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00:00My fated mate rejected me at our own mate claim ceremony. In three days, I'll be handed over to the
00:05Wolf King's heir as his mate.
00:07I, Cassian Vos, future Alpha of Blackline Pack, reject Nyla as my fated mate.
00:13Maris was the daughter of Mara, my father's new Luna. Mara had brought her into our pack. Maris had cried
00:19through the whole ceremony.
00:21The law of Silverfeld's pack is plain. A she-wolf who turns 18 without a mate bond cannot choose.
00:26The council chooses for her. Maris had no fated mate. Hers had died before she ever came of age.
00:33The half-formed bond had snapped with him. Losing a mate did not make her unable to bear pups.
00:40It only left her unprotected. Nothing stood between her and the council's next decree.
00:45She crossed the floor toward me. Her eyes were swollen red.
00:51Nyla, don't blame him. I have no bond to keep me safe.
00:54The elders will hand me to the old Alpha. I won't survive it.
00:58Cassian tightened his grip on her hand. He looked at me.
01:02I'm only saving her. She lost her mate. The council could ship her off any day.
01:07Once she is safe, I will claim you again.
01:11You are still my Luna. You always were.
01:15Cassian had forgotten one thing.
01:16I am older than Maris. In three days, I turn 18.
01:21He had just rejected me before the whole pack.
01:24The pain still pressed down on my chest.
01:27Something inside me felt torn loose.
01:30In three days, I would be the one sent away.
01:32They would give me to the Lycan King's heir.
01:35Everyone whispered that he was dying.
01:37Around the hall, the pack began to murmur.
01:40Goddess. Cassian rejected Nyla for Maris.
01:45What happens to Nyla now?
01:48The council will marry her off!
01:51I watched the looks changed on every face.
01:54Shock softened into pity.
01:57Maris stayed tucked against Cassian's chest.
02:01She was still crying.
02:03Something ugly flickered across Cassian's face.
02:06Only now did he remember that law.
02:09Maris leaned into him.
02:10Her voice still trembled.
02:12But when she glanced at me, her mouth curved.
02:15Just slightly.
02:16I looked at Cassian.
02:17All at once, I had nothing left to ask.
02:20He had already made his choice.
02:22I lifted my chin.
02:24Aye, Nyla.
02:25Accept your rejection, Cassian Vos.
02:29My acceptance wiped the certainty off Cassian's face.
02:32He finally loosened his hold on Maris.
02:34But Maris leaned right back into him.
02:37The tears started again.
02:39Cassian lowered his voice.
02:41Nyla, you didn't have to accept.
02:45I only used the ceremony to block the elders.
02:49Once Maris is safe, I will claim you again.
02:54He raised a hand to touch me.
02:56I stepped back.
02:58His face went paler.
03:01I looked at him.
03:04You rejected me before the whole pack.
03:06I accepted before the whole pack, too.
03:08This is not something you can take back.
03:10Around us, the pack members went quiet.
03:13They had not expected me to cut the tie.
03:16Maris grabbed at Cassian's sleeve.
03:18Nyla, you already accepted the rejection.
03:21Why humiliate Cassian on top of that?
03:24My father has always shielded you most.
03:26The elders will never truly punish you.
03:28Cassian stepped in front of her at once.
03:31Maris has begged you this far.
03:32Why can't you wait?
03:37Once she escapes this assignment, I will come back for you.
03:40The voices around us dropped lower.
03:42Her father is the alpha.
03:44Nyla must still have a way out.
03:46Maris is a different story.
03:48My father finally spoke.
03:50Cassian, are you certain?
03:52You chose Maris, not Nyla.
03:54Cassian did not answer.
03:56His hand still held Maris.
03:58I understood.
03:59That was his answer.
04:01They all thought I still had a way out.
04:03But a letter already waited in my father's study.
04:06It carried the Lycan royal seal.
04:09Mara came forward and steadied Maris.
04:11Stop crying.
04:12You've suffered enough tonight.
04:14She looked at me.
04:15Nyla, it is done.
04:17Don't shame Silvercrest Pack further.
04:19At last I understood.
04:21They wanted me to swallow the betrayal and step aside with a smile.
04:25Just then, Maris's gaze dropped.
04:28It landed on the moonstone at my collar tine.
04:31The necklace was my mother's last gift to me.
04:33She wiped her tears.
04:36Nyla, could I borrow your moonstone necklace for one night?
04:41I looked down at the moonstone necklace.
04:43It rested against my collar rhone.
04:46My mother left it to me.
04:47It was no ordinary jewel.
04:49Tonight, the chosen Luna wears a family heirloom.
04:52It is a Silvercrest tradition.
04:55It proves both families bless the claiming.
04:57I had meant to wear it for Cassian's claim.
05:00Now Cassian had chosen Maris.
05:03And Maris had fed her sights on it.
05:05She reached out, tears still on her face.
05:08Nyla, just one night.
05:10I have nothing fit for a ceremony.
05:12Cassian chose me.
05:13I can't shame Black Rush Pack.
05:15I did not move.
05:16My father's hand pressed flat on the table.
05:19Maris, that is her mother's keepsake.
05:21I looked at Mara.
05:22To her, I had never counted at all.
05:25Cassian frowned.
05:27Nyla, don't blow this up.
05:28It's only a necklace.
05:30I'll buy you a new one.
05:31Name your price.
05:32He still did not understand.
05:34He thought a gift could replace my mother's keepsake.
05:37How absurd.
05:38I looked at him.
05:39You can't afford it.
05:41Maris lowered her head at once.
05:43I knew it.
05:45Nyla still hates me.
05:46She won't even lend one necklace.
05:49My father started to speak.
05:50But Cassian moved first.
05:52He stared at the moonstone on my collarstone.
05:55His voice turned hard.
