The heavy oak doors of my council hall shattered inward, and my husband walked through the wreckage with another woman on his arm.
"Get out," Liam barked at my guards.
The two men stationed near the windows flinched. They looked at me for permission. I gave them a curt nod, and they scrambled out of the room, dragging the broken doors shut as best they could.
I set down my pen. A year of marriage had taught me that Liam only smiled like that when he was about to take something from me.
"You break down the doors of the Rostova hall for a tantrum?" I asked.
Liam marched down the center of the room. He dragged Selene by the hand. She wore a crimson slip dress so sheer it left absolutely nothing to the imagination, her bare shoulders shivering in the drafty hall.
"This isn't a tantrum, Elara," Liam shot back. "This is business."
He slammed a thick stack of papers onto the center of the long oak table. The loud smack echoed against the high vaulted ceiling.
"What is this?" I asked, staring at the bold print on the top page.
"A territory transfer agreement," he said. "The eastern borders. Sign them over to my pack."
Selene giggled, leaning her weight against his side. The cloying stench of her cheap rose perfume hit the back of my throat. It clung to Liam’s clothes, masking his natural pine scent entirely.
My stomach cramped. A sharp wave of nausea twisted through my gut.
"You brought your mistress into my hall to demand my ancestral home?" I asked, keeping my voice dangerously flat.
"Watch your tone," Liam warned. His jaw tightened, a muscle ticking near his ear. "Selene needs a safe haven for her wolves. Your eastern lands are sitting empty."
"They are a sanctuary," I corrected. "Not a playground for strays."
"Hey!" Selene whined, pouting her lips. "Liam, she’s calling my family strays."
"Quiet, Selene," Liam muttered. He stroked her hip to soothe her, right in front of me. He turned his glare back to my face. "I am your Alpha. I am your husband. You will sign the paper."
Every instinct screamed at me to back away from the sickening smell of their combined sweat and that synthetic rose garbage. I locked my knees. My spine snapped straight. I curled my fingers inward, digging my nails so hard into my palms that crescent moons carved right into the flesh.
"Those lands belong to the Rostova bloodline," I told him. "My father died defending those borders. You have no claim to them."
"We are mated," Liam sneered. "What is yours is mine. That was the deal when our packs merged."
"The deal was a partnership," I fired back. "Not a dictatorship. And certainly not an invitation to move your bed warmer into my territory."
Liam took a step forward, his chest puffing out. "Do not disrespect her. Selene has given me the loyalty you refuse to offer."
"Loyalty?" I scoffed. "Is that what they call it now?"
"I don't care about your definitions," he said. "Selene's pack lost their territory in the western fires. She needs a place to rebuild."
"Then give her your own lands," I suggested. "The southern valleys are beautiful this time of year."
Liam slammed his fist on the oak table, rattling the inkwells. "Those are hunting grounds for my elite guard! I won't give them up."
"But you expect me to give up my sanctuary?" I laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. "You really are out of your mind."
Selene stepped forward, trailing her fingers across the polished wood. "Why are you being so selfish, Elara? You have a whole castle. We just want a little piece of the forest."
"Do not speak to me," I snapped.
Selene shrank back behind Liam, burying her face in his shoulder. "She scares me."
Liam wrapped a protective arm around her waist. "You will not threaten her."
"I didn't threaten her," I said. "I gave her a command. One she should follow if she wants to keep her tongue."
"Enough!" Liam roared. "I am done playing these games with you, Elara. You have humiliated me enough with your cold attitude and your constant defiance. Sign the damn transfer."
"No."
"You don't have a choice."
"I always have a choice."
I reached into the deep pocket of my wool trench coat. My fingers brushed the crisp parchment I had prepared three days ago. I pulled the folded document free and stepped around the oak table.
"What are you doing?" Liam asked. His eyes dropped to the paper in my hand.
I closed the distance between us. I slapped the heavy parchment flat against his chest.
"Take it," I ordered.
He caught the document before it fluttered to the floor. "What is this nonsense?"
"Read the heading, Liam."
He unfolded the pages. His eyes scanned the top line. The arrogance melted off his face, replaced by a sudden, rigid stillness. His breathing turned shallow.
Selene peeked over his arm. "Divorce agreement? What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what it says," I told her, my voice eerily calm. "I already stamped it with my family seal. He just needs to sign on the dotted line, and you can keep him."
Liam’s hands shook. The paper rattled between his fingers. He stared at my signature at the bottom, then looked up at me.
"You think this is a joke?" he growled.
"I think it’s an eviction," I replied. "You want land for her? Go find it somewhere else. You are no longer entitled to mine."
"I am Alpha Thorne!" he shouted, his voice vibrating through the floorboards.
"You are a coward."
Liam lunged.
He ripped the divorce agreement in half, then again, shredding the thick parchment into pieces. The scraps rained down over the stone floor, covering the space between our boots.
"Liam!" Selene shrieked, jumping out of the way.
Before I could react, his hand shot out. His massive fingers wrapped around my throat. The force of his charge lifted me off my feet, driving me backward until my spine slammed into the freezing stone wall.
"You do not embarrass me," he snarled. His face hovered mere inches from mine.
My fingers clawed at his wrist. "Get your hands off me."
"You dare hand me divorce papers?" he shouted, his grip tightening. "You dare deny me what is rightfully mine?"
The air in the room grew heavy. A crushing weight pressed down on my chest, making the edges of my vision blur. He was tapping into his Alpha aura, weaponizing it against me.
"Sign the land over," Liam ordered, his voice echoing with unnatural power.
I choked, fighting for air, but I managed to spit out one word.
"Never."
His eyes flashed pure gold. The pressure in the room doubled, threatening to snap my neck.
