- 3 hours ago
My Alpha Rejected Me. His Brother Claimed Me
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Short filmTranscript
00:00My fiancé brought his pregnant mistress to our mating ceremony and told me I would raise their
00:04child. He didn't say it in private. Dorian said it on the altar where he was supposed to claim me,
00:08in front of the entire pack. Talia stood beside him in a moonpale satin gown,
00:12one hand resting on her belly. It was not white, but it was close enough. Close enough for every
00:17wolf in the hall to understand what she wanted. Talia, my friend from the Omega Quarters. The
00:21girl who had slept two beds away from me for years. Around her throat was my moonstone necklace.
00:25Last winter, at the pack solstice feast, three young alphas laughed when I reached Dorian's table.
00:31One of them asked if the Omega Quarters had run out of seats. Another said crown blood did not make
00:35a
00:35girl less Omega. Dorian had taken the necklace from his own pocket and fastened it around my neck in
00:40front of him. I had believed him. Anyone who makes you lower your head again, answers to me. A week
00:45ago, a servant came and asked me to send it back. For the ceremony. I didn't question it. Now I
00:50understood. Talia saw me looking. She touched the moonstone gently, like it was already hers.
00:56You wanted me to wear it. I hope you don't mind. She knew I did. Dorian didn't stop her. He
01:01only
01:01looked at me, cold. I won't bond with you, Alara. The hall went silent. The elders care about your
01:06crown blood. They think it can crown the next alpha king. He pulled Talia closer. But Talia is carrying
01:11my hair. My throat burned. The necklace was mine. Talia flinched behind Dorian's arm, as if I had hurt her.
01:17Dorian glanced at the moonstone. It was a promise to a girl I needed protecting. His hand covered
01:22Talia's stomach. She gives me a future. Talia looked at me from behind him, tears shining in her eyes.
01:28Small. Fragile. Victorious. Then Dorian turned to the entire hall. When my pup is born, Alara will raise
01:34it as her own. For one second. I thought I had misheard him. Then Dorian made it worse. You will
01:46serve
01:47chores to the lowest wolf in the room. Maybe he was. I was Alara Vale. The only crown blood bearer
01:52the ashworn pack had seen in a thousand years. The prophecy said whoever completed a bond with me
01:56could awaken the power of an alpha king and claim the alpha crown. But I was also an omega. The
02:01rank
02:01everyone stepped on until they needed something. Dorian had decided my blood was useful, but I was not.
02:06Talia gave a soft gasp beside him. Dorian don't say it like that. Alara has always had such a kind
02:11heart.
02:12In the omega quarters she took care of everyone. Her hand rested over her belly. I'm sure she won't
02:17punish an innocent pup just because her pride is hurt. The hall went silent. Every stare landed on
02:22me. Waiting for me to cry. My eyes burned. Not because Dorian had rejected me. Because Talia knew
02:27every soft place I kept hidden and still chose to press her hand there. The claim was never sealed.
02:33No blood oath. No mark. Under the old laws it can still be revoked. That is technically true.
02:41I looked at Dorian. I may be an omega, but I am not her servant. My voice broke, but I
02:47didn't stop.
02:48And I will not raise the child you made with her. I revoke the claim. Dorian's face changed. If any
02:53wolf
02:53here is willing to claim me tonight, I accept. Dorian threw away the prophecy? Crown blood.
03:01If someone claims her now. I could see it in their faces. Shock. Hunger. Calculation. For one second.
03:07I thought someone might actually step forward. Her name is still bound to mine in the crown
03:12rite. The room froze. Until the elders formally dissolve this ceremony, any wolf who steps forward
03:18is not claiming a bride. He is challenging the Ashburn throne. No one moved. That had been his
03:24plan. Not to bond me. Not to free me. To keep me trapped under the rite until the elders could
03:28make me quieter. Smaller. Easier to use. Talia's attendant. His heir's nursemaid. A crown blood
03:33omega no other man would dare touch. Dorian stepped close enough for only me to hear.
03:38Ella. My chest twisted. That name used to be soft in his mouth. Tonight, it was a blade.
03:43Don't embarrass yourself. Then he turned to the hall. No one wants you badly enough.
