Page 34 of The Alpha's Fallen Spell
“I haven’t seen her around the palace lately.”
“And whose fault is that?” The question carries a sharp edge. I must have flinched because she sighs, softening slightly. “She’s fine, Erik. Just busy.”
I glance at the medical bag she’s holding. “Busy with what?”
“Research.” Her answer is clipped, final. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have matters to attend to.”
She closes the door behind her, steps around me, and heads down the corridor. I watch her go, noting the tension in her shoulders, the quickened pace of her steps.
Maya is hiding something.
I turn back to Fiona’s door, tempted to knock, to demand answers. But again, I stop myself. Whatever is happening with her, I surrendered any right to know when I rejected our bond.
I force myself to walk away, each step feeling heavier than the last.
“The Blackwood family is leading the opposition,” Griffin says, pacing the length of his study.
Another week has passed, and my thoughts are still focused on the blonde woman with nightmares in her eyes.
“They’re stirring up the old families, claiming that ‘artificial shifters’ threaten the purity of our bloodlines.”
I stand by the fireplace, watching my brother’s mounting frustration. This meeting was supposed to be about border security, but politics have overtaken the agenda.
“It’s absurd,” Griffin continues. “They’re creating divisions where none need exist. If they consider Fiona a threat because of how she became a shifter, they may as well consider Maya one, as well.”
The mention of Fiona’s name draws my full attention. “What exactly are they saying about her?”
Griffin stops pacing to look at me directly. “They’re saying she’s unpredictable. Dangerous. That her wolf was forced into existence and therefore can’t be trusted.” His expressiondarkens. “They’re using her as a proxy to attack Maya. If they can establish that artificially triggered shifters are lesser, or dangerous, it undermines my mate’s standing as queen.”
The political calculation is clear, but the personal implications hit harder. “Fiona has done nothing to deserve this scrutiny.”
“No, she hasn’t.” Griffin studies me with sudden intensity. “Which is why I’m surprised you haven’t taken steps to protect her.”
I stiffen. “She has the protection of the crown. My protection as commander of the army.”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” Griffin’s patience visibly thins. “When do you plan to formally declare her as your mate?”
The question feels like an accusation. I turn away, facing the fire rather than my brother’s penetrating gaze.
“I’m not going to,” I say eventually.
Silence stretches between us, heavy and charged.
“What do you mean, you’re not going to?” Griffin’s voice is dangerously quiet.
“I rejected the bond.” The admission burns my throat. “Three weeks ago.”
“You did what?” Disbelief colors his tone.
I finally turn to face him. “I told her that I don’t want a mate. That I have responsibilities that take precedence.”
My brother stares at me as if seeing a stranger. “You rejected your fated mate.” He says each word slowly, as if testing their reality. “The one gift the Goddess saw fit to give you after all these years—and you threw it away?”
“It was the right decision,” I insist, even as something inside me recoils at the lie. “I can’t divide my focus. The kingdom needs—”
“Don’t you dare use the kingdom as your excuse,” Griffin cuts in, anger flashing in his eyes. “I’m the king. Maya is the queen. Somehow we manage to fulfill our duties without denying our bond.”
“This is different,” I argue, though the words sound hollow even to my own ears.
