:09she would choose him
09:10without a second thought.
09:11Mother,
09:12it's fine.
09:13Whoever Kaelin takes as his mate,
09:15she'll be half a daughter to you.
09:17You don't owe me anything.
09:21I had barely stepped out
09:22of Lady Meryn's room
09:23when Kareth was waiting in the yard.
09:25Elena,
09:26don't take anything
09:27Kaelin says at face value.
09:28The truth is,
09:30he never rescued me.
09:31I had thought
09:32that Lady Meryn's decade of deception
09:33and Kaelin's betrayal
09:35were already the worst of it.
09:36I was wrong.
09:37There was still more
09:38they had kept from me.
09:39Sareth had never saved Kaelin's life.
09:41It was the other way around.
09:42Kaelin had seen her,
09:43wanted her,
09:44used the blood sister bond
09:45as a way in
09:46and destroyed the claiming
09:47she already had.
09:48Calling her his rescuer
09:49was Kaelin's strategy.
09:50He knew I was soft,
09:52that I always repaid
09:52what was owed.
09:53He had spoken to Lady Meryn first
09:55and built the story together,
09:56something designed
09:57to make me accept it,
09:58to make me give in.
09:59So everything he said
10:00about claiming you properly,
10:01it's nothing.
10:02Go to the city
10:03and you'll be a lesser mate,
10:04that's all.
10:05Oh, and his mother.
10:07All that talk about
10:08treating you like a daughter,
10:09do you believe it?
10:10When it comes down to you
10:11or her own grandchildren,
10:13who do you think she picks?
10:14Are you done?
10:16The morning they left,
10:17I walked the family
10:18to the edge of the settlement.
10:19I unclasped the only thing
10:21of value I still wore,
10:22the Luna Elder's silver clasp,
10:23and placed it in Sareth's hand.
10:24That's yours, Elena.
10:26Keep it.
10:26I shook my head
10:27and pinned it
10:28to Kareth's collar myself.
10:30I said,
10:31Everyone in the settlement
10:32knows this clasp
10:32is the Luna Elder's piece,
10:33passed to the mate
10:34of the Pax heir.
10:35If I keep wearing it,
10:36it draws questions.
10:37Better that Sareth has it.
10:38Mother, Elena is right.
10:39When we're together again,
10:40I'll give it back.
10:41Elena, what I give you
10:42belongs to you.
10:43In my heart,
10:44you are the only true mate
10:45this family has had.
10:46When you come to the city,
10:47I will get it back for you.
10:49Foster brother,
10:50that pendant was my grandmother's,
10:52the only thing she left me.
10:54Could you return it?
10:55Elena,
10:56I'm not used to you
10:57calling me that.
10:58When there's no one listening,
10:59call me what you always have.
11:04Better to be careful.
11:05We can't hand anyone
11:06a thread to pull.
11:07Fine.
11:08Once I've claimed you properly,
11:09you can go back to it.
11:12Let me keep the pendant for now.
11:14It was your gift to me.
11:15It's what we have between us.
11:17I never understood that.
11:18He used to resent the pendant,
11:19said a grown male
11:20wearing something like that
11:21looked ridiculous.
11:22Now that I was willing
11:23to take it back,
11:23he had found reasons
11:24to keep it.
11:25Foster brother,
11:26Christmas is almost here.
11:27I'll be alone,
11:28and I'd like something
11:29to hold on to.
11:30When I come to the city,
11:32I'll make you another.
11:33Kaelin gave it up
11:33without warmth,
11:34pressing the pendant
11:35and a folded stack
11:36of silver notes
11:36into my hands.
11:37At the last moment,
11:38he turned back.
11:39He gripped my hand once.
11:41Stay home and wait.
11:42When spring opens the roads,
11:43I'll come for you myself.
11:44There's one more thing
11:45I haven't told you yet.
11:46All right.
11:47I watched them go,
11:48then walked back inside.
11:49I reached to the top
11:50of the cabinet
11:50and took down the pack
11:52I had already prepared.
11:55I left the silver notes
11:56on the table.
11:57Then I turned north
11:57and didn't look back.
11:59The warrior I had promised
12:00myself to was somewhere
12:01in that direction.
12:01I meant to be claimed
12:02before Kaelin ever came
12:03to collect me.
12:04When that day came,
12:05I would be someone else's.
12:07There would be nothing
12:07left to untangle,
12:09nothing left to demand of me.
12:10Winter roads are slow.
12:11I had little silver,
12:12and I was too careful
12:13with it to hire a cart.