03:48To challenge Ashburn. For one terrible second. I thought he was right. Not because I wasn't
03:52valuable. But because every wolf in that room wanted my blood more than they wanted to save
03:56me. Then the doors at the far end of the hall opened. But before anyone could see who had
04:00entered, Helena arrived first. Helena, Dorian's mother, the Luna matriarch, swept into the hall
04:07like a storm in silk and slapped her across the face. Shameless omega. You dare turn a crown
04:13rite into a spectacle? Talia fell to the floor, clutching her cheek, tears already spilling.
04:17Don't touch her! She's under my protection! Helena stared at him like she was seeing him
04:21clearly for the first time. Elara, dear. Dorian has humiliated you. I will deal with him.
04:27But you must not act rashly. Let me close this ceremony quietly.
04:31Her fingers closed gently around my wrist, almost possessive.
04:34The crown will keep you protected until we decide where you belong.
04:37Where I belonged. Not what I wanted. Not who I chose.
04:40You bound me to Dorian for my blood. Then he brought her here with his heir and told me to
04:44raise
04:45their child. I will not be their servant. I will not nurse his mistress through pregnancy.
04:51And I will not raise another woman's child because Dorian thinks an omega should be grateful for
04:56scraps. Helena's eyes hardened. Careful, girl. You are still standing inside a crown rite.
05:02Your blood belongs to Ashbird before it belongs to you. My stomach went cold. There it was.
05:08Dorian wanted me useful. Talia wanted me beneath her. If no one claims you tonight,
05:12the elders will decide your future. Dorian smiled again. For the first time that night,
05:17I felt truly trapped. Then a low voice cut through the hall. Does her offer still stand?
05:23Rowan Ashborn stood at the far end of the hall, tall and dressed in black,
05:26his face pale beneath the candlelight. Around his throat sat the black moon collar.
05:30Not a leash. A warning. He was Magnus' firstborn, Dorian's older half-brother. The true heir by blood,
05:35and the mad one who had not left the black tower in months. He took one step forward,
05:39then stopped. For half a second, his hand touched the doorframe. Everyone saw it. The feared heir
05:44looked like the collar had been feeding on him for years.
05:46Is that Rowan? He hasn't left the black tower since the last full moon.
05:50Is he clear tonight? Don't look at his eyes.
05:53My father says he was never mad. My father says they were afraid of him.
05:55Quiet! Don't let the matriarch hear you.
05:58Careful, brother. If she chooses you, she won't be a bride by sunrise.
06:03She'll be the first thing your wolf tears apart.
06:05A few wolves laughed. Helena's face went white.
06:08Rowan, don't be stupid. You know what crown blood does to that collar? It could break you.
06:13His gray eyes stayed on me. What you just said, does it still stand?
06:16Before I could answer. No. Look at him, Ella.
06:22With that collar on, he can barely stand. And without it, he won't know your name before he destroys you.
06:28Talia's eyes widened, soft and wet. Do this to yourself, Lara.
06:31Her hand slid over her belly. You don't have to ruin yourself just because you're hurt.
06:35Helena seized the silence. If no suitable wolf claims you tonight, the elders will decide your future.
06:42The room closed around me again. Dorian held out his hand.
06:44Last chance, Ella. Stand down.
06:49For one second, the whole hall waited. They all thought I would break.
06:53I looked past Dorian's hand. At Rowan. Thin as a shadow. Pale as winter. With the black moon collar locked
06:58around his throat.
06:59A mad air the entire pack had already buried. And still, he was the only man in that room who
07:04had asked for my answer.
07:05Not my blood. Not my obedience. Not my usefulness.
07:08So I stepped around Dorian's hand. His smile vanished.
07:10I walked toward Rowan, each step feeling like another rope being cut from my throat.
07:15I did. For the first time all night, I did. Then I stopped in front of Rowan.
07:20He looked down at me, gray eyes steady.
07:21Is this still your choice?
07:23My hands were shaking.
07:25Yes.
07:26Then I claim her.
07:27A few elders half rose, then froze. Because a claim spoken and accepted within a crown rite could not be
07:32taken back.
07:33Go on brother.
07:33Take her hand. Are you done making a scene, Ella?
