Her Pack Offered Her to the Beast… But He Refused to Let Her Go

Her Pack Offered Her to the Beast… But He Refused to Let Her Go

Don’t tell anyone I’m nice to you, scrap. It’ll ruin us both.  The Spartan army crosses our border by midday. They take one offering or they take us all. Who do you all suggest we offer?  You could pick anyone.  That’s why it’s you. No one will miss you.  She would finally be useful for something in this village.

 The Spartans will be here by midday. If they take you, they might spare the rest of us.  I survived Carrick’s whip. I survived 5 years of moon bound. I’m not nothing.  You were dead weight anyway.  Omegas don’t have voices, sir. Only duties. Today my duty was to die so they could live.

Scrap, you stupid stubborn dog, you should have run.   Shall I kill the mongrel?  No.   Mate.  She fed him. I will let you live. But you will belong to the beast that saved you and the master who owns him.  The alpha didn’t look at me with pity. He looked at me with recognition.

  You should have run, Scrap.   Ribs shattered in four places. Move wrong and one punctures a lung and you drown. So, don’t. Drink all of it. Why does he want me alive? Not my concern. Drink and keep that mongrel from biting anyone else. Scrap took a chunk out of Ronan’s hand. Scrap.

Because I can count every one of your bones. And because scraps are what started this.  You are healing.  Yes, Alpha Corvin.  Your pack left you to die. And this animal chose you over his own safety.  He’s just a dog. He doesn’t know any better.  Loyalty like that is not ignorance. It is the rarest thing in this world.

And it does not come from nowhere. You will remain in my camp. You will not be assigned to anyone. Scrap stays with you. If anyone touches either of you, they answer to me.  Why?  I have never seen a stray stand over a dying girl and dare an army to come closer. You must be worth something.

 Five years of moon bound scrap. Injections that caged my wolf until joy was a ghost. They called it medicine.  I reject you before all of them. You are nothing that was ever mine.  I felt the bond snap in that cell and   I was grateful for the emptiness. I will not survive that twice scrap.

So we bury it.  12 years the training stripped from me. Comfort, softness. Women were distractions and distractions got men killed. Then I smelled her over a broken body in the dirt. Claiming a mate is a vulnerability and vulnerabilities are weapons in an enemy’s hands. So I claimed the dog, through the dog, her.

 A riddle no one would read but me. My wolf said go in, claim her. She is ours. I said she is afraid. She has been broken by men like us. I was built to destroy things, not build them. I did not know how to be gentle. But the dog knew. He did it by showing up, by staying. That dog, scrap, his jaws crooked, but his teeth are sharp where it counts.

Good.  Not out of kindness, girl.   You know my systems. Keep the dog out from underfoot. Though, Scrap can have the trim. Nora. They say you were tied to a tree and that disgusting animal chewed you loose. They say the alpha keeps you in his camp. Please leave us alone, Marissa. You dare?  The omega is under the alpha’s protection. Walk away.

 They can’t have what’s yours, not anymore. Good Scrap. Good boy. He is our mate, Nora. No. The moon goddess wouldn’t be that cruel. I won’t survive another rejection. You didn’t mate me, Scrap. You just came.  You went to the omega’s tent. The warriors are drawing conclusions. Let them. I’m aware of the risks.

Conclusions that could be used against you. I know.  You spoke for the Alpha. That’s punishable, Omega. Hold the mutt. Let go of my dog. You own nothing, Omega. You are nothing. If you don’t let go of me, I will scream and everyone in this camp will hear it, including the Alpha. You think he’ll protect you forever? When he’s done, he’ll throw you away and I will be there to watch.

Carrick never left me anything but pain,   not once. He sees you.  The Titan pack is no more. This is not a conquest. It is a correction. Your former leadership left you undefended. They let rogues multiply at your borders.   They fed their own comfort while their warriors grew soft and their Omegas were treated as less than wolves.

 Under my rule, every wolf serves a purpose and every wolf that serves is protected. Rank is not a birthright. Strength is not who you dominate. It is what you defend. One month ago, I watched a pack tie one of their own to a tree as an offering. They called her worthless. They were wrong.