12:14I walked when I could,
12:15stopped to take work
12:16in whatever town
12:16would have me,
12:17and moved on again
12:18when I'd saved enough.
12:19By the time the cold
12:20began to ease,
12:21I was close to the northern border.
12:22Elena,
12:23the border war is over.
12:24The northern campaign won.
12:26Once they've processed
12:26the captured forces,
12:27they'll be heading back
12:28through the territory.
12:29You'll see your promised mate
12:29before long.
12:30Your mate is a hero
12:31of this pack.
12:32Call it a gift from me.
12:33Hire a cart.
12:34Go meet him at the border city.
12:35Thank you.
12:36Hired a cart,
12:37and arrived before the soldiers did.
12:39With what little silver
12:40I had left,
12:40I found the city watch captain
12:42and pressed it into his hand.
12:43Captain,
12:45my promised mate's name
12:46is Aldrich.
12:47When he arrives,
12:49please tell him I'm waiting
12:50in the second house
12:51east of the city gate.
12:53You're Aldrich's promised mate?
12:57He smiled a little awkwardly.
12:59Keep it.
13:00Just put in a word for me
13:02if you ever get the chance.
13:03I had no idea what he meant.
13:05Aldrich was a low-ranking warrior.
13:06What good would a word from him do?
13:08The captain had probably
13:09mistaken him for someone else.
13:11Still,
13:11silver saved was
13:12silver saved.
13:13Waiting wasn't easy.
13:14I knew what Aldrich felt for me.
13:16He had shown it for years,
13:17but I had been mated before.
13:19I wasn't sure whether
13:20he had said yes
13:21out of true wanting
13:22or out of something
13:23that would fade.
13:24Then again,
13:24I thought it through
13:25and it settled.
13:26If he had changed his mind,
13:27I would manage on my own.
13:29I had two hands
13:30and enough stubbornness.
13:31I wouldn't starve.
13:32Once I was at peace with that,
13:33everything felt lighter.
13:36I started cutting fabric
13:38for a claiming dress,
13:39the best material I could find.
13:40Useful if things went well,
13:41a small pleasure for myself
13:42if they didn't.
13:43The first time I was claimed,
13:44there had been no wedding at all.
13:46The pack had nothing.
13:47No wedding dress,
13:47no feast.
13:48When I'd finally had coin to spare,
13:50the first thing I did
13:50was return two full jugs
13:52to that neighbor.
13:52She had held my hands and cried,
13:54Elena, a girl like you,
13:55why did you stay in that pack?
13:56You've suffered so much.
13:57You're strong and you're lovely.
13:59You could have had an elder son
14:00and it wouldn't have been reaching.
14:01Why tie yourself to a scholar
14:02who can't lift his own pack
14:03and grind your life away?
14:04That's your bias speaking.
14:05I trust him.
14:06He won't fail me.
14:07You are such a fool.
14:09Now I understood.
14:10She was the one
14:10who had seen clearly.
14:12The day I slipped away
14:13from the settlement,
14:13I had nearly walked
14:14into Kaylin's sister-in-law.
14:18It was that neighbor
14:19who spotted her first.
14:20She held the woman back,
14:21then sent her husband
14:22to pass me word.
14:23Move.
14:24Now.
14:25Elena, that pack
14:26was never worthy of you.
14:28Go.
14:29Live freely.
14:30Stop letting them
14:31keep you caged.
14:33I'll deal with your sister-in-law.
14:35They won't know
14:36you're gone for a while.
14:38I never found out
14:39what she said
14:39to buy me the time,
14:40but it had worked.
14:41For an entire month,
14:42no one had come looking.
14:43People, though,
14:44have a way
14:45of undoing themselves.
14:46On the third day,
14:47a cart stopped
14:47outside my door.
14:49I thought it was Aldrich.
14:50I ran out.
14:51It wasn't.
14:52Kaylin stood there,
14:53dust on his shoulders.
14:54Elena.
14:55His voice worn down
14:56to gravel.
14:59Kaylin said,
14:59Elena,
15:00you have no idea
15:01how long
15:01I've been looking for you.
15:02He was across the yard
15:03in a few strides,
15:04his hand locking
15:05around my wrist
15:06hard enough to grind.
15:07Kaylin said,
15:08Elena,
15:08you promised me.
15:09Why did you leave?
15:10Why come all the way
15:11out here?
15:11I spent half a month
15:13preparing.
15:13I rode to the settlement
15:14myself to bring you home,
15:15and the house was empty.
15:17I said,
15:17do you know how frightened
15:18I was?
15:19I stopped pulling
15:20against his grip.
15:21Alpha Kaylin,
15:22why waste your concern
15:23on me?