07:36If you stop now, Talia and I might still forgive you.
07:39You can still stay where you belong.
07:41He looked me up and down. Talia leaned into him.
07:44Rowan held out his hand. At the same time, I reached for him.
07:47Our fingers locked.
07:49The ritual lines blazed white.
07:50Then black marks erupted at Rowan's throat, spilling out from beneath the collar.
07:56They weren't veins. They were containment marks from the collar.
07:59Black symbols tore out from beneath the black moon collar, quilling around Rowan's throat and climbing toward his jaw like
08:05something alive.
08:05The hulk gasped. For one second, the gray in his eyes vanished, replaced by molten gold. Something caged, something ancient.
08:12The collar is reacting.
08:13His wolf is waking.
08:15If it breaks loose here he won't know friend from enemy.
08:19Move back. A mad wolf stopped once it tasted a bond.
08:23Stop the ceremony.
08:25The elders surged forward, but the ritual lines had already locked around our wrists.
08:29Once a bond began, no one outside it could break it.
08:32Rowan's hand tightened around mine. Too tight.
08:34His knees buckled. He hit the altar hard, blood touching the corner of his mouth.
08:38The hall went silent.
08:39Rowan looked up at me, gold flickering through the gray.
08:41Let go. If you stop now, you'll still make it out.
08:46He meant it. Even half collapsed in front of the entire pack.
08:49He was still trying to give me a way out.
08:51Dorian stepped forward.
08:53Are you insane?
08:55If you stop this now Talia and I can still forgive you.
08:58I didn't look at him. Dorian's tone sharpened.
09:01Don't throw your life away just to prove a point.
09:03My fingers tightened around Rowan's.
09:05The black moon collar flared black at his throat.
09:07Every wolf in that hall was waiting for me to let go.
09:09Waiting for me to remember what they had always called him.
09:12Man. Dangerous. Unclaimable.
09:14Instead, I leaned closer.
09:15Rowan.
09:16His eyes struggled to focus on mine.
09:18Look at me.
09:19Then, without looking away from him, I reached for the edge of the altar.
09:25I didn't let go.
09:26With Rowan's eyes locked on mine, I dragged my palm across the altar's edge.
09:30Pain cut sharp.
09:31Crown blood spilled over my skin.
09:32Before anyone could stop me, I pressed my bleeding hand against the lock of the black moon collar.
09:37Light burst from the collar, violent enough to shake the altar beneath us.
09:40Rowan's body arched, and a broken sound tore from his throat.
09:43The collar fought back under my palm.
09:45Black symbols twisting across his skin as they tried to close around his throat again.
09:48So I pressed hearted.
09:50Stay with me.
09:51The black mark stopped.
09:52Then slowly, unwillingly, they began to retreat.
09:55The ritual lines beneath our feet blazed white hot, spiraling around our joined wrists
09:58until a pale crown-shaped mark burned itself into both our skin.
10:01The bond didn't fail.
10:03It held.
10:03Rowan collapsed to one knee, blood still on his lips.
10:06But the gold was leaving his eyes.
10:07Grey was coming back.
10:08He was alive.
10:09The oldest elder stared at our wrists.
10:11The bond is sealed.
10:14By old law, Ellara of Crown Blood is now claimed by Rowan.
10:18Firstborn heir of Ashburn.
10:20A sharp crack split the altar stone.
10:22The crown right mark that had held Dorian's name beside Lionburn black, then vanished.
10:26In its place, a new name carved itself into the silver light.
10:29Rowan, he forced out a laugh.
10:30He's still collared.
10:31You think your blood makes him stronger than me?
10:34Before I could answer, the crown mark on my wrist flared again.
10:37So did Rowan's.
10:38The ritual light shifted.
10:39It no longer circled me alone.
10:41It moved around him.
10:42The elder's face drained of color.
10:44The blood accepted him.
10:46The hall went silent.
10:47Dorian stopped breathing.
10:49The prophecy had not died.
10:50It had moved on.
10:53Rowan was still on one knee.
10:55Blood on his lips.
10:56One hand braced against the altar.
10:57But his grip on me never loosened.
10:59The crown mark on my wrist pulsed once.