05:56Nyla, give it to her.
05:59I stepped back.
06:02Don't touch it!
06:04My hand pressed over the necklace.
06:07Cassian's hand paused for a beat.
06:08Then it kept reaching for me.
06:10He truly meant to take it.
06:12In front of both packs, he would seize my mother's keepsake.
06:16The next second, his hand closed on the chain.
06:20The white gold pressed against my skin.
06:22My fingers snapped tight.
06:24He had no idea what he was about to break.
06:29Maris stared at my moonstone necklace.
06:32I was done humoring her.
06:36Maris, this one stays.
06:40I'll have my father pick a new one for you.
06:42Her eyes reddened at once.
06:44But it matches my gown best.
06:46One night, is that too much?
06:48Cassian frowned.
06:51Nyla, it's only a necklace.
06:52Why push Maris this hard?
06:54I looked at Maris.
06:57You know it isn't yours.
06:59So don't reach for it.
07:00Maris lowered her head.
07:03I know you're upset.
07:05But Cassian chose me.
07:07Tonight, I stand at his side.
07:09Without a proper necklace, Blackridge Pack will think he chose wrong.
07:13Cassian's eyes turned cold.
07:15Enough!
07:16Choosing Maris was my call.
07:18Blame me if you want.
07:20Give her the necklace.
07:21I'll replace it with two better ones.
07:23I shielded the necklace.
07:24It was not a prop to dress up a new Luna.
07:27It was the last thing my mother left me.
07:31Even if the council sent me away, it would go with me.
07:34Maris did not want the necklace.
07:39She wanted the last thing I have left.
07:42My mother left me this.
07:44No one touches it.
07:46Cassian reached out and grabbed the chain.
07:49My father stepped forward.
07:50Cassian, stop this now.
07:52He yanked it down anyway.
07:54The chain broke.
07:57The moonstone necklace fell at Maris' feet.
08:01Maris shrewd and stumbled back.
08:03Her heel came down on the moonstone.
08:05The stone split in two.
08:07The white gold setting bent under her.
08:09Ceremony hall fell silent.
08:11Maris covered her mouth.
08:13Naya, I'm sorry.
08:14I really didn't mean to.
08:15I crouched and gathered the broken chain and stone.
08:18Cassian finally spoke.
08:21Naila, I'll pay for it.
08:22I looked at him.
08:24He can't afford it.
08:25Maris was still crying.
08:27But she knew what she had crushed.
08:29It was my fist around the broken chain.
08:31This is a debt I will collect myself.
08:36Maris started to explain again.
08:38I raised my hand and slapped her.
08:41She froze, a hand pressed to her cheek.
08:44Cassian moved to block her at once.
08:46Naila, have you lost your mind?
08:48I did not look at him.
08:50Maris, you knew this was my mother's necklace.
08:54You knew I'd refuse, so you broke it on purpose!
08:57Maris' lips went white.
08:59It wasn't like that.
09:03I took a step closer.
09:05Dropped the act.
09:05You never wanted the necklace.
09:07You wanted me to lose to you in public.
09:09Naila, she already apologized.
09:11I finally turned to him.
09:13So did you.
09:14I said, don't touch it, and you grabbed it.
09:16He opened his mouth.
09:17I didn't know it was your mother's keepsake.
09:19I closed the broken chain in my palm.
09:24So what?
09:25I explained.
09:27You didn't miss me.
09:30Understanding it now is too late.
09:32Cassian tried to say my name.
09:34I cut him off.
09:34Don't call me Naila anymore.
09:37You rejected me in public, and I accepted.
09:40From now on, we are nothing to each other.
09:43My father stepped to my side.
09:45His voice pressed down over the hall.
09:48That's enough for tonight.
09:49Cassian, take Maris out of the Silvertrow Ceremony Hall.
09:53Cassian looked at me.
09:54This time, I did not look back.
09:57Late that night, I walked into my father's study.
10:00A letter sat on the desk.
10:01It bore the Lycan royal seal.
10:03The name was written plainly, Rowan Vale.
10:06The Lycan king's heir.
10:08The one rumored to be dying.
10:10My father pressed his hand on the letter.
10:12I can have another pack claim you tonight.
10:16At least you'd avoid the Lycan royal house.
10:18I shook my head.
10:19It's too late.
10:20Black Ridge Pack changed their choice in front of everyone.
10:24Silver Crisp Pack has no way out now.
10:26My father held the letter a long time.
10:28I drew it out from under his hand.
10:30I accept.
10:31I am going to meet Rowan Vale.
10:35By the time I reached my room,
10:37the moon hung at the window.
10:38I took out every gift Cassian had ever given me.
10:43An old wrist guard.
10:44A training badge.
10:46An Oxidian clasp.
10:47And the letter he wrote me when he was 13.
10:49Every one of them looked like a joke now.
10:51I had them packed into a crate.
10:54Send it all back to Black Ridge Pack.
10:56Tell Cassian I don't want any of it!
10:58This came down the hall.
11:01Morris walked in with a gift box.
11:04Two pack warriors trailed behind her.
11:08Naila.
11:09Cassian asked me to bring you this.
11:12He wants to make up for last night.
11:14This necklace is worth more than yours.
11:16She opened the box.
11:18Inside lay a new necklace and a pale grey gown.
11:21Cassian still didn't understand.
11:23I was never going back.
11:24I picked it myself.
11:26Stop dressing like Cassian's Luna.
11:28I did not take it.
11:30Return it to me for me.
11:32Maris' smile stiffened.
11:34I'm only apologizing on Cassian's behalf.
11:36Her eyes swept over my crate.
11:38The lichen royal seal was pressed across the lid.
11:41She suddenly smiled.
11:42So it's true.
11:43The elders are sending you to Rowan Bay.
11:45I closed the lid.