 The wolves who left her at that tree are stripped of rank and the Omega is under my direct protection. Anyone who harms her answers to me, personally.  He has always seen you.  You spoke about the dog like a man speaks about a mirror. She is my mate. Does she know? She suspects. Whoever Carrick was, he didn’t reject her.

He dismantled her. She carries that in every breath. I have killed men for less than what that alpha did to her. The bond will be discovered. Marissa wants to be your chosen. Then watch her. If they move against the omega, I want to know before they act. A political mate from the conquered leadership would cement the transition.

It’s the rational move. My wolf has chosen. And wolves do not unchoose. The alphas called a gathering tonight. Bring the dog. Bring Scrap.  You hurt my dog.  It’s just a mutt.  He is under the alpha’s protection. So am I.   Who did this?  Marissa’s people. The alpha will hear about this.

 No. I will handle it. Marissa isn’t her mother. She’s smarter. She’ll make it look like your fault. Be careful. Scrap’s leg heals in 3 weeks if he stays off it. I’ll be Scrap. You stood between me and an army. The least I can do is stand between you and a girl with a grudge. You don’t have permission to be in my tent, Omega.

You didn’t have permission to break my dog’s leg.   I know what you’re doing, and you’re afraid of me. If you touch Scrap again, or anyone you know touches him, I won’t go to the Alpha. I’ll come to you. And I’ll tell the whole pack what you did. I’m not your enemy, Marissa. I don’t want the Alpha’s position or your mother’s influence.

 I want to be left alone with my dog. But you’re afraid of me, and that’s the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me. There you are. I’ve been waiting for you.  The bones knitted whatever kept your wolf suppressed. If Joy had healed you at full strength, she’d have fused your ribs to your sternum.

 The moon bound saved you backwards. The things built to break me keep finding ways to keep me alive. Don’t thank me. Thank the ridge on your fourth and fifth ribs. It’ll ache in cold weather the rest of your life.  You went to her tent.  She broke my dog’s leg.  I know. I was going to act.

 Then I saw you walk toward her tent, and I wanted to see what you’d do. I stood here and watched you not need me. You walked into a predator’s tent with nothing but your voice and made her afraid.  That is not weakness. I was terrified.  Courage requires terror. Without it, you’re just following orders. I was built to destroy things, not build them.

I did not know how to be gentle. But the dog knew. He did it by showing up. By staying. Maybe he’d been teaching me since the clearing and I was too armored to listen.  Dried meat for scrap. Rags for my arm. Shoes too large, but better than rag-wrapped feet. And once, comb with three teeth missing left on my blanket like a secret.

It took an hour. Two more teeth broke. It was not vanity. I’d been called ugly too long for that. It was maintenance. Taking care of a thing because someone implied it was worth taking care of.  Sit. You are not alone anymore, Nora. You confronted Marisa three nights ago.  Why do you care what happens to me?  For scrap.

A collar marks him as owned. No wolf touches another wolf’s property.  You made this. Thank you, Alpha. This is really beautiful.  Corvin. When we are alone, it is just Corvin. I braided a collar for her dog because I could not braid one for her. How do you tell a woman the moon goddess chose you when every choice the world made for her was a punishment? The truth, stripped of every justification, I was afraid.

 Afraid the word mate would land on her the way a fist lands because every man who used it before me used it as a weapon.  Marisa has four of the six Titan elders and she’s spreading a rumor that the omega bewitched you.  Then we give Nora a role they can’t challenge, keeper of the den. She answers only to the alpha. The elders will resist.

And does she agree to this? I’ll ask her. That would be a first. It is not a command. It is a question. You can say no.  Why me?  Because you combed your hair. Something in you decided you were worth the effort. That is why. Because you are starting to believe what I already know.  Yes, I’ll be your keeper.

 Just don’t let go of my hand.  Never.  Scrap, no. That’s the alpha’s grip.  You resurrected a dead custom to protect a cursed omega. If your daughter approaches the omega again,   I will consider it a challenge. Do you understand what I mean by accordingly? Your dog is on my bed.  I tried to stop him.