11:01His answer.
11:02Dorian finally found his voice.
11:03This isn't over.
11:04The oldest elder looked at the burned crown right mark, then at our joined hands.
11:08It is.
11:09Dorian's face hardened.
11:10He can barely stare.
11:11Rowan slowly lifted his head.
11:13Through the bond.
11:14I felt the pain he was hiding.
11:15Sharp enough to steal my breath.
11:17Then he rose.
11:18Not easily.
11:18Not steadily.
11:19But he rose.
11:20Then watch me.
11:21Rowan.
11:22You need healers.
11:25Elara will remain here until the council decides what happens next.
11:28Rowan looked at her.
11:30No.
11:30One word.
11:31Low and final.
11:32The hall froze.
11:33This is not the time for pride.
11:35A shiver moved through the room.
11:36No one decides for my mate.
11:38For 13 years, they had spoken around him like he was already lost.
11:42Tonight, he did not raise his voice.
11:44But every wolf in that hall heard the command beneath it.
11:47Move.
11:47The wolves blocking the aisle stepped aside.
11:49Dorian stared at me like he still expected me to look back.
11:52Talia's fingers dug into his sleeve.
11:54I did not turn.
11:55Rowan led me out of the hall, each step costing him more than he let anyone see.
11:59Only after the doors closed behind us did his hand tighten around mine.
12:02His voice dropped.
12:03Now ask me what you really want to ask.
12:09Rowan had said it outside the hall, his hand still wrapped around mine.
12:12For one second, the question almost escaped me right there.
12:15But then he swayed, only once, and pain cut through his grip.
12:18So I swallowed the words and followed him to the black tower.
12:21No one stopped us.
12:22No one dared.
12:22His quarters were cold and almost bare, with a narrow bed, a heavy desk, and maps pinned neatly
12:27to the walls.
12:28There were no flowers, no servants, nothing prepared for a bride.
12:31But everything was clean.
12:32The bed was made with sharp corners, the books were lined straight, and even the medicine
12:36bottle stood in perfect order.
12:38Rowan had hidden himself here, but he had not let himself fall apart.
12:41For the first time that night, no one was watching.
12:43No elders, no pack, just me and the mad air who had become my mate.
12:47Rowan removed his black outer coat and set it aside.
12:50Without it, he looked even thinner, too pale beneath a lamplight, too tired for a man who
12:54had just walked out of a crown ride alive.
12:56The collar sat against his throat like a second shadow.
12:58A man being drained piece by piece, and still too proud to let anyone see him bleed.
13:02He leaned one hand against the desk.
13:04Ask.
13:05My fingers curled into my sleeves.
13:08Did you know that my blood could crack the collar?
13:12The room went quiet.
13:13I forced myself to continue.
13:14Did you claim me because you wanted me?
13:18Or because my blood is the only thing that can save you?
13:21Rowan went very still.
13:22For one breath, I thought he would deny it.
13:24Then he looked at me.
13:25I don't want to lie to you.
13:26And suddenly, I knew, whatever came next was going to hurt.
13:32Rowan did not look away.
13:33That was how I knew the answer before he said it.
13:35Yes.
13:35My stomach dropped.
13:37Yes, what?
13:38Yes, I knew your crown blood might help me control what the collar was made to hold back.
13:44For a moment, I could not speak.
13:45Dorian wanted an heir.
13:46The elders wanted a prophecy.
13:48And Rowan had known my blood might be the only thing that could save him.
13:51I stepped back before I could stop myself.
13:53Rowan saw it, but he did not follow.
13:55If I only wanted your blood, I could have asked for you years ago.
14:00Maybe you waited.
14:01Until I have nowhere else to go.
14:03His face changed.
14:05Not with anger.
14:06With something worse.
14:07Because he knew I had the right to think it.
14:08Maybe I deserve that.
14:10The fire cracked between us.
14:11I hated that he sounded honest.
14:13I hated that honesty still hurt.
14:15Then why tonight?
14:16Rowan's eyes stayed on mine.
14:17Because Dorian made you stand alone.
14:19And I know what that feels like.
14:20My fingers twisted in my sleeves.
14:22For a second, I forgot how to answer.
