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Forbidden Vow: The Saintess's Lover New
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00:00I was the last rare blood witch left after centuries.
00:04Raised in the Alpha King's palace since childhood,
00:07the Alpha King and the Witch Clan leader had long made a pact.
00:12When I turned 18, my blood would choose the throne's heir.
00:16In my past life, I endured piercing agony to bend my blood's choice.
00:22I chose the eldest prince, the man I'd always loved.
00:26I sacrificed everything to raise vicious familiars for him
00:30and helped him unite the Pax.
00:33Yet the moment he claimed the crown, he stripped me of my title
00:37and had my entire clan slaughtered.
00:41Saintess, your so-called rare blood was just an excuse to cling to me.
00:47I would have become Alpha King without you.
00:50Nina's death is all your fault.
00:52Now atone for your sins.
00:55Yes.
00:56Then I was reborn, on the day my blood was meant to choose my mate.
01:00The Alpha King's voice rang through the great hall.
01:04Elaine picks her fated mate today, and he shall inherit the throne.
01:09I opened the box in my hands.
01:12The fate stone appeared before the crowd, pure white and flawless.
01:17It was said to read a person's soul and judge their fate.
01:20The fate stone ran red for goodness, black for corruption.
01:25The one it chose would be a wolf of great destiny and true heart.
01:29Only my blood could awaken it.
01:31I pricked my finger and let my blood drip in, making the fate stone levitated and glow brightly.
01:37Each Alpha Prince will offer a drop of blood into the stone.
01:43The one it chooses will turn it deep red.
01:46The three princes exchanged glances.
01:49Our eldest brother hasn't arrived yet.
01:51It doesn't feel right to go before him.
01:54Forget him.
01:55He dares to be late on a day this important.
01:58Step forward.
02:00The princes approached one by one and pricked their fingers over the stone.
02:04When the second prince's blood touched it, the stone's edges flushed faintly red.
02:09The second prince is kind and honest, but he cannot drive back the rogue wolves and unite the packs.
02:17The second prince stepped back, his expression dim.
02:20The remaining two princes stepped forward.
02:23The stone stayed faint red, yet my blood remained almost unchanged.
02:27Though none were my fated mates, the three princes were good men.
02:31Among Alpha-born wolves, that was rare enough.
02:34Only my son Caden remains.
02:37Shall we simply decree the binding between the Saintness and Caden now?
02:42Before the Alpha King could answer, Caden strode into the hall with Nina on his arm.
02:47His eyes on her were full of warmth.
02:49When they landed on me, filled with contempt, he dropped to one knee.
02:54Father, I will not fail this pack and have only one wish.
02:58Please allow me to take Nina as my bonded mate.
03:04The hall went still.
03:05Shock moved across every face.
03:08The Alpha King hurled his cup to the floor.
03:11Foolish boy!
03:13An ogre with no pack standing cannot become your bonded mate!
03:18Father, I would rather die than take Nina as anything less than my mate.
03:25Caden placed himself squarely in front of Nina, his gaze iron.
03:29I am the only one the stone will choose.
03:32If you won't bless Nina and me, I'll give up my birthright and live as a common wolf.
03:38You.
03:39Ungrateful wilp!
03:41The other princes rushed to calm him.
03:44Brother, it is not worth angering father over an omega.
03:47Is the throne truly worth less to you than she is?
03:51There is nothing in this world more important than Nina.
03:54Caden pressed his forehead to the floor.
03:56Father, please give us your blessing.
03:59Nothing stirred inside me.
04:01I had already watched his love for Nina in my past life.
04:05Just as the Alpha King seemed ready to yield, I spoke.
04:10Caden hasn't offered his blood yet.
04:12Nothing is certain.
04:14The Fate Stone had never truly chosen him.
04:16I had spent half my own lifeblood to force that result.
04:23Are there any princes left who haven't been tested?
04:27If the Saints misdoubts me, I'll prove it right now.
04:31His confidence made me pause.
04:33I was almost certain.
04:34He had been reborn, too.
04:36A single drop of blood fell into the Fate Stone.
04:39The White Stone began to shift.
04:41It deepened slowly until every part of it burned deep red.
