Chapter 3

I didn't tell Selene what happened in Damon's study. When she asked about the stew, I said I'd tripped. She frowned but let it go.

Selene had been my friend long before Damon brought us here. Late in my first life, I had heard what happened after we were separated: five years wandering rogue territory, ill and without protection. I hadn't seen those years myself. I knew only the news that had finally reached me, and that I hadn't been there to help her.Selene had been my friend long before Damon brought us here. In my first life, we lost each other that night. Only much later did I learn that she had spent five years wandering rogue territory, sick and alone, while I lived in Damon's house. I had never forgiven myself for that.

Their mating ceremony took place the next morning. I stood with the other attendants while Selene gave her vows. She asked me afterward to stay a little longer, until she felt settled. I agreed, still keeping my release in my pocket.The Council approved the match a few days later, and the mating ceremony was held at dawn. I stood with the other attendants while Selene spoke her vows. Then I went back to waiting, with the release still folded in my pocket.

That afternoon, I overheard Damon's voice through Selene's sitting room curtain. He was speaking low, careful.

"Mira saved your life, I know. But she's still an Omega, Selene. They're… opportunistic. They bond to whoever feeds them."

Selene's scent sharpened with confusion. "What are you saying, Damon? Mira would never—"

"I'm saying be careful." His tone hardened. "You don't know what she's plotting. Maybe she wants more than gratitude."

There was a pause. Then Selene laughed, a little uneasy. "Damon, you're being ridiculous. You're always so cold to her. Do you… not like her?"

Another pause, longer this time. "I don't think about her at all," he said finally. Too quickly.

But before he left, he muttered something under his breath that I barely caught: "Not again."

I stayed still. Again? I had no way to know what he meant, but I remembered the words.I stayed still. Again? I didn't know what he meant, but the words stayed with me.

I stepped back from the curtain. I had once wanted him to think well of me. Now I wanted enough distance that his opinion could no longer hurt me.Now I only wanted to be far away from him. I still had the release Selene had signed.

Three days later, Selene bounced into my room with a folded piece of paper, her cheeks flushed.

"Mira! I've found someone for you."

I blinked. "What?"

"A wolf," she said, grinning. "From a trading family in the south. His name is Elias Mercer. Beta. Wealthy. Respected." She pressed the paper into my hands—a sketch of a broad-shouldered man. "He's looking for a mate. Not for love, necessarily. He travels for work and needs someone steady to manage his household."

I stared at the drawing. "Selene, I don't think—"

"Just meet him," she insisted. "Please? Damon's grandmother is pushing him to fill the manor with 'suitable Omegas' for breeding. I'd rather help you find a good future before she decides to auction you off to one of her allies."

The word breeding made my stomach turn. In packs like Hawthorne, a low-ranking Omega's refusal counted for little. I had seen women assigned to households and claimed by men they hadn't chosen. My release mattered, but it wouldn't stop Damon's grandmother from trying to place me with an ally.Even with my release, nothing would stop Damon's grandmother from placing me with one of her allies.

"One meeting," I said.

Elias Mercer stood when I approached the garden table and waited for me to choose a seat. He smelled of cedar and road dust. He didn't leer or posture like the Alphas I'd grown up around.

"I won't pretend this is a fairy tale," he said over tea in the manor's garden.he said over tea. "I need a mate to watch my territory while I'm away. You need protection. It's a fair trade."

I liked his honesty. "And you don't care that I'm an Omega?"

He shrugged. "My mother was an Omega. She ran our family pack better than any Alpha could." He paused. "There's one thing. I work for a powerful wolf. He's… intense. But loyal. If you mate me, you'll be under his protection too.If you become my mate, you'll be under his protection too."

I didn't ask his employer's name. I was still considering what Elias had offered: a household to run, a place away from this manor, and a man who had asked whether I wanted the arrangement. I could accept those terms without pretending I was in love.I didn't ask who his employer was. A household to run, a home far from this manor, and a man honest enough to call it a trade—I could accept those terms without pretending to be in love.

"Yes," I said. "Let's do it."

When I told Selene, she squealed and hugged me. "I'll start your dowry chest tomorrow!"

But when Damon walked in and saw the betrothal contract on the table, he stopped in the doorway.

He picked it up, scanned it, then looked at me. "Elias Mercer? The merchant?"

Selene nodded. "Isn't it wonderful? Mira's going to the southern territories. Far away from here."

Damon's jaw tightened. "No."

We both stared at him.

"No?" Selene echoed.

He laid the contract flat on the table. "Mercer is barely a Beta. His pack is small. And an Omega from Hawthorne Manor mating a traveling salesman?mating a traveling trader?" His lip curled. "It's beneath her station."

Selene frowned. "Damon, you're always saying you don't like having Mira around. Now you're complaining she's leaving?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked at me instead of answering her.

"Fine," he said. "Marry the trader. See if I care."