14:24Because he wasn't asking me to pity him.
14:26He was telling me he had seen me.
14:28If I stay, it won't be because you need me.
14:30I know.
14:31If I help you, it doesn't mean you get to use me.
14:34No.
14:36Never.
14:37I looked at the black moon collar around his throat.
14:39Dark metal locked against skin too pale for it.
14:41My hands were still shaking.
14:43You claimed me before the whole pack.
14:45Rowan went still.
14:45So show me.
14:47Alana.
14:48Show me what it's holding back.
14:51Rowan did not move for a long moment.
14:53Then he loosened the top ties of his shirt.
14:55The fabric fell open just enough to reveal the skin beneath the black moon collar.
14:59The collar was not smooth.
15:00Black sigils were burned beneath its lower rim, pressed deep into the base of his throat like
15:04the metal had grown roots there.
15:06They did not sit still.
15:07They pulsed, dark and slow, answering every breath he took.
15:10I had seen blood on him.
15:11I had seen him collapse at the altar.
15:13But this was worse.
15:14The collar was not the monster.
15:15It was the thing holding one back.
15:17My fingers curled once before I forced them still.
15:19I need to touch it.
15:21Rowan's eyes stayed on mine.
15:22Alara.
15:24You claimed me before the whole pack.
15:26Do not hide from me now.
15:27For one beat, I thought he would refuse.
15:30Then he gave a single nod.
15:31I pressed my palm against the burned sigils beneath the collar.
15:34His whole body locked.
15:35Heat slammed into my hand.
15:36Sharp and violent.
15:37Not mine.
15:38His.
15:38My crown blood answered instantly.
15:40And something inside him answered back.
15:41I felt it hit the containment marks.
15:43Once.
15:44Twice.
15:44Not madness.
15:45Not emptiness.
15:46A wolf too old and too powerful to stay buried.
15:48Throwing itself against iron because it had been held down for too long.
15:52Rowan's breath broke.
15:53Gold flashed through his gray eyes.
15:54This is what you fight every day.
15:56His chest rose hard beneath my hand.
15:59Every second.
16:00His hand closed around my wrist.
16:02If I stop fighting it, I don't know what it leaves behind.
16:05Gold bled through his eyes again.
16:06The sigils burned hotter under my palm.
16:08But it knows you.
16:09My breath caught.
16:11Rowan's grip tightened.
16:12And this time, when he said my name, it did not sound entirely human.
16:17I didn't even see him move.
16:19One second.
16:20I was standing in front of him.
16:21My palm pressed beneath the collar.
16:23The next.
16:23My back hit the bed.
16:25Rowan was above me.
16:26One hand braced by my shoulder.
16:27The other locked around my wrist.
16:29Breathing like he had been dragged up from deep water.
16:31The black moon collar blazed under my palm.
16:33Its edges lit out.
16:34Spreading outward like cracks in burning glass.
16:36His eyes were wrong.
16:37I could feel this wolf straining against the bond.
16:39Desperate to reach the blood that had woken it.
16:41His pupils narrowed.
16:42His jaw clenched so hard I could hear his teeth grind.
16:45Stop touching me.
16:46If you keep going up.
16:48He didn't finish.
16:50Because the bond pulse.
16:51I felt it.
16:52The wolfie had spent 13 years going back slammed toward my hand with everything it had.
16:56Rowan stared down at me.
16:57Half broken and half feral.
16:59Every muscle in his body was locked tight.
17:01Fighting himself.
17:01Even like this.
17:02He still wasn't hurting me.
17:04Then Rowan kissed me.
17:05Not gently.
17:06Not carefully.
17:06Like the bond had finally pulled too hard for either of us to pretend it was only a ritual.
17:11The mark beneath my palm flared white gold.
17:13Rowan's body locked.
17:14His eyes flashed full gold.
17:15For one terrifying second.
17:16I saw what the collar had been made to hold back.
17:19Not the mad air.
17:19The wolf.
17:20Then the room burst into light.
17:23When the light faded, Rowan was on the floor beside the bed.
17:26Unconscious.
17:27A thin crack ran across the black moon collar.
17:29For one terrified moment, I thought I had killed him.