11:47He looked pleased.
11:49Maris didn't deny it.
11:51Once you're gone, Cassian's alive.
11:55I walked right up to her.
11:58Then you'd better keep your mouth shut.
12:00She hugged the gift box.
12:02Why should I?
12:03I picked up the letter.
12:05Because Cassian hasn't marked you yet.
12:07Choosing you was a public declaration.
12:09The bond isn't real until he bites down.
12:12If he learns I'm leaving for Rowan, do you think he'll chase me?
12:15The smile froze on Maris' lips.
12:17I lowered my voice.
12:18The great ceremony isn't finished.
12:21One word from me and the elders will check for his mating mark.
12:24A bare neck means nothing was ever sealed.
12:28Maris backed toward the door.
12:30She didn't dare say a thing.
12:32The Blackbridge Warriors were still waiting downstairs.
12:34I pulled the curtain shut.
12:35It was over.
12:37Three days from now I would be gone.
12:40The three days passed fast.
12:42It was the morning of my 18th birthday.
12:46Cassian's make-up gifts piled up across the whole pack house entrance.
12:51I didn't open a single one.
12:53Send them all to the pack healers on our border.
12:56As the pack guards hauled the crates off, Blackridge pack arrived.
13:01Cassian came with Maris.
13:03Cassian had come to mark Maris before witnesses.
13:08By Silverbreast tradition, a bond is sealed before both families.
13:13Maris had changed into a white ceremonial gown.
13:16When she saw the crates, her mouth twitched.
13:22Cassian still didn't get it.
13:25Nyla, where are the gifts I sent you?
13:27I looked at him.
13:29You sent them to the wrong place.
13:34The pack house doors went quiet all at once.
13:37A line of Lycan guards walked in.
13:39They wore black cloaks marked with the wolf,
13:41Rowan's Lycan crest at the chest.
13:46The one in front looked at me.
13:48Rowan sent us for Nyla.
13:50She must reach Blackthorn compound before nightfall.
13:53The two packs bordered each other,
13:56half a day's ride apart.
13:57The pack members finally caught on.
14:01Rowan?
14:02The Lycan King's heir?
14:04Isn't she the Alpha's most protected daughter?
14:07How is she still being sent away?
14:09Cassian heard every word.
14:11He had always assumed I'd never be sent off.
14:16Cassian turned.
14:19Who have they come to take?
14:29Cassian burst out of the pack house.
14:31Cassian, stop!
14:32Maybe Blackthorn is better for her than you!
14:35Maris ran after him.
14:36Cassian halted.
14:39Shut your mouth.
14:41His voice cracked.
14:43If it weren't for you,
14:44I'd never have rejected her!
14:46Yeah, if I weren't in a fool,
14:48I'd have remembered she turns 18 first.
14:51Maris stood frozen.
14:54Cassian wouldn't look at her again.
14:57He charged for the gate.
15:00The Lycan guards were already lined along the steps.
15:06I stood among them,
15:07Black Wolf banners drooping behind me.
15:10Cassian pushed past the pack guards at the door.
15:14Nyla, don't go with them.
15:16I'll mark you.
15:18I did not move.
15:19The Lycan guards blocked his path.
15:22One more step,
15:23and we treat it as an attack on Nyla.
15:26Not even Blackridge Pack could save you then.
15:29The pack members drew back.
15:31No one dared speak for him.
15:33Cassian finally stopped where he stood.
15:37Maris didn't dare come closer either.
15:39I raised a hand to end it.
15:42Everyone in the hall watched me.
15:44I looked at Cassian.
15:46Cassian Vos,
15:47there was never a true bond between us.
15:50You rejected me in public and chose Maris.
15:52You came today to mark her too, didn't you?
15:55Cassian's shoulders went stiffen.
15:57I don't love her.
15:58I only wanted to save her.
16:01Why couldn't you just wait for me?
16:03I gave a small laugh.
16:05The moment you chose, I no longer had to wait.
16:07The Lycan guards glanced at the sky.
16:09The Lycan bonding ritual must begin before the moon rises.
16:13Miss the hour and the bond turns unstable.
16:15We have to leave before dark.
16:17I looked at Cassian.
16:18Are you trying to make me miss Rowan's ritual?
16:22Cassian took half a step back.
16:24Nyla, I was wrong.
16:28I turned to the Lycan guards.
16:31We leave now.
16:34The Lycan guards stepped forward.
16:36Cassian was forced to stop.
16:38I closed the broken chain in my palm.
16:41I walked down the steps.
16:43I did not look back at him.
16:45Behind me, only his voice was left.
16:48Nyla, don't marry Rowan!
16:52I reached Blackthorn Compound before dark.
16:56The whole stone keep was silent.
17:00Only the wolf banners stirred in the wind.
17:03The Lycan elders stood along both sides of a long table.
17:10They studied me like a parcel silver rest had shipped over.
17:16Someone murmured low.
17:18The Silvercrest She-Wolf has arrived.
17:20Her fated mate just rejected her.
17:23Can a bond like that hold the Alliance?
17:26I did not answer.
17:32The heavy doors suddenly opened.
17:35Rowan stepped out of the shadows.
17:40I caught his scent.
17:43Cedar, cold iron, and something like melting snow.
17:50My wolf stirred deep inside me.
17:53I had never reacted that way to anyone.
17:55Not to Cassian.
17:57Not to anyone.
17:59Rowan was paler than the rumors said.
18:05Every step was slow.
18:07Yet no one dared block his way.
18:10The Lycan elders fell silent at once.
18:14Rowan looked at them.
18:16She was not sent here.
18:18The hall went frighteningly quiet.
18:21He didn't ask who had rejected me.
18:23He only asked me.
18:25Nyla?
18:26Were you forced to come?
18:30It was the first time anyone asked what I wanted.
