Chapter 1

Cora

The sheets were still cool when I reached out. I had fallen back asleep after noticing that Kingston was gone, but it seemed that, even with all of the time that had passed, he hadn’t returned.

For one long second, I thought Kingston had just rolled over, that he was still beside me—maybe watching me sleep, quiet and unreadable. But when my hand met only rumpled linen and an empty pillow, the illusion shattered, and I remembered his hastily scrawny note.

I sat up slowly, the soft cotton of his shirt slipping over my bare thighs, the bond still humming faintly in my chest. I wasn’t alone. Not truly. I could still feel him. But it was distant, like a whisper through fog.

I blinked sleep from my eyes and glanced at the clock. 8:03 a.m.

I should’ve expected this.

Kingston didn’t sleep late. Last night, for a brief moment, he’d just been mine. Now, the world had come knocking again.

But something felt... off.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and padded toward the door. The house was quiet, eerily so. Riley was still sleeping down the hall. The guest room door was ajar, the soft hum of his breathing carrying into the corridor.

There was no steaming mug of coffee on the counter. Just absence.

My wolf stirred uneasily, pacing inside with angst.

I wrapped my arms around myself and sank onto the couch, staring blankly at the empty hearth. A single, gnawing thought kept circling through my mind.

Where is he?

Kingston

Earlier that morning, I had closed the door behind me softly, the latch clicking shut just as Cora turned in her sleep, sighing against his pillow. She looked so beautiful. I couldn’t believe she was all mine.

My steps were light, practiced; I hated leaving her, especially after last night. Especially after what they’d just become to each other.

True mates.

Bonded.

The word still rang through me like thunder.

But the text message had come in with sharp urgency before the sun had even risen. Silverfang emergency. Immediate presence required. No details.

And as much as I hated the politics of my title, I couldn’t ignore the call. Not now, not when tensions among the packs were already cracking at the seams.

I just hadn’t expected to walk into a room with every pack executive seated in silence. Or for the meeting to begin with one sentence:

“We need to finalize your marriage arrangement.”

My blood ran cold.

“What?” My voice echoed through the chamber.

May folded her hands. “The Eastern coalition is growing uneasy with our... lack of structure. They’ve requested a formal union between our Alpha and one of their daughters to solidify the alliance.”

“No.” The word tore from my throat like a snarl. “Absolutely not.”

“It is strategic,” a pack elder named Lena said coolly. “This isn’t just about you. It’s about the future of the packs.”

“I am not marrying someone to ease another Alpha’s ego.”

May’s brow lifted. “Then offer an alternative. Your hand in marriage is the best political strategy we can play. So tell us if you have anyone else in mind or… Have you already claimed a mate?”

My mouth opened—then closed.

The silence stretched, brittle and heavy.

I couldn’t say yes. Not without revealing the secret Cora had specifically made me promise not to divulge. Not without shattering the fragile promise she’d asked me to keep until she was ready.

I simply couldn’t betray her trust like that.

But saying nothing was an answer all its own.

“I thought not,” Lena said.

My fists clenched under the table.

I could feel the bond vibrating against my chest, pulling at me like a tether. Reminding me of Cora.

Miles away, Cora was asleep, unaware of the battle raging here on her behalf. I’d promised her time. Promised her secrecy. But the pack was pushing, and I was cornered.

“We’ve already begun correspondence,” Lena continued. “They’re expecting a formal proposal by the next full moon.”

“I won’t do it,” I growled.

May met my gaze coolly. “Then give us something better.”

Cora

By the time I heard the front door open again, it was nearly 10:00 a.m.

I was curled on the couch in Kingston’s shirt, trying not to let my mind spiral. But the second I heard his boots cross the threshold, I stood.

He walked in looking exhausted, his hair a little mussed, tension tight around his eyes, his jaw clenched in that way that meant something had gone very wrong.

“Where were you?” I asked quietly.

He froze.

Then his gaze lifted to mine. “Silverfang pack meeting. Emergency session.”

I waited, arms crossed over my chest. “And? What was the emergency?”

His shoulders sank as he stepped toward me, closing the space between us. “They’re trying to force a political marriage. With me.”

The words hit me like a slap.

I blinked once, then again. “What?”

“They want me to take a mate from the Eastern packs. They think it’ll stabilize tensions. Secure power. Send a message.”

“And what did you say?”

“That I refused,” he said. “But...”

The pause said everything.

“But you couldn’t give them a reason,” I finished for him.

He looked pained. “Not without telling them about you. About the bond. About what we did this morning.”

I turned away, heart thudding.

This was exactly what I’d feared. That our bond would become leverage. That I would become leverage.

“I told you to keep it secret,” I whispered.

“I did,” he said, stepping closer. “Cora, I protected it. I protected you. But they’re pushing harder than I expected.”

I turned back to him, throat tight. “What happens if you keep refusing?”

“They’ll grow suspicious. Start digging. Assume I’m hiding something, which I am.”

I stared at him, struggling to hold myself together.

“And what happens if you agree to marry someone else, Kingston?”

“I won’t,” he said fiercely. “Not now. Not ever.”

“But if you keep resisting without explanation... they’ll think you’re weak.”

He flinched.

I hated the words even as I said them, but they were true. We both knew how the pack politics worked. Alphas didn’t get to be romantic. They had to be strategic. Tactical. Ruthless.

I walked to the window, arms hugging my middle. The sunrise painted pale gold across the trees, mocking the storm inside of me.

“I shouldn’t have let this happen,” I whispered. “I should’ve waited. I wasn’t ready.”

“Don’t say that,” he said behind me. “Don’t regret what we did, please. Last night was real.”

“I know,” I said. “And it’s because it was real that we have to protect it.”

He came to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I let him. I needed to feel him. Needed to know we were still whole, even if the world outside was already trying to break us.

“I’ll find a way to buy us time,” he murmured against my temple. “I’ll stall the council. Create distractions. Make them think I’m considering their offer without actually accepting it.”

I closed my eyes. “And what if they find out about me anyway?”

“Then I protect you,” he said simply. “With everything I have.”

I turned to face him, resting my hands against his chest. “I can’t be your weakness, Kingston.”

“You’re not. You’re my mate. You’re my strength.”

My throat tightened. “Then don’t let them take you from me. Not for politics. Not for peace.”

“Never,” he said, voice thick. “You’re mine, Cora. No matter what.”

I nodded, leaning deeper into him.

We stood there, wrapped in each other, while the morning crept in like a thief, stealing away the quiet magic of the night before.

This was our reality now. Secrets. Pressure. A bond forged in fire and shadow, hidden beneath the weight of power and expectation.

But I would hold it tight. And so would he. Even if the world tried to tear us apart.