He Loved Her, I Tore Up Our Contract

Chapter 4

The Hall of Elders sat at the highest point of our lands, an ancient building of dressed stone.

I climbed the winding stair, mist curling around me like ribbons of pale silk.

When I reached the doors, Alpha Kael was already there.

He wore the formal black robe of his office, and his silver eyes looked deeper than ever in the thin morning light.

He frowned the moment he saw me.

"What are you doing here?"

I did not answer. I walked past him and pushed open the heavy doors of the hall.

Inside, three elders sat upon the high dais,the oldest, the most respected wolves of Silverfang Pack, charged with the great matters of our people.

"Come in, Isla."

The elder at the center spoke. His voice was old, but it carried the unmistakable weight of authority.

I walked the length of the hall and stopped before them.

Behind me, Alpha Kael followed. He stopped just inside the threshold, watching everything with cold, narrowed eyes.

"Alpha Kael," the elder said, "we have summoned you both today to confirm a matter of importance."

Alpha Kael's brow drew tighter.

"What matter?"

"The mate contract you signed five years ago expired two years ago."

The elder's tone was steady and grave.

"By the law of our kind, when a mated pair remains bonded after the contract's expiration but the mark has never been bestowed, the council retains the right to inquire after the wishes of both parties."

I felt Alpha Kael's gaze sharpen on the back of my head.

I drew a slow breath, lifted the contract from my pack, and laid it on the table before the elder.

"I have come today to formally request the dissolution of the mate bond."

The hall fell into absolute silence.

The elders exchanged a glance. None of them looked surprised.

Behind me, Alpha Kael had gone rigid, as if stone had passed through his veins.

"What did you say?"

His voice came low. Dangerously low, with something furious held back behind it.

I did not turn around. I kept my eyes on the three elders.

"I am asking to dissolve my mate bond with Alpha Kael. The contract expired five years ago. I am formally petitioning for its termination."

My voice was even. Steadier than I had thought possible.

For five years, I had carried these words inside me. At last I had spoken them.

The elder nodded and gestured to the recorder, who took the contract gently from the table.

"By our law, either partner has the right to seek dissolution. But we require Alpha Kael's confirmation."

The elder turned his gaze toward the doorway.

"Alpha Kael,do you consent to the dissolution of your bond with Isla?"

Alpha Kael did not move.

The morning light made his face look bleached, hollow. The line of his jaw was clenched so tightly I could see the muscle work beneath the skin. Whatever was rising inside him, he was fighting to hold it down.

"No."

The word forced itself out from between his teeth.

"What?"

The elders looked at one another, startled.

Alpha Kael strode forward and stopped beside me. He did not look at me. He looked only at the elders.

"I do not consent to the dissolution."

I turned my head and studied his profile.

Light fell from the high windows of the hall and traced him in pale gold. His expression was cold,but his fingers, I saw clearly, were trembling.

"Why?"

I asked it quietly.

He turned at last, and his silver eyes met mine.

Behind them, a storm I could not read,anger, confusion, and beneath those, something I had never glimpsed in him before…

Panic.

"This is an order."

He did not answer my question. He spoke flatly.

"The bond will not be dissolved."