04:49Satisfied Saintess, I am the Stone's chosen.
04:52I don't mind taking you into my household, but my bonded mate will only ever be Nina.
04:58The Alpha King's expression wavered.
05:00Then the Luna Queen moved quickly to support her son.
05:03My King, since the Fate Stone has rendered its verdict, the Saintess must accept this arrangement
05:10for the interests of all Pax.
05:12I am fortunate beyond measure just to have Caden's attention.
05:16I only wish to stay by his side and care for him.
05:20My blood is unworthy to stand beside the Saintess.
05:23Once all is settled, I will serve her faithfully.
05:27Caden wiped her tears, his face turning hard as he looked at me.
05:31You call yourself the Saintess.
05:34You have less grace than Nina.
05:36Do you enjoy using your status to crush those weaker than you?
05:40The Alpha King's expression shifted, too.
05:42I looked like the villain keeping two lovers apart.
05:45My King, Caden and Nina clearly belong together.
05:49I am willing to step aside.
05:52Caden's brow lifted slightly.
05:54My composure surprised him.
05:55In my past life, I had fought him constantly over Nina.
05:59I had loved him too much to let anything go.
06:03This time, I would give them exactly what they wanted.
06:06I looked down at the Fate Stone.
06:08Its edges had begun to turn black.
06:13Who Caden takes as his mate is none of my business.
06:17Before I could finish, Nina's delicate voice cut through.
06:20My head hurts so badly.
06:23Like needles pressing in.
06:26I can't bear it.
06:27Caden scooped Nina into his arms and left the hall in long strides.
06:32He left without so much as a bow to the Alpha King.
06:35Something pulled tight in my chest.
06:38To him, Nina had always come before everything.
06:41I just wondered if, in Nina's heart, he mattered even half as much.
06:47In my past life, Nina had not come to Caden's estate with me.
06:51When Caden was wasting away with longing, Nina had tried to crawl into the Alpha King's bed, chasing the crown
06:58for herself.
06:59She was discovered and disposed of quietly by the Luna Queen.
07:03Her body left in the unmarked grounds.
07:06Caden never knew and blamed every part of it on me.
07:09I came back to myself and carried the fully blackened Fate Stone to the Alpha King.
07:14My king, when the stone turns completely black, it means this wolf is ruthless in cruelty.
07:22He is not fit to lead these packs.
07:24How dare you!
07:26Caden could never be that kind of man!
07:29You are bitter, and you are taking revenge on him!
07:32Every prince has now given blood.
07:35The stone chose no one.
07:37Am I to have no heir?
07:40No.
07:42There is one more prince.
07:46I came to the moon shrine and pushed open the door of the most secluded cabin in the back courtyard.
07:52A straight, still back came into view.
07:55The same back I had seen behind my closed eyes in the last moments of my past life.
08:00The difference was that now he was clean as fresh snow.
08:04No blood soaked into his clothes.
08:06In my past life, his burning tears had fallen on my cold face.
08:10Elaine.
08:12I came too late.
08:14I'm sorry.
08:16Please don't leave me.
08:17No one will ever hurt you again.
08:20That was when I finally understood.
08:22The wolf who had bound himself with a quiet oath never to take a life had gone to war with
08:28blood on his hands.
08:29For me, my own tears came before I could stop them.
08:33I'm here.
08:35Will you have me?
08:37The hand turning his oath bracelet went still and let it fall.
08:42His breathing deepened.
08:44I smiled.
08:45The answer was obvious.
08:47Walking out through the main hall of the moon shrine, I passed Caden kneeling on the ground, head bowed, Caden
08:53earnest.
08:53May Nina live her whole life free of pain, free of harm, and find everything she hopes for.
09:02Once, when my mother was gravely ill and I had knelt to make a quiet wish, Caden had laughed.
09:07Praying to the moon like a pup, you think wishing changes anything?
09:11Only fools waste breath on things they cannot control.
09:14Now he knelt in the same place, begging for the same things, all to make Nina smile.
09:19He had become exactly the fool he once mocked.
09:24I closed my eyes and called on the moon goddess herself.
09:28She would hear me.
09:29Only this.
