Chapter 73

Kayla

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on me, waiting for my decision. But all I felt was Nicholas’s gaze—sharp, steady, and yet holding an undercurrent of pain and anger that only I could feel.

This all felt so… wrong. So unfair.

So forced.

“Prove my devotion,” I murmured before I could stop myself, barely able to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. I lifted my eyes slowly, meeting Mr. Gray’s condescending smile with one of my own. “Isn’t that what I’ve already done? I’ve told you time and time again that I’m devoted to Nicholas, but you don’t believe me. How should I know you’ll believe me now?”

Nicholas shifted beside me, his body a statue of calm, but I could feel the storm under his skin. His shoulders were too tense, his hand curled just slightly into a fist against the table. Still, he said nothing. Not yet.

“Words mean little, Miss Sterling,” the guildsman replied smoothly, lacing his fingers together on the table. “We’re not just asking you to say that you’re devoted to Alpha Nicholas. We’re asking you to prove it by allowing us to sever your fated mate bond.”

I didn’t respond right away. My heart was pounding too hard, and I hated that he could probably hear it. The entire guild probably could, for that matter. The problem was that I didn’t know what to say.

Because even if I did make an oath, even if I did allow my fated mate bond with Noah to be cut off for good, it wouldn’t change the fact that I’d still be lying under oath. Again.

This was all fake. Nicholas and I both knew that. But standing here in front of everyone, being forced to make an oath that might as well be eternal? It felt… wrong. Like tying myself to him in a way that neither of us could back out of, even when this arrangement eventually fell apart.

If it fell apart.

And then there was Noah.

I could feel him watching me from across the room, quiet and stiff, his shoulders drawn inward. I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t. Because if I did, I might actually start thinking about it. Thinking about how easy it would be to walk away from this entire mess.

He was my fated mate. The blood test had proven that. And being with him would solve everything. The guild wouldn’t question our bond. My pack would be safe, because Noah could take over as Alpha without a hitch. I could wash my hands of all the lies and move on from this.

It would be the simplest solution. Maybe it would even be the right solution.

But when I imagined leaving Nicholas, something cold twisted inside of me. I tried to ignore it, but the sensation was more stubborn than I liked to admit.

If I walked away from this, then what about Nicholas? I’d be leaving him high and dry. I would be breaking a promise to him.

And despite everything, despite how confusing and infuriating our relationship could often be, I had come to view him as a…

Friend.

How could I be so cold as to screw over a man I cared about? To screw over not just him, but his pack? WIthout me, without our arrangement, he could lose his pack and his chances at being a guild chairman. Everything he had worked for, everything we had worked for, would be left to die.

“You’re hesitating, Miss Sterling,” the guildsman suddenly said, ripping me out of my deep train of thought. “Perhaps the guild was right to be concerned about your so-called ‘relationship’ to Alpha Reynolds.”

I bristled. “I’m just trying to understand how a single oath would change your minds. If the guild already believes our relationship is a sham, why would a few words convince you otherwise? I have no wolf, and thus I can’t feel the fated mate bond like another might. Who’s to say that severing it would actually make a difference to me?”

Mr. Gray smiled faintly, and I immediately hated the cold and calculating look in his eyes. “You’re correct. That is a concern. Which is why we would like to offer you another solution—something to make it all simpler for everyone.”

Nicholas tensed beside me. I didn’t miss the way his eyes narrowed as the guildsman folded his hands neatly in front of him.

“There is an ancient practice,” the guildsman continued smoothly. “One that was once used in situations such as these, where the matter of fated mates could not be resolved through ordinary means.”

Nicholas’s voice was sharp and immediate. “That practice was banned.”

Mr. Gray inclined his head slightly, as if that fact was nothing more than a mild inconvenience. “Yes, under normal circumstances. But this is hardly a normal case, is it? Your relationship is already under scrutiny. The guild believes this is a special circumstance, one that warrants the use of old methods to ensure fairness.”

I frowned. “What methods?”

“A simple test.” Mr. Gray’s smile widened. “You, Nicholas, and Mr. Baker will be locked in a room together. You will be injected with a harmless aphrodisiac. Whoever you choose in the midst of it—that will determine who your heart truly belongs to.”

The air drained from the room. I stared at him, stunned into silence. Even Noah’s head snapped up sharply, his eyes widening in disbelief.

“You can’t be serious,” Nicholas growled. “That’s dangerous. She was already drugged with an aphrodisiac by one of your informants, and—”

“I assure you, this particular aphrodisiac is perfectly safe,” the guildman cut him off, neither confirming nor denying my previous poisoning. “The effects last no more than five minutes, and there will be no lasting harm to Luna Kayla’s body. Medical professionals will be on the scene in case of an emergency.”

“This is ridiculous,” Nicholas snapped, taking a step forward, pressing his fingers into the wood of the council table. “You expect her to go through something like that? There are other ways to prove our relationship.”

“Perhaps,” the guildsman shrugged. “But this is the most definitive way. The aphrodisiac reveals the heart’s truest desires. It cannot lie.”

I swallowed hard. “And if I refuse?”

“Then the guild will proceed as planned, and your bond with Mr. Baker will remain intact, unless you believe yourself to be capable of making a decision in your sober state. The choice is yours, Luna.”

Nicholas turned to me, his gaze unreadable, but there was something softer lingering beneath the surface. The words he said next caught me completely by surprise.

“If you want to do this, that’s up to you.”

My breath caught in my throat. He wasn’t protesting. He wasn’t telling me not to do it.

He was letting me choose, even if the outcome ruined everything.

I looked at Noah, who still wouldn’t meet my eyes. His shoulders were slouched, almost as if he hated every second of this. As if he wanted to be anywhere but here.

And then I looked at Nicholas. Steady, unflinching Nicholas, who was watching me with that quiet, restrained fire that I was starting to know far too well. The fire that I saw far too often in myself, now mirrored in him.

Technically, I could just make my decision now—but truthfully, I didn’t know which decision was the better one to make. I felt like I was caught between a rock and a hard place, stuck between giving myself a chance to love my fated mate and leave a toxic situation in the dust or honor my promise to Nicholas at the expense of my own future.

An aphrodisiac, however…

It would make things simple. It would tell me what my heart truly wanted, because right now, truthfully… I didn’t know what it wanted. Or which decision was best for everyone, for that matter.

And if I did choose Noah in that state… Nicholas would understand, wouldn’t he? He wouldn’t hold it against me. Not forever, at least.

At least, that was what I hoped. But deep down, a small and strange part of me seemed to hope that it wouldn’t even come to that. That the strange feelings hidden deep inside the pit of my stomach would take hold and make the decision for me.

Finally, I exhaled slowly. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

Nicholas’s gaze darkened, but he said nothing.

Mr. Gray’s smile returned, all too pleased with my answer. He gestured toward the door, summoning a guild attendant. “Take them to the testing room. We’ll begin shortly.”

The attendant nodded, and with a flick of his hand, Mr. Gray had us escorted out.