Chapter 4 Fears
1161 Words
Ryan Pov~
For a second, I thought I’d misheard her.
“No.”
Flora gasped like she’d been struck, Katerina’s mouth twitched into something between triumph and disbelief while Edward’s face darkened with rage.
Elsa, she stood perfectly still with her skin paling and her small hands clutched tight at her sides. She wouldn’t look up.
That was how I knew that her refusal wasn’t real.
Fear rolled off her in waves, her response was not in defiance or arrogance, just pure terror. I’d seen it before in wolves raised under men like Edward and in women who had learned that silence was safer than truth.
I looked at her father, who had a small smirk on his face. I could imagine what went on in his head, maybe that I’d take offense, withdraw, and leave with his chosen daughter instead.
Katerina’s voice broke the quiet first. “Well,” she said, “it seems the matter is settled. Let’s not humiliate ourselves further.”
“Wait.”
The word came out sharper than I intended.
I stepped forward,
“I’d like a word with her. Alone.”
Edward’s jaw clenched. “Alpha Carson, I assure you…”
“Now,” I said, in a tone that left no room for argument.
Even Katerina’s hand, poised to intervene, faltered mid-air.
The hall parted like water before me. Elsa’s eyes darted up, startled. I could see her pulse beating wildly at her throat.
I held out a hand. “Come.”
She hesitated, looking to her father for permission.
When she reached me, she bowed her head and gently linked her fingers into my outstretched ones. The contact sent an unwanted jolt through me.
I led her down the hall and into a side room that looked like a study, and shut the door behind us, the silence that followed was heavy.
She stayed near the door, shoulders were drawn so tight I could feel the tension radiating from her.
“Look at me,” I said quietly.
Slowly, she did, she looked scared but her eyes held the same light I’d seen in the garden.
“You’re afraid,” I said. “Not of me, of them.”
She hesitated, then nodded.
I took a slow breath. “He threatened you, didn’t he?”
Her eyes darted to the desk beside her where a fountain pen rested in a glass jar. She reached for it, her hand shaking slightly, then pulled a piece of parchment toward her.
The sound of the pen scratching followed.
He said if I humiliate the family, he’ll make me regret it.
I read her note and my jaw tightened.
When she went to snatch the note back, I stopped her hand gently. “I’m not here to punish you,” I said. “I just needed the truth.”
I leaned against the desk, crossing my arms. “You don’t want this marriage, do you?”
She wrote: I don’t know what I want, but I don’t want to stay here.
Outside the door, muffled voices were arguing. I could hear Katrina’s outrage and Edward doing his best to be defensive, we didn’t have long.
I looked back at her. “Then listen carefully.”
She paused as I stepped closer. I kept my voice low, measured. “You don’t have to want me. You just have to say yes.”
Her brows furrowed.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” I said. “You'll be my fake mate in front of everyone, that way no one will be able to stop us. Say yes in front of them, play along, and you’ll leave this house under my protection. You’ll never have to bow to them again.”
Her breath caught.
I could see the war going on in her head through
her eyes.
“You don’t trust me,” I said quietly. “Good. You shouldn’t, but I’ll prove I’m not your father.”
She wrote another line: Why would you help me?
It was a fair question.
I looked down at the words, then at her, and gave the most honest answer I could manage. “Because I hate people like him.”
The corner of her mouth twitched, making my chest tighten unexpectedly.
“Can you do it?” I asked.
Her gaze dropped to the paper again. After a moment, she wrote one word: Yes.
“Good.” I extended my hand. “Then stand beside me, Elsa Watson.”
She hesitated before placing her hand in mine. It was small and cold.
When we stepped back into the hall, the air was thick with whispers. Katerina’s expression was pure venom while Edward’s was painted politeness barely holding together.
Flora muttered something to Mabel, who smirked.
Ryan Carson had been humiliated, that's what they thought, they’d learn soon enough.
I guided Elsa forward until we stood before the long table. “We’ve reached a decision,” I said.
Katerina’s eyes narrowed. “I hope it’s a sensible one.”
“It is.”
I looked at Elsa. Her hands trembled as she pulled out another parchment. Slowly, deliberately, she wrote three words.
I accept him.
Then she turned the paper toward them.
Flora gasped like she’d seen a ghost, her husband’s face drained of color.
My stepmother seemed to want to talk sense into me. “Ryan, this is absurd! You cannot be…”
“She said yes.” I say with an air of finality.
“She said yes,” I repeated.
I stepped closer to Elsa, close enough that naturally sweet scent of hers reached me again.
“By her word and mine, the agreement stands.”
Katerina rose sharply. “This isn’t an agreement! You’re binding yourself to a mute girl with no wolf!”
“You forget, stepmother,” I said calmly, “the Carson Alpha’s word is law.”
I turned to Edward. “You’ll prepare your daughter for the announcement. We leave before sunset.”
Then, before anyone else could speak, I looked to the altar that stood at the far end of the hall, a carved stone symbol of the Moon Goddess and a thought came and I couldn’t ignore it.
If I wanted to silence them all, this was the only way.
I walked toward it while Elsa followed hesitantly.
When we reached the altar, I turned to face her.
“Elsa Watson,” I said, “before this pack and before the Moon, I name you my mate.”
A collective gasp tore through the crowd.
“This union,” I continued, “may be born of convenience, but it will be bound by choice. Our choice.”
She stared up at me. I could see the tears gathering in her eyes. Slowly, she bowed her head in acknowledgment.
It was done.
I turned back to the hall. “It’s settled.” At my words, Flora slumped into her chair from disbelief.
- Writer