 I doubt that. Nora. Good night, Nora.  Good night, Corvin. Three heartbeats. Mine quick and unsteady. Scrap’s slow and deep. And Corvin’s steady as a drum, singing like a wire pulled taut.   He is ours, Nora. Stop running.  Nora, what is wrong?  You are my mate. I’ve known since the clearing.

I hid it because I was afraid you’d reject me like Carrick did, and I would not survive it a second time.  I have known since the clearing. My wolf screamed your name, and I silenced him because I was afraid, too, of being another alpha who destroys his mate. I braided a collar for your dog because I could not  Because you couldn’t braid one for me.

 I will never reject you. I will never use this bond as a weapon. And if I fail, Scrap has my permission to bite me. Nora Archer, I accept you as my mate. I choose you.  I choose you, too. I’m terrified, but I choose you.  I am going to regret giving you that collar. Marissa will present the right of claim. I will let her present it.

Then I reveal the bond has existed since the day I arrived.  You want to let her dig her own grave.  I want every wolf to see her claim a mated alpha. The bond is proof the moon goddess chose Nora. The risk is the omega. Every eye on her at once. You want me to stand in front of the whole pack.

 If you say no, we find another way.  I stood in Marissa’s tent with nothing but my voice. I can stand beside you. Just don’t let go of my hand.  Never.  The elders will hear you at the moon gathering. Invoke the right of claim. He cannot refuse without refusing tradition itself.  Marissa, daughter of Teresa. You have requested the right of claim.

Speak.  I invoke the right of claim. I petition for the position of your mate. Elder Thomas, you found my case worthy. Confirm it before the full pack.  The right of claim is denied. Not by my decision, but by the Moon Goddess herself. Nora Archer is my true mate. Let’s go home.  Yes. Let’s go home.

It started with a man who didn’t know how to say what he felt. So, he braided something for a dog instead. Marissa found her true mate in the south. I hope she’s happy. It took me months to mean it. But, I do. Ronan still terrifies me slightly. Last month, he left a deer bone on the doorstep for Scrap.

 And when I thanked him, he grunted and walked away. From Ronan, that is love. Darius found his mate 4 months on, a Titan she-wolf half his size and twice his volume, who argues with him about everything. Corbin calls their tent a tactical liability. I’ve seen him smile when he says it. Faelan still patrols past the garden twice a day.

 I leave a cup of tea on the wall each morning. He has never once acknowledged it. The cup is always empty when I collect it. Zara became my closest friend, though she’d deny the word. She taught me herbs, that the hands that scrubbed floors and took whips could also mend wounds and coax life from soil. Some mornings he reaches over and his hand on my hip, not moving, as if confirming the thing he built did not collapse in the night.

 I keep my eyes closed and let him. Joy came back, the way dawn comes, in increments so small I didn’t notice until the light was everywhere. This man is real. This life is real. I am allowed to have this. I am still learning that. We didn’t need luxury. We just needed room to breathe. We didn’t think we’d make it this far. But here we are, building something real.

Her Pack Offered Her to the Beast… But He Refused to Let Her Go

Don’t tell anyone I’m nice to you, scrap. It’ll ruin us both.  The Spartan army crosses our border by midday. They take one offering or they take us all. Who do you all suggest we offer?  You could pick anyone.  That’s why it’s you. No one will miss you.  She would finally be useful for something in this village.

 The Spartans will be here by midday. If they take you, they might spare the rest of us.  I survived Carrick’s whip. I survived 5 years of moon bound. I’m not nothing.  You were dead weight anyway.  Omegas don’t have voices, sir. Only duties. Today my duty was to die so they could live.

Scrap, you stupid stubborn dog, you should have run.   Shall I kill the mongrel?  No.   Mate.  She fed him. I will let you live. But you will belong to the beast that saved you and the master who owns him.  The alpha didn’t look at me with pity. He looked at me with recognition.

  You should have run, Scrap.   Ribs shattered in four places. Move wrong and one punctures a lung and you drown. So, don’t. Drink all of it. Why does he want me alive? Not my concern. Drink and keep that mongrel from biting anyone else. Scrap took a chunk out of Ronan’s hand. Scrap.

Because I can count every one of your bones. And because scraps are what started this.  You are healing.  Yes, Alpha Corvin.  Your pack left you to die. And this animal chose you over his own safety.  He’s just a dog. He doesn’t know any better.  Loyalty like that is not ignorance. It is the rarest thing in this world.