09:30That in this life, Caden and I would have nothing more to do with each other, and that my coven
09:35would live in peace.
09:36I opened my eyes and met Caden's cold, mocking gaze.
09:41You actually followed me here.
09:43Elaine, don't think yielding to my father earns you any favor.
09:48The bonded mate's place has always belonged to Nina.
09:52Know your place.
09:54Serve Nina faithfully and I won't trouble you.
09:58Or you'll regret it.
10:00The warning was plain.
10:02In my past life, I had followed Caden onto the battlefield against rogue wolves.
10:08I had pushed myself past every limit and unleashed my coven's forbidden magic to break the rogue forces.
10:14On the day we returned in triumph, I stepped in front of a rogue's arrow meant for him.
10:19It drove through my chest, a breath from my heart.
10:22But Caden heard that Nina had been dead in the unmarked grounds.
10:26That same moment stripped me of everything I had and slapped me hard across the face.
10:32You think fighting beside me would make me forgive you?
10:36You arranged Nina's death.
10:39I'll make you beg for life.
10:41It had nothing to do with me.
10:43But Caden had decided it did.
10:47I had watched every member of my coven die in front of me.
10:53I pressed my nails into my palm, cutting him off.
10:56You've worried for nothing.
10:58The wolf I am bonding with is not you.
11:05The stone chose me.
11:07Who else would you mate?
11:09Does your coven really have the nerve to refuse?
11:14Elaine, don't try any tricks in front of me.
11:17I just turned to leave.
11:19Nina rushed forward and dropped to her knees in front of me, clutching my sleeve.
11:25Please don't let this cause trouble between you and Caden.
11:29If you resent me, that's only fair.
11:34I will be careful and never dare compete with you for his attention.
11:39The performance was immaculate.
11:41Whatever you do next is no concern of mine.
11:45I pulled my sleeve free.
11:47Nina let herself fall to the ground and let out a piercing cry, her face twisted in pain.
11:54Saintess, I know I was wrong.
11:57You have every right to punish me.
12:01But please don't take it out on my lord.
12:04Nina, what's wrong?
12:05A red welt had bloomed across Nina's wrist.
12:08Her handmaiden clapped a hand over her mouth in shock.
12:15This is the mark of a witch familiar bite.
12:18I've heard this kind never kills, but it fills the victim with a crushing misery that won't stop until the
12:25anger behind it is released.
12:27Completely absurd.
12:29The bright mark was clearly a fresh bruise from pinching.
12:32Caden rose to his feet and struck me hard across the face.
12:39Vicious witch!
12:41Seize her!
12:42Gag her!
12:44Before I could react, his shadow guards had me pinned to the ground.
12:49A rough cloth was jammed into my mouth.
12:51I couldn't make a sound.
12:53Caden lifted Nina to her feet with infinite care.
12:56Nina, hit her.
12:58Get the anger out now.
13:00I shouldn't.
13:01How could I raise my hand against the Saintess?
13:04She brought this on herself.
13:06You are my bonded mate.
13:08Disciplining a lesser mate is your right.
13:10Nina bit her lip.
13:11Her face a careful mask of guilt.
13:14Then forgive me, Elaine.
13:15She raised her hand and brought it down hard across my face.
13:20Again and again.
13:21No mercy in any of it.
13:24No trace of the pain she claimed to be in.
13:27The blows came until Nina was breathless.
13:29Only then did she stop.
13:33Caden, I think it's past.
13:36I'm sorry she had to suffer for it.
13:38My face burned.
13:39All feeling had left it.
13:41My vision blurred with involuntary tears.
13:44The cloth was pulled from my mouth.
13:47My cheek had swollen so badly I couldn't form a single word.
13:51Moving my tongue sent fire through my jaw.
13:53Remember this, Elaine.
13:55Next time it won't stop, it slaps.
13:58He wrapped an arm around Nina and walked away.
14:03As they passed, Nina turned just enough to drive her shoulder hard into me,
14:08knocking me to the ground.
14:11Her eyes were full of cold contempt.
14:18I made it back to my chamber.
14:20My handmaiden went pale and rushed to tend to the swelling, handmaiden furious.
14:26Who did this to you?
14:27I'll go to the Alpha King right now.
