Repurposed
1333 Words
"A vessel for future soldiers," Seraphine repeats, as if Liora might not have heard the first time. "A womb to strengthen our ranks."
The words strip flesh from bone.
Liora kneels there, still kneeling, always kneeling, and watches Seraphine move through the Council chamber as she owns it. Maybe she does. Luna-designate carries weight even without the formal ceremony.
The Elders lean forward in their seats.
Interested now.
Matthias strokes his beard. "Explain."
"It's elegant, really." Seraphine's voice stays pleasant. Reasonable. Like they're discussing crop rotation instead of reducing Liora to biology. "Sacred law prevents execution of a fated mate. Exile would insult the Moon Goddess. But we can repurpose her."
Repurpose.
The word lodges in Liora's throat like glass.
"The mate bond is… unfortunate." Seraphine glances at Liora. No hatred in her expression. Just a cold assessment. "But it exists. We cannot change that. What we can do is dilute its intensity through multiple bonds. Spread her connection across several warriors. Theoretically, this weakens each individual thread until the Alpha's claim becomes manageable background noise."
Elder Corvus, Seraphine's uncle, notably, nods slowly. "The old texts mention such practices. During the Omega Wars, when mate bonds threatened the command structure."
"Exactly." Seraphine turns to face the full Council. "We bind her to three elite warriors. Men loyal to my husband's rule. This serves multiple purposes: it neutralizes her threat to the pack hierarchy, it produces strong offspring for our ranks, and it keeps her alive to satisfy the Goddess's will."
Her husband.
She says it so casually.
Aurelian belongs to her already.
Through the bond, Liora feels him. Wherever he is, whatever he's doing, he's listening. Aware. His rage builds like storm pressure, violent, immediate, barely contained.
But he still doesn't enter the chamber.
He's letting this happen.
The realization hits harder than anything Seraphine has said.
"The warriors would agree to this?" Another Elder, Marcus, always practical, frowns. "Sharing an omega is one thing. Sharing the Alpha's fated mate is quite another."
"The warriors will be carefully selected." Seraphine's smile doesn't reach her eyes. "Men who owe Aurelian blood debts. Loyalty is not an issue."
Blood debts.
Liora's stomach turns.
They're going to bind her to wolves who have no choice but to accept her. Who'll touch her because their Alpha commands it, not because they want…
Stop.
Stop thinking.
It doesn't matter what they want.
It never mattered what she wanted.
"This arrangement…" Matthias chooses his words carefully. "It would need to be formalized. Ceremonial binding under the old laws. Witnessed. Recorded."
"Of course." Seraphine inclines her head. "Everything proper. Everything legal. The pack will see that we honor tradition while adapting to modern necessity."
Modern necessity.
That's what Liora is now.
A problem requiring an elegant solution.
She tries to breathe. The chamber's air feels too thick. Too warm. Her cotton dress clings to skin slick with cold sweat.
Through the bond, Aurelian's control fractures.
Just for a moment.
Just long enough for Liora to feel what he's suppressing: fury so violent it steals her breath. Not at her. At…
Who?
Seraphine? The Council? Himself?
Then the walls slam back up and she's shut out again.
"There are complications." Elder Marcus shifts in his seat. "The omega's family, for instance. They will need to be… managed. Kept satisfied enough not to object publicly."
"Her mother requires ongoing medical treatment." Seraphine has clearly done her research. "Her sister is in an academy training. Both depend on pack resources. As long as Liora cooperates, those resources continue. If she refuses…"
"They lose everything." Matthias finishes the thought. Nods approvingly. "Incentive and consequence. Clean."
Liora's hands curl into fists against her thighs.
Mira. They're threatening Mira.
Fifteen years old and still learning to shift properly. Still needing guidance, education, and protection.
And Mama. Gods, Mama with her failing heart and expensive medications that only pack healers can provide.
The cage closes around Liora with perfect precision.
Refuse and watch them suffer.
