RomanceLibrary 04

My world was measured in pain. Some days it burned hot enough to leave me shaking on the floor. Other days it crawled beneath my skin—a warning hum that meant I could still move, still obey, still survive. I had learned to function inside it. Learned to breathe through it. Learned that endurance was the only thing keeping me alive. Right now, survival meant focus. One minute. Then the next. The fire in my veins was nothing compared to what would happen if I failed him. In seven years of being mated to Keith, I had discovered there was no limit to his imagination when it came to suffering. The gladiator lay on the cot in the room laughingly called the medical bay. There was nothing remotely medical about the place. The cot was crusted with old blood. The walls wore it like a second coat of paint. While there were bandages and access to hot water, there was very little else related to medicine in this space—except me. I focused on the arm that was hanging by its tendons and a piece of skin, maneuvering the dangling limb into place so that the severed muscles, broken bones, and torn flesh lined up as if they hadn’t been cut by a sharpened blade. Drawing from my center, I called on the healing power the Goddess gifted me with and began mending the injury. Golden strands of healing energy flowed from my hands into his flesh. Slowly, the bone began to calcify over the break, and the muscles began to knit themselves together. Sweat beaded on my temples, slipping down my cheeks and the sides of my neck. My hands shook as I continued to push power to the fallen fighter. A shadow fell over us before he spoke. Keith’s boots stopped inches from my knees. The scent of iron and expensive cologne wrapped around me, blood and arrogance. He didn’t crouch. Didn’t kneel. He simply stood over me like I was another broken thing in his arena. “Gervais is one of my best fighters, Willow.” His fingers closed around the back of my neck, not tight enough to bruise—yet—but firm enough to remind me who owned it. “You will not fail.” My teeth ground together as I focused more energy through my palms, despite the way my blood felt like lava. I knew the price of failure. Keith had not spared me that lesson over the years. Endurance was the only thing keeping me alive. The baby in my belly kicked as if trying to remind me he was still there. I was five months pregnant, but that didn’t stop my mate from calling on me to heal the gladiators in his underground fighting ring. He’d negotiated with my father years ago, recognizing that having a healer by his side would mean that he could rake in millions from his fights. That he could leverage me against his investors and have the best of both worlds. The moment he forced his mark on my neck, he tossed me into this underground clinic and put me to work. ‘The pup won’t last if this keeps on,’ my wolf, Ivy, whispered in my mind. ‘I don’t have a choice. You know what will happen if we stop.’ She whimpered, pressing against the edges of my mind, torn between our pup’s life and the consequences of any failure today. I reached deeper, trying to cocoon our pup in safety while still healing Gervais, but the energy faltered. I swayed—just for a moment—exhaustion and burnout in my bones. Keith sighed like I’d inconvenienced him. “Need I remind you what happens if you stop?” His thumb pressed against the pulse in my throat, counting the beats. Calm. Patient. Calculating. “You hold the lives of the pack’s orphans in your hands.” His mouth curved—not a smile. Something colder. “If you falter, I’ll make sure their deaths take days. I’ll let you hear every scream.” His grip tightened just enough to steal my breath before he released me. “Now focus.” I nodded, acknowledging the tyrant that was my mate, as I pulled my focus back to the injured gladiator. I kept up the energy flow for another few minutes before I finally broke and whispered, “Please, Alpha Keith. The pup will die.” He didn’t even look at my stomach when I begged. “Then it was never worthy of my bloodline.” His hand slid down, palm flattening possessively over the curve of my belly. Not gentle. Not loving. Assessing. “If this one dies, I’ll put another in you.” His voice lowered, intimate in the worst way. “You exist to produce something strong enough to carry my name.” Then he stepped back like the conversation was settled. ‘Ivy, I’m sorry.’ My heart was breaking. The pup’s kicks had already slowed, the light that was his life fading away as I continued to pour energy out of my hands. ‘I can’t let him kill all of those pups.’ ‘I know, Willow. We’re in an impossible situation. If we save our pup, he’ll likely just kill it when he beats us for failure after following through on his threat.’ Gervais moaned, shifting as his arm knitted back together, then suddenly started thrashing. Foam erupted from his mouth as he seized, his entire body shaking, ripping the mending wound right back open. Blood flowed, pouring out of him faster than I could stop as I tried to focus on getting the seizure to stop. I grabbed his head with my palms, forcing the healing energy into his brain, trying to get him to still. The dim light in my stomach flickered. Once. Twice. I held my breath, pouring everything I had into Gervais, as if I could ignore what was happening inside me. The light went out. Ivy’s scream didn’t sound like a wolf. It sounded like something being torn in half. The fragile blue thread that bound us to our pup snapped so suddenly I felt it recoil through my soul. His kicks stopped. The warmth disappeared. And then there was nothing. A heartbeat later, blood slid down my thighs—hot, relentless, unstoppable. My body had begun to let him go while my hands still glowed with healing light. I made a sound I had never heard before. Not a sob. Not a scream. Something older. Something broken. My child was dying inside me. And I did not stop. “Shut up, you stupid whore,” Keith snapped. “You’re giving me a headache.” The training from years of punishment for failing to comply with an order from my mate clamped my jaw shut even as the grief continued to roll through me in waves. I pulled harder at the healing energy, my only thought being to finish this task so that I could try to heal myself. The burning in my veins was almost unbearable, and exhaustion was blurring the edges of my vision. Blood continued to hemorrhage out of me even as I fought to stop the blood flow on the fighter in front of me. I swayed, dizziness hitting me, my vision tunneling as I kept going. Ivy was weak in my mind, her energy dimming just like my pup’s. My hands trembled. The golden glow flickered. Keith leaned close enough that his breath ghosted over my ear. “Don’t stop.” It was soft. Almost tender. “I’ve never killed my own mate before.” He paused. “I’m curious what it would feel like.” His fingers brushed my cheek in mock affection. “Finish.” I rallied myself one last time, focusing on the warmth that was meant to be a blessing but had become my curse. It moved through me and into Gervais almost instinctively. His tremors stilled. Bone fused. Flesh sealed. I pushed past the fading glow of Ivy in my mind. Pulled deeper than I ever had. Reached into the hollowed-out place inside me where nothing should have been left. The fire in my veins turned to ice—sharp, splintering, unbearable. My vision tunneled. And with one final, desperate shove, I gave him everything. Then I fell, my vision going dark. The briefest sensation, a hand brushing against my face, was a kind of comfort as the world around me went cold. ‘I’m sorry, Ivy. Maybe in the next life, you’ll have a stronger human.’  Death should have been the end. It wasn’t. Five Days Willow POV My first conscious thought was that death should have been less…physical. I felt the smooth glide of sheets against my skin as I shifted. The bed beneath me was pure comfort, especially compared to the hard cot I’d spent the last seven years sleeping on. A faint, relaxing lavender scent teased my nose as I stretched. My limbs felt rested and strong. But that was wrong. I opened my eyes. White canopy curtains. Polished wood beams. The faint crack in the ceiling plaster above the chandelier. I was in my bedroom. The bedroom in my father’s house. I sat up slowly. I remembered dying. The exhaustion of it. The broken gladiator I was trying to fix. The seven years of hell that led to bleeding out in a dirty room filled with pain and despair. I looked around for something, anything, to help shed some light on my current situation. My cell phone sat on the nightstand, a silver box that promised an answer. I grabbed for it and pressed the screen awake. The date was there in bold letters. February 15, 2019. Just five days before my mating ceremony with Keith. I stood and walked over to the large mirror on my closet door. The girl staring back at me was unmarked. Unscarred. Unbroken. There was light in her eyes—not the hollow exhaustion I had learned to wear like armor. My hand drifted to my stomach. Flat. Whole. Alive. A phantom ache pulsed there anyway, memory echoing through flesh that had not yet suffered. A reminder that I had died. And I had been sent back. At that thought, I felt a subtle pull low in my abdomen where my pup once grew. Then warmth, gone so quickly I could have imagined it. ‘Ivy.’ She surged forward, strong enough to steal my breath. ‘I remember.’ ‘What did the Moon Goddess do?’ She paused. When she finally answered, her voice was hard. ‘She did not return us for mercy.’ ‘Then we won’t waste the opportunity she’s given us.’ Pounding at the door pulled my focus away from the memories, away from what this chance meant for me and Ivy. My stepmother’s voice carried through the door. “Get moving, Willow! Your father wants you in his study in five minutes. And make sure to look presentable. I don’t need you embarrassing the Alpha family yet again by showing up in your rags.” In the last seven years that had been my personal torture chamber, I’d forgotten just how much Luna Eliza hated me. It all came crashing back at her words. Despite being the oldest child of Alpha Ellis Blackwood, softness and luxury were things I rarely experienced in this place. Even so, it was a day in the park compared to what I’d face if I didn’t find a way to escape. And I would escape. I dressed quickly, finding the most appropriate outfit I could. The shirt was worn in places and the denim of my jeans so faded it was almost white, but they were the best I had. My half-sibling’s hand-me-downs never came to me in good condition. Clothes are something I would need to figure out. Without a vehicle, I was going to be limited to what I could carry in a pack that could be carried easily, no matter what form I ran in. Money, food, and maybe some light medical supplies would be my main priority. I started making a mental list as I headed to answer Father’s summons. Less than a week. It was a brief window, but maybe that was a blessing. If I remembered