"He says…" My voice broke, and I had to start again. "He says if I'm mated before the full moon, Karik can't claim me. A mated female is protected by pack law. It would prevent a war, and stop Karik from taking me."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Megan looked shocked. Dev wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Nathan's expression darkened
"To who?" he demanded, stepping forward. "Towho, Ellie? To me? Because I already have a mate and so does Dev, and neither of us want you."
Two years, and his words still had an ability to hurt. Not because I loved him anymore, but because I’d wasted so much of my life loving him, crying over him, wanting him.
“Ellie,” Dev said quietly. “I… I’m already mated…”
“I know, Dev, it’s ok.”
“No, it’s not. I’ll do it, I’d do it to protect you if we have to. Don’t listen to that dickhead.”
I turned to my friend, tears in my eyes. “You don’t have to. You love your mate, and you have a little boy to get back to who’s missing his superhero dad. I love you for volunteering, but its fine.” I glared at Rivik across the room.
Rivik said something else, his tone firm but not unkind.
I translated without thinking. "Daska volunteered."
Megan stepped forward. "Ellie, is this… do youhaveto do this? Is there really no other way? Yes, the pack helped us, but this is your life. A mate bond isn’t something trivial, it’s for life. You shouldn’t be bonded to someone you aren't sure of." Therewas something in her voice that made me glance over at her, as I translated her question but then Rivik responded.
"No," I said quietly. "There's no other way. Karik would just pursue us anyway"
"And if you say no? What happens then?" asked Dev.
I asked Rivik. His answer was longer this time.
"If I refuse," I said, my voice hollow, "Karik will come back. The pack won't be strong enough to fight him and his wolves. People will die."
Dev exhaled slowly, his arm still around my shoulders. "Okay," he said softly. "Okay. But it's still your choice, Ellie. You know that, right? No one can make you do this."
The kindness in his voice nearly broke me.
Nathan, however, wasn't kind.
"This is insane," he snapped, his voice rising. "You're not seriously considering this. They're manipulating you, Ellie. This is barbaric—they're treating you likeproperty."
My stomach twisted, shame and anger flaring hot in my chest. I had to translate that. I had to tell Rivik what Nathan just said.
I did, softening the words instinctively, but Rivik's expression hardened anyway. He responded in a low, clipped tone.
"He says," I forced out, my voice shaking now, "that no one is treating me like property. That this is my choice. That Daska offered freely, and I can refuse freely."
Nathan scoffed. "And you believe that?"
"Nathan—"
"No." He cut me off, stepping closer. "This is insane, Ellie. You don't know these people. You don't know what they want from you. For all we know, they've been planning this from the start."
"That's not—"
"They want your power," Nathan continued, his voice hard. "Your magic. You think they'd go to all this trouble if you were just some random woman? You're not even that pretty."
The accusation hit like a slap.
I stared at him, heat flooding my face, my chest tight with humiliation and fury. I couldn't speak. I couldn't breathe. Rivik asked me what Nathan had said, clearly seeing my face, but I didn’t need him to fight my battles for me. Not the man choosing who exactly to whore me out to. Something inside finally snapped, and I stepped forward, slapping Nathan across the face.
