POV Blake
Three days.
Three fucking days of watching my parents cosplay as functional human beings while I died a little more with each passing hour.
"Your father's proposal for the northern territories is brilliant," Matthias said over breakfast, completely missing the way Father’s eyes gleamed with predatory satisfaction. "The resource sharing alone will strengthen both packs significantly."
I choked on my coffee. "Brilliant. Yeah… Dad's always been a real genius."
Mother shot me a warning look while delicately spreading jam on her toast like she wasn't planning mass murder for dessert.
"Amelia's always been so modest about our family's strategic capabilities."
"Modest," I repeated flatly. "That's definitely the word."
My wolf clawed at my insides, demanding we scream the truth, flip the table, do literally anything except sit here playing happy families while the countdown to slaughter ticked away.
But twenty years of conditioning is a hell of a drug, and my mouth stayed shut like the coward I was.
"The merger ceremony will be historic," Alpha Lucas announced, and I wondered if anyone else noticed how he emphasized 'historic.' "Two packs, united in purpose."
"United in purpose," I echoed, earning another sharp look from Mother. "Super united. The unitest."
Matthias's hand found mine under the table, squeezing gently. The mate bond pulsed with his contentment, his pride in successful negotiations, and I wanted to throw up.
Kai chose that moment to appear in the dining room doorway like a bad rash.
"Amelia, could I speak with you? Privately?"
"No," Matthias said before I could even process the request.
His voice carried that particular Alpha edge that meant 'fuck around and find out.'
"I wasn't asking you, Alpha Matthias," Kai replied, apparently suffering from a terminal case of stupid.
The temperature in the room dropped about twenty degrees. Matthias's eyes flashed gold, and his grip on my hand went from gentle to possessive. "And I wasn't giving you an option."
"Boys," Mother laughed, all tinkling charm. "Such territorial creatures. Kai, perhaps you could help with the supply inventory instead?"
Kai's jaw worked like he was chewing glass, but even he wasn't dumb enough to challenge an Alpha in his own territory. He slunk off, shooting me one last meaningful look that made my skin crawl.
"Thanks," I murmured to Matthias once conversations resumed.
"He's been circling you like a vulture," he replied quietly. "Whatever he wants, he can want it from a distance."
If only he knew Kai was the least of our problems.
The days blurred together in a nauseating parade of diplomatic dinners, strategic planning sessions, and my parents pretending they gave a single fuck about peaceful solutions.
I watched Mother charm even Sage Helen, that silver tongue spinning lies so beautiful they sounded like gospel truth.
"I sense deep sadness in her," Helen told me after one particularly impressive performance. "Losing a child changes you."
I bit my tongue hard enough to taste blood. "Yeah. Losing Amelia really... changed things."
Every night, I'd lie beside Matthias and think: Tell him. Tell him now. Tell him before it's too late.
Every morning, I'd wake up and think: One more day. Just get through one more day.
My wolf grew more frantic with each passing hour, our internal war reaching critical mass. She wanted to protect our mate, our pack, our home.
I wanted that too, but fear kept winning.
Then came departure day, and my parents cranked their performance up to eleven.
"My darling girl," Mother cooed, pulling me into an embrace that felt like being hugged by a snake. "We're so proud of what you've accomplished here."
"Sure you are," I muttered against her shoulder.
"We'll see you very soon," she whispered, just for me. "Be ready."
Father's goodbye was marginally less traumatic, probably because he'd never mastered the art of fake affection. "Continue making us proud, Amelia."
"That's the plan," I lied through gritted teeth. "Making you proud is definitely my life goal."
They left in a convoy of black SUVs, and I held it together exactly long enough for them to clear the territory border. Then in the late evening my wolf exploded out of me like she'd been shot from a cannon.
Run, she howled. Run run run run run.
So I ran.
Through the forest, over streams, past familiar landmarks that had become home. My paws hit the ground in a desperate rhythm: coward, coward, coward, coward.
The mate bond thrummed with Matthias's concern, growing stronger as he tracked me through our connection.
Of course he'd follow. Of course he'd find me. That's what mates do—they find each other, protect each other, tell each other the fucking truth before their psychotic parents commit genocide.
I skidded to a stop in a moonlit clearing, sides heaving, nowhere left to run.
His wolf emerged from the shadows moments later, massive and radiating confused concern.
We stared at each other across the silver-washed grass, and my wolf made the decision my human side couldn't. She forced the shift, leaving me naked and shaking in the moonlight.
Matthias shifted too, closing the distance between us in three strides. "Blake, what's wrong? You've been on edge for days—"
"They're going to kill you."
The words fell between us like grenades. His hands, reaching for me, froze mid-air.
His face went through about seven emotions in three seconds. "What?"