14:30No.
14:31I had never been made to suffer inside this palace.
14:35My rank had always stood above even an Alpha's daughter.
14:39This debt I would collect myself.
14:42In my own time.
14:47On the day of my bonding ceremony, I wore a ceremonial gown traced with moon and stars patterns.
14:54A grand procession moved through pack lands.
14:57A hundred golden armored guards escorted me all the way to the estate.
15:01From outside the ceremonial carriage, Caden's voice cut through.
15:05Elaine has no sense of protocol and apparently neither do you.
15:10A lesser mate has no right to this kind of procession.
15:14Remove all of it.
15:15The Alpha Prince waiting at the estate gates looked confused.
15:19Brother, what are you doing here?
15:21Isn't today your bonding ceremony with Nina?
15:24I am the Alpha heir.
15:26Where else would I be?
15:28Were you not all waiting here for me?
15:30The princes looked at each other.
15:32Unease moved through them.
15:33Brother, father did grant you and Nina a bonding decree.
15:37But he never named you the Alpha heir.
15:39Caden laughed like he had heard something ridiculous and cut him off.
15:43You've all had your heads turned by Elaine's witch tricks.
15:47I won't have anyone fabricating royal decrees.
15:50He swung down from his horse, fury in every step.
15:54His hand reached for the carriage curtain.
15:57A voice cracked through the air behind him like a command.
16:01Caden, you have some nerve disturbing my bonded mate.
16:07Caden's hand stopped.
16:09He turned.
16:10Zane sat astride a tall black horse, wearing the ceremonial bonding attire stitched with wolf marks.
16:16His gaze was fixed on Caden, sharp and without warmth.
16:20Caden stared for a long moment, then he remembered.
16:23This was his fifth brother, the one he hadn't seen in nearly ten years.
16:28Ten years ago, Zane's mother had died of illness.
16:31Zane was broken by grief and had stayed at the moon shrine.
16:35There, under the full moon, he made a vow in her name before the moon goddess that he would never
16:40take another life.
16:42He had kept that vow for ten years and never broken it.
16:45Zane, what do you think you are wearing?
16:48Zane, that is the Alpha Air attire.
16:51You are in open defiance.
16:53Not one of the guards moved to follow Caden's order.
16:56Brother, it seems they don't answer to you.
17:00The veins on the back of Caden's hand rose.
17:04He drew his blade and opened the throat of the guard standing nearest to Zane's horse.
17:09Anyone who defies the Alpha Air's order dies.
17:13Blood hit the ground.
17:16The crowd scattered in panic.
17:17Zane's expression went cold.
17:21He drew his own blade.
17:23The air cracked.
17:27Their wolves rose to the surface, growling low, neither willing to yield.
17:36While the royal leader's voice cut through the chaos, a wave of Alpha authority rolled with it, and every wolf
17:43in the street dropped to their knees.
17:52By order of the Alpha King.
17:55I stepped out of the ceremonial carriage, veiled.
17:59Caden turned to look at me.
18:00His eyes cold.
18:02Two decrees.
18:03The first, Zane was named Alpha Air.
18:06The second, a bonding decree for me and the Alpha Air.
18:09The decree is received.
18:11He took the scroll and reached out to help me to my feet, ready to lead me into the estate.
18:17This is impossible.
18:19How can it be Zane?
18:21He has spent his whole life at that moon shrine, bound by some vow he made to a dead woman.
18:28What right does he have to lead this pack?
18:31Caden turned to the royal beta.
18:33There has been a mistake.
18:34My father must have confused something.
18:37Caden.
18:38I only carry the Alpha King's words.
18:42Caden grabbed my arm and yanked back the ceremonial veil from my face.
18:46The swollen bruise across my cheek was exposed to everyone watching.
18:50Elaine.
18:51You know better than anyone.
18:54The stone chose me.
18:56Tell them.
18:58Who is your mate?
18:59Zane's brow pulled tight.
19:01He reached out and touched my face, his voice low with anger.
19:05Elaine.
19:06Who did this to you?
19:08I glanced toward the carriage beside Caden.
19:11Caden's mate taught me some manners.
19:14Someone struck the...
19:16The Alpha here's mate.