And it does not come from nowhere. You will remain in my camp. You will not be assigned to anyone. Scrap stays with you. If anyone touches either of you, they answer to me.  Why?  I have never seen a stray stand over a dying girl and dare an army to come closer. You must be worth something.

 Five years of moon bound scrap. Injections that caged my wolf until joy was a ghost. They called it medicine.  I reject you before all of them. You are nothing that was ever mine.  I felt the bond snap in that cell and   I was grateful for the emptiness. I will not survive that twice scrap.

So we bury it.  12 years the training stripped from me. Comfort, softness. Women were distractions and distractions got men killed. Then I smelled her over a broken body in the dirt. Claiming a mate is a vulnerability and vulnerabilities are weapons in an enemy’s hands. So I claimed the dog, through the dog, her.

 A riddle no one would read but me. My wolf said go in, claim her. She is ours. I said she is afraid. She has been broken by men like us. I was built to destroy things, not build them. I did not know how to be gentle. But the dog knew. He did it by showing up, by staying. That dog, scrap, his jaws crooked, but his teeth are sharp where it counts.

Good.  Not out of kindness, girl.   You know my systems. Keep the dog out from underfoot. Though, Scrap can have the trim. Nora. They say you were tied to a tree and that disgusting animal chewed you loose. They say the alpha keeps you in his camp. Please leave us alone, Marissa. You dare?  The omega is under the alpha’s protection. Walk away.

 They can’t have what’s yours, not anymore. Good Scrap. Good boy. He is our mate, Nora. No. The moon goddess wouldn’t be that cruel. I won’t survive another rejection. You didn’t mate me, Scrap. You just came.  You went to the omega’s tent. The warriors are drawing conclusions. Let them. I’m aware of the risks.

Conclusions that could be used against you. I know.  You spoke for the Alpha. That’s punishable, Omega. Hold the mutt. Let go of my dog. You own nothing, Omega. You are nothing. If you don’t let go of me, I will scream and everyone in this camp will hear it, including the Alpha. You think he’ll protect you forever? When he’s done, he’ll throw you away and I will be there to watch.

Carrick never left me anything but pain,   not once. He sees you.  The Titan pack is no more. This is not a conquest. It is a correction. Your former leadership left you undefended. They let rogues multiply at your borders.   They fed their own comfort while their warriors grew soft and their Omegas were treated as less than wolves.

 Under my rule, every wolf serves a purpose and every wolf that serves is protected. Rank is not a birthright. Strength is not who you dominate. It is what you defend. One month ago, I watched a pack tie one of their own to a tree as an offering. They called her worthless. They were wrong.

 The wolves who left her at that tree are stripped of rank and the Omega is under my direct protection. Anyone who harms her answers to me, personally.  He has always seen you.  You spoke about the dog like a man speaks about a mirror. She is my mate. Does she know? She suspects. Whoever Carrick was, he didn’t reject her.

He dismantled her. She carries that in every breath. I have killed men for less than what that alpha did to her. The bond will be discovered. Marissa wants to be your chosen. Then watch her. If they move against the omega, I want to know before they act. A political mate from the conquered leadership would cement the transition.

It’s the rational move. My wolf has chosen. And wolves do not unchoose. The alphas called a gathering tonight. Bring the dog. Bring Scrap.  You hurt my dog.  It’s just a mutt.  He is under the alpha’s protection. So am I.   Who did this?  Marissa’s people. The alpha will hear about this.

 No. I will handle it. Marissa isn’t her mother. She’s smarter. She’ll make it look like your fault. Be careful. Scrap’s leg heals in 3 weeks if he stays off it. I’ll be Scrap. You stood between me and an army. The least I can do is stand between you and a girl with a grudge. You don’t have permission to be in my tent, Omega.

You didn’t have permission to break my dog’s leg.   I know what you’re doing, and you’re afraid of me. If you touch Scrap again, or anyone you know touches him, I won’t go to the Alpha. I’ll come to you. And I’ll tell the whole pack what you did. I’m not your enemy, Marissa. I don’t want the Alpha’s position or your mother’s influence.