17:32Then I felt it through the bond.
17:33A pulse.
17:34Weak.
17:34But there.
17:35Sometime before dawn, I must have fallen asleep.
17:37I woke to sunlight and the scratch of a pen.
17:39Rowan was already at the desk, his pale gray shirt loose at the collar.
17:43Riding with the steady focus of a man pretending he had not collapsed in front of me hours ago.
17:47But he had not fooled me.
17:48He still looked too thin, too pale, with shadows under his eyes.
17:51And one hand braced against the edge of the desk.
17:53Still, the hollowed out look was not as sharp as before.
17:56There was more color in his face.
17:57His hand no longer trembled around the pen.
18:00Small things.
18:01Impossible things.
18:02He noticed me watching and set the pen down.
18:04His eyes dropped to my bandaged palm.
18:06You reopened it last night.
18:07I looked at my hand.
18:08The cut from the altar had split again.
18:10I'm fine.
18:11No.
18:12You bled for me.
18:13His gaze stayed on the bandage a second too long.
18:15Then he looked away.
18:16Not cold.
18:17Careful.
18:17The moon temple keeps salves for blood rituals better than anything stored in this tower.
18:22After everything that happened, do you want to take me to the temple for medicine?
18:25His mouth tightened.
18:28I want to do one useful thing before you decide I'm only good at nearly losing control.
18:31Before I could answer, a knock sounded.
18:35My lord.
18:35The moon temple opened early.
18:37A sacred shipment arrived before dawn.
18:39Rowan looked at my palm again.
18:41We go now.
18:43You can barely stand.
18:45Then walk beside me.
18:47He held out his hand.
18:48Not because he needed help.
18:49Because he knew I might.
18:50Neither of us expected to run into Dorian and Talia again so soon.
18:55The moon temple was quiet, but not empty.
18:58Morning candles burned along the stone walls.
19:00And low voices drifted from the healing chamber behind the shrine.
19:03That was where I heard Dorian's voice.
19:05The healer said there is only one vial left.
19:08My chosen mate carries the future heir.
19:10He stood before a temple healer with Talia on his arm.
19:13When he saw me, his eyes dropped to my bandaged palm, then to the crown mark on my wrist.
19:18Already bleeding for him, Ella?
19:20His gaze returned to me.
19:21How was the first night?
19:22Or did the collar ruin that too?
19:25Alara always had a habit of saving people who didn't choose her first.
19:29I looked at her.
19:30You used to call that kindness when you needed it from me.
19:32Her face trembled.
19:33Ella, I didn't mean-
19:35You mean everything.
19:36That's always been the problem.
19:37The temple healer opened a carved cedar box and lifted out the last vial of white ash resin.
19:42Exactly what could soothe a moon iron collar burn.
19:44My fingers closed around it first.
19:46Talia's hand landed over mine.
19:47Alara, please.
19:49I need this.
19:50I didn't let go.
19:51This is for a blood-right wound.
19:53Her lip trembled.
19:53She turned to Dorian.
19:55She won't even let me have medicine for our pup.
19:57Dorian's face darkened instantly.
19:59He held out his hand.
20:00Give it to her.
20:02I had my hand on it first.
20:04Dorian's smile died.
20:05Before he could speak, Rowan stepped forward.
20:07The air in the healing chamber changed.
20:09The candle flames bent low.
20:11The temple healer went still behind the cedar box.
20:13She's my mate.
20:14Say one more word to her.
20:16Dorian stepped back half a step.
20:17Instinct, not choice.
20:19Then something ugly settled in his face.
20:21He stopped looking at me.
20:22Do you remember that night, brother?
20:23Rowan went still.
20:24The night they put the collar on you.
20:26You were six.
20:27Dorian's voice softened.
20:29You screamed for father until your voice gave out.
20:31He didn't come.
20:32For one second, the whole chamber seemed to hold its breath.
20:35Then I stepped in front of Rowan.
20:36Dorian.
20:37He blinked, surprised.
20:38You talk about broken things a lot for a man who lets one tear from Talia pull his strings.
20:44At least Rowan knows what is holding him back.
20:47Dorian, what's your excuse?
20:49Dorian's mouth opened.
