"You want me to abdicate," Ethan said slowly, buying time while his eyes swept the clearing, calculating distances, counting enemies, searching desperately for any advantage the flanking teams might exploit. "In exchange for her life."
"A fair trade, given the circumstances," the stranger said. "You've held the position barely a year. Plenty of qualified successors exist within this pack who would gladly take up the mantle without the... complications your mate bond has introduced."
"Complications," Ethan repeated, fury sharpening every word. "You mean the fact that I found someone fate chose for me, rather than someone your faction found politically convenient."
"Fate is a lovely concept," the stranger said, almost pityingly. "It doesn't build alliances. It doesn't secure territory. It