 I want to be left alone with my dog. But you’re afraid of me, and that’s the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me. There you are. I’ve been waiting for you.  The bones knitted whatever kept your wolf suppressed. If Joy had healed you at full strength, she’d have fused your ribs to your sternum.

 The moon bound saved you backwards. The things built to break me keep finding ways to keep me alive. Don’t thank me. Thank the ridge on your fourth and fifth ribs. It’ll ache in cold weather the rest of your life.  You went to her tent.  She broke my dog’s leg.  I know. I was going to act.

 Then I saw you walk toward her tent, and I wanted to see what you’d do. I stood here and watched you not need me. You walked into a predator’s tent with nothing but your voice and made her afraid.  That is not weakness. I was terrified.  Courage requires terror. Without it, you’re just following orders. I was built to destroy things, not build them.

I did not know how to be gentle. But the dog knew. He did it by showing up. By staying. Maybe he’d been teaching me since the clearing and I was too armored to listen.  Dried meat for scrap. Rags for my arm. Shoes too large, but better than rag-wrapped feet. And once, comb with three teeth missing left on my blanket like a secret.

It took an hour. Two more teeth broke. It was not vanity. I’d been called ugly too long for that. It was maintenance. Taking care of a thing because someone implied it was worth taking care of.  Sit. You are not alone anymore, Nora. You confronted Marisa three nights ago.  Why do you care what happens to me?  For scrap.

A collar marks him as owned. No wolf touches another wolf’s property.  You made this. Thank you, Alpha. This is really beautiful.  Corvin. When we are alone, it is just Corvin. I braided a collar for her dog because I could not braid one for her. How do you tell a woman the moon goddess chose you when every choice the world made for her was a punishment? The truth, stripped of every justification, I was afraid.

 Afraid the word mate would land on her the way a fist lands because every man who used it before me used it as a weapon.  Marisa has four of the six Titan elders and she’s spreading a rumor that the omega bewitched you.  Then we give Nora a role they can’t challenge, keeper of the den. She answers only to the alpha. The elders will resist.

And does she agree to this? I’ll ask her. That would be a first. It is not a command. It is a question. You can say no.  Why me?  Because you combed your hair. Something in you decided you were worth the effort. That is why. Because you are starting to believe what I already know.  Yes, I’ll be your keeper.

 Just don’t let go of my hand.  Never.  Scrap, no. That’s the alpha’s grip.  You resurrected a dead custom to protect a cursed omega. If your daughter approaches the omega again,   I will consider it a challenge. Do you understand what I mean by accordingly? Your dog is on my bed.  I tried to stop him.

 I doubt that. Nora. Good night, Nora.  Good night, Corvin. Three heartbeats. Mine quick and unsteady. Scrap’s slow and deep. And Corvin’s steady as a drum, singing like a wire pulled taut.   He is ours, Nora. Stop running.  Nora, what is wrong?  You are my mate. I’ve known since the clearing.

I hid it because I was afraid you’d reject me like Carrick did, and I would not survive it a second time.  I have known since the clearing. My wolf screamed your name, and I silenced him because I was afraid, too, of being another alpha who destroys his mate. I braided a collar for your dog because I could not  Because you couldn’t braid one for me.

 I will never reject you. I will never use this bond as a weapon. And if I fail, Scrap has my permission to bite me. Nora Archer, I accept you as my mate. I choose you.  I choose you, too. I’m terrified, but I choose you.  I am going to regret giving you that collar. Marissa will present the right of claim. I will let her present it.

Then I reveal the bond has existed since the day I arrived.  You want to let her dig her own grave.  I want every wolf to see her claim a mated alpha. The bond is proof the moon goddess chose Nora. The risk is the omega. Every eye on her at once. You want me to stand in front of the whole pack.

 If you say no, we find another way.  I stood in Marissa’s tent with nothing but my voice. I can stand beside you. Just don’t let go of my hand.  Never.  The elders will hear you at the moon gathering. Invoke the right of claim. He cannot refuse without refusing tradition itself.  Marissa, daughter of Teresa. You have requested the right of claim.