20:50Before he could answer, Rowan's alpha pressure rolled through the chamber.
20:53The cedar box rattled.
20:54The healer lowered his head.
20:55Dorian's wolf betrayed him first.
20:57Everyone saw it.
20:58Rowan reached for the white ash resin and turned to the healer.
21:01Recorded under my name.
21:02The healer did not question him.
21:04He only bowed.
21:05This belongs to my mate.
21:06Dorian's face twisted.
21:07This isn't over.
21:09No.
21:09Looking at the crack in Rowan's collar.
21:11That's over.
21:12Dorian dragged Talia away before his wolf could betray him again.
21:15Only when they were gone did I see the blood at the corner of Rowan's mouth.
21:18The collar had reacted to his alpha command.
21:20It punished every rise of power.
21:22Even the ones he used to protect me.
21:25I made him sit down.
21:27Rowan tried to say he was fine.
21:29Then blood touched his lip again.
21:30I stared at him.
21:31No more pretending.
21:33The bond opened a crack in the black moon collar.
21:36But if it breaks all at once your wolf won't wake free.
21:38It will wake wild.
21:40So we don't break it yet.
21:41Rowan's eyes stayed on mine.
21:43We teach your wolf control first.
21:45If the collar breaks before your wolf learns control it won't free you.
21:48It will destroy you.
21:49For a moment neither of us spoke.
21:51Then Rowan asked.
21:52How do you know that?
21:53Because I felt it.
21:54At the altar.
21:55Last night.
21:56Every time my blood touches the black marks beneath the collar.
21:59Your wolf doesn't just fight the collar.
22:01I looked at him.
22:02It reaches for me.
22:03His jaw tightened.
22:04That is exactly why you should stop.
22:06No.
22:06The word came out before fear could catch it.
22:08We don't break the collar yet.
22:10We teach your wolf what my blood is.
22:11Rowan went still.
22:12So when the collar finally breaks it doesn't wake wild.
22:15A faint pulse moved through the crown mark on my wrist.
22:18It wakes yours.
22:19For a long moment he said nothing.
22:21Then he sat on the bed and loosened the top of his shirt so I could reach the burned sigils
22:25beneath the collar.
22:26The black marks looked darker than before.
22:28Angrier.
22:28The moment my palm touched them.
22:30His whole body locked.
22:31The collar pushed back.
22:32So did the wolf it was holding down.
22:34The first night.
22:35I kept my eyes on the mark.
22:36By the third.
22:37I could no longer ignore the way Rowan's breathing changed when the collar fought me.
22:40The way his jaw clenched.
22:42The way his fingers dug into the sheets while he forced himself to stay still.
22:45Does it hurt?
22:46No.
22:46Too fast.
22:47By the fifth night.
22:48It had become routine.
22:49Touch the sigils.
22:50Let my crown blood answer.
22:51Hold the pressure until the wolf stopped throwing itself against the dark.
22:55Then pull away.
22:55So I pulled away like always.
22:57Rowan caught my wrist.
22:58Not hard.
22:59Just fast enough to stop me.
23:00The bond snapped tight between us.
23:02My breath caught.
23:03His eyes lifted to mine.
23:04Don't pull away like that.
23:06Why?
23:07Gold flickered through his eyes.
23:08Because when you do, the wolf tries to follow.
23:14I woke to a sound that did not belong to any human throat.
23:17The bed beside me was empty.
23:18Rowan was in the corner.
23:19On his knees.
23:20One hand braced against the wall.
23:22His body shaking like every bone in him was fighting to change.
23:25The black moon collar burned black against his throat.
23:27The thing cracked across it had spread deeper.
23:29His nails had turned to claws.
23:31They dragged across the stone.
23:32Leaving tail marks on the floor.
23:34Then he looked up.
23:35Gold eyes.
23:35Slip pupils.
23:36Too much wolf.
23:37Not enough man.
23:38Go.
23:39When you're close.
23:40The bond pulls it harder.
23:42I got out of bed anyway.
23:43He hit the wall trying to get away from me.
23:45Alara.
23:46Don't.
23:47I knelt in front of him.
23:48The collar hissed before I even touched it.
23:50Black sigils flared beneath the metal.
