KADE’S POV
Alpha Prince Darius approached me after staring at me for what felt like a long time. With that cocky smile, he bowed slightly to me. It was a shallow bow, barely respectful, but I acknowledged it with a nod.
"Prince Kade," he said, his voice tight with barely controlled anger.
"Darius," I replied calmly. "I'm curious about something."
"What's that?"
I pointed toward the girl who was still being held by his guards. "Why is she being dragged around like a criminal?"
Darius glanced at her with disgust. "She's nothing but a slave. She was probably trying to escape her duties."
I laughed. The sound seemed to surprise everyone in the crowd, including Darius.
"A slave?" I asked, still chuckling. "What did she do? How exactly did she become a slave?"
Darius's jaw tightened. "That's confidential pack business."
"Confidential?" I raised an eyebrow. "Or embarrassing?"
"It's none of your concern, Prince," Darius said stiffly.
I took a step closer to him. "Actually, I think it is my concern. Tell me, does her enslavement have anything to do with the Fenrir empire?"
The question hit its mark. I saw Darius's eyes flash with anger and something else. Guilt, maybe. Or fear.
"What are you suggesting?" he asked.
"I'm not suggesting anything," I replied. "I'm asking a direct question. Did this girl or her family have connections to my people?"
"Even if they did," Darius said, his voice getting louder, "it wouldn't matter. Traitors get what they deserve."
"Traitors?" I laughed again, but this time there was no humor in it. "Or people who were smart enough to see the future?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Darius demanded.
"It means," I said, stepping even closer, "that maybe her family understood something your pack was too stubborn to accept."
The crowd around us was getting restless. I could hear murmurs and whispers as people tried to understand what was happening.
"You're talking about the prophecy," Darius said coldly.
"I'm talking about inevitability," I corrected. "The old ways are ending, Darius. One way or another."
"Never," he snarled. "We'll never bow down to you or anyone else."
"Even if it means destroying innocent people?" I asked, glancing toward the girl again.
"She's not innocent!" Darius shouted. "Her father was a traitor! He tried to ally with you behind our backs!"
"So you killed him for it," I said. It wasn't a question.
"We executed him for treason," Darius replied. "Just like we'll execute anyone else who betrays this pack."
The tension in the air was getting thicker by the second. I could see my guards shifting their positions, ready for trouble. The pack members were looking nervous too.
"You know what I think?" I said quietly.
"What?" Darius asked.
"I think you're scared."
His face turned red with rage. "I'm not scared of anything!"
"No?" I smiled coldly. "Then why are you planning to poison me tonight instead of facing me honorably?"
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Several pack members took steps backward.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Darius said, but his voice wavered.
"Of course you don't," I replied. "Just like you don't know about the meeting you held with your elders. Just like you don't know about your plan to use the healer girl during your attack."
Darius's face went pale. "How did you—"
"How did I know?" I finished for him. "Because someone with actual honor warned me."
I looked directly at the girl. She was trembling, but there was courage in her eyes.
"Stop this!" Darius suddenly shouted. "Guards! Arrest the Fenrir Prince!"
His soldiers started moving forward, but my guards were ready. Steel rang against steel as weapons were drawn.
"Darius," I said calmly, even as the fighting began around us, "call off your men before someone gets hurt."
"Never!" he snarled, drawing his own sword. "I'll kill you myself!"
He lunged at me with his blade raised high. I sidestepped easily and drew my own weapon.
"You should have accepted the peaceful option," I told him as our swords clashed.
"I'll never accept defeat!" he replied, swinging wildly.
The fight was over quickly. Darius was strong, but he was sloppy. Anger made him careless. Within moments, I had his sword knocked from his hand and my blade at his throat.
"Yield," I commanded.
"Go to hell," he spat.
I pressed the sword a little closer to his neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Yield," I repeated.
Darius fell to the ground, clutching his throat. The wound wasn't deep, but it was enough to make my point.
As he lay there, his eyes suddenly shifted to something behind me. I followed the direction of his gaze and saw him staring at the girl.
There was something in his expression. Something possessive and desperate.
I dropped my sword and raised my hand, signaling my soldiers to halt. They stopped fighting immediately, though they remained ready. All of Darius's soldiers were either defeated or surrendering.
The pack grounds fell silent except for heavy breathing and the sound of wounded men groaning.
I moved straight to the girl, who was shivering in fear. She had pressed herself against a wall, trying to stay out of the way of the fighting.
"It's alright," I said gently as I approached her. "You're safe now."
She looked up at me with wide eyes.
Not only had she saved my life by warning me about the poison, but now I knew she had a history with the Fenrirs. Her family had tried to ally with us. They had died for it.
She deserved better than this life of slavery and abuse.
I stretched my hand out toward her, offering her a choice instead of a command.
"Will you become my mate?" I asked.
The words seemed to echo across the silent pack grounds. Everyone froze.
Darius gasped from where he lay on the ground. "No!"
The girl also gasped, staring at my outstretched hand like it might bite her.
"I... what?" she whispered.
"You heard me," I said softly. "Will you be my mate? My equal? My partner?"
The crowd was completely silent now, waiting for her answer.