Chapter 4

Damon was waiting outside the Alpha Council Registry Hall, looking even more tired than before.

But when he looked at me, his face lit up.

"He's been here two hours already," the cleaner teased. "Young man, I know you're eager to Bond, but this is really something."

We smiled at each other and walked in hand in hand.

"Do I look tired? Can you edit the photo a little? Actually, don't — keep it natural." Damon kept fussing at the clerk.

I watched him with a small laugh. Then it hit me — he'd driven through the night to get here. Same as last time.

And he hadn't complained once. He looked like he was happy to.

As soon as we had the Bonding Certificate, my phone lit up with property listings.

"Pick whichever you like best. If you've got time today, we can tour them."

"Not today. I have a ceremony to run. Your mother said if you're going to stake your claim, you do it loud enough for the whole realm to hear."

Damon laughed and gripped the wheel. "Listen to Mom. She's right."

Our car pulled out just as Caleb's pulled in. We crossed paths and didn't see each other.

Caleb didn't notice anything. He was too busy panicking that he couldn't reach me.

He'd gone to bed early the night before. He woke up, I wasn't there, and his gut had been twisting ever since.

The housekeeper brought breakfast and said, smiling, "She must have gone to a salon. Those Registry photos are a lifetime keepsake."

Caleb relaxed a little. A message pinged in from my father.

【Don't drive the custom car. Serena likes it. We'll give it to her.】

For a second, something flickered in his head. "Are we really doing this?"

He drove to the Registry Hall anyway, sick with it.

The appointment window came and went. I still wasn't answering.

He was spiraling when Serena called. 【Turn on the news.】

Her voice was shrill. It made his head pound worse. He hung up on her.

He opened the news. The lead story stopped him cold.

One hundred of the Territory's biggest livestreams. Every landmark screen in thirty cities. All playing the same video.

Sweet clips of a young couple. Then, in massive letters at the end: Damon, I love you. We're Bonded.

Caleb recognized the woman. His soon-to-be-Mate. But Damon wasn't his name.

The world tilted. He dialed my father. My father hung up on the first ring.

Something had gone very wrong. He had to get back and find out.

He floored the accelerator. A truck came out of nowhere and hit him head-on.

Before he blacked out, one sentence from a few days ago came back sharp as a claw: "The hardest part was getting Elara away from Damon."

My father was roaring the same words into my ear at the Harrington Manor gathering, even as Caleb's world went dark.

"Elara, have you lost your mind? Caleb is still waiting for you at the Registry. How could you Bond yourself to the bastard who hurt you?"

"I don't care what it takes today. Go back and register with Caleb, or I will never forgive you."

The Harringtons watched him with cold amusement.

My father snapped. "You vultures — all eyeing her Pack shares. You pushed her toward an orphan Alpha because he's easier to control. Damon is the real predator here."

Uncle Roderick tapped the papers in his hand.

"This is the Bonding Agreement Damon already signed. Elara's assets are entirely hers. His assets, however, she has full discretion and inheritance over."

"And if Harrington counts as old blood, Damon is new money. You don't know his standing because you never learned to build anything yourself. Parasites living off their Luna's Pack don't understand real growth."

My father's face twisted. "Impossible. Elara, I don't care about anyone else. If you still call me your father, you cut ties with them now."

"Fine. Cut ties."

His face lit for a second.

"With you. You tore me and Damon apart for something you didn't want exposed. Don't bother denying it."

I leaned close to his ear.

"Run home to Caleb and Serena. Stand guard outside their door like you did that night. And tell them — since they like my bed so much, I'll have it delivered soon."

The music started up again at Harrington Manor. The champagne tower caught the soft light of guests laughing and talking.

My father left the Manor white-faced. He sat in his car a long time before he thought to call Caleb.

He'd hung up on Caleb mid-argument earlier. He had no idea where Caleb was now.

"There has to be another way. Serena has to get a new heart. If Elara's off the table, Caleb can liquidate his own Pack and buy one. We'll pass Caleb's assets to Serena after. She can still live easy." He muttered to himself.

What he didn't know was that Serena was already on a Pack Healer's table for the transplant.

Two bodies lay unconscious in the ward.

The middleman hissed at the head Healer, "What do we do? It's not what was promised."

The Healer's frown hadn't lifted since the operation began. He was already thinking.

They'd been told the donor would be a she-wolf. The body that came in was a man.