23:52Crawling up his throat like they were trying to drag the wolf back down.
23:55I pressed my palm over them.
23:56Crown light burst from my hand.
23:57The crack in the collar widened.
23:59Rowan threw his head back with a sound that was half howl.
24:01Half relief.
24:02For one second.
24:03The thing inside him surged straight toward me.
24:05Not blind.
24:06Not empty.
24:06Hungry for the blood it had learned to follow.
24:08Rowan.
24:09His claws struck the stone on either side of me.
24:11Close enough to trap me.
24:12Careful enough not to cut me.
24:14His breathing came rough and broken.
24:15His eyes stayed cold.
24:16But they stayed on mine.
24:18Tell me to stop.
24:19Say it now.
24:19And I still can.
24:20I looked at the collar cracking under my palm.
24:22Then at the man fighting his own wolf just to keep me safe.
24:25I'm not going anywhere Rowan.
24:29I didn't run.
24:30Rowan stared at me.
24:31Gold burning through grey.
24:32Then his hand caught my waist.
24:33And the other came to the back of my neck.
24:35This was the wolf.
24:36The black moon collar flared between us.
24:38Silver and black light crashing together at his throat.
24:41Every touch opened the crack wider.
24:42I let my blood answer.
24:43Let it flood every fracture.
24:45His claws drove into the stone beside me hard enough to split it.
24:48But he never hurt me.
24:49And the moment I understood that.
24:50The first true lock inside the collar gave way.
24:52The room burst white.
24:53When the light died.
24:54Half the black metal had gone dull.
24:56Rowan looked different.
24:57Stronger.
24:58Warmer.
24:58More like the man he should have been all along.
25:00You should have run.
25:01You keep saying that.
25:02You never listen.
25:03Get used to it.
25:04Then he laughed.
25:05Low.
25:06Rough.
25:06Real.
25:07Lifted his hand to the back of my neck.
25:08And kissed me.
25:09Not like the almost kiss the collar had stolen from us.
25:12This one didn't stop.
25:13His claws were gone.
25:14His hands were human again.
25:15Steady.
25:16Warm.
25:16And refusing to let me go.
25:17Nothing interrupted us.
25:19Nothing pulled him away.
25:20When I woke hours later.
25:21The moon had crossed the entire sky.
25:23Rowan's arm was around my waist.
25:25His breathing slow and deep against the back of my neck.
25:27The man pressed against me felt nothing like the one I had married.
25:30Still pale.
25:31Still careful.
25:31But warmer.
25:32Stronger.
25:33Solid in a way that made me close my eyes and stay exactly where I was.
25:38Sunlight touched my face before I opened my eyes.
25:41The space beside me was empty, but still warm.
25:43Then I heard water running.
25:45Rowan stood by the basin, splashing water over his face.
25:48I froze.
25:48The drained look had begun to lift.
25:50Something restless had woken under his skin.
25:52Not madness.
25:53Power.
25:53He caught me staring.
25:54What?
25:55Nothing.
25:55He crossed the room and kissed me.
25:57Warm.
25:58Brief.
25:58Enough to make the crown mark on my wrist pulse.
26:00I reached for him.
26:01My palm brushed the cracked collar.
26:03Rowan's body locked.
26:04Black lines flared across the metal and climbed his throat.
26:07Blood dripped from his nose.
26:08Rowan.
26:09The collar is cracked.
26:10Breathing hard.
26:11But the wolf is waking faster than I can control it.
26:16Was it always like this?
26:18Rowan's gaze moved to the old binding records.
26:20No.
26:21He picked up one of them.
26:25My wolf woke too early.
26:27They called it mercy.
26:29A collar for the mad air.
26:30His hand tightened around the record.
26:32But there was never an incident.
26:33No one I hurt.
26:35No one I touched.
26:36His voice stayed quiet.
26:37I wasn't dangerous, Alara.
26:39I was inconvenience.
26:40The collar had never been proof of his madness.
26:42It had been proof of their fear.
26:44The cracked collar pulsed faintly at his throat.
26:46How long can it hold?
26:47Not long.
26:48His eyes lifted to mine.
26:49Then we move fast before Dorian does.
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