Chapter 3

"And that was all fake too. Cain. All of it. Was any of it worth it?"

Tears broke through at last — but he wasn't looking at me. He was already turned toward Clarissa, explaining: "You know I had to stay in cover. The only way they'd lower their guard was if I looked like a crippled nobody. We grew up together. There was never anything real there. She's just a diver."

I sat down in the dirt.

Clarissa took Cain's hand and walked past me, wearing her victory lightly.

He had been the greatest thing in my world. In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, everything was different.

It had all been a long dream. Nothing more.

I stumbled back to the trade post in a daze. The stable hand found me right away.

"Elara, the wagon's ready just like you asked — padded walls, three layers of cushion on the floor. No matter how rough the road, it won't jostle his legs."

I forced a hollow smile. "He won't be needing it."

I drove the wagon home on instinct, but I couldn't make myself go inside. Like somehow, as long as I didn't walk through that door, Cain would still be in there. Still mine.

I cried myself out and fell asleep in the wagon.

Some time later, a sound outside. The canvas flap jerked open. A tall figure climbed in, and there was nothing wrong with his legs. Nothing bent or careful or braced. He moved the way he always had in my memory — easy and sure.

I looked at Cain's perfectly functioning legs, then at my own knees, aching from years of cold water and hard dives.

"It's probably better you know," he said. "Now I don't have to keep finding ways to tell you."

He put an arm around my waist, warm and familiar. "I handled things badly. But I had no choice."

When I didn't respond, he leaned in closer. "Elara. What happened today needs to stay between us. You can't go around saying you know me. Do you understand?"

His scent — cedar and something expensive — hit my nose and turned my stomach. That kind of scent cost more per bottle than three months of healer treatments. There had never been any reason for me to nearly drown for a handful of gold coins.

I shifted away from him. "Explain what, exactly. When you became a full Alpha? When the healer fixed your legs? Or that you were never injured at all."

"To you, I'm just gossip material for the Sterling Pack elite. Not even interesting gossip."

The anger in my eyes burned the tears dry. "Alpha Sterling. One question. Are you mating with the Davenport Alpha's daughter or not?"

His face went pale. "Let me explain—"

"Are you or aren't you?"

Silence in the wagon.

Sometimes silence is its own answer.

"Then what exactly do you plan to do with me?"

Something like relief crossed his face. "Elara, I'm not going to abandon you. Clarissa is Davenport blood — good for the Pack politically. After we formalize the bond, I'll bring you to the Capital Territory. I'll make it up to you, everything I owe you. It'll be better there."

"This is just temporary. Stay out of sight for now. It's for your own good."

He wanted me as a secret second mate. Hidden away while he built his political future.

I didn't waste time figuring out how much of his urgency was real. I pulled his fingers off me one by one, smoothed out the wrinkles he'd left in my jacket, and said quietly, "Cain. Listen carefully. One: I will never be anyone's hidden mate. Two: I will never bond with you. Not now, not ever."

Before Cain left, he pressed something into my hand.

"Take this for now. Call it payment for everything. You won't have to dive again. Just wait, and I'll send for you when it's time."

He called keeping me secret "a better life." I had started to roll my eyes — and then I saw the gold notes in my palm and quietly stopped.

Fine. The money hadn't done anything wrong. I went into this with my eyes open. I gave everything. I lost the bet. Cut your losses and move on.

I slept for two solid days. Edna knocked on the door several times.

"Elara. You have to keep going."

"Your life isn't over. There's more ahead for you."

She left food outside the door and didn't push.

That night I lay awake staring at everything Cain had touched. The bed. The bowls. The bag he never actually needed. Something shifted.

If I had the money and the resolve — why not go to Ravenport Territory now? Alone.

I slipped out in the dark and tucked some coins through the gap under Edna's door, then thought through the safest route: back roads, away from Sterling Pack eyes. I'd hire an escort in the morning.

I fell into the deepest sleep I'd had in months.

In the middle of the night, smoke.

I jolted awake. Flames were already inside the room. I threw myself at the door — locked from the outside.

I slammed against it. It didn't move.

"Help — someone — " The words scraped up but came out barely a whisper.

"You burned through that sleep herb faster than expected. Impressive. Doesn't matter, though. The doors are nailed shut. You should've stayed out of our Alpha's way. Tonight you're done."

Smoke filled my lungs. My legs gave out. I went down on my hands and knees as the heat pressed in from every side.

My last clear thought: I wish I'd never met Cain Sterling.