18:35Cassian never had.
18:37My father asked what Silvercrest needed.
18:40Only Rowan asked about me.
18:42I accept the bonding ritual.
18:44But I say yes on my own.
18:47Rowan held out his hand.
18:49It was cold and pale, yet steady before me.
18:52Then the choice is yours.
18:55The Lycan elders traded looks.
18:58Rowan, the moon is rising.
19:00We must begin now.
19:02Rowan did not rush me.
19:03He simply stood there and waited.
19:06I walked toward him.
19:10The closer I came, the clearer his scent grew.
19:14I placed my hand in his.
19:17I'm willing.
19:18Rowan closed his fingers and turned to the hall.
19:22From this moment, Nyla is no She-Wolf sent to me.
19:25She is the mate I chose.
19:28The Lycan elders lowered their eyes.
19:30Hurried footsteps came from outside the doors.
19:35Black Ridge Pack has come for her.
19:39The great doors were pushed open.
19:43Cassian stood in the doorway.
19:46He'd chased here, coat still unbuttoned, breath ragged.
19:50The Lycan guards moved to block him at once.
19:53Future Alpha of Black Ridge, why have you entered Blackthorn Compound?
19:57Cassian ignored them.
20:00His eyes went straight to me.
20:03Nyla.
20:04I stood beside Rowan and did not move.
20:07Rowan watched Cassian come in.
20:09He didn't speak, and he didn't block him.
20:12He only stood there.
20:13Cassian pushed past the guards toward me.
20:16You haven't marked yet.
20:18There's still time.
20:19Come back with me, Nyla.
20:21Every elder in the hall watched.
20:23No one spoke.
20:24I looked at Cassian.
20:26His eyes were red.
20:29He really was desperate.
20:30But I remembered him taking Maris' hand three days ago.
20:34I remembered the moment he tore the necklace from me.
20:37I remembered how sure he looked.
20:39Promising to claim me later.
20:41Sure that I would wait right where he left me.
20:44Sure that I had no other choice.
20:48I looked straight at him.
20:50Cassian, did you come because you care?
20:52Or because you didn't think I'd leave?
20:54He faltered.
20:56I-
20:57Don't bother answering.
20:58I cut him off.
21:00I already know.
21:01You care about the Nyla who'd wait for you.
21:04That Nyla is gone.
21:05Cassian's fingers curled tight.
21:08Rowan spoke at my side.
21:13His voice was low.
21:14But the whole hall heard it.
21:17Cassian Vos, she accepted the bonding before me.
21:21Did you come to challenge me for my mate?
21:23On my own ground?
21:25Cassian looked at Rowan.
21:27For a few seconds.
21:28They held each other's eyes.
21:30He knew he couldn't win.
21:32Not because of strength.
21:34Because he had no standing.
21:37He'd come to steal another wolf's mate.
21:39On that wolf's ground.
21:41Cassian took a step back.
21:43Nyla.
21:44You'll regret this.
21:46I didn't answer him.
21:47Rowan lifted his hand.
21:49The Lyca man guards moved in and saw Cassian out the doors.
21:53The doors closed with a heavy sound.
21:56Rowan glanced at me.
21:59Are you alright?
22:02I thought about it.
22:04I'm fine.
22:06It was true.
22:07I thought I would feel something when he left.
22:10But I felt nothing at all.
22:13Just a little cold.
22:21After the doors closed, the hall went quiet again.
22:25The ritual wasn't finished.
22:27Rowan stepped in front of me.
22:29He bent down.
22:31Close to the side of my neck.
22:33I felt his breath.
22:35Then a sharp thing.
22:36He bit down.
22:39The next second, the pain became something else.
22:43The bond took shape.
22:45I could feel him.
22:47His exhaustion.
22:49His restraint.
22:51And something he kept hidden even from himself.
22:55It was warm.
22:57Nothing like his cold hands.
22:59The Lycan elders bowed their heads.
23:02The bond is sealed.
23:04After the ritual, everyone left the room.
23:07Only Rowan and I remained.
23:12I stood in the middle of the room.
23:14My neck still burning.
23:16He sat by the window and did not rush me.
23:19A long while later, he spoke.
23:21I didn't come to fetch you myself.
23:24Letting you walk in behind guards was a discrepancy.
23:27I hadn't expected him to say that.
23:29You knew it stung me.
23:31So now it doesn't.
23:33Rowan looked at me for a second.
23:35He smiled.
23:36Faint, but real.
23:38Through the bond, I felt that the smile was real.
23:41He wasn't pretending.
23:44When I'm stronger, I'll take you back to Silverrest.
23:47Let them see who you are now.
23:49That night, we became true mates.
23:52He said nothing sentimental.
23:54He was simply there.
23:57Solidly there.
24:00For the first time, I felt someone catch me.
24:04The next morning, a healer came to confirm the bond.
24:09She bowed to Rowan, then looked at me.
24:11Luna.
24:12It was the first time anyone called me that.
24:15Rowan watched me from the side.
24:18You'll get used to it.
24:20He was telling me this was my place.
24:22Not a place I was sent to.
24:24A place he gave me.
24:31In the days that followed, Rowan's healing began to respond.
24:35He looked a little better each day.
24:37I started sitting beside him to hear the council's business.
24:41The elders who weighed my worth yesterday now rose for me.
24:47They waited for me to sit first.
24:50Rowan handled things differently than I expected.
24:54He wasn't a man who liked to talk.
24:57This bill won't work.
24:58He listened more than he spoke.
25:00But when he did speak, no one ignored it.
25:04Once, two elders argued over a border matter.
25:08Rowan simply laid a hand on the table.
25:11Both of them stopped.
25:14Sitting beside him, I almost wanted to laugh.
25:17Rowan felt me watching him.
25:19He turned and glanced at me.
