Chapter Three: Burning Bridges
NATHAN
The silence in the room was suffocating after my father‘ s words sliced through it.
“I am never going to hand the pack over to you if
you don’t agree to this. You either marry her or lose the pack.”
I stared at him, forcing my fury to stay buried under the surface. My tone was cold, measured. “So, you expect me to marry a stranger–a woman I’ve never met–because you‘ re so paranoid about your bloodline ending with me?”
His hand raked through his hair, a familiar gesture of frustration. His voice softened, as though he thought compassion would mask the ultimatum. “I only want what s best for you, Nathan. You‘ ve spent years resenting women because of what your mother did, and-
“Don’t bring her up.” I snapped, the
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words spilling out before I could stop them. My patience was wearing thin.
“And if you knew what was best for me, you wouldn’t threaten to take away the one thing I’ve trained my entire life for. If it’s an heir you want, I’ll give you an heir. –but I will not marry a stranger.”
He shook his head, disappointment lacing his gaze. “This is about more than just an heir, Nathan. It’s about you moving on from the past. Letting someone in. Someone who isn‘ t Nadia.”
“All I want,” he continued, “is for you to be happy. Nicole is kind and beautiful. You’ll see that. She‘ ll be good for you, in time.”
I glared at him, my voice dropping to a dangerous growl. “If you force me into this, I will never forgive you.”
His weary sigh was punctuated by a faint, sad smile. “Then so be it. The decision is final. You have three days to submit your answer to the council.”
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He turned without another word, the door slamming behind him. And just like that, the choice was made for me.
I had trained to be an Alpha my entire life.
It was all I knew. This was the sacrifice I had to make to claim what was rightfully mine.
But Nicole, whoever she was, would never mean anything to me.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
Over the three years that followed, I came to see that my father had been right. Nicole was everything I didn’t know I wanted. She was kind. She was strong. She was… perfect.
And that perfection was my downfall.
Because the moment I trusted her–the moment I let her past my walls–she cheated on me and betrayed me. Women were all the same. They made you believe you were the center of their world, only to leave you shattered, wondering why you
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were never enough.
Nadia was the only exception. The only woman I could trust. My sister, my constant. And no matter what Nicole believed about her, Nadia had proved, time and again, that she would never leave me.
The day Nicole walked away, I told myself she was nothing to me. Just like she was always meant to be.
But over the two years that passed, I’d kept tabs on her learning that she had taken over her pack. Which was why she had married me, using me for my
resources.
And I should have treated her the same—as
a means to an end.
Instead, I let her in. And I hated her for it.
A sharp knock at the door dragged me out of the memory, my chest tightening at the flood of emotions.
“Come in,” I called, irritation lacing my
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voice.
One of my top men stepped in, his head bowed respectfully.
“Just tell me what it is,” I muttered, leaning back in my chair.
His voice was cautious. “Something has come up that requires your attention, Alpha. Alpha Ivan is requesting approval to form an alliance.”
I waved a hand dismissively. “How many times do I have to tell you? Grant permission without bothering me with irrelevant details. I don‘ t care who aligns with whom.”
He hesitated, his eyes flickering with
unease.
“I thought you‘ d want to know who he wants to align with,” he said carefully.
“It’s Nicole Myers.”
The room went still.
The name sent a jolt of cold fury through
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my veins. “Why is she reaching out to a Kaldor pack?”
“From what I heard, wolves are going missing in the Hasting faction. They‘ re being found dead. I believe she needs more resources to protect her territory. Shall I approve the request?”
My jaw clenched, “No. Decline it. And send a message to Ivan and every Alpha in the Kaldor faction. From this point, Nicole Myers is blacklisted. Any Alpha caught aligning or associating with her will face dire consequences.”
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