Speak.  I invoke the right of claim. I petition for the position of your mate. Elder Thomas, you found my case worthy. Confirm it before the full pack.  The right of claim is denied. Not by my decision, but by the Moon Goddess herself. Nora Archer is my true mate. Let’s go home.  Yes. Let’s go home.

It started with a man who didn’t know how to say what he felt. So, he braided something for a dog instead. Marissa found her true mate in the south. I hope she’s happy. It took me months to mean it. But, I do. Ronan still terrifies me slightly. Last month, he left a deer bone on the doorstep for Scrap.

 And when I thanked him, he grunted and walked away. From Ronan, that is love. Darius found his mate 4 months on, a Titan she-wolf half his size and twice his volume, who argues with him about everything. Corbin calls their tent a tactical liability. I’ve seen him smile when he says it. Faelan still patrols past the garden twice a day.

 I leave a cup of tea on the wall each morning. He has never once acknowledged it. The cup is always empty when I collect it. Zara became my closest friend, though she’d deny the word. She taught me herbs, that the hands that scrubbed floors and took whips could also mend wounds and coax life from soil. Some mornings he reaches over and his hand on my hip, not moving, as if confirming the thing he built did not collapse in the night.

 I keep my eyes closed and let him. Joy came back, the way dawn comes, in increments so small I didn’t notice until the light was everywhere. This man is real. This life is real. I am allowed to have this. I am still learning that. We didn’t need luxury. We just needed room to breathe. We didn’t think we’d make it this far. But here we are, building something real.

Her Pack Offered Her to the Beast… But He Refused to Let Her Go

Don’t tell anyone I’m nice to you, scrap. It’ll ruin us both.  The Spartan army crosses our border by midday. They take one offering or they take us all. Who do you all suggest we offer?  You could pick anyone.  That’s why it’s you. No one will miss you.  She would finally be useful for something in this village.

 The Spartans will be here by midday. If they take you, they might spare the rest of us.  I survived Carrick’s whip. I survived 5 years of moon bound. I’m not nothing.  You were dead weight anyway.  Omegas don’t have voices, sir. Only duties. Today my duty was to die so they could live.

Scrap, you stupid stubborn dog, you should have run.   Shall I kill the mongrel?  No.   Mate.  She fed him. I will let you live. But you will belong to the beast that saved you and the master who owns him.  The alpha didn’t look at me with pity. He looked at me with recognition.

  You should have run, Scrap.   Ribs shattered in four places. Move wrong and one punctures a lung and you drown. So, don’t. Drink all of it. Why does he want me alive? Not my concern. Drink and keep that mongrel from biting anyone else. Scrap took a chunk out of Ronan’s hand. Scrap.

Because I can count every one of your bones. And because scraps are what started this.  You are healing.  Yes, Alpha Corvin.  Your pack left you to die. And this animal chose you over his own safety.  He’s just a dog. He doesn’t know any better.  Loyalty like that is not ignorance. It is the rarest thing in this world.

And it does not come from nowhere. You will remain in my camp. You will not be assigned to anyone. Scrap stays with you. If anyone touches either of you, they answer to me.  Why?  I have never seen a stray stand over a dying girl and dare an army to come closer. You must be worth something.

 Five years of moon bound scrap. Injections that caged my wolf until joy was a ghost. They called it medicine.  I reject you before all of them. You are nothing that was ever mine.  I felt the bond snap in that cell and   I was grateful for the emptiness. I will not survive that twice scrap.

So we bury it.  12 years the training stripped from me. Comfort, softness. Women were distractions and distractions got men killed. Then I smelled her over a broken body in the dirt. Claiming a mate is a vulnerability and vulnerabilities are weapons in an enemy’s hands. So I claimed the dog, through the dog, her.

 A riddle no one would read but me. My wolf said go in, claim her. She is ours. I said she is afraid. She has been broken by men like us. I was built to destroy things, not build them. I did not know how to be gentle. But the dog knew. He did it by showing up, by staying. That dog, scrap, his jaws crooked, but his teeth are sharp where it counts.

Good.  Not out of kindness, girl.   You know my systems. Keep the dog out from underfoot. Though, Scrap can have the trim. Nora. They say you were tied to a tree and that disgusting animal chewed you loose. They say the alpha keeps you in his camp. Please leave us alone, Marissa. You dare?  The omega is under the alpha’s protection. Walk away.