25:21He said nothing, but there was something in his eyes.
25:25As if to say, you saw it too.
25:28In the afternoons, he came to me after his work.
25:32He said nothing, just sat beside me.
25:39Sometimes he read.
25:41Sometimes he only sat.
25:44I turned to him.
25:47Aren't you tired?
25:48Not here.
25:49I didn't ask why.
25:52But I knew what he meant.
25:54One rainy day, water pooled in the compound yard.
25:58I stood in the corridor and watched.
26:02Rowan came and stood beside me.
26:05You like the rain?
26:06It wasn't a question.
26:08How do you know?
26:11You wore the same look last time it rained.
26:15I hadn't thought he'd noticed.
26:17It rarely rained this hard back in Silverist.
26:21Rowan said nothing.
26:22After a moment, he spoke.
26:25It rains often here in summer.
26:27Then he just stood there, watching the rain.
26:31We stood like that for a long time, slowly.
26:35I got used to having him near.
26:38One day, he turned to me.
26:40Do you regret coming here?
26:44I thought about it.
26:47No.
26:48He didn't ask again, but he laid his hand over the back of mine.
26:52Just resting there, saying nothing.
26:57A month later, Blackthorn held a pack gathering.
27:02Cassian came, with Maris.
27:06The gathering began.
27:08Alphas came from every pack, each with his Luna.
27:11Cassian and Maryse stood on the Blackridge side.
27:13Some someone recognized her.
27:14Isn't that the one who rejected Naya in public?
27:16What's he doing here with his new mate?
27:17I heard Maris wept and raged the day Naya left.
27:19Who respects a girl who climbed up on tears?
27:22Maris came toward me and started to say my name.
27:24Rin blocked her first.
27:26You bow to the Luna.
27:27Here, you call her Luna.
27:28Maris lowered her head and bowed, stiff as a board.
27:31She looked up.
27:33Naya, I know you hate me, but I had no choice.
27:36I was scared.
27:37I waved work back.
27:38I would handle this myself.
27:39You were afraid of being assigned, I know.
27:42But you knew if Cassian chose you, I'd be assigned away.
27:45You saved yourself by pushing me out.
27:47Maris' lips moved.
27:48No tears came.
27:50No one here would soften because she cried.
27:52Cassian stepped forward.
27:53Naila, Maris already apologized.
27:55I didn't look at him.
27:56Cassian, she's speaking to me.
27:57Not you.
27:58Cassian's face darkened.
27:59He stepped closer, too close to me.
28:02The next second, a low growl rolled over the hall.
28:04Rowan's alpha era flared to full.
28:06Cassian's wolf instinctively backed half a step.
28:09Everyone in the hall went still.
28:10Rowan came to my side, between me and Cassian.
28:13In my compound, stay away from my Luna.
28:16He didn't raise his voice.
28:17He took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders.
28:20The motion was gentle, nothing like the area before.
28:24It's cold out.
28:24The whole hall saw it.
28:27Only then did Roban look at Cassian.
28:29Future alpha of Black Ridge.
28:31Is there something you need?
28:35Cassian didn't answer Rowan.
28:37He used the opening to look at me.
28:39Naila, is Rowan's body really recovering?
28:41Since the binding, he's barely shown at council.
28:43I looked at him.
28:44I told you, I'm the one who can protect you.
28:47He still thought this match was a hardship for me.
28:50Rhea stepped forward.
28:51Cassian's mother.
28:52Don't mender stand.
28:54Cassian was tricked into it.
28:55This was never his own choice.
28:57Cassian and I are together.
28:59He won't abandon me.
29:01He said he liked me.
29:02Cassian's eyes changed.
29:03Shut up!
29:04Maris wouldn't stop.
29:05That night you got me drunk.
29:06You wore Naila's coat.
29:08I had no idea it was you.
29:09The hall went silent.
29:10Rhea's face fell.
29:12The Lunas around them began to murmur.
29:13Black Ridge Pack really is a mess.
29:14He rejected his own fated mate for another.
29:16Then got tricked, and now comes here to make a scene.
29:19Maris turned to me and dropped to her knees.
29:21Naila, please stand up for me!
29:23Everyone in the hall looked at me.
29:24He was with me, and now he wants to walk away.
29:27Maris, you're the daughter of my father's mate.
29:29I looked at the kneeling Maris, then at Cassian.
29:32This is the last time I speak for you as that.
29:34I looked at Cassian.
29:35You were with her, and the ceremony was set.
29:39You can't just walk away.
29:40Cassian opened his mouth and said nothing.
29:42That's enough for today.
29:43He took my hand.
29:45Settle Black Ridge's affairs at home.
29:46He led me to the other side of the hall, without looking back.
29:50Neither did I.
29:52After that day, every pack knew.
29:56Rowan shield his Luna before every alpha, sparing her any slight.
30:03A few weeks later, Rint came to tell me something.
30:09Black Ridge wouldn't give Maris an official mate's place.
30:14Cassian would keep her near, but never mark her.
30:18My father loathed how she'd shamed Silverhone.
30:23He wanted to send her to a far pack and find her a mate.
30:27Maris refused.
30:28She only wanted to stay at Cassian's side.
30:30Even with no title, no mark.
30:33Has she lost her mind?
30:35Wern shook her head.
30:37I said nothing.
30:38I knew what she was betting on.
30:40She bet that if she stayed, she'd climb to Luna eventually.
30:44In the end, she went to Black Ridge anyway.
30:48No ceremony, no witnesses, no mark.
30:52She just moved in.
30:54I wasn't surprised when I heard it.
30:58She'd fought tooth and nail and earned no title at all.
31:02Wernk added that Black Ridge was finding Cassian a proper mate.
31:05A high-ranking she-wolf.
31:07Well-placed in the pack.
