The Alpha Betrayed Mate

CHAPTER 7: BORN TO RULE

5 Years Ago

Elder Torin came to me at dusk, when the royal chambers had settled into their uneasy quiet. I remember thinking, as I watched him cross the threshold of my sitting chamber, that men like Torin never came without intent. He did not waste steps or words.

I rose out of courtesy, though my instincts told me to remain still. His eyes gazed over me, assessing, measuring, as if I were no longer the girl he had known since childhood but a piece on a board he had been studying for years.

“Zanny,” he said, inclining his head. “You look well.”

It was a lie, and we both knew it.

“You didn’t come to comment on my health,” I replied calmly. “Say what brings you here, Elder.”

A faint smile touched his lips. It has been a long time since he has spoken to me. He was always avoiding me at council meetings and ignoring every point I made.

He gestured toward the chair opposite mine and sat without waiting for an invitation. “Selene came to see me.”

The name struck sharper than I expected. I kept my face composed, though my fingers tightened slightly in my lap. I was beginning to like this game.

“She begged,” Torin continued, folding his hands together. “She asked that I use my influence to sway the council in Clay’s favour. Specifically, in his desire to marry you.”

For a moment, the room felt smaller. Selene’s voice echoed in my memory, her careful concern, her warnings disguised as affection.

“And?” I asked.

“And I refused.”

I met his gaze then. “Why?”

Torin studied me for a long beat before answering. “Because Selene loves Clay.”

The words landed quietly, but their impact rippled through me all the same. Love. Not ambition. Not survival. Love. The realization settled heavily in my chest, rearranging memories I had tried not to examine too closely.

“So that is why she came,” I said softly. “Not for the pack. Not for balance. For herself.”

Torin nodded once. “She believes marrying you to Clay will secure his rise and keep him close. She believes proximity will soften his heart in time.”

I let out a breath that was almost a laugh. “Selene has always believed patience is a weapon.”

“There is more,” Torin said.

I tilted my head. “There is always more with you.”

His eyes sharpened. “You know she has been coming to my chambers.”

The statement was not a question.

“I know,” I replied evenly. “And I have wondered whether she went there for the same reason she goes to Clay.”

Silence stretched between us, thick and loaded.

Torin did not deny it. He only sighed, a sound heavy with age and consequence. “Selene uses what she has. That does not mean she gives her heart freely.”

“Neither does Clay,” I said.

Torin’s gaze softened, just a fraction. “No. He does not.”

I rose then, unable to remain seated. I crossed the room slowly, the hem of my dress whispering against the floor. “So tell me, Elder,” I said, turning back to face him. “Why are you here? You did not come merely to confess Selene’s desperation.”

He stood as well, his presence filling the space. “I came because I am protecting you.”

I laughed then, quietly but without humour. “From what? Love? Betrayal? Or the truth?”

“From repeating history,” he replied. “From making the same mistake your father made.”

That stilled me.

“You promised him,” I said slowly. “Didn’t you?”

Torin nodded. “I swore I would look after you. Not as a pawn. Not as a symbol. But as his daughter.”

I smiled. “You are doing a very awful job at that.”

Torin shook his head. “I am not here to argue with you.”

“Then why bring this to me now?” I asked. “Why force me to see what you could have hidden?”

“Because the council will move soon,” he said. “And because you must choose where you stand before they choose for you.”

I searched his face, searching for the man who had once lifted me onto his shoulders so I could see over the crowd during festivals. “What do you want me to do?”

His answer came without hesitation. “Marry my son.”

The words echoed, absurd and heavy all at once.

I laughed out loud. “I see… You are really full of shit.”

He smiled, shaking his head. “If you are going to marry anyone now, I am sure it's not going to be because of love, so you could as well take a safer bet on my son.”

I stared at him. “Your son lacks the quality of an Alpha.”

Torin’s jaw tightened. “He lacks experience. That can be taught.”

“No,” I said firmly. “He lacks spine. He lacks instinct. He lacks the wolf’s hunger to protect something beyond himself.”

“He would grow into the role,” Torin insisted.

“At the cost of the pack,” I replied. “And at the cost of me.”

