Elara Thorne POV:
I settled the man into the guest suite attached to my own, a spacious room with a balcony overlooking the gardens. “Stay here and don’t wander,” I ordered, my tone more Alpha than I intended. “The less people see of you for now, the better.”
A ghost of a smile played on his lips as he watched me. “Yes, ma’am,” he murmured, the slight amusement in his stormy eyes making my cheeks flush.
A call came through from Dr. Alistair. When I took him to the doctor just now, I learned that the man's name was Kael. Dr. Alistair spoke in a low, confidential tone, confirming that Kael’s body bore no pack markings. He was, for all intents and purposes, a true Rogue. The news solidified my cover story, but it didn’t quell the mystery surrounding him.
Just then, my satellite phone buzzed with a new message from Nina. It was a file. I opened it to find a scanned copy of a hospital report. Lyra Thorne. Patient confirmed pregnant.
I stared at the black and white text, feeling… nothing. A vast, empty numbness where a heart should be. Any lingering connection I felt to Zane, any faint echo of the Fated Mates bond, was severed by that clinical report. It was just… business now.
The door to my suite was thrown open without a knock. My adoptive mother, Eleonora, swept in, Lyra trailing behind her like a smug shadow.
Eleonora’s eyes landed on Kael, who stood silently by the balcony door. Her face twisted in disgust. “Elara! Have you no shame? Bringing a strange man, a filthy Rogue, into your private rooms?”
Lyra stepped forward, one hand placed protectively over her flat stomach. The gesture was pure theater. “Sister,” she said, her voice dripping with false concern. “Zane and I are going to have a child. A true heir for this pack. You’re damaged goods, wolf-less. The best thing you can do is bless our union.”
The humiliation was a physical thing, a sour taste in my mouth. Eleonora nodded in agreement, her gaze cold. “Lyra is right. For the good of the family, you must dissolve your betrothal to Zane. It is your Alpha’s wish.”
I lowered my gaze, letting my silver-blonde hair fall like a curtain to hide the ice in my eyes. I made my voice tremble. “I… I need to think about it.”
My apparent weakness was like blood in the water. Lyra’s smirk widened. She sauntered over to Kael, circling him like he was a piece of livestock at auction.
“Is this your new pet?” she sneered, her eyes raking over him with contempt. “He stinks of the wild. Your standards have really fallen, sister.”
I saw Kael’s jaw tighten, a flicker of raw violence in his eyes before he expertly masked it, sinking into the role of a submissive, unassuming stray.
Eleonora pulled a folded document from her pocket and threw it on the floor at my feet. “This is the annulment agreement and a full transfer of your assets. Sign it.”
I bent down, my fingers fumbling for the papers as if I couldn’t see them. My mind was a cold, calculating machine. They were so eager, so sure of their victory. As I reached for the document, I deliberately knocked over a glass of water on the end table. It spilled across the papers, soaking the ink.
“Oh, no!” I cried, my voice full of fake panic. “I’m so sorry! I couldn’t see…”
Lyra looked like she was about to strike me. Eleonora grabbed her arm. “Forget it,” she snapped, her patience gone. “Just have it signed before the Alpha’s birthday party. Or else.”
They stormed out, leaving a trail of smug satisfaction in their wake.
The moment the door closed, Kael was at my side, helping me to my feet. “Why do you let them treat you like that?” he asked, his voice a low growl. “Why didn't you fight back?”
I straightened up, and the mask of the fragile, blind girl fell away. My face was a cold, hard mask of fury. “Fighting back now only warns them,” I said, my voice like chips of ice. “I’m going to let them have their moment. I want them to be standing at the very peak of their triumph when I drag them down to hell.”
I looked at Kael, my mind already spinning with a new plan. “I need you to do something for me. At the birthday party, in front of everyone, I need you to propose to me.”
He stared at me, his stormy eyes wide with surprise.
“Zane and Lyra want to announce their union and my dispossession,” I explained, the plan forming as I spoke. “But I’m going to beat them to it. I will announce that I have found a new mate, and on those grounds, I am the one rejecting Zane. I will make him the one who was publicly cast aside.”
In our world, there was no greater shame for an Alpha male than to be publicly rejected by his mate. It was a wound to his pride, his very essence.
A slow, dangerous smile spread across Kael’s face. He looked at me, at the burning fire of vengeance in my eyes. “As you wish.”
I turned to the window, a strange exhaustion settling over me. The last thread connecting me to this family, to my past, had just been severed. *From now on,* I told my wolf, *we live for ourselves.*
*We live for us,* she answered, her voice a promise of blood and retribution.
Behind me, I could feel Kael’s steady gaze. He knew it too. The sleeping lioness was finally, irrevocably, awake.