19:18Bring her out.
19:20Guards pulled Nina from the carriage.
19:23A hand came down hard across her powdered face.
19:27Caden!
19:28Help me!
19:29My lord!
19:30Caden shoved the guard aside with a kick.
19:33Zane!
19:34You've gone too far!
19:36You are not the Alpha hair!
19:42If you dispute it, we test again right here.
19:47Caden stared at me.
19:48He had no choice.
19:50He bit down and pressed his bleeding finger to the stone.
19:53The white stone flushed deep red.
19:55No matter how many times you test it.
19:58The deep red shifted.
20:00It turned black.
20:01This is wrong.
20:03Last time it didn't do this.
20:05Elaine.
20:05You tampered with it.
20:07One of the nearby princes stepped forward quietly.
20:10Last time.
20:11Not long after you left the hall, the stone went black.
20:15That's why father never named you heir.
20:17That can't be right.
20:18In my past life...
20:20Yes, in the past life, the stone had chosen him.
20:24Caden had always believed he was born for the heir.
20:26He didn't know.
20:27That result had cost me half my life to manufacture.
20:30And in the end, it had bought me a death with no grave and a coven burned to nothing.
20:36Zane pressed a cut into his own finger.
20:38Blood fell onto the stone where it lay on the ground.
20:41The black stone turned white.
20:43Then it flooded red, deep, and blazing.
20:46The fate stone had always chosen Zane.
20:49The alpha king and I had both known from the beginning.
20:51When I had told the alpha king that day, he had been quiet for a long time before he spoke.
20:57The fate stone has never lied.
20:59Zane has been away at that moon shrine for years.
21:02But he has always been my true choice for the heir.
21:05I only feared he would refuse.
21:06But Zane would break his vow for me.
21:09Only for me.
21:12The warmth of Zane's hand moved through my palm.
21:15Brother, if there's nothing else, take your mate home and finish your ceremony.
21:20I need to bring my bonded mate inside.
21:23Elaine!
21:24Caden's hand shot out and closed around my sleeve.
21:27I know you're doing this to punish me for before.
21:30Stay in your lane from now on, and I'll give you a fair share of my time.
21:34Come back with me now and we finish this today.
21:37I pulled my sleeve free without looking at him.
21:39Watch yourself, Caden.
21:41Grabbing another wolf's bonded mate is not a good look.
21:44I never said I would marry you.
21:46The wolf I have always meant to mate is Zane.
21:51Impossible.
21:52Everyone in this capital has known for years that you were in love with me.
21:55How could it be Zane?
21:56You have never even met him.
21:58Elaine!
21:58Stop this.
21:59The lesser mate position was beneath you.
22:01I see that now.
22:02I'll give you the bonded mate's place.
22:04Nina's face twisted.
22:06She pressed through the pain in her cheek and screamed.
22:09You promised me!
22:10You swore I would be your bonded mate!
22:14You promised!
22:15Caden didn't seem to hear her.
22:17He only looked at me, searching my face for the love he remembered.
22:22Caden, the Saintess's mate is the Alpha Hare.
22:26Know your place and leave here.
22:28The guards closed in.
22:43Caden's voice disappeared as they pulled him away.
22:46The drums and bells broke out overhead.
22:48The great procession filled the air above the Alpha Hare's estate.
22:53With the crowd's cheers rising around us, Zane took my hand and led me through the front gates.
22:59In my past life, this day had been silent.
23:02Rain had come down in sheets.
23:04Caden had not appeared to receive my carriage.
23:07He had ordered me in through a side gate.
23:09The rain had soaked through my ceremonial gown.
23:12I had spent my wedding night alone.
23:14The next morning, the whole capital was laughing.
23:17While I sat alone, Caden had paraded Nina through the capital and spent a fortune crafting her a jeweled crown,
23:24all to make her smile.
23:25The rumor spread Nina was the true of Alpha Hare's mate.
23:29What Caden never saw was that his own excessive devotion had fed Nina's hunger.
23:34She was not content being the Alpha Hare's mate.
23:37She wanted the real crown.
23:38She wanted the whole pack on its knees before her.
23:41The moment she climbed into the Alpha King's bed, she signed her own death.
