The Alpha's Forbidden Pact

CHAPTER 24: AN OFFER

I needed air more than I needed the rules.

After Damaris walked away, the house felt too small. Every room carried the weight of what had almost happened in the hallway. Kade was on watch near the front. Theo had taken the back. The new lockdown left almost no space to breathe without someone measuring the distance.

I waited until the shift changed.

When Theo moved to the front rooms and Kade stepped outside to check the perimeter, I slipped out the side door that led to the narrow service alley behind the property. It was a short window. Maybe five minutes before someone noticed. I only needed enough time to clear my head.

I did not get that far.

Cassius was already waiting at the end of the alley, leaning against the brick wall like he had known exactly when I would appear.

“You are getting predictable,” he said.

I stopped hard. My pulse jumped, but I did not turn back. Running would only prove I was still fully under their control.

“How did you get this close to the house?”

“Your new security is tighter. It is not perfect.” He pushed off the wall and closed some of the distance, stopping far enough that I could still choose to leave. “I came to finish the conversation we started.”

“I already verified what you told me about the pact.”

“I know. Kade’s face gave it away.” A faint edge of satisfaction crossed his expression. “That was only the first piece. There is more they still have not told you.”

I crossed my arms. “Why should I listen to anything else from you?”

“Because the Five are still deciding which truths you are allowed to carry. I am not.” He tilted his head slightly. “The Council’s plan for the Reclaiming Moon is not only about marrying you to Edmund Thorne. Once the mating is sealed, there is a secondary clause in the old agreements. It allows the Council to dissolve the remaining Sinclair holdings and fold them into Thorne control. Your name becomes a signature that hands them everything your parents died to protect.”

The words landed cold.

“That is not possible.”

“It is written. Buried deep enough that even Damaris may not have the full language. Or he has it and decided you were not ready to know.” Cassius watched my face carefully. “Either way, the arranged mating is not only about binding you. It is about erasing the last independent claim to the old throne.”

I felt the alley walls close in. The folder from Julian’s office, the true terms of the pact, Damaris’s almost-confession in the hallway, all of it stacked on top of this new piece until the weight made it hard to stand still.

“You could be lying.”

“I could. You would be wise to check.” He reached into his jacket and took out a thin folded piece of paper, holding it up but not offering it yet. “This is a partial copy of the secondary clause. The language is old. The intent is clear. Take it. Compare it to whatever records the Five still keep from you. Then decide who has been protecting you and who has been managing you.”

I did not take the paper immediately.

“What do you want in return?”

“For now, only that you stop letting other people choose which parts of your own story you are allowed to hear.” He lowered the paper slightly. “Meet me tomorrow. Alone. No guards. No Five. I will show you the rest of what they have kept quiet, including the names of the men who gave the order the night your parents died.”

My breath caught.

“You know who ordered it.”

“I know enough to point you at the truth. Whether you are ready to look is a different question.”

Behind me, somewhere near the house, a door opened. Footsteps moved across gravel. The window was closing.

Cassius held my gaze and extended the folded paper fully this time.

“Take it. Read it. Then decide if you want the rest.” His voice stayed calm. “Tomorrow. One meeting. No one else. If you come, I will give you the names. If you do not, you can keep living inside the version of the story they prefer.”

I took the paper.

Our fingers did not touch, but the choice itself felt like a line I had just crossed.

Cassius stepped back into the deeper shadow of the alley.

“Tomorrow,” he said. “You know how to find me when you are ready.”

Then he was gone, leaving me alone with a new piece of the truth and the clear knowledge that the next step would have to be mine alone.