 They can’t have what’s yours, not anymore. Good Scrap. Good boy. He is our mate, Nora. No. The moon goddess wouldn’t be that cruel. I won’t survive another rejection. You didn’t mate me, Scrap. You just came.  You went to the omega’s tent. The warriors are drawing conclusions. Let them. I’m aware of the risks.

Conclusions that could be used against you. I know.  You spoke for the Alpha. That’s punishable, Omega. Hold the mutt. Let go of my dog. You own nothing, Omega. You are nothing. If you don’t let go of me, I will scream and everyone in this camp will hear it, including the Alpha. You think he’ll protect you forever? When he’s done, he’ll throw you away and I will be there to watch.

Carrick never left me anything but pain,   not once. He sees you.  The Titan pack is no more. This is not a conquest. It is a correction. Your former leadership left you undefended. They let rogues multiply at your borders.   They fed their own comfort while their warriors grew soft and their Omegas were treated as less than wolves.

 Under my rule, every wolf serves a purpose and every wolf that serves is protected. Rank is not a birthright. Strength is not who you dominate. It is what you defend. One month ago, I watched a pack tie one of their own to a tree as an offering. They called her worthless. They were wrong.

 The wolves who left her at that tree are stripped of rank and the Omega is under my direct protection. Anyone who harms her answers to me, personally.  He has always seen you.  You spoke about the dog like a man speaks about a mirror. She is my mate. Does she know? She suspects. Whoever Carrick was, he didn’t reject her.

He dismantled her. She carries that in every breath. I have killed men for less than what that alpha did to her. The bond will be discovered. Marissa wants to be your chosen. Then watch her. If they move against the omega, I want to know before they act. A political mate from the conquered leadership would cement the transition.

It’s the rational move. My wolf has chosen. And wolves do not unchoose. The alphas called a gathering tonight. Bring the dog. Bring Scrap.  You hurt my dog.  It’s just a mutt.  He is under the alpha’s protection. So am I.   Who did this?  Marissa’s people. The alpha will hear about this.

 No. I will handle it. Marissa isn’t her mother. She’s smarter. She’ll make it look like your fault. Be careful. Scrap’s leg heals in 3 weeks if he stays off it. I’ll be Scrap. You stood between me and an army. The least I can do is stand between you and a girl with a grudge. You don’t have permission to be in my tent, Omega.

You didn’t have permission to break my dog’s leg.   I know what you’re doing, and you’re afraid of me. If you touch Scrap again, or anyone you know touches him, I won’t go to the Alpha. I’ll come to you. And I’ll tell the whole pack what you did. I’m not your enemy, Marissa. I don’t want the Alpha’s position or your mother’s influence.

 I want to be left alone with my dog. But you’re afraid of me, and that’s the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me. There you are. I’ve been waiting for you.  The bones knitted whatever kept your wolf suppressed. If Joy had healed you at full strength, she’d have fused your ribs to your sternum.

 The moon bound saved you backwards. The things built to break me keep finding ways to keep me alive. Don’t thank me. Thank the ridge on your fourth and fifth ribs. It’ll ache in cold weather the rest of your life.  You went to her tent.  She broke my dog’s leg.  I know. I was going to act.

 Then I saw you walk toward her tent, and I wanted to see what you’d do. I stood here and watched you not need me. You walked into a predator’s tent with nothing but your voice and made her afraid.  That is not weakness. I was terrified.  Courage requires terror. Without it, you’re just following orders. I was built to destroy things, not build them.

I did not know how to be gentle. But the dog knew. He did it by showing up. By staying. Maybe he’d been teaching me since the clearing and I was too armored to listen.  Dried meat for scrap. Rags for my arm. Shoes too large, but better than rag-wrapped feet. And once, comb with three teeth missing left on my blanket like a secret.

It took an hour. Two more teeth broke. It was not vanity. I’d been called ugly too long for that. It was maintenance. Taking care of a thing because someone implied it was worth taking care of.  Sit. You are not alone anymore, Nora. You confronted Marisa three nights ago.  Why do you care what happens to me?  For scrap.