31:08The ceremony date was already set.
31:11I remembered Maris kneeling on the Gathering Hall floor.
31:14She'd thought my speaking up would make Cassian keep her.
31:18He hadn't.
31:20To Cassian, Maris was never someone to mark.
31:24She was a card he played to block the Elders.
31:27Once the card was spent, it got put away.
31:30Rowan came in and saw me at the window.
31:32Thinking about Black Ridge?
31:34Hmm.
31:35Still care about him?
31:37I shook my head, watching someone walk their own road into a dead end.
31:40Rowan came and stood beside me.
31:43Through the bond, I felt how calm he was.
31:45He wasn't worried about Cassius.
31:48He knew I'd turn that page long ago.
31:52We looked out the window together.
31:56Whatever happened to Black Hooge was no longer mine to carry.
32:02The day Cassian was to mark the high-ranking she-wolf came, Maris broke into the ceremony hall.
32:09Wern was there and told me every word of it after.
32:13Maris stood before the whole gathering, chin high.
32:15Cassian, I'm carrying your child.
32:18The hall went dead silent.
32:20Claim me before everyone.
32:21Give this child a name.
32:23The high-ranking she-wolf rose at once.
32:25Cassian, if you dare claim her, my pack walks.
32:27Cassian's face had gone dark.
32:29Every alliance you've built dies tonight.
32:31Maris, what are you doing?
32:33Maris turned to him, eyes bright and wet.
32:35Give me a proper place, or I won't keep it!
32:38You owe me that much!
32:40She thought she finally had him cornered.
32:42She was wrong.
32:43Cassian looked at her for a long moment.
32:45You'd use a child as a bargaining chip.
32:47His voice dropped low and cold.
32:48Then it was never a child to you, only a card.
32:51Cassian, I'm warning you, I'll do it!
32:53Maris's face changed.
32:55I mean it!
32:56Then I won't be threatened by it.
32:57Take her out of the hall.
32:59He didn't raise his voice.
33:00He didn't have to.
33:01The pack warriors moved in around her.
33:03Maris screamed his name as they led her away.
33:06Cassian never looked up.
33:07Find me a mate who isn't this much trouble.
33:10The high-ranking she-wolf gathered her people and left.
33:13The ceremony fell apart before it began.
33:16Rick paused there in her telling.
33:18I waited.
33:19That night, Maris lost the child.
33:22Then her voice dropped.
33:24I sat with that for a while.
33:26Maris had tried to hold Cassian with a child.
33:29She forgot the kind of man he was.
33:31He had cast off his own rejected, fated mate without blinking.
33:36What was an unborn child to him?
33:39What happened to her after?
33:41Didn't drive her out.
33:42He didn't free her either.
33:45He shut her in a back courtyard.
33:47Won't see her.
33:48Won't let her leave.
33:49I thought about it for a while.
33:51Maris had played every card she held.
33:53The child gone.
33:53The place gone.
33:54Cassian's heart gone.
33:55Now she held nothing at all.
33:56Rowan came in and sat down beside me.
33:58He didn't ask what I was thinking.
34:00He just stayed there beside me.
34:03A few months later, the lunas of every pack came to Blackthrone Compound.
34:07I saw Maris again.
34:08Beside her stood the luna Cassian had formerly marked.
34:11Polite on the surface, daggers in their eyes.
34:14Naya, you're so fortunate.
34:16The bond took, and Rowan is recovering.
34:18Cassian and I have been mates for months, and still no child.
34:22She let her gaze drift to Maris.
34:25The words were for Maris to hear.
34:29Maris gave a small smile.
34:31You keep Cassian to yourself every day, and still nothing.
34:35Clearly a child has nothing to do with who holds the man.
34:38You, with no title and a lost child, dare talk back?
34:41We lost that child the day Cassian cast you out.
34:45The two were about to fight in front of me.
34:47The lunas of every pack watched.
34:50Blackridge Pack had dragged its shame all the way here.
34:53Blackridge's affairs are not mine to manage.
34:56But you both longed to give Blackridge an heir.
34:58How devoted, I looked at that luna.
35:02I have two well-born she-wolves in my compound.
35:06Since you care so much for Blackridge, I'll send them over.
35:10Two more fertile she-wolves beat you carrying it alone.
35:16I didn't expect them to bear anything for Blackridge.
35:19I only wanted that pack to rot from within.
35:21That luna's face went white, then green.
35:24She wanted to refuse.
35:25But I was Blackthorne's luna, ranked above her.
35:27Sending she-wolves to her pack was a favor.
35:30She didn't dare refuse.
35:31Maris watched from the side, saying nothing.
35:33All at once, she understood.
35:35I didn't need to lift a finger.
35:37I only had to slip the right ones into Blackridge.
35:39The pack would tear itself apart.
35:41They came here to spite me.
35:42But I was the luna.
35:44Getting under their skin was easier than they thought.
35:48That evening, after the luma's left, I felt unwell.
35:51The hall had been close and warm.
35:52A wave of dizziness rose, and the floor tilted.
35:55The last thing I saw was Rowan crossing the hall toward me.
35:59When I woke, I was in my own bed.
36:03Rowan sat at the edge, his hand around mine.
36:05For the first time, I saw fear on his face.
36:10Congratulations, Luna.
36:12You are carrying.
36:13The room went quiet.
36:15Rowan looked at me, saying nothing for a moment.
36:17His grip on my end tightened just slightly.
36:19Are you alright?
36:20Not the child.
36:22Me first.
36:23I'm fine.
36:23He let out a breath he'd been holding.
36:25Then he leaned in and pressed his brow to mine.
36:27Through the bond, his joy poured over me.
36:29He was steady on the surface, but inside he was unguarded.
36:32I understood then.
36:33Rowan's body had been failing for years.