23:46I came back to myself.
23:48Through the chamber window, I caught the shadow of someone pacing back and forth outside the door.
23:54Why don't you come in?
23:56Elaine, I remember you don't like the smell of alcohol.
24:00Let me wash up before I come to you.
24:02Will you wait?
24:03Surprise moved through me.
24:04From the time I was small, the head elder had always told me,
24:07A saintess must never reveal her preferences to anyone.
24:11How did he know?
24:14Come in.
24:16Zane pushed open the door.
24:18The hands that lifted my ceremonial veil trembled slightly.
24:24Elaine, being here with you, I am so happy.
24:28He reached into his robe and brought out two small, carefully made cakes.
24:32For the first time we met, you were perched on the wall and you gave me one of these.
24:37I never forgot it.
24:39Something long buried surfaced in my chest.
24:42I was seven years old, slipping out of the palace on a dare.
24:46When I spotted a small boy in palace servant's clothes trying to climb over the outer wall,
24:51I directed a familiar to catch him before he hit the ground.
24:55Then I pressed a cake into his hands and pointed him toward the gap in the fence.
25:00There's a gap in the fence over there.
25:02Go back through it before someone sees you.
25:04So that was him?
25:06Such a small thing.
25:07I had forgotten it within the week.
25:09He had carried it with him for a lifetime and broken his vow for me.
25:13My eyes grew warm.
25:15I leaned forward and kissed him.
25:17Zane went still for a breath.
25:19Then he closed his eyes and kissed me back.
25:21That night passed gently.
25:23In the morning, my handmaiden helped me dress.
25:26The whole pack is laughing at Caden today.
25:28When he made that scene at the gates yesterday, all his guests slipped away.
25:32Nina went absolutely wild on him last night.
25:35Screaming, throwing things, demanding to know why she wasn't the Alpha Heir's mate.
25:40And she threw a cup and split his forehead open.
25:42He locked her in the storeroom.
25:44She cried all night.
25:46The next morning, Zane and I dressed in formal attire
25:50and went to the royal palace to pay our respects to the Alpha King.
25:54We hadn't even reached the entrance to the Great Hall
25:57when I saw Caden already on his knees inside.
25:59Father, I was wrong.
26:02I'll do whatever you and Mother decide.
26:04I'll take the Saintess as my bonded mate.
26:07I was foolish before.
26:09I'll apologize to her.
26:11Please issue the decree for us.
26:13Nina's status is low.
26:15I'll keep her in line as a lesser mate.
26:17Please, give us your blessing.
26:20The Alpha King's fury came down hard.
26:22A cup shattered on the floor.
26:25Ridiculous.
26:26My order is not a toy.
26:28How the pack sees you.
26:30You made a spectacle of yourself in front of every witness.
26:33And now you want to reverse it all because it suits you?
26:36Elaine is the Saintess.
26:38Her mate can only be the Alpha Hare.
26:41You threw that away yourself and no longer have that right.
26:44Caden's freshly scabbed wound cracked open.
26:48Blood traced a slow line down his face.
26:51Father, the Fate Stone chose me in that hall.
26:54Zane must have forced Elaine to tamper with the result.
26:57He has spent his whole life at that moon shrine, bound by some vow to a dead woman.
27:02He has no right to lead this pack.
27:03The Alpha King lowered his eyes and turned the pages of his reports.
27:08But the Luna Queen looked at her son with aching eyes and spoke up for him.
27:12Even if the Stone chose Zane, ability matters too.
27:16How can a wolf who spent ten years at a moon shrine command the respect of the court and the
27:20pack?
27:21Outside the hall, Zane stood very still.
27:24I couldn't read his expression, but his hand around mine tightened.
27:30Zane had been the most gifted of all the Alpha King sons since childhood.
27:35Every tutor had said so.
27:37His mind was sharp, his strategy flawless, and he carried both his pen and his blade with equal ease.
27:43Proving himself would cost him nothing, but he had one weakness could use against him.
27:48Me, but I am the Saintess.
27:50I will never be anyone's weakness.
27:52Zane, I'll fight beside you.
27:56Something lit up in his dark eyes.