15:23The mating scroll
15:24is ash.
15:25I'm not your pack anymore.
15:26Where I go,
15:27whether I live or die,
15:29none of that is your matter.
15:30Kaylin's jaw tightened.
15:31Elena,
15:32I know you're hurting,
15:33but this kind of recklessness
15:34doesn't suit you.
15:35You told me you would
15:36come to the city.
15:37You gave me your word.
15:38How can you break it
15:39like this?
15:40Something in me gave up
15:41trying to stay composed.
15:42I said,
15:43when we were claimed,
15:44you gave me your word too.
15:46You swore on the moon
15:47you would never take
15:48another mate.
15:48You broke that one first.
15:50So,
15:50between the two of us,
15:51I'd say we're even.
15:56Kaylin saw that I meant it.
15:58His eyes went red
15:59at the edges.
15:59He pulled me close
16:01until there was almost
16:01no space between us.
16:03Thirteen years.
16:04You think that just
16:06cancels?
16:07Elena,
16:07I know I've wronged you.
16:08Let me make it right.
16:10Come back with me.
16:11I'll give you equal standing.
16:12You won't be beneath
16:13Karath in anything.
16:14I promise.
16:16I couldn't stop
16:16a short, dry sound
16:17from escaping.
16:18Kaylin took it for pride
16:19over the title
16:20and frowned.
16:21Elena,
16:22equal standing is the best
16:23I can do right now.
16:24Sereth,
16:25what she did for me,
16:26what she did for you.
16:28Are you still going
16:28to use that story?
16:30I cut him off.
16:31Kaylin,
16:32your apology has no effort
16:33in it at all.
16:34Kaylin went still.
16:35His eyes shifted.
16:36What do you mean by that?
16:40I watched the change
16:41move across his face
16:42and I took it apart,
16:43piece by piece.
16:44Tarith already told me
16:45everything.
16:46There were no rogue wolves.
16:47There was no rescue.
16:49You saw her,
16:50wanted her,
16:50and used the sworn sister
16:52bond to get close.
16:53You destroyed the claiming
16:54she already had
16:55and took her for yourself,
16:56calling her your rescuer.
16:58That was cover.
16:59Nothing more.
16:59Kaylin's face went pale.
17:01He opened his mouth.
17:02Nothing came out.
17:02I was done wasting time.
17:04I moved to see him out.
17:05He found his voice.
17:06Elena,
17:07listen to me.
17:08Karith is possessive.
17:09She said all of that
17:10to drive a wedge between us.
17:11You know how it is.
17:13No mate wants to share.
17:14I cut him off.
17:15I felt nothing
17:16in my chest anymore.
17:17It had all gone numb.
17:18You understand that,
17:19which is why you kept me out here
17:21for ten years,
17:22alone,
17:22while your mother
17:23faked an illness
17:24to hold me in place.
17:25Isn't that right?
17:29I said,
17:30if you care about her so much,
17:31stop chasing me.
17:32You'll hurt me
17:33and you'll hurt her.
17:34I wrenched my wrist free
17:35and stepped back.
17:36The Elena who existed before
17:37is gone.
17:38She died the day
17:39she found out the truth.
17:40Who I am now
17:41has no connection to you,
17:43to Kaylin,
17:43to your pack.
17:44Out of whatever feeling
17:45I once had,
17:46I won't say a single word
17:47against you.
17:48I'm only asking you to leave.
17:50My promised mate
17:51is returning with the army.
17:52I don't want him
17:53to misread this.
17:55Kaylin's spine
17:55went rigid.
17:56He looked up at me.
17:57He said,
17:58promised mate?
17:58Who?
17:59What's his name?
18:00I said,
18:01a low-ranking warrior.
18:02No one you'd know.
18:03Please go,
18:04Kaylin's expression curdled.
18:06Elena,
18:06have you lost your mind?
18:08You'd pass up
18:09an alpha of the eastern pack
18:10for some common soldier
18:11with a border stipend?
18:16He said,
18:17he could be dead
18:17by next season.
18:18And even if he's not,
18:20what does he earn?
18:21You'd go back
18:21to going hungry.
18:22You're not young anymore.
18:24Do you really want
18:25that kind of life again?
18:26I looked at him steadily.
18:28I wasn't afraid of hardship
18:29when I chose you.
18:31I'm not afraid of it now.
18:33Don't speak about
18:34my promised mate like that.
18:36He may not have your rank,
18:38but what he feels for me
18:39is real.
18:40Unlike you.
18:41Kaylin opened his mouth,
18:42then stopped.
18:43A long pause,
18:45then more controlled.
