“No,” Dani whispered, flames shaking.
Lavinia turned to her, a flash of sympathy in her face. “A bond like this cannot be ignored, Dani. It is Gaia’s will.”
She turned to Arthur. “So. Will you claim her?”
Arthur didn’t blink. “Nothing on this earth will stop me.”
Dani’s flames sputtered.
Dominic swore.
Lavinia nodded once, satisfied. “Then a marriage will be arranged.”
Dani reeled back. “Lavinia… no…”
“It will unite pack and coven,” Lavinia continued smoothly, “and ensure safety for Dani and her daughter. In return, the Nordan will offer protection and hospitality to the Salem delegation, and all other witches who come to Skymist for this summit.”
Arthur’s voice dropped, deep and absolute: “I accept.”
Dani stared at him like he’d shattered her world.
Maybe he had.
He took one slow, reverent step toward her. “Dani,” he said, voice roughening, “I lost you once. I won’t lose you again.”
Her flames wavered.
Her breath hitched.
Her daughter pressed into her side.
And Arthur knew, in that deep resonance that he’d always attributed to Lunarion, that fate had dragged them all back to this place for a reason.
And he would tear kingdoms apart before he let her slip through his fingers again.
Chapter 5 - Dani
The moment Arthur saidI accept, everything fractured.
Wolves surged into motion. Orders cracked across the clearing. The Nordan moved like a single well-trained organism, spreading out, tightening formation, snapping at anyone who stepped too close. The Volkhov were in motion, too, Dominic giving her one last, intense look before disappearing into the trees with his jaw set. A few of his men, in their human forms, circled close to the coven. Guarding them, she realized.
And Arthur…Arthur was at the center of it all, his gravelly voice humming through her.
“Chase, notify the priest. Get the ceremony ready. Inform the pack. The witches are not to be harmed.”
His voice rolled like thunder, full alpha. The kind of dominance that made her knees weaken.
Not from awe.
From dread.
“Lavinia—” she began, breath hitching.
But the High Sister raised one hand.
That was all it took.
The witches fell silent. Even the wolves closest to her paused, like something in the air shifted around the ancient woman.