A collar marks him as owned. No wolf touches another wolf’s property.  You made this. Thank you, Alpha. This is really beautiful.  Corvin. When we are alone, it is just Corvin. I braided a collar for her dog because I could not braid one for her. How do you tell a woman the moon goddess chose you when every choice the world made for her was a punishment? The truth, stripped of every justification, I was afraid.

 Afraid the word mate would land on her the way a fist lands because every man who used it before me used it as a weapon.  Marisa has four of the six Titan elders and she’s spreading a rumor that the omega bewitched you.  Then we give Nora a role they can’t challenge, keeper of the den. She answers only to the alpha. The elders will resist.

And does she agree to this? I’ll ask her. That would be a first. It is not a command. It is a question. You can say no.  Why me?  Because you combed your hair. Something in you decided you were worth the effort. That is why. Because you are starting to believe what I already know.  Yes, I’ll be your keeper.

 Just don’t let go of my hand.  Never.  Scrap, no. That’s the alpha’s grip.  You resurrected a dead custom to protect a cursed omega. If your daughter approaches the omega again,   I will consider it a challenge. Do you understand what I mean by accordingly? Your dog is on my bed.  I tried to stop him.

 I doubt that. Nora. Good night, Nora.  Good night, Corvin. Three heartbeats. Mine quick and unsteady. Scrap’s slow and deep. And Corvin’s steady as a drum, singing like a wire pulled taut.   He is ours, Nora. Stop running.  Nora, what is wrong?  You are my mate. I’ve known since the clearing.

I hid it because I was afraid you’d reject me like Carrick did, and I would not survive it a second time.  I have known since the clearing. My wolf screamed your name, and I silenced him because I was afraid, too, of being another alpha who destroys his mate. I braided a collar for your dog because I could not  Because you couldn’t braid one for me.

 I will never reject you. I will never use this bond as a weapon. And if I fail, Scrap has my permission to bite me. Nora Archer, I accept you as my mate. I choose you.  I choose you, too. I’m terrified, but I choose you.  I am going to regret giving you that collar. Marissa will present the right of claim. I will let her present it.

Then I reveal the bond has existed since the day I arrived.  You want to let her dig her own grave.  I want every wolf to see her claim a mated alpha. The bond is proof the moon goddess chose Nora. The risk is the omega. Every eye on her at once. You want me to stand in front of the whole pack.

 If you say no, we find another way.  I stood in Marissa’s tent with nothing but my voice. I can stand beside you. Just don’t let go of my hand.  Never.  The elders will hear you at the moon gathering. Invoke the right of claim. He cannot refuse without refusing tradition itself.  Marissa, daughter of Teresa. You have requested the right of claim.

Speak.  I invoke the right of claim. I petition for the position of your mate. Elder Thomas, you found my case worthy. Confirm it before the full pack.  The right of claim is denied. Not by my decision, but by the Moon Goddess herself. Nora Archer is my true mate. Let’s go home.  Yes. Let’s go home.

It started with a man who didn’t know how to say what he felt. So, he braided something for a dog instead. Marissa found her true mate in the south. I hope she’s happy. It took me months to mean it. But, I do. Ronan still terrifies me slightly. Last month, he left a deer bone on the doorstep for Scrap.

 And when I thanked him, he grunted and walked away. From Ronan, that is love. Darius found his mate 4 months on, a Titan she-wolf half his size and twice his volume, who argues with him about everything. Corbin calls their tent a tactical liability. I’ve seen him smile when he says it. Faelan still patrols past the garden twice a day.

 I leave a cup of tea on the wall each morning. He has never once acknowledged it. The cup is always empty when I collect it. Zara became my closest friend, though she’d deny the word. She taught me herbs, that the hands that scrubbed floors and took whips could also mend wounds and coax life from soil. Some mornings he reaches over and his hand on my hip, not moving, as if confirming the thing he built did not collapse in the night.

 I keep my eyes closed and let him. Joy came back, the way dawn comes, in increments so small I didn’t notice until the light was everywhere. This man is real. This life is real. I am allowed to have this. I am still learning that. We didn’t need luxury. We just needed room to breathe. We didn’t think we’d make it this far. But here we are, building something real.