18:46Elena,
18:47you've misread all of this.
18:48I never stopped carrying you.
18:50He seemed to decide
18:51that words weren't enough
18:52and cut himself off.
18:53Come back with me.
18:54I'll show you.
18:55Give me the chance.
18:56The border campaign's
18:57war alpha,
18:58General Vane.
18:59He and I go back.
19:01I'll speak to him.
19:02As long as that warrior
19:03is reasonable,
19:04I'll find him a proper match myself.
19:05I'll cover the claiming gifts.
19:10I had always been slow to anger.
19:12This was one of the few times
19:14I wasn't.
19:15Staring at Kaylin,
19:17I struggled to contain my fury
19:18as I questioned him,
19:20asking if he had lost his mind.
19:22He didn't put it plainly,
19:23but I understood perfectly.
19:25He intended to use his status
19:26as the alpha of the Eastern Pack
19:28to pressure Aldric
19:29into stepping aside.
19:31Aldric was just a foot soldier,
19:32with no standing to resist
19:34an alpha of the Eastern Pack.
19:36In desperation,
19:37I grabbed the sword
19:38from Kaylin's side.
19:39I pressed the blade firmly
19:40against my own throat,
19:41warning him that if he dared
19:43to go near Aldric,
19:44I would end my life
19:45right then and there.
19:49I told Kaylin that my life
19:50was not worth much,
19:51but if a pack alpha
19:52drove a free woman to her death,
19:53his own fate would not be better.
19:55Kaylin had always thought of me
19:57as cautious
19:57and someone who valued
19:58her own life.
20:00He had never imagined
20:01I would resort to
20:02threatening my own life.
20:04He froze instantly.
20:05His voice dropping low
20:06as he urged me
20:07to put down the sword,
20:08saying we could
20:09talk things through.
20:10I didn't move an inch,
20:12firmly telling him
20:12there was nothing
20:13to talk about.
20:14If he didn't want me dead,
20:15he had to write down
20:16his promise immediately.
20:18The promise was simple.
20:19From that day on,
20:21if anything happened to me
20:22or my betrothed,
20:23Aldric,
20:24he would be held
20:25fully responsible.
20:27Kaylin had spent years
20:28in pack politics
20:29and would never willingly
20:30leave evidence
20:31that could be used
20:32against him,
20:33but as he looked
20:33at the sword pressed
20:34to my throat,
20:35his tone remained steady.
20:36He agreed to write it down,
20:38but said he had come
20:39in a hurry
20:39and had nothing to write with,
20:41asking me to go inside
20:42to find him ink
20:43and parchment.
20:44I didn't think ahead,
20:46turning toward the house
20:47at once,
20:47but the moment my back
20:49was to him,
20:49he moved.
20:51He snatched the sword
20:52from my hand,
20:53didn't even glance at me.
20:54He ordered his escort
20:55to hold me
20:56while he went
20:56to find General Vane.
20:58His men reacted quickly,
21:00seizing me
21:00before I could respond.
21:02I couldn't even
21:03utter a curse.
21:04Just then,
21:05a deep,
21:06calm,
21:07and resonant voice
21:08came from beyond the gate.
21:09The voice asked
21:10Alpha Kaylin
21:11why he was there
21:12and mentioned
21:12that he had heard his name,
21:14wondering if something
21:15was wrong.
21:18I didn't recognize
21:19that voice,
21:20but moments later,
21:21I heard Kaylin's tone
21:23shift to one of deference
21:24as he greeted the man,
21:25addressing him as General Vane
21:26and saying what perfect timing
21:27his arrival was.
21:29He added that it was
21:30nothing urgent,
21:31just a small favor
21:32he wanted to ask
21:33of General Vane.
21:34Only then did I realize
21:36that the man before me
21:37was General Vane,
21:38the War Alpha
21:38of the Northern Territory.
21:41General Vane smiled
21:42and readily agreed to help,
21:43but asked Alpha Kaylin
21:44to wait a moment
21:45while he finished
21:45a piece of business first.
21:47Kaylin stepped back
21:48toward the gate quickly,
21:49respectfully saying
21:50he was willing to wait
21:51and telling General Vane
21:52to take his time.
21:54General Vane then
21:55dismounted from his horse
21:56and pointed directly
21:57at my door.
21:58He said that as it happened,
22:00his business was right there.
22:02Kaylin stopped abruptly,
22:04looking stunned.
22:05General Vane looked at him
22:06without further explanation,
22:08only stating that he had come
22:09to negotiate a claiming.
22:11Kaylin froze completely,
22:13unconsciously stepping
22:14in front of the gate.