correctly, the next five days would be a whirlwind of activity as Luna Eliza worked with Alpha Keith to finalize our bonding ceremony. I could take advantage of that chaos. I knocked on the door of the Alpha office. “Enter.” Stepping inside, my father’s scent rolled over me like a steam engine. What should have been comforting—the hints of fresh-cut grass lingering just under pine—was tainted by cigar smoke and whiskey. “Good, you’re here. Sit,” he pointed to the chair in front of his desk. “You’re eighteen now, and it’s time you did some good for this pack. As such, you’ll be mating with Alpha Keith from Crimson Moon in five days. You’re securing us an alliance that should bring us millions, so I want no complaints. You’ll do your duty and you’ll shut up about it.” He stared me down. Keeping silent, I simply nodded my head. I couldn’t afford to let him think anything was wrong. I lowered my eyes, tried to keep my breathing steady, acting out the submission I had learned so well before I died. He took a moment, as if searching for any hint of rebellion, before he snorted. “Hmph. Maybe you can be taught. Go now. Luna Eliza is waiting. She said you need new clothes if you’re going to be mated off, so she’ll take care of that. You’re not to spend too much. Just the necessities.” He turned back to the paperwork on his desk, waving me off. “Come, girl. Let’s deal with this…issue.” My stepmother looked like she was sucking on a lemon, but she led the way to one of the ballrooms in the pack house with her back straight. “I’ve had the retailer bring options directly here. No need to traipse about in public,” she sneered as she pointed to the open doors. “Go on in. They have their instructions.” After two hours of being measured, fitted, and generally treated as a living doll, a rack full of clothes stood on one side of my bedroom. Fine. These will be better options than the threadbare pieces currently hanging in my closet. At least I wouldn’t look like a beggar when I ran. Now that I was blissfully alone again, I sat on the bed with a sigh. ‘Ivy, we’re getting out of here. That’s the first step. I need to get an idea of the patrol schedule. Can you get us past the patrols if I find a gap?’ ‘Of course. We’ll need to mask my fur. Ideally, we find a gap near the pond. The mud there would be perfect.’ ‘Okay. I can do that. Where should we go? It’s not like I found my fated mate in the last life, or even made any genuine connections.’ ‘The human territory, to start, where we can hide until we get our bearings. The thread tying us to our mate still exists. He's out there somewhere. We’ll find him when the time is right.’ The next forty-eight hours passed in calculated silence. I moved through the pack house like a ghost, timing my movements between shift changes, avoiding the omegas who noticed too much and the warriors who noticed too little. I gathered my important documents under the guise of preparing to leave for my mating ceremony. No one questioned it. Brides were expected to organize their belongings before joining another pack, and for once, their assumptions worked in my favor. I stashed money that I slipped out of various places—the head omega’s petty cash, the hiding spot in Luna Eliza’s office, even the safe in my father’s library. I memorized the patrol rotations the second I saw them on the beta’s desk, mapping the weak points in my head before his footsteps echoed back down the hall. Just as I was slipping back into my room after a foray in the pack kitchens for food supplies, I heard my father’s booming laugh down the hall. His steps echoed as he headed to greet whoever had just come in. I dropped the bag I was holding out of sight behind my door as I listened. I couldn’t remember clearly who might be coming. His baritone voice rumbled down the hallway, occasionally interrupted by the quieter response of whoever walked beside him. Two sets of footsteps now flowed down the corridor. As they came closer, dread curdled in my gut. Ivy bristled in my mind even as I realized I recognized that voice. Keith was here early. The Buy-In Willow POV I shut my door as quietly as I could. I didn’t want to risk calling attention to myself. ‘Ivy, why is he here already? Am I remembering incorrectly? I thought we had more time without him.’ ‘I don’t know. I think…I think last time maybe we just didn’t realize he was already in the pack.’ I dug into my memories from my first life, trying to focus on Keith’s arrival. We met with Father, did the shopping with Luna Eliza…and then I was told to stay in my room until the ceremony. And I did. Which means I really didn’t have any idea when he actually came to the pack. ‘This complicates things, Ivy. Now I’ve got to avoid him as well as everything else while we prepare.’ ‘It will be okay, Willow. We stick to the plan. Take the time to prepare, and then we’ll leave. We’ve got most of what we need here already. You can do this.’ I dragged air into my lungs in an effort to calm myself. Ivy was right. Survival depended on sticking to the plan. I didn’t see Keith before the ceremony last time, so unless something happens to change that, I shouldn’t see him this time. My steps mirrored my heartbeat as I paced back and forth in my room. “Food, check. Medicine—not a priority. My healing power is at full strength if the bird we healed yesterday is anything to go by. Clothes packed. Enough for a few days, anyway.” I stopped at my desk and pulled out the stash of money I’d been accumulating. I thumbed through the bills, counted them. “Six thousand five hundred eighty-three dollars. Not enough to live on, but it will work to get me started.” I plopped down into my desk chair and ran my hands through my hair. “And if you don’t stop talking to yourself, you’re going to look like a crazy loon when you finally make it to the human territory.” Ivy’s amusement bled through our bond as she listened to my quiet monologue. She didn’t say anything, but at least I felt her. There were so many times before I died when we were so drained I thought I’d never feel her again. Pulling out my phone, I opened the photo album. I hadn’t been able to make copies of the patrol schedules, but I’d taken some pictures. I needed to figure out when there was a window, and where, for me to run. After staring at the notes until I felt like my eyes were going to fall out, I finally mapped a path that should work for us. The rotation would switch again in three days, just before the mating ceremony. I’d be long gone by then. I needed to make one last pass through the pack house. My stepsisters had their own allowances from my father and, thanks to years cleaning up after them, I knew just where to find that cash. I’d feel worse about stealing from them if they hadn’t spent the majority of my childhood treating me as their personal slave. Luna Eliza encouraged it, and Father turned a blind eye when it came to her little angels. And the more cash I could gather, the better my chances of escaping without a trace. After briefly considering what I was wearing, I opted to change into one of the new outfits lining my closet. If someone sees me, it will look like I’m just visiting before my inevitable departure after the event. Once I’d donned the comfiest leggings I’d ever worn, a soft tunic-style sweater that fell off one shoulder in the palest gray, and a pair of black boots that came to mid-calf, I gave myself one last pep talk. “You can do this, Willow. You just sneak up one floor, slide into their rooms, then back out again. It’s almost dinnertime, so they’re not going to be anywhere near their space. Easy peasy.” I cracked my door open and listened. When I was certain the coast was clear, I made my way to the servants’ stairs at the end of the hall—opposite the main staircase and hidden—and slipped up to the Alpha floor. They’d moved me off the Alpha floor as soon as Luna Eliza moved in, as she didn’t want to have to look at me, but that suited me just fine. Except for now, when being on the same floor would have been especially helpful. I snuck into Sonya’s room first, as that was closest to the stairwell. Just as I’d hoped, her desk was unlocked, and there was a nice stack of cash in the upper right drawer. I took it and put it in the small purse I’d grabbed to make it look like I was heading to or from somewhere—and to hide the money, of course. As quietly as I could, I made my way to Fleur’s room. Even as I thought that this was just too easy, I heard voices coming down the hallway. Quickly, I ducked behind the door to Fleur’s room while leaving it open just enough to listen. “Everything is moving forward as planned, Alpha Keith.” My heart jumped into my throat when I heard my father addressing my future mate. I focused on controlling my breathing and keeping calm. Ivy had been blocking our scent to keep us from leaving any trace behind in Sonya and Fleur’s rooms, which I was incredibly grateful for now. It meant they shouldn’t be able to tell that I’m here unless I gave it away. “Willow has been told her duty, and she will comply. There’s nothing standing in the way of our alliance.” “It’s good that you have such a…biddable…daughter, Alpha Ellis. That will certainly make her future…easier.” Slime coated Keith’s words. Ivy's fury boiled up inside me, and I had to force her back before she gave us away. “Willow has always done what she’s told. She understands her place.” Father waved the thought of anything other than full compliance away. “Now, when can I expect to send my fighters to your arena?” “Once Willow and I are fully mated and marked, your buy-in will be complete. You’ll be able to send who you wish after that.” They continued down the hall, their voices fading with the distance. I waited a few short moments to be sure they were out of sight, then dashed to the hidden stairs and made my way back down to my floor. I took a minute in the stairwell to steady myself, then pushed the door open and walked to my room as if I’d just come in from downstairs. As I reached my door, I heard my name. My heart sank. I turned to see my father and Keith standing on the open landing of the main staircase, just down the hall. “Willow! Come here for a moment.” Father waved me over. Reluctantly, I turned and made my way to them. “Yes, Father?” I kept my head down, voice soft. ‘Play along, play along,’ I told myself. “Willow, I’d like to introduce you to your future mate, Alpha Keith Morvern.” I looked up briefly. Nausea churned as I met the dark brown eyes that have haunted my nightmares for years. “Hello, Alpha Keith,” I greeted him. My voice was soft as I tried to tamp down the rage. He smiled. It was sharp, a predator locking onto prey. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Willow. I’m looking forward to our union, very much.” I simply nodded, head down. My father laughed—a big, bawdy sound—as he placed a hand on my shoulder, gripping hard. “Our Willow is shy, Alpha Keith. Pay her silence no mind.” Keith's gaze was a physical weight as he looked me over, and I fought to keep myself still. “We should work on that, Alpha Ellis. After all, I don’t want anyone to mistake her silence for fear and think she’s being forced during our ceremony. Why don’t you join us for dinner tonight, Willow? We’ll have some time to get to know each other.” Father’s fingers squeezed harder. “She’d love to, Alpha Keith.” He released me, then turned toward the stairs. “In the meantime, I’ll finish your tour. Dinner will be served at seven in the private dining room, Willow.” His voice whispered through my head. ‘And you’d better not fuck this up.’ No More Waiting Willow POV My pulse thundered as I shut the door behind me. I fell back against it, trying to regain my bearings. It was just dinner. I could handle sitting through one dinner. I just had to keep my head down, answer meekly, and play along. Simple. Ivy was pacing in my head. ‘I don’t like this,’ she said. ‘I know. But it’s just one night, and we only have to deal with three more days in this place. We can do it.’ I hurried to the shower. Father said seven, which meant that I had less than two hours to make sure I met his standards. And I needed time to hide any evidence of my plan in my room, in case he decided on a random inspection while I was otherwise occupied. I took the time to dry and straighten my hair. Keith preferred it that way, and it wouldn’t hurt to act as though I was on board with the mating. After a touch of light makeup—another thing Keith preferred—I stepped to my new wardrobe. My best chance of getting through this dinner unscathed was to look and act the part of the biddable daughter that Keith thinks I am. Even the thought tasted like ashes in my throat, but now was not the time for pride. I’d let them all think that I was the meek mouse I used to be. Flipping through the hangers, I found a cream-colored dress. It had long sleeves, a modest neckline, and fell just above my knees. I added tall brown boots, and when I was done, I examined myself in the mirror. I looked like an Alpha’s daughter. Refined, aware of expectations, innocent. Unless you were looking for it, you wouldn’t notice the determination in my eyes. Once I was satisfied with my appearance, I gathered all of my escape supplies and tucked them away in the closet. Years ago, I’d made a cubby in there for things I didn’t want my stepsisters or my stepmother to find, and it was serving me well now. I placed the cover back on the hole in the wall and arranged my new clothes in front of it, masking it completely. I checked the time. Fifteen minutes to go. With a deep breath, I fortified myself. “You can do this, you can do this,” I muttered. I gripped the handle of my door and opened it. Allison, the Beta's mate, had her hand raised as if she were about to knock. She startled when I opened the door, her gaze flicking over me quickly before settling on my face for half a second too long. Something unreadable tightened around her mouth before her expression smoothed back into neutrality. “Good. You’re ready, and you look like you’re actually taking this seriously. Let’s go.” She turned, leading the way to the private dining room. Once upon a time, Allison had been nice to me. She was friends with my mother, and I remembered playing with her son as a child. We were close to the same age. She turned cold after Luna Eliza and her daughters joined the pack, though I’d never really understood why. It was just another poor relationship that I was going to leave behind. I followed her into the room where my father was waiting with Alpha Keith. Luna Eliza was standing next to them, and Beta Timothy was in the corner speaking with the omegas who were carrying pitchers of water and wine. Fleur and Sonya were already seated, heads together as they looked at something on one of their phones. Luna Eliza met my eyes as Allison went over to her mate. “Ah. She’s here. We can go ahead and get seated, then.” Father took his place at the head of the table, Luna Eliza to his left and Beta Timothy to his right. Allison sat on the other side of Timothy, while Sonya and Fleur were beside her. That left two chairs beside my stepmother. Alpha Keith inclined his head to me. “I’d be honored if you’d sit next to me, Willow,” he said, sending Sonya and Fleur into a fit of giggles. Father shot them a sharp look, and they settled down. I walked over to the empty chair he’d pulled out for me and sat down. He pushed it in, acting the perfect gentleman, except for the light caress along the back of my neck as he stepped away to take his own seat. Goosebumps prickled across my skin as the memory of his hand on my neck from my last life washed over me. I could almost feel the weight of his grip, the way his fingers pressed tightly against my pulse point, as he forced his control on me one last time before I died. I could have sworn I smelled the coppery tang of blood. I dug my fingernails into my palms, grounding myself. I would not be that meek little mouse again. He chuckled lowly, pleased with my visceral response to his touch. I’d heard that chuckle hundreds of times over the years, every time he’d drawn a flinch from me or caused me to tremble in fear. It told me he believed he was already winning. Omegas served the first course as Keith and my father continued a discussion about business investments. I ate, taking small bites because my stomach was churning and I didn’t want to risk causing a scene by getting sick. Being so close to the man who pushed me to my death and pretending everything was fine had my anxiety buzzing, but I pushed it down. I could do this. I would do this, and I’d escape, no longer the meek mouse just waiting to be drained. I would build my own life, one where fear didn’t rule. Keith noticed the tremor in my hand as I reached for my water glass and leaned over, his lips close to my ear. “Nervous? There’s no need to be, my dear mate,” he whispered. “Perhaps spending some time together…privately…may help?” He raised an eyebrow at me, his intention clear. Ivy’s hackles rose, and it was all I could do to keep her growl in. ‘Now is not the time, Ivy!’ She snarled lowly and stayed alert, but settled down. I took a sip and met his gaze once before lowering my eyes like a good, submissive mate. “I’m sorry, Alpha Keith. It’s just that I never expected to be mated to an Alpha such as you. I promise I’ll have my nerves under control by the ceremony,” I said quietly. His fingers ghosted over the back of my neck again, and I barely suppressed a shiver. His lips were almost on my ear this time. “Don’t worry, Willow. I’ll come visit you later and show you that you have nothing to worry about.” He placed a light kiss just behind my ear. The conversations around me faded as I went still, the sound of my blood rushing in my ears all I could hear. His meaning was clear. He wasn’t going to wait for the ceremony to claim me, and once he had, my window to escape would close. I’d bear his scent, so deep even Ivy couldn’t mask it. If he forced the mark, the bond would be a tether he could trace. He’d be able to increase the guards around me, all in the name of welcoming and protecting his new Luna. I could not let that happen. Sound came back in a wave, the voices around the table overlapping. My grip tightened on my fork as the next course was served. I shoved down my nerves, my anxiety, my fear. There was no place for them at this table. In my last life, I was naïve enough to believe that waiting, that complying, was the answer. Now, I knew that wasn’t true. And I knew, beyond a doubt, that I needed to leave tonight. Waiting was no longer an option. Severed Willow POV I made it through the rest of dinner by sheer force of will. Keith backed off, more because my father started engaging him in conversation he couldn’t politely avoid than out of any concern for my reactions, but I was grateful for that either way. Despite how my gut was churning, I ate every bit of the dinner that was served. I would need the calories. I had no idea how far I would need to run before I would have a chance to stop and rest. Ivy was fully on board with moving up the timeline. Everyone finally finished. Father stood, ignoring the omegas who were clearing the table. “Alpha Keith, would you join me in my study for some brandy?” Keith’s eyes flicked to me, then over to my father. “Of course, Alpha Ellis. I’d love a nightcap.” He helped me with my chair, still acting the gentleman, and leaned down so his lips were by my ear again. “I’ll see you soon, sweet mate,” he whispered. Rage flushed my cheeks red, but he must have mistaken it for a blush because he just laughed before walking over to join my father as they left. I turned and hurried back to my room before anyone could stop me. As quickly as I could, I gathered everything I’d prepared so far. I tucked it behind the door, out of the way of anyone who might look in but still easy to grab. After I changed out of my dress and into dark jeans and a black sweater, I sat with my back to the door so I would feel if anyone tried to come in. I checked my phone—it was still fairly early, all things considered—so I folded my arms and tried to take a quick nap. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep, though I woke up lying on the floor instead of sitting. The room was dark, and the hallway was quiet. It was after midnight. “No time like the present,” I muttered. I grabbed my pack and slipped it on, then cracked my door open and listened. There was no sound other than the hum of the air conditioning, so I slipped out, gently shutting the door behind me. The servant staircase was right around the corner, and I slipped in with no issues. I followed the steps down, stopping on each landing to make sure I didn’t hear any other movement. When I reached the bottom, I breathed a sigh of relief. The door to exit the pack house was right around the corner from the stairwell. I was almost there. Once again, I opened the door and waited, but didn’t hear a sound. I slipped out, catching the door before it could slam shut and easing it closed, then turned. And froze. Allison was at the other end of the hall, staring straight at me. Her eyes traveled over me, stopping on the pack on my shoulder, then back to my face. Our gaze held for a beat, then two, before she turned, dropping the folder she held into the inbox on the wall, and simply walked away. The breath I’d been holding rushed out of me. I waited another beat before I turned and ran for the front door, thoughts spinning. Why didn’t she say anything? She could have easily tried to stop me. Maybe she did care a little after all. ‘No time to worry about it now, Willow. We need to move!’ Ivy snapped, bringing my focus back to where it needed to be. ‘You’re right, I’m sorry.’ ‘We need to get to the pond. Hurry.’ I ran, sticking to the shadows, a part of me still waiting for Allison to raise the alarm, even though something told me she wouldn’t. I stopped at the corner of one of the smaller storage sheds at the back of the territory, watching for the patrols in the trees. This next stretch was one of the most dangerous—there was no cover, only open fields. I would need to be fast. I saw two wolves run by, right on time, and waited until they were well past before I ran. The wind whipped at my hair, my legs pumped, and my lungs burned, but I fell at the edge of the pond without being seen. I slipped out of my clothes, folded them and put them into the pack, then stepped back. ‘Okay, Ivy, you’re up.’ The shift was quick. Faster than it had been since before Keith started draining us. I reveled in Ivy’s strength, in how our shared body was supposed to feel when we weren’t being drained. Ivy stretched, then grabbed the pack with her teeth and headed to the muddy section of the pond. She dropped the pack behind some bushes, then bellied down, rolling in the thick sludge along the edge of the water. She was almost fully covered when her ears pricked, catching a noise in the distance. She sank lower into the mud. Footsteps sounded over the bank. Voices carried down to us, relaxed and laughing. “Did you see those new trainees today? They got their asses kicked.” Deep, amused. One of the patrol warriors? “All trainees get their asses kicked. It’s part of being a trainee.” This voice was dry, more of a baritone. Feet scuffed along stone. “True, I guess. At least it’s a slow night on patrol. Gives us a chance to take a quick break.” The second man scoffed. “So you say. I’m not getting stuck on night patrol for the next month.” There was silence for a moment. “Do you smell that?” Ivy was ready to burst from the pond and run, but I held her back. ‘He doesn’t necessarily mean us, Ivy. You’re masking our scent already, and we’re covered in mud. We have a better chance if we stay still.’ ‘I can take them both if I have to.’ ‘But if you do, they’re sure to sound the alarm. We can’t take that chance.’ “It’s probably just some kids out here earlier. You know how they are. The scent is faint, so they’re long gone by now,” the first voice responded. One of them picked up a rock and tossed it into the pond, sending a ripple of water our way. Ivy crept lower, bracing for it to wash over us. “Hey! You two! Quit wasting time. Get back on your route!” The angry shout sounded from somewhere on the left, a good distance from us. “See? Not worth getting into trouble with the Delta. Come on, let’s get moving.” The second voice paused. “And you’re probably right. It was likely just some teenagers earlier.” Their footsteps faded along with their voices. I stayed low in the mud for a solid five minutes, straining to hear anything other than the night noises in the forest, before I finally gave Ivy permission to get up. She grabbed the pack from where she’d stashed it, then aimed for the trees. Her white fur was completely covered with dark brown mud, so she blended in as she slipped through them. When we got to the edge of the territory, we paused long enough to break our pack link. “I, Willow Blackwood, hereby reject and cut all ties with the Stonefang Pack and render myself a rogue.” Though I was still in Ivy’s form when I said the words, I felt the pack link break, a sharp snap right under my sternum. Something deep inside me loosened, like a cord finally cut free. Ivy shook her head as if she felt it, too, then took off running again. We ran through the night, ears pricked for the howls of wolves behind us that never came. Near dawn, we came upon another stream. Ivy dropped our pack and jumped in, rinsing herself clean. I shifted back into the middle of the water, washing the remnants of the run off myself before I exited and got dressed. I slung the pack over my shoulder, then headed in the direction of the human town that the stream bordered. As the sun greeted us, I felt lighter than I had in years. I finally felt…free. Broken Contract Luna Eliza POV The omega who brought my morning tea was quiet, slipping in and out of the dining room. Her presence barely registered as I focused on my daughters sitting in front of me. “Now that we’ve solved the problem of that little brat, we need to move on to finding good matches for both of you,” I said. Willow had been a constant reminder that this pack had belonged to another woman first, and I was glad to be rid of her. That she was going to Alpha Keith was just a bonus. I knew exactly what kind of mate Alpha Keith would be. That knowledge made handing Willow over even more satisfying. Sonya giggled. “I can’t wait, Mother!” She looked at her sister, smiling widely. “There are so many alphas out there to choose from!” Fleur was more subdued. “You can’t just pick one and say, ‘Tag, you’re it,’ you idiot. We need to think about this strategically.” I smiled into my teacup. My oldest daughter was a carbon copy of me, and I couldn’t be prouder of her. Sonya, on the other hand…well, I suppose it was too much to ask to have more than one daughter with a brain in her head. At least she was easy to maneuver where I needed her. “Your sister is correct, Sonya, but we do have options. The three of us will be attending the mating ball being held next full moon at Silver Crest Pack. Alpha Farkas has two sons who are of age and looking for mates. We’ll start there.” Fleur rolled her eyes at the excited noise her sister made, then looked at me. “Obviously, finding that we’re fated to one of them is the best-case scenario. But if not? What kind of alliance are we offering them?” “You