36:35He had never let himself imagine a child.
36:37I thought I had nothing left to give you.
36:39Now you've given me more than I dared to hope.
36:43I held his hand.
36:45Just months ago, I was a she-wolf shipped off by my pack.
36:49Now, I had a mate who put me before everything.
36:52And a child of our own coming.
36:54Rowan rested his hand over me, careful, as if I might break.
36:57From now on, you rest.
36:58I'll handle the council.
36:59That night, he didn't go back to his own work.
37:01He stayed and watched over me until I slept.
37:04The last thing I felt was his hand, warm on mine.
37:06No longer the cold hand from the night we bonded.
37:10Word that I carried Blackthorn's air spread fast.
37:13Every pack sent gifts to the compound.
37:16Blackridge pack sent a courier, too.
37:18But the gift never made it to my hands.
37:20Inside was a tonic.
37:22Sealed without a sender's name.
37:24Rowan had it tested at once.
37:26The healer's face changed.
37:27This carries an herb that harms an unborn child.
37:31The whole compound went cold with anger.
37:34Someone had aimed at me and at the air.
37:36Rowan said only one thing.
37:38Find out who sent it.
37:40It didn't take long.
37:42The trail led back to Maris.
37:44By then, the courtyard at Blackridge could no longer hold her.
37:47She had slipped her confinement weeks before.
37:51Cassian found out the same day we did.
37:53Because the same herb had been turning up in his own cup.
37:56For months, someone had been dosing him slowly.
37:59The Blackridge healer delivered the verdict.
38:01His body might never sire a child now.
38:04Cassian finally understood what Maris had been doing.
38:07When her child was lost, she stopped wanting his heir.
38:11She wanted no one to have one.
38:13Not him.
38:13Not me.
38:14Cassian dragged her before the Blackridge elders.
38:17Why?
38:18I gave you a roof when no one else would.
38:21Maris laughed, and there were no tears now.
38:24You cast me out the night I needed you, so no one else gets a child.
38:28Not you.
38:29Not Nyla.
38:30You let my child go to save your precious alliance.
38:34The hall fell silent.
38:36Cassian looked at her as if seeing a stranger.
38:38The she-wolf he'd thrown everything away for.
38:40Gone.
38:41In her place stood someone he no longer knew.
38:45Word reached me at Blackthorn.
38:47I rested a hand over the curve of my belly.
38:50Maris had played her last card.
38:52And lost.
38:53She wanted to drag everyone down with her.
38:56But she could never touch what I had now.
39:00The Blackridge elders ruled on Maris that same day.
39:03She had poisoned a pack's heir and crippled her own alpha's line.
39:06There was no place for her in any pack now.
39:09They stripped her of every tie to Blackridge.
39:12She was cast out beyond the borders.
39:14Alone.
39:15A lone wolf.
39:16With no pack and no protection.
39:18Weren't brought me the news.
39:19She begged Cassian at the end.
39:21He never looked up.
39:22I wasn't surprised.
39:24To Cassian, Maris had stopped being a person he knew.
39:26She was a threat to his pack and his blood.
39:29He cut her loose without a backward glance.
39:31The same way he once cut me loose.
39:34Mara, my father's Luna, came to plead for her.
39:42She came to Blackthorne and knelt before me.
39:45I looked at the woman who never once counted me.
39:47You knelt for Maris.
39:48Did you ever kneel for me?
39:50Mara had no answer.
39:51The day Cassian rejected me, you told me to swallow it.
39:54You called it shaming the pack to even speak.
39:56Now your daughter reaps what she sowed.
39:59Silvercrest cast me to the lichens.
40:01That debt is closed.
40:03I owe Maris nothing.
40:04I owe you less.
40:05Mara left without another word.
40:07After that, no one in Silvercrest spoke of bringing me back.
40:10They had thrown me away once.
40:12Now they could only watch me from far below.
40:15Rowan came and sat beside me.
40:17Tired?
40:18A little.
40:19He drew me gently against him.
40:21It's all settled now.
40:22You don't carry any of it anymore.
40:24I leaned into him.
40:25For the first time, I let someone else hold the weight.
40:30As the months passed, Rowan grew stronger.
40:34The healers said the bond had done what medicine could not.
40:37A true mate bond had slowed the illness, then turned it back.
40:41He could train with his warriors again.
40:43He could stand a full council without tiring.
40:46The elders who once doubted our bond now bowed their heads.
40:49The she-wolf they called a poor match had saved their heir.
40:52By winter, I was heavy with child.
40:55Rowan rarely left my side.
40:57He learned which foods I could keep down.
41:00He walked the corridors with me when I couldn't sleep.
41:03One night, he laid his hand over the curve of my belly.
41:07The baby kicked against his palm.
41:10Rowan went still.
41:12I felt the awe roll through the bond.
41:14I spent years sure I'd leave nothing behind.
41:19Now there's a whole life under my hand.
41:21I covered his hand with mine.
41:24You'll be here to raise this one yourself.
41:26He looked at me and didn't say it couldn't be true.
41:30For the first time, he let himself believe it.
41:32When the spring thaw came, Rowan made a decision.
41:36We're going to Silvercrest.
41:37I looked at him.
41:38Why?
41:39They sent you away in shame behind a line of guards.
41:42This time, you go back as the Lycan Vuna.
41:44They'll line up to receive you at the gate.
41:46I understood what he was giving me.
41:48Not revenge.
41:49Something cleaner.
41:51The same packs that once pitied me would have to stand and bow.
41:55We set out for Silvercrest, side by side.
41:57This time, no one walked behind anyone.
42:02We reached Silvercrest pack on a clear spring day.
42:05Word had run ahead of us.
42:07The whole pack waited at the gate.
42:09My father stood at the front, the elders behind him.