22:15He tried to persuade
22:17General Vane,
22:18saying that his mate bond
22:19was well known,
22:19his children were nearly grown,
22:22and such a thing
22:22would be inappropriate.
22:24General Vane laughed heartily,
22:26shook his head,
22:27and told Kaylin
22:28he had misunderstood.
22:30This claiming was not
22:31for himself,
22:32but on behalf of his sworn son,
22:34who had been injured
22:35and couldn't come in person.
22:37I was just as confused
22:38as Kaylin,
22:39even starting to wonder
22:40if General Vane
22:41had come to the wrong house.
22:42General Vane himself
22:44looked a little uncertain
22:45as he walked past Kaylin
22:46into the yard.
22:47His escort,
22:48not wanting to get into trouble,
22:50let me go.
22:51Born in the north,
22:53General Vane was straightforward
22:54and didn't notice
22:55anything amiss.
22:56He looked straight at me
22:57and asked if I was Elena.
22:59I nodded slowly.
23:01He immediately looked satisfied,
23:03confirming he had come
23:03to the right place.
23:05He told me that his sworn son
23:06was my betrothed, Aldrich.
23:11Upon hearing General Vane's words,
23:13my thoughts went sideways.
23:15Aldrich was just
23:16a low-ranking soldier.
23:17How had he ended up
23:18as General Vane's sworn son?
23:20I rubbed the back of my neck
23:22and explained to General Vane
23:23that I thought
23:24there must be a mistake.
23:25My betrothed was indeed
23:26named Aldrich,
23:27but he could never be
23:28General Vane's sworn son.
23:31I even wondered
23:32if there might be two people
23:33with the same name.
23:34General Vane seemed less confident
23:36as he described
23:37his sworn son's features.
23:39Born in the eastern settlement
23:40of the southern territory,
23:41with a small mark
23:42near the corner of his left eye,
23:44he asked if these features
23:45matched my betrothed.
23:47He added that if it would help,
23:49he would have his sworn son
23:50carried over for me
23:51to confirm in person.
23:52I stopped him quickly,
23:54telling him there was no need,
23:55that every detail he described
23:57matched Aldrich perfectly.
23:58I begged him not to move
24:00the injured Aldrich,
24:01saying that since he was hurt,
24:03I would go to see him myself.
24:05With that,
24:06I walked toward the gate,
24:07distracted.
24:08but Caelan,
24:09who had been silent
24:10for a long time,
24:11suddenly reached out
24:12and grabbed my arm,
24:13stopping me in my tracks.
24:17Caelan stood in front of me,
24:19turning to General Vane
24:20and saying there was something
24:21he should know first.
24:22He told General Vane
24:24that I was his pack sister,
24:25that he had raised me,
24:27and that he had never heard me
24:28mention the name Aldrich once.
24:30He added that if Aldrich and I
24:32had made promises to each other
24:33without the family's knowledge,
24:35their bond could not be recognized.
24:37Then he lowered his voice,
24:39leaned close to me,
24:40and warned me not to say
24:42anything foolish.
24:43He said that Aldrich was now
24:45General Vane's sworn son,
24:47and if General Vane found out
24:48I had been mated before,
24:50I would not only lose this claiming,
24:52but also ruin Aldrich's reputation.
24:55Those words hit home.
24:56Aldrich had only just found
24:58his footing in the north.
24:59If I cost him everything
25:00because of my past,
25:01I would never forgive myself.
25:03I was still trying to figure out
25:04how to respond,
25:05when General Vane's
25:06expression shifted.
25:07He told Cailin firmly
25:09that his approval
25:10no longer mattered,
25:11because it was not I
25:12who had come to them,
25:13but they who had sought me out.
25:16General Vane then spoke
25:17of Aldrich's deeds,
25:18saying that in this campaign,
25:20Aldrich had charged
25:21into the thickest of the fighting.
25:23He had taken out
25:24the enemy's left flank
25:25and brought back
25:26the enemy commander's banner,
25:27earning the first honor
25:28of the war.
25:29Yet he had refused
25:31all rewards from the High Alpha,
25:32every single coin.
25:34instead,
25:35he used his achievement
25:36to petition the Moon Council
25:38for a decree,
25:39a recognized claiming
25:40with me.
25:42General Vane finally warned Cailin
25:44that if his family
25:45dared to object,
25:46they would be opposing
25:47the High Alpha's own ruling.
25:49I stood there for a long time,
25:51never having imagined
25:52that Aldrich would fight
25:53so fiercely
25:54for me.
25:55to be continued...
25:58Merci.
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