Marcel:

I closed the door behind my mother and didn’t move closer right away.

Lia sat rigid on the edge of the bed, shoulders tight, eyes sharp despite the exhaustion clinging to her. She looked like she was ready to bolt, or attack. Either way, she was coiled for violence.

“May I sit?” I asked, keeping my tone even. “I am not here to hurt you. I just want to talk.”

Her head snapped up. Fury flashed across her face so fast it surprised me.

“Why?” she shot back. “So you can watch me better while you decide how to kill me? Because I doubt that you are here to simply speak to me. What is it going to be? A ransom? Or are you going to torment the answers of whatever questions you might have out of me?”

I frowned. That… wasn’t what I had expected.

“I brought you here because you were bleeding out,” I said slowly. “You would have died in that forest. I wasn’t going to allow that to happen. Questioning or harming you… why would you even think that?”

Her laugh was bitter. Sharp. Both an answer to her pain, my question…

“Don’t insult me by pretending this is mercy.” She said, glaring at me. “What do you really want from me?”

I took a step closer. She didn’t retreat. Good. Fearless, or reckless. Possibly both.

“I wasn’t going to let you die,” I said, firmer now. “Whatever you think of me, that much should be obvious.”

Her eyes burned. “Of course you brought me here. It makes sense. You didn’t want anyone else taking the kill. The great Alpha, the killer of rogues… since that bitch played through your walls and councils chose to break whatever protection…”

“I never needed anything that the council, or Katherine believed to take.” I said, stopping her. “And I wouldn’t have had the rogues kill you.”

“Then by all means, enjoy your kill.” She said darkly as she clenched her fists. “It should be an easy one given my current position.”

The words landed harder than they should have.

I stopped in front of her, leaning down just enough that she had to look at me. “Do you really believe that I want you dead?” I asked quietly. “Do you think that you would have woken up if I did?”

For a heartbeat, uncertainty flickered across her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but she closed it again, fighting back whatever it was that she wanted to say.

“Why?” She whispered, looking me in the eye.

I wanted to think of a proper response, one that wouldn’t have her turning against me…

Then the door opened. “Alpha…”

“Elara?” I said sharply. “What do you want?”

She walked in like she owned the room, expression soft, familiar—too familiar. She crossed straight to my side, fingers brushing my arm as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she said lightly, smiling up at me. “Your mother’s calling for you.”

I looked at her. “For what?”

“She didn’t say.” A pause. Perfectly timed. “But she sounded concerned. She didn’t want to walk in here herself. She didn’t want to frighten our guest here.”

Lia’s gaze snapped between us, her jaw tightening. The air shifted. Tension coiled tight and volatile.

I exhaled slowly.

“I’ll be back,” I said, more to myself than to Lia. “And we are going to talk when I’m back.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Of course you will.”

I didn’t answer, mostly because I knew that she was going to need to process whatever was going on.

I turned and followed Elara into the hall.

The moment the door closed behind us, I stopped walking.

“What were you doing in that room?” I asked coldly.

She spun around, irritation flashing through her carefully composed expression. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” I asked, glaring at her. “And you know well enough that I don’t like repeating myself twice.”

She scoffed. “I was checking on you. On her. Everyone is talking about you bringing her here, and now that you are in her room personally… what do you think that’s going to spark?”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

Her lips pressed together. “You’re being unreasonable. Everyone knows my place with you, and it is my right to ask questions when you bring in a woman, in your arms… and not to mention, she is a rogue.”

“I did not ask for your opinion.” I said, shutting her out completely. “And I wouldn’t ask about something when I am the one making decisions.”

Her eyes hardened. “You don’t get to shut me out, Marcel. I am not going to sit back and watch… And if that is what you expect…”

“I just did.” I said, stopping her. “And if you don’t like it, I believe that you know to walk out that door.”

She stared at me for a long moment, then huffed sharply and turned away. “Fine. Do whatever you want.”

She walked out the door without another word.

I stood there longer than necessary.

Behind me, I felt it before I heard it, my mother’s presence, quiet and observant.

“You really did bring in chaos,”

Lia:

The food was untouched.

I didn’t want to eat, but the maids insisted that I had to get something to eat.

I knew he would notice it the second he walked in. The tray sat neatly on the small table by the window, warm soup, bread, water. Real food. Pack food. I hadn’t eaten any of it, but I had stopped pacing. Stopped shaking.

That alone would tell him I wasn’t as frightened as before.

The door opened without a knock.

Marcel stepped inside, closing it behind him with deliberate calm. His gaze flicked to the tray, then to me. No judgment. No comment.

He pulled out the chair across from the bed and sat. “I see that you are still being stubborn with eating.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything to eat.” I said, and he scoffed.

“And let you starve yourself to death.”

“It would be a better option than being poisoned.” I said, and he raised an eyebrow before taking the glass and taking a sip of the water, setting it back in its place. I looked away from him, knowing that he just proved a point.

Then again, I knew that I would have smelled it if they snuck in poison.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. I just stared into space, wondering what was coming next.

The silence stretched, heavy but not suffocating. Different from before. I hated that I noticed. And I hated, more than anything, that my wolf felt comfortable with whatever this was.

I exhaled slowly. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you earlier. I am sorry for it.”

His eyes lifted to mine. Sharp. Assessing.

“You were injured,” he said. “And cornered. I wouldn’t blame you for being scared given everything that you must have endured until today.”

“That doesn’t excuse it.”

“No,” he agreed. “It explains it. But you don’t need to apologize for it.”

I looked away, jaw tightening. The words sat between us, unsettling in their lack of accusation.

He leaned back slightly. “What’s your story?”

I stiffened.

“My what?”

