Knotting His Rejected Breeder

Vance looked at his daughter, his jaw set hard. "Yes."

She swallowed hard, her chest heaving once as she tried to force air back into her lungs. "To... to me?"

The absurdity of the question hung in the air for a terrible second. Runa turned a pained, sharp glare toward her daughter, while Vance merely raised an eyebrow in grim disdain.

Aurora flinched as the reality caught up to her words. "No," she whispered, her face flushing crimson before turning chalk white. "No. Who?"

Vance reopened the letter, his voice flat and deliberate. "Destiny."

The name landed like iron falling on stone.

Aurora froze. Every trace of warmth drained from her skin, leaving her looking fragile and translucent beneath the gray hall light.

For five days, Seth had built scenarios in his head. He had imagined her finally accepting that Dane wasn’t coming, breaking down, leaning on him, letting him help her piece things back together. He had never once prepared himself for this: watching her realize she hadn’t just been passed over—she had been replaced.

Aurora sank slowly back into her chair, her hands lying flat and useless against the cold table.

"When?" she asked the wood.

"Two days ago," Vance replied.

Two days ago.

While she had sat by the window tracing patterns in the condensation, waiting for a rider who had already stood before an altar with someone else.

"Did he..." Aurora choked slightly, clearing her throat before trying again. "Did he leave a message? For the house?"

Vance folded the letter for the final time. "No."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing for you, Aurora."

The words struck like a physical blow. Aurora looked toward the hearth, her breathing shallow and fast. Runa reached out to touch her daughter’s shoulder, but Aurora flinched away.

"Don’t," she whispered.

Runa withdrew her hand, her mouth a tight line of helpless grief.

The silence returned, vast and suffocating.

Seth looked down at his boots. Something quiet and vital snapped inside him. It wasn’t dramatic or explosive; it was simply the painful realization that the hope he’d nursed for the last five days had been built on air. Aurora hadn’t been weighing her options between him and the Alpha of BloodMoon. She had chosen Dane weeks ago, and Seth had simply been the shadow standing beside her while she waited for a door that was already locked.

He took a slow step back from the table.

Aurora’s head snapped up at the movement.

Seth looked down at her, searching for something noble or comforting to say, but found only the cold truth.

"Aurora."

She looked at him, her eyes dark, rimmed with red, and completely devoid of the lingering hope that had sustained her all week.

"I’ll have my horses packed by dawn," he said softly.

Her lips parted. "You’re leaving?"

He offered a brief, bittersweet nod.

She lowered her gaze, her fingers knotting in the fabric of her skirt. "Seth... I’m sorry."

"Don’t be," he cut in gently. "You don’t owe me an apology."

"I never meant to keep you here."

"I stayed because I wanted to," he said, taking one last step closer. He hesitated, his hand hovering over her shoulder before he pulled it back, resting his fingers lightly on the edge of the table near hers. "You’re going to get through this."

Aurora looked up, a tear finally breaking over her lashes. "I don’t know how to do that right now."

"You don’t have to know today," Seth said. "You just have to survive it."

He held her gaze for a long moment, making sure she heard him, before letting his hand fall back to his side. He turned and walked down the long aisle between the empty tables.

This time, she didn’t call after him.

The mountain air outside hit Seth like a physical blow, cold and clean after the stale atmosphere of the hall. He stopped under the heavy stone archway of the courtyard, leaning his back against the masonry and closing his eyes.

Down the valley, the southern pass wound its way through the dark timber toward BloodMoon territory.

He stayed there for several minutes, letting the wind pull the warmth from his face, until the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the stone corridor behind him.

Seth opened his eyes as a young captain came skidding around the pillar, out of breath.

"Alpha Seth."

Seth didn’t turn around entirely. "What is it?"

"King Vance has ordered the northern riders to mount up."

Seth frowned, turning his head. "To go home?"

"No, sir," the captain lowered his voice, glancing over his shoulder. "He’s dispatching a fresh decree to the southern borders."

"BloodMoon already received their answer," Seth said, his voice tightening.

"This isn’t an answer," the captain replied grimly. "It’s a summons. For the whole council."

Seth turned fully, his chest darkening with familiar frustration. He pushed past the guard and marched back through the archway toward the dais.

Vance was still there, standing beside the cold hearth while Runa spoke to him in hushed, urgent tones. He looked up as Seth’s heavy footsteps approached.

"I thought you were packing," Vance said flatly.

"I hear you’re sending riders south again."

"I am."

"Dane is married, Vance," Seth said, stopping at the foot of the dais. "It’s over. The alliance fell through. Let it go."

Vance’s expression didn’t shift. "The alliance didn’t fall through, Seth. BloodMoon walked away from a royal mandate."

"He chose his own pack over yours."

"He embarrassed this crown in front of twelve regional Alphas," Vance replied, his voice chillingly calm.

Seth stared at him. "So this isn’t about Aurora’s standing at all."

"Aurora is my blood," Vance said, stepping down to the main floor. "But authority is what keeps this mountain from burning. If an Alpha can ignore a command from Silvercrest without consequence, every pack between here and the sea will start testing the borders by first frost."

Seth let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "You’re going to start a war over wounded pride?"

"I am securing the kingdom’s borders," Vance corrected smoothly. He turned to the captain waiting by the door. "Send word to the northern packs. Tell them Dane Grey has broken covenant. Let them know Silvercrest no longer recognizes BloodMoon’s territorial immunity."

Runa caught her husband’s sleeve, her voice tight with panic. "Vance, think about what you’re setting in motion!"

"I have thought about it," Vance said, disengaging her hand with quiet precision. "For five days."

He walked out toward the war room, his heavy cloak trailing behind him on the stone.

Seth stood motionless in the center of the vast, empty room. Runa watched him, her hands trembling slightly against her skirts.

"Get on your horse, Seth," she whispered softly. "Go back to your people before he asks you to lead a front line."

Seth looked back toward the private chambers where Aurora had vanished.

"He’s going to tear everything down," Seth said quietly.

"Then don’t be here when the walls fall," Runa replied.

Seth took a slow, heavy breath, turned his back on the throne, and walked out into the cold mountain air. Outside, the horns were already sounding in the lower courtyard, calling the riders to assemble.

The quiet five days were over.

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