let me worry about those details. Now that Keith is taking Willow off our hands, we have a brand new avenue of income to explore.” I tapped my nails against my cup, then narrowed my eyes at my oldest daughter. “I want you to focus on Damian Leroux. There are rumors he’s going to attend the ball, that his Elder Council is pushing him to find another mate. If we could get the power of Crescent Peak Pack attached to ours, we’d be one of the top packs in the territory.” She raised her eyebrow. “Another mate?” “He found his fated mate years ago. She betrayed him, and the bond broke. I suspect he’ll be more open to making a choice about his future mate than most others.” She nodded. “Okay. I’ll do what I can.” The door opened, and Ellis strode in. He came over to the table, dropping a kiss on the top of Sonya’s head as he greeted her, then said hello to Fleur. Finally, he turned to me. “Good morning, my dear. We need to get Willow ready. Alpha Keith has decided that he wants to move the ceremony up—he is eager to bond with her.” “How soon?” I asked. “Tonight.” Irritation spiked at the inconvenience, but I quickly smothered it. “Fine. The sooner we get this deal signed, the better for the pack. I’ll see to it.” He smiled, then bent down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Thank you, dear. I knew I could count on you to handle it.” After grabbing a slice of toast from the stack on the table, he strode out. I finished my breakfast, listening to my girls discuss the potential candidates for their future mates, then stood. “All right, girls. I’m going to take care of the Willow situation. I want you to remain on your best behavior while Alpha Keith is here, so keep any talk of mates to yourselves for now.” With that, I turned and headed for the door. Allison passed me as I exited, giving me a brief nod and a hello before she went in to get her own breakfast. I still couldn’t figure out how to get rid of her. She was firmly entrenched as the beta female, and Ellis was pleased with Timothy, but I knew she had been good friends with Ellis’s first mate. I never felt like she truly accepted me as her new Luna. Brushing it from my mind as a worry for another day, I headed up the stairs and down the hallway to Willow’s room. I knocked on her door. Silence greeted me. Aggravated, I knocked again. “Willow, you need to open up. We have a lot to do today.” After another minute with no response, I tried the handle. It turned, the door swinging open. My eyes darted around—her bed was made, her bathroom empty, her closet door open. There was nothing on her desk except her phone. The room felt wrong somehow. Too still. As though something important had already slipped beyond our reach. I reached for her through the mindlink, only to find the path to her was no longer there. Dread curdled in my stomach at the implications. This was not a missing girl. This was a broken contract, a failed alliance, a disaster waiting to unfold. Our entire agreement with Keith was off the table if we couldn’t find her. The millions we stood to earn through Keith’s fighting ring were nothing compared to the retribution he’d bring down on us if we failed to uphold our bargain. My steps echoed through the hallway as I rushed to Ellis’s office. I had to stop myself several times from running outright. I slammed through the doors of the Alpha office. Ellis jerked his head up, startled. When he saw it was me, concern laced his features. “Eliza? What’s wrong?” “Willow’s not in her room. Her phone’s on her desk. I tried reaching her through mindlink, but there’s nothing there. It’s just blank,” I hissed. “What? That doesn’t make sense.” His face turned pale. “No, no, that’s not possible.” “What’s not possible?” “I felt a pack link break early this morning. I didn’t really think anything of it. Keith had warned me he might mark Willow before the ceremony, so I figured it was just him following through on that. He seemed anxious to bond with her when we had our nightcap last night.” Ellis’s eyes met mine. “You don’t think she ran, do you?” I started pacing, too stressed to stand still. I ran my hand through my hair. “That’s exactly what I think. She wasn’t acting right at dinner last night. She was too calm, too accommodating, considering she was facing being traded off to an Alpha for an alliance.” I shook my head, thinking it through. “She’s been acting like that for days now. I should have seen it earlier.” I stopped pacing and turned to face him. “We need to alert the patrols and send someone to search for her.” His eyes glazed over as he started issuing the orders. When they cleared, he looked at me. “She doesn’t have anywhere to go. She won’t get far. The girl has been stuck inside this pack her entire life.” “We can’t let Keith know. You need to delay him.” “How the hell am I supposed to do that?” He threw his hands up. “The man is set on having her. And I already agreed that he could move up the ceremony. Going back on that now only calls attention to the issue.” He shoved back from his desk and stood. “No, our best course of action is to find her quickly, before he even notices she’s gone. We’ll tell him she’s off territory getting a spa treatment or something if he asks for her today.” I nodded. That could work. “I’ll send the girls out, spread it around that the three of them are having one last day as sisters before her mating. That should buy us some time.” A voice spoke from the open door. “Buy you some time for what, exactly?”