42:13The last time I left here, I walked behind a line of guards.
42:16This time, the Lycan banners flew before me.
42:20Rowan helped me down from the carriage himself.
42:22He kept a hand at my back the whole way.
42:24The pack saw it.
42:26A Lycan heir.
42:27Steadying his Luna, my father stepped forward.
42:30For a moment, he didn't know what to call me.
42:32Nyla, you've come home.
42:35I looked at him.
42:37I came to visit.
42:38Blackthorn is my home now.
42:39He flinched, but he nodded.
42:42Greetings, Lycan Luna.
42:43The same mouths that pitied me now spoke with respect.
42:47I felt nothing sharp about it, only quiet.
42:50Rowan leaned close to my ear.
42:51Seen enough.
42:52I almost laughed.
42:54I almost laughed.
42:55Almost.
42:56Mara was there too, near the back.
42:58She didn't dare meet my eyes.
43:00Of Maris, no one spoke a word.
43:03A lone wolf beyond the borders had no place in this scene.
43:06My father tried to keep us for a feast.
43:08Rowan looked at me, leaving the choice in my hands.
43:11We won't stay long.
43:12The Luna tires easily now.
43:14It was true.
43:15And it was also the end of something.
43:16I had no wish to sit at their table.
43:19I'd only come to let them see me standing.
43:21We left Silvergraced before dusk.
43:23I didn't look back at the gate.
43:25There was nothing left there I needed.
43:29The birth came on a snowbok night.
43:31Wind clawed at the shutters of the keep.
43:34The healers had warned the labor might be hard.
43:37It was harder than that.
43:38Pain came in waves.
43:40Each one longer than the last.
43:44Rowan never left the room, though the healers urged him out.
43:48He held my hand through every wave of it.
43:50When I gripped too tight, he didn't flinch.
43:53Through the bond, I felt him reaching for me.
43:56He took on what pain he could and bore it quietly.
43:59Breathe.
44:00I'm here.
44:02I'm not going anywhere.
44:03His voice was low against my ear.
44:05Hours passed.
44:06The candles burnt down and were replaced.
44:09Somewhere past midnight, my strength began to fail.
44:12I felt Rowan's fear press through the bond, but his voice stayed steady, steadying me.
44:18One more.
44:19You've come so far.
44:20One more.
44:21I held to that voice and pushed.
44:25By dawn, our son drew his first breath.
44:28A healthy boy with a strong, clear cry.
44:32The healers laid him on my chest, warm and squalling.
44:36The storm outside had gone quiet at last.
44:38Rowan took him with hands that shook.
44:40This was the man who once faced down a hall of elders.
44:44Now he was undone by something that fit in his arms.
44:47He brushed a knuckle over the baby's cheek.
44:52He has your eyes.
44:53He has your stubborn chin.
44:55A tired laugh broke out of him.
44:57I had never heard him laugh like that before.
44:59We named him Kale.
45:02Kale.
45:03The whole compound celebrated for days.
45:06The air of the lichen line had come.
45:09Warriors raised cups in the yard below our windows.
45:13The elders who once doubted me came to pay respects.
45:17They looked at Kale as the future of the pack.
45:19I looked at him as ours.
45:22Gifts arrived from every allied pack.
45:25Even my father sent word.
45:27Careful and brief.
45:29I read it once.
45:30Then set it aside.
45:33That night, Rowan sat on the edge of the bed.
45:36Kale slept against his chest.
45:39Tiny and sure.
45:41A year ago, I thought I was dying.
45:43I never let myself want any of this.
45:45I reached for his hand.
45:47And now?
45:48Now I have more than I know what to do with.
45:50He looked down at our son.
45:52Then at me.
45:54All of it came with you.
45:55I leaned my head against his shoulder.
45:57The cold hand from the night we bonded was long gone.
46:01What was left was warm.
46:03And it was staying.
46:06The years went by, gentle ones.
46:09Rowan's strength held.
46:11The illness never returned.
46:12The healers had stopped calling it a remission.
46:15A true mate bond had given him back his life.
46:19Kale grew fast.
46:20The way wolf pups do.
46:22By five, he was racing the warriors across the training yard.
46:25He had Rowan's quiet and my sharp tongue.
46:28A dangerous mix, the elders joked.
46:30Rowan took the lichen.
46:32Roan, the winter Kale turned six.
46:34I stood beside him as he was crowned.
46:36The she-wolf once shipped off by her own pack.
46:39Now a queen in all but the word.
46:41I never went back to live at Silvercrest.
46:44My father wrote, now and then.
46:46I answered, now and then.
46:47Some things mend.
46:49They don't return to what they were.
46:50Word came, once, of Cassian.
46:53Blackridge Pack had faded under him.
46:55Alliance by alliance.
46:56He never marked another mate.
46:58He never had an heir.
46:59I felt nothing when I heard it.
47:01Not triumph.
47:03Not pity.
47:03His road had been his own to walk.
47:06One evening, Rowan found me on the balcony.
47:09Kale was below us, asleep in the grass after a long day.
47:13Rowan slipped an arm around me.
47:15Any regrets?
47:16It was the same question from years ago.
47:19Back then, I'd said no and meant only that I was resigned.
47:23This time I leaned into him and meant something else.
47:26Not one.
47:27My fated mate had rejected me and my sister had taken him.
47:31So I walked away and I married the heir to a throne.
47:34I lost a mate who never wanted me.
47:36And I found one who put me first.
47:38Every single day.
47:40The moon rose over Blackthorn.
47:42Rowan held me and our son slept on.
47:45Whatever the goddess had taken from me once,
47:48she had paid back tenfold.
47:50Rowan held me and my son slept on.
47:51Rowan held me and my son slept on.
47:51Rowan held me and my son slept on.
47:52Rowan held me and my son slept on.
47:52You
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