The wife he gave away

Untitled EpisodeChapter23

He saw it!

The greatest advantage a person could ever have was not strength. It was perception.

People feared strength because they could see it. They prepared for it. They defended themselves against it. But perception? Perception was different. People rarely noticed the person studying them until it was already too late.

That was why I smiled as Dominic rode beside me through the forest road leading toward the border.

The morning air was cool, and the path ahead stretched between ancient trees that had stood longer than most wolves in either pack. The journey should have been peaceful. Birds moved through the branches overhead. Sunlight slipped through the leaves in long golden streams. Everything around us seemed calm.

Dominic, however, looked like a man walking toward his execution.

I had been watching him for nearly an hour. The tightness in his jaw. The way his eyes constantly moved. The way he kept checking behind us as though expecting someone to suddenly emerge from the trees.

Eventually, I grew tired of watching him suffer in silence.

"You've barely spoken since we left," I said, glancing toward him.

Dominic forced a smile that disappeared almost immediately. "I'm thinking."

"Clearly."

His horse continued forward while he stared at the road.

Then he finally sighed. "I don't like this."

I almost laughed. "You're going to have to be more specific."

His eyes shifted toward me. "This mission."

His voice lowered. "The Alpha."

There it was… the real problem, not the mission… not the border.

Alpha Alaric.

I had known that was where his thoughts would eventually lead.

Dominic looked away again before speaking. "I think he knows."

I raised an eyebrow. "Knows what?"

His expression darkened. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Pretend you don't understand what I mean."

I smiled, although it only seemed to irritate him further.

"He knows something," he continued. "Maybe not everything. But something."

I remained silent. That encouraged him to keep talking.

"The questions he's been asking."

His hands tightened on the reins.

"The way he's been looking at me."

He shook his head.

"You don't know him the way I do."

That finally made me laugh softly.

"No?"

"No."

His answer came immediately. "You see a husband."

His eyes narrowed. "I see an Alpha, only who has lived all his life knowing only what it means to be ruthless."

The distinction clearly mattered to him.

"Alaric looks calm all the time," Dominic continued. "That's what makes him even more dangerous."

His voice became quieter.

"He never raises his voice unless he absolutely has to. He never reacts when people expect him to. He knows more than he says."

I let him finish. Then I asked calmly, "And what exactly makes you think he knows about us?"

Dominic hesitated.

That hesitation told me he didn't actually have evidence. Only fear.

"Because this doesn't make sense."

He gestured around us.

"This mission. This assignment."

His frustration became more obvious with every word.

"It's unheard of."

I tilted my head. "What is unheard of?"

"An Alpha sending his own Luna on a mission this dangerous."

His eyes fixed on mine. "Alaric protects what's truly his."

I almost smiled again… almost.

"Then perhaps he trusts me."

Dominic stared at me like I'd said something ridiculous.

"You actually believe that?"

"I believe many things."

He groaned. "You aren't taking this seriously, Valeria."

I looked ahead toward the distant mountains.

He was wrong. I was taking it far more seriously than he realized. That was precisely why I wasn't afraid.

A few minutes passed before I finally spoke again.

"You worry too much."

Dominic gave me a look that suggested he disagreed.

"I worry exactly enough."

"No."

I smiled. "You worry because you only see the next step."

That caught his attention. "What does that mean?"

Instead of answering, I guided my horse toward a small clearing beside the road. Dominic followed reluctantly. The moment we stopped, he looked at me with visible confusion.

"What are you doing?"

I stepped down from my horse. "Showing you something."

His frown deepened. "What?"

I looked around briefly to ensure we were alone. Then I closed my eyes.

The ancient power answered immediately. I felt it moving beneath my skin. I felt it responding to my call.

The air around us changed. The wind stopped. The forest became unnaturally silent.

When I opened my eyes again, Dominic took a step backward. The color had drained from his face.

"Valeria..."

I didn't respond. The shadows beneath the trees had begun moving. Not naturally. Not with the wind. They stretched toward me. Twisting. Gathering. Obeying.

Dominic looked horrified.

I understood why.

Every child in our world grew up hearing stories about abilities like this. Ancient abilities. Forbidden abilities. Powers that belonged to old bloodlines people preferred not to discuss.

After several seconds, I released the power. The shadows retreated immediately. The forest returned to normal. Birds resumed singing. The wind returned.

Everything looked ordinary again… except Dominic. He looked terrified.

"What are you thinking?" he demanded. His voice was almost a whisper.

"Do you have any idea what happens if Alaric finds out you have the curse?"

I climbed back onto my horse. "I imagine he'd be upset."

"Upset?"

Dominic nearly laughed. "Upset?"

He stared at me in disbelief.

"That's a taboo."

His voice dropped lower.

"If the council discovers that ability, they'll demand your execution. No one will be able to speak for you. Death shall be your profit, Valeria."

I adjusted the reins calmly. "They won't discover it."

"You don't know that."

"I do."

"No."

He shook his head. "You don't."

The fear in his eyes had become genuine now. It was not fear for himself, but for me. That would've been touching if it wasn't so unnecessary.

I guided my horse back onto the road. Dominic followed after a moment. For a while, neither of us spoke. Then he finally asked the question I knew was coming.

"What exactly is your plan?"

I smiled… the same smile that always made people nervous. The same smile that usually appeared when I already knew something they didn't.

"What plan?"

"Valeria."

His tone carried warning.

"Don't do that."

I laughed softly. The sound echoed through the trees. Then I looked at him… really looked at him.

Poor Dominic… still trying to understand a game that had started long before he entered it… still trying to see the board while focusing on a single piece.

"Time will reveal," I told him.

His expression tightened immediately.

"What does that mean?"

I smiled wider. Then I turned my horse toward the road ahead.

"Just know that I am always steps ahead. There is a reason I am the Alpha's Luna."