"I will never obey you," she promises, her voice vibrating with conviction.
My smile widens, showing too many teeth. "Oh, I was hoping you'd say that." I reach out, trailing one finger down her cheek, shadows dancing at my fingertips. "Breaking your resistance will be the most entertaining project I've had in centuries."
She tries to slap my hand away, but I catch her wrist, bringing her knuckles to my lips for a mocking kiss. "I do enjoy your spirit, Seraphina. Keep it. It makes everything so much more interesting."
As she is led away, I return to my throne, a profound sense of satisfaction settling over me. This is an unexpected turn of events, but one that plays perfectly into my hands. Marriage to one of the Light Court's most prominent daughters will strengthen my position, give me leverage in negotiations, and—most intriguingly—provide me with my true mate. The Omega who has awakened instincts I thought long dead.
"My lord," Emmett approaches once the hall has begun to clear, his voice pitched low for privacy. "Are you certain about this course of action? The Council might not approve of such an... impulsive decision."
"The Council serves at my pleasure," I remind him coolly. "Not the other way around."
"Of course," he concedes. "But a marriage alliance with the Light Court will have significant implications. Political, magical...personal." He pauses meaningfully. "And claiming a hidden Omega as your mate will cause quite the scandal in both courts."
I raise an eyebrow at his last word. "You noticed."
"I'm not blind or scent-deficient," Emmett says dryly. "The suppressants are impressive, but not perfect. She's been hiding her designation for years, hasn't she?"
"Nine years, I'd estimate," I reply, examining my nails with feigned disinterest. "Since her presentation at fifteen. Quite the accomplishment, really."
"And you're claiming her anyway?" Emmett's tone is carefully neutral, but I hear the question beneath. "Even knowing she'll hate you for exposing what she's worked so hard to hide?"
"I'm claiming her because she's mine," I say simply, letting my Alpha nature bleed into my voice. "The mate bond recognized her the moment she walked into this room." My shadows writhe with dark satisfaction. "Her hatred will make the claiming all the more satisfying."
"Will it?" Emmett asks quietly. "Or will it poison what could be genuine?"
I wave a dismissive hand. "She's a political asset, nothing more. An entertaining diversion in an otherwise tedious existence."
Emmett, who has known me since childhood and is the only person permitted to speak to me with such frankness, merely gives me a knowing look. "As you say, my lord."
"Besides," I continue, stretching languidly in my throne, "can you think of anything that would infuriate the Light Court elders more than seeing their precious hidden Omega bound to the monster of the Shadow Court?"
"No," Emmett admits. "Though I wonder if making enemies of the entire Light Court is wise, even for you."
"They were already my enemies," I remind him. "Now they'll simply be my in-laws as well. Isn't that how family works? Thinly veiled hostility wrapped in obligation?"
Emmett suppresses a smile. "I wouldn't know, my lord. My family is remarkably functional."
"Boring," I declare, rising from my throne. After nearly eight hundred years of life, with the last fifteen spent as Shadow Lord since overthrowing my predecessor in what the court historians delicately call "an unexpected transfer of power," I've learned that dysfunctional is far more entertaining. "Now, I believe I have a wedding to arrange. Something suitably impressive yet tasteful. After all," I add with a sharp smile, my shadows coiling possessively, "I'm nothing if not a considerate bridegroom."
As I leave the throne room, shadows trailing in my wake, I can't help but recall the fire in Seraphina's eyes as she'd stood between me and her brother. That kind of courage is rare, especially in my court, where self-preservation is the primary religion.
I adjust my robes, uncomfortably aware of how much I want her. My body hums with anticipation at the thought of two nights from now—of finally having her beneath me, that fierce pride giving way to desperate need.
And when I finally sink my claiming bite into her neck, marking her as mine, she'll understand exactly what it means to be the mate of the Shadow Lord.
In two days she will be mine: my wife, my Omega.
In truth, I've contemplated this possibility for longer than I care to admit—finding a way to bring that golden fire permanently into my shadowed court. Her brother's transgression merely provided the perfect opportunity to act.
And if a small voice whispers that perhaps I want her for reasons beyond political advantage or physical desire—that perhaps the mate bond is already stronger than I expected, pulling at something deep in my chest that I'd thought long dead—I silence it with practiced ease.
After all, monsters don't have hearts. Everyone knows that.
I grin to myself as I stalk through the dark corridors, my shadows already reaching ahead toward the chambers where my future mate will spend her last night unclaimed.
My Omega bride won't know what hit her.
CHAPTER 2