Accept and lose herself completely.
"What does the omega say?" Marcus looks at her for the first time. "Does she consent to this arrangement?"
Consent.
The word would be funny if it didn't make her want to scream.
Liora forces her voice steady. "Do I have a choice?"
"Everyone has choices." Seraphine's tone stays gentle. Almost kind. Somehow that makes it worse. "You can refuse the binding. Accept exile. Take your chances in neutral territory without pack protection. I'm sure your mother and sister will understand."
The threat doesn't even pretend to be subtle.
Liora meets Seraphine's cold blue eyes.
Sees no malice there.
Just pragmatism. Strategy. A woman doing what needs to be done to secure her position.
"When?" Liora hears herself ask.
"Tonight. Moonrise. The sacred grove." Matthias stands. The other Elders follow. "We've delayed long enough. This wound needs cauterizing before it festers."
Wound.
That's what she is.
An injury to the pack stability that requires treatment.
Seraphine moves closer. Crouches down so they're almost eye level. Her leather armor smells like cedarwood and expensive oil.
"I don't hate you," she says quietly. Just between them. "I need you to understand that. This isn't personal. It's survival."
"Whose survival?" Liora's voice cracks. "Mine or yours?"
"Does it matter?" Seraphine tilts her head. Studies Liora like a particularly interesting puzzle. "We're both trapped by the same mate bond. The same impossible situation. At least this way, we both get to live."
She stands.
Smooths invisible wrinkles from her leather.
Walks back toward the Council seats with that same fluid grace.
The mate bond thrashes in Liora's chest. She feels Aurelian's presence getting closer, actually moving toward the chamber now, drawn by the distress he can't ignore even when he wants to.
Too late.
It's always too late.
"The warriors are loyal?" Corvus asks. "Trustworthy?"
"Absolutely." Seraphine's confidence doesn't waver. "Caelan Darkwater, the Alpha's second-in-command. Kieran Ashford, the youngest elite warrior. Riven Locke was rescued from the Northridge pack's torture chambers five years ago. All three owe Aurelian their lives. Their loyalty is beyond question."
Names.
They have names now.
Real wolves who'll be bound to her whether they want it or not.
Caelan. Kieran. Riven.
Liora commits them to memory.
The males who'll own her body while Aurelian keeps her soul tethered through a bond that should have broken three days ago but instead burns hotter with every passing hour.
"It's decided, then." Matthias gestures dismissively. "Prepare the grove. Notify the priestess. This omega will be bound before dawn."
Before dawn.
Six hours.
Liora kneels on marble that's gone from cold to numbing and tries to remember what having choices felt like.
The bond pulses. Aurelian is close now. Right outside the chamber, maybe. She can almost smell him, cedar and smoke and something darker underneath.
Her wolf whines. ‘Please. Please come in. Stop this.’
He doesn't.
Of course, he doesn't.
He rejected her in front of the entire pack seventy-two hours ago. Why would he save her now?
"One thing." Liora's voice surprises her. She didn't mean to speak. "I want one thing."
The Elders pause.
Seraphine raises an eyebrow.
"My sister stays in the academy. My mother gets her treatments. No matter what happens. No matter…" Her voice breaks. She forces it steadily. "No matter what I do or don't do. They're protected."
Silence stretches.
Then Matthias nods. "Agreed. So long as you fulfill your obligations, your family remains under pack care."
Obligations.
Such a clean word for what they're describing.
Liora closes her eyes.
Breathes.
Opens them again.
"Then I accept."
The words taste like an ending.
Through the bond, she feels Aurelian's control shatter completely. His rage floods the connection, white-hot, desperate, utterly useless.
She shuts him out.
Builds walls around the mate bond for the first time since it formed.
If he won't fight for her, she won't let him feel what they're doing to her.
Elder Matthias nods slowly.
Satisfied.
"Summon the warriors."
The chamber doors open again.
Three shadows fill the threshold.
- Writer
