Marked for Betrayal, Born for Vengeance

Chapter 5

For two hours under the unrelenting autumn sun, Eira and I waited outside the grand gates of the Conclave Palace unnoticed, unmoving, rooted to the spot.

By noon, the heat was relentless, baking the stone of the plaza.

Eira fretted, shifting anxiously beside me. "Lycan Erasmus might not even see you, Arcelia. You haven't eaten a proper meal since last night. Please, let me fetch you some water or bread from the market."

"I'm not hungry," I said, my resolve hard as flint. My mind was singularly focused: secure the mutual rejection decree and return to my home, the Hearthstone ruins.

"Perhaps we should just leave?" Eira suggested hesitantly, sensing the futility of our wait.

I turned to her, my voice sharp and cold. "Eira, if you ever utter such spineless words again, I will leave you behind to fend for yourself."

Eira didn't argue further, recognizing the iron will beneath my words. I wasn't angry at her Eira, an Omega raised in the gentle world of the Hearthstone Clan, still held an innocence that was long gone from me. But I, as Alpha-born, had to stand my ground against the highest power in the shifter world.

Outside the palace, time stretched, thick and suffocating.

Finally, the immense, silver-inlaid doors began to grind open. Fabian, Lycan Erasmus's Beta, emerged, his crimson cape sweeping down the steps.

"Arcelia," he announced, his voice carrying clearly across the plaza. "Lycan Erasmus will see you now."

Relief, sharp and unexpected, washed through me. I nodded my thanks and followed him in.

The obsidian tiles inside the palace carried faint, lingering hints of the King's own dragon's breath pheromones, an intense scent that had a chilling, metallic edge. Every step felt like walking on a cracking sheet of ice.

I stared at the intricate patterns under Fabian's cape, my pulse pounding a frantic rhythm in my throat as my wolf clawed at my consciousness, straining desperately against the invisible, overwhelming aura emanating from the throne room.

The scent of cedar that once clung to my father's Alpha armor now hit my nape with the paralyzing cold of a glacier.

I knelt before Lycan Erasmus, my head bowed low, respectful yet tense. My gaze fell upon the shattered moonstone patterns on the floor. A bronze candelabra sparked as Erasmus's massive, snow-leopard boots crushed wolf-shaped reliefs beneath him, grinding my shadow's head into dust.

"Speak on your feet," His voice boomed like colliding glaciers, sending a fine dust cascading from the high rafters.

Straining, I pressed my hands to the throbbing veins in my neck and bowed properly again. "Lycan Erasmus, I am deeply sorry to intrude, but I beg your mercy."

The golden-trimmed throne creaked in protest. A powerful surge of white musk, the King's true scent hit the air.

My knees slammed the stone floor, my shoulder blades groaning under the crushing, unseen pressure of his aura. Through blurred vision, I saw my broken fingernails digging agonizingly into my palms.

"Arcelia," Erasmus said, his voice as unyielding as it had been three years ago, when he ordered the purge in the Sunstone Canyon. "I have already declared my orders to all Alphas. I cannot rescind the decree."

Straining against the suffocating aura, I lifted my chin just enough to meet his gaze.

His dark-gold, slit pupils narrowed, and an aurora-like energy swirled deep within his eyes the legendary "Sky's Eye" that was rumored to have once vaporized an entire Northern Bear Pack.

"I am not asking you to rescind your decree," I said, every word a fight for breath and control. "I am asking for a new permission to reject my mating bond with Alpha Lycanus."

My split canines tore through my lower lip, and the warm taste of my own blood filled my mouth.

"Rejection? You want to reject Lycanus?" Lycan Erasmus's tone was finally laced with genuine surprise.

I held back the well of tears that threatened to overwhelm me. "Lycan Erasmus, Alpha Lycanus and Rhyon used their battle merits to ask for your permission to form a mating bond. Today marks the anniversary of my father and brothers' death. I want to use their merits to ask for your permission to dissolve the bond."

"Do you understand what awaits you outside the Obsidian Pack, Arcelia?" Erasmus's voice held a complex, almost familiar hint of concern. "Do you know the danger you will face after this rejection?"

Before Erasmus became Lycan King, he often visited the Hearthstone Clan. He trained with my father and sometimes brought me small, carved gifts. But when I was sent away for training with the Elders, he had faded from my life.

"I know," I forced a smile onto my bloodied lips. "I will not stand in Lycanus and Rhyon's way. If their love is true, it is the Moon Weaver's will. I will not break tradition by remaining a burden."

"The Hearthstone Clan is gone, Arcelia. Will you return to ruins? What is next for the last of your bloodline?"

At that moment, my intense focus gave way to a powerful sense of clarity.

I answered, "I visited Hearthstone today. The land is abandoned, but the ancient Wards still hold. I will take in any lone wolf who wishes to join and care for the unmated pups and elders. Even if the Hearthstone Clan remains small, I will keep its spirit alive."

The young king rose, his immense crimson cape sweeping down across a row of iron candelabra. In the flickering gloom, he leaned close, the scent of iron rust and cold white musk hitting my senses.

"Have you really thought this through? The little wolf who used to tug at my sleeve for frosting-topped pastries... look at you now," he mused, his voice almost gentle.

His fingers, armored in black iron, tapped the desk. "Using the Hearthstone Clan's ultimate merits for mere personal freedom?"

"I have thought it through," I replied, meeting his gaze without flinching. "I won't choke my life away on a broken mate bond or a useless title."

"You once claimed you loved Lycanus when you pledged your mate vows."

Loved? Not precisely. I had always admired shifters who fought for the Shifter Kingdom, and my mother had simply wanted a guaranteed life of peace for me. That is why I agreed.

I smiled faintly. "If he can walk away, so can I."

Erasmus's slit pupils blazed sapphire blue, a spectacular display of power. "I grant it. A new decree will come forth, freeing you both from the bond."

"Arcelia, if anyone ever crosses you, my door is always open," he added, his voice low and sincere.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," I said, bowing deeply, already feeling lighter than I had in a year.