“Your story,” he repeated evenly. “Why you were running? Not from the rogues that night… from everything. And don’t tell me that you weren’t. It wasn’t me your were running from. You knew, since the moment you saw me weeks ago, that I wouldn’t harm you.”

I didn’t answer.

The seconds ticked by. I could feel him watching me, waiting. Not pressing. That somehow made it worse.

One brow lifted, just a fraction. “I thought so.”

I glared at him. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Pretend you’re patient.”

A corner of his mouth twitched. “I am patient. And I am waiting for an answer. One way or another, I am going to get it.”

“With everyone else,” I shot back. “I have no answers to give to you.”

He didn’t deny it.

“Listen,” he said, voice lowering. “I can’t help you if you won’t speak. I am not going to hurt you, Lia.”

I laughed, short and humorless. “I don’t need your help.”

His gaze sharpened.

“What I need,” I continued, forcing the words out before doubt could stop me, “is for you to accept my rejection. And let me leave. Me staying here is not going to do any of us any good.”

Silence snapped into place.

Then he smirked.

It wasn’t kind. It wasn’t amused. It was slow and dangerous.

He rose from the chair and took one step toward me.

Then another.

I stood my ground, even as every instinct screamed at me to move.

He stopped close enough that I could feel him, heat, power, something ancient and unyielding pressing into my space. His eyes held mine, and then…

Gold bled into the dark.

His wolf surged forward, not fully, but enough. Enough to make my breath hitch. Enough to remind me exactly who I was standing in front of. Enough to remind me that he could have my head if he wanted to, and he was choosing not to.

“That,” he said quietly, voice layered with something not entirely human, “is not going to happen. And it would be better if you allow yourself to breathe.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Before I could speak, before I could argue or threaten or beg, he stepped back, turned, and walked out of the room.

I stared at the door for a second too long before releasing a breath that I didn’t even realize that I was holding before opening my mouth.

“Well then, Alpha… it seems to me that you are in for a surprise…”

Marcel:

“Are you sure that her staying here is the right idea, Marcel?” My beta, Vladimir, asked.

He had been waiting for me outside the infirmary door, and though ration told me that he was right to ask… her staying was not a good idea judging by everything. But I was not sending my mate to die.

“I am not going to send her back into whatever hell she’s been through. But you are going to look into her story.” I said, and he nodded.

“What am I to find?”

“Anything that would lead to her. I want to know why she was cast out. Look for a Lia Volkov.” He looked at the door for a second before turning his attention to me.

“An Alpha born who was cast out a rogue by her pack… pretty sure that we already have our options narrowed. But she is not from here. We would have known if she was.” He said, and I ran my fingers through my hair.

The two of us kept walking, heading out, and though part of me didn’t want to leave, another knew that I had to. Plus, I needed to take care of a lot for now, and Lia, as tempting as it was going to be to talk to her, was not giving me the better resolve.

“I don’t really care where she is from. I want to know what she did to be cast out.” I said, heading toward my room. “Whatever it is that you find on her, I want to know. She is not going anywhere, and she is going to eventually realize that she is safe here. At least, as long as she doesn’t start causing trouble.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll let you know what I find.” He said, and I nodded.

“And Vladimir?” I asked, making him raise an eyebrow.

“Be sure that no one finds out about this.” He walked away without saying another word. I didn’t need him to. If I trusted anyone in this world, it was him.

My best friend and the man who grew by my side. It was supposed to be Elara as my beta, she was born into it. But I grew up with Vladimir, and I always knew that he was going to be my right hand.

The moment of peace in my room didn’t last for long, though.

A soft chime sounded at the door moments later instead, the polite kind, practiced. I didn’t need my wolf to tell me who it would be. The scent reached me first. Familiar. Sweetened with submission.

“Enter,” I said flatly.

She stepped inside with measured confidence, the kind taught, not born. Dark hair loose over her shoulders, silk clinging to her frame like it was made for nights that never asked questions. One of my consorts. One of the women chosen long ago to ease an Alpha’s temper when violence threatened to spill over.

She stopped just inside the room.

“My Alpha,” she murmured, eyes lowering before lifting again, slow and deliberate. “Luna Isobel sent me. I hope that I wasn’t intruding.”

I raised an eyebrow. That was all.

She took it as permission.

She crossed the room with quiet grace, every step calculated. I didn’t move. Didn’t stop her. This was routine. Expected. Clean.

Her fingers brushed my arm first. Then she leaned in, lips grazing the line of my jaw, her breath warm against my skin.

“You’ve been tense,” she whispered, pressing a soft kiss to my neck. “I can feel it in your shoulders.”

She ran her hands over my chest, down to my abdomen… “Let me…”

Her mouth shifted closer to my lips.

I caught her wrist.

Not hard. Just enough.

She froze.

“Enough,” I said calmly.

Confusion flickered across her face. “Did I…? I’m sorry…”

“You’re dismissed.”

The words landed heavier than a shout.

She searched my eyes, clearly unsure if this was a test. A mood. A punishment. “My Alpha, if I did anything to offend you…”

“Leave,” I repeated, firmer now. “Now.”

She stepped back immediately, head lowering, composure snapping back into place. Without another word, she turned and slipped out of the room, the door closing softly behind her.

Silence reclaimed the space.

My wolf snarled, not in hunger, but irritation.

It wasn’t her scent that lingered.

It was Lia’s. The mate who was now daring to challenge.

Blood. Defiance. Rejection that still burned like an open wound.

I dragged a hand through my hair and exhaled slowly.

This wasn’t lust.

It wasn’t need.

It was something far more dangerous.

And my mother knew it.

The door was knocked again, and the low growl that escaped me was one that I couldn’t stop… it was one of annoyance. But it was the next words that made my eyes harden…

“Alpha, it is your guest.” One of my men said, making me frown. “She ran away, Alpha…”