Torin’s eyes darkened. “You speak as if Clay would be different.”

“He is,” I said quietly. “Whether I love him or not.”

Torin stepped closer. “That is the point, Zanny. You will never love Clay.”

The certainty in his voice cut deeper than accusation ever could.

I swallowed. “Love is not a requirement for rule.”

“No,” he agreed. “But it is a requirement for survival. Especially for a woman bound to a man who carries war in his blood.”

I thought of Clay’s eyes when he fought, of the beast, of the way my instincts had answered danger without question.

“And would your son be a safer option?” I asked.

“With my son,” Torin said, “you would be protected by strategy. With Clay, you will be tested by fire.”

I held his gaze. “Perhaps fire is what Silvercrest needs.”

A muscle jumped in Torin’s jaw. “You sound like your father.”

“Then you should trust my judgment,” I replied.

He exhaled slowly, resignation creeping into his posture. “If you choose Clay, you choose a life of constant challenge. Of shared power that will never truly be yours.”

“And if I choose your son,” I countered, “I choose a crown without teeth.”

Torin looked at me for a long moment. “You think Selene loves Clay,” he said at last. “Do you think Clay loves you?”

The question was dangerous. I did not answer it.

“I think,” I said carefully, “that Clay would fight beside me. And that is more than most men would offer.”

Torin turned toward the door, pausing before he left. “I warned you,” he said softly. “The heart you give him will not be returned in kind.”

I watched him go, the weight of his words settling deep in my bones.

When the door closed, I pressed my hand to my chest. Perhaps he was right, and love would never come.

But power, I had learned, was not born of love alone, and neither was destiny.

I wondered whether I should forgive Selene or banish her. I was eager to hear her side of the story.

Selene had been avoiding me for three days.

Not openly. Not in a way anyone else would notice. But I knew her rhythms the way one knows the tide. She took her meals earlier now, walked different corridors, and excused herself whenever my name was mentioned.

By the fourth evening, I stopped pretending not to see it.

I found her in the east garden, where the ivy crept high along the stone walls and the moonlight filtered through the leaves in fractured silver.

“Running from me now?” I asked, my voice calm but unyielding.

She flinched before she turned.

“Zanny,” she said, rising quickly. “I didn’t hear you.”

“You always hear me,” I replied.

For a moment, we simply stood there, the distance between us filled with things unsaid. She looked thinner. Or perhaps only more careful.

“I was coming to see you,” she said at last.

I lifted a brow. “You should have come sooner.”

She smiled faintly and gestured toward the garden path. “Have you heard? Clay hasn’t returned.”

There it was. The pivot. The deflection.

“He went after the beast,” she continued quickly. “The forest isn’t safe. The elders should never have let them go. I’m worried, Zanny. Truly.”

I stepped closer, close enough to see the tension in her jaw. “You are worried,” I said softly. “But not about what you’re pretending.”

Her smile faltered.

“Tell me,” I continued, “when were you planning to tell me about your meetings with Clay?”

Her eyes flicked away. “What meetings?”

“And Elder Torin,” I added. “You’ve been very busy for someone so concerned with Clay’s absence.”

She let out a quiet laugh, light and practised. “You’re imagining things. Everyone speaks to the elders. It’s nothing unusual.”

“Don’t insult me,” I said, my voice low. “Not now.”

Selene inhaled slowly, her composure slipping just enough for me to see the strain beneath it. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“Stop lying to me,” I said.

Selene looked at me then, really looked at me, as if weighing how much I already knew. “You wouldn’t understand,” she said softly. “I was trying to protect you.”

“By warming his chambers to sway his judgment??” I asked.

Colour drained from her face.

“You spoke to him,” she whispered.

“Yes,” I said. “And he spoke of you.”

She took a step back, her heel catching on the edge of the path. “He had no right—”

“He had every right,” I cut in. “You made yourself his business.”

Silence fell again, heavier this time.

“You love Clay,” I said quietly.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

“And you told Torin that marrying me would bring Clay closer to you,” I continued. “That patience would do the rest.”

She closed her eyes. When she opened them, the softness was g