27:58Zane lifted his head and walked toward the Great Hall.
28:01Father, to prove myself to the pack, I will lead the campaign against the rogue wolves.
28:08I will drive them from the northern and southern pack lands and unite every pack under one rule.
28:13Elaine stepped forward and bowed.
28:16I ask to ride with the Alpha Hare.
28:18My coven's power will fight beside him.
28:21The Alpha King's face broke into open pleasure.
28:24When you return victorious, the crown is yours.
28:29Father, no.
28:30The one who leads this campaign should be me.
28:33I am the one who should unite the packs.
28:35Please take back that order.
28:37Enough.
28:38Someone escort Caden back to his estate.
28:40He is not to leave without my permission.
28:43Caden's eyes found mine as the guards closed in.
28:46His voice came apart at the edges.
28:48Elaine, I know you're angry about how I treated you.
28:52Come back to me.
28:54Help me the way you used to.
28:56When we've united the packs, I swear I'll make you my bonded mate.
29:00No one will ever touch your place again.
29:03I looked back at him the way he had once looked down at me.
29:06The same flat eyes.
29:08The same cold distance.
29:09No trace of what I had once felt.
29:12Vane is my mate.
29:14He is the only one I will ever have.
29:17Hayden was dragged out, still struggling, his voice rising.
29:21Why, Elaine?
29:22Why?
29:23You told me once you would never love anyone but me!
29:26His voice faded down the corridor and disappeared.
29:30Zane and I returned to the estate and spent the rest of the day selecting commanders and mapping out our
29:36strategy.
29:37Three days later, Zane and I rode out of the capital at the head of a hundred thousand pack warriors.
29:43Every soul in the capital came out to see us off.
29:47Word reached Caden's estate, where he was confined by his father's order.
29:51He kicked his desk over.
29:53How is Elaine not marrying me?
29:54A small black object fell from the overturned drawer and rolled across the floor.
29:59Caden picked it up and stared at it for a long time.
30:02He remembered what I had told him once, a long time ago.
30:06This is a witch's truth charm.
30:08It sees through every lie.
30:10Give it a drop of blood and it will show you whether the feeling is real.
30:14The image that had followed me, pressing my finger to the charm, it flooding pink, bright, and steady.
30:21Caden, I love you.
30:23I really do.
30:25So why had the charm gone black now?
30:28That was what he could not understand.
30:30Did I truly not love him anymore?
30:32Caden raised his arm to throw it out the window.
30:35His hand stopped.
30:36It was one of the last things I had ever left him.
30:39Nina stepped into the room, carrying a small tray.
30:42But her eyes went sharp the instant she saw the charm in his hand.
30:47My lord, I made something to cool your temper.
30:51Since the storeroom she had changed, the tantrums were gone.
30:55She moved quietly, tended to him carefully, said all the right things.
30:59The sweet taste of the drink reached him, and something in him softened slightly.
31:04He looked at the woman he had loved across two lifetimes.
31:08You've lost weight.
31:10I've been worried about you.
31:12You haven't been yourself.
31:14Before she could say more, an unknown familiar came out of nowhere and shot straight for Caden.
31:19Caden, watch out!
31:21She shoved him aside and put herself in its path.
31:24A pained sound escaped her.
31:26Caden drew his blade and split the familiar in two.
31:29He pulled Nina close, his pulse spiking.
31:32But when he looked down at the familiar, his expression went dark.
31:36This was Nina's familiar.
31:37Before he left for the rogue campaign in his past life, she had given it to him as a ward.
31:43A familiar never turns on its own master, so the wound on Nina's arm was not real.
31:48My lord, the familiar's venom is in me.
31:52I don't have long and only want one thing.
31:57Let me die in the meadow where we first met.
32:00Not here.
32:01Caden's grip on her tightened, but eyes went cold.
32:05He had given up the crown for her.
32:06He had turned on the Saintess for her.
32:09He had nearly lost everything for her.
32:11And she had been running a play on him the entire time.
32:14Every tear.
32:15Every trembling lip.
32:16Every well-timed collapse.
32:18All of it staged.
32:20All of it aimed at getting her out.
32:21Good morning.
32:21Good night.
32:21Good night.
32:22You
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