Knotting His Rejected Breeder

It had been five hours since Vance removed his men from Red Keep Road at noon, unleashing the backed-up supply trucks down the valley pass.

The road was clear, but Dane was still trapped in Silvercrest because the Council was set to convene at eight the following morning. Dane and his men had retreated into the high-ceilinged guest quarters on the west wing of the estate.

Dane stood in the centre of the room, his jacket off, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wanted to be back on his own estate, back where he could see Destiny, touch her, and keep her safe from the wolves who wanted her head.

Across the room, Henrik threw a log into the hearth, sending a shower of orange sparks up the chimney.

A soft, deliberate knock sounded against the door.

Henrik’s jaw tightened at the smell of her. He reached for the latch, but Dane held up a hand.

"Stay," Dane said.

He crossed the room, pulled back the heavy iron bolt, and swung the door open.

Aurora stood in the dim stone corridor.

She had stripped away the dress she was wearing earlier for a long, clinging silk robe of deep wine-red that draped off one shoulder, the fine fabric catching the low firelight from the hallway. Her silver-blonde hair fell loose around her chest, smelling faintly of sweet jasmine. She looked soft, vulnerable, and intentionally exposed.

Two steps behind her, her personal guards stood awkwardly, pretending not to see what their Alpha’s daughter was doing.

Dane didn’t move out of the doorway. His expression stayed locked in stone.

"Aurora."

"I told my father I was retiring for the evening with a migraine," Aurora whispered. Her voice was smooth and dangerously soft. She stepped closer, her hand rising to rest lightly against the wood of the doorframe, mere inches from his chest. "I knew if I didn’t come now, you would leave tomorrow morning without ever giving me a single real minute alone."

"There is nothing left for us to discuss," Dane said, his tone unyielding.

"There is everything to discuss," she breathed.

She took a half-step forward, slipping past his shoulder before he could physically block her without touching her.

Henrik, sitting by the hearth, immediately stood, his posture stiffening with discomfort.

"Henrik," Aurora said, not even looking at him, her eyes locked entirely on Dane. "Leave us. Please."

"He stays," Dane said.

"No, Dane." Her voice dropped into a desperate tone. She reached out, her long, manicured fingers catching the fabric of his linen shirt and tugging him closer. "Look at me. Please. Just look at me. I am asking you for ten minutes alone. You don’t need your beta watching me like a criminal."

Dane looked down at her hand on his chest, then at Henrik.

Henrik gave a brief, tight nod, stepping out into the hallway and pulling the heavy oak door shut behind him.

The moment the latch clicked, silence settled over the room.

Aurora didn’t pull her hand back. Instead, she stepped closer until her body pressed against his chest. She tilted her head up, her lips parted, her breath coming in short, uneven hitches.

"Look at this place," she whispered, her fingers tracing the seam of his shirt collar up to the hard line of his jaw. "Look at what my father is doing out of spite. It’s insane, Dane. It’s senseless. We don’t have to live like this, fighting over trade lines and border fences like common raiders."

Dane caught her wrist in a firm grip, pulling her hand away from his neck.

"Aurora. Stop."

"Why?" she demanded, a flash of raw heat breaking through her eyes. "Why should I stop? Because of her? Because of some nameless, marked farm girl you found wandering in the woods?"

"Her name is Destiny," Dane said, his voice dropping into a warning.

"I don’t care what her name is!" Aurora cried.

She grabbed the front of his shirt with her free hand, her knuckles turning white, her body trembling with desperate humiliation.

"She is nothing, Dane! She brings you no land, no alliance, no strength! I have spent my entire life preparing to stand beside you! I know your pack, I know your borders, I know how to run an Alpha’s household! I was made for you!"

"You were made for an agreement between our fathers," Dane corrected, stepping back and forcing her hand off his clothes. "It was never personal, Aurora. It was politics."

"It was never just politics to me!" she spat, tears of frustration welling in the corners of her dark eyes. "I watched you grow up. I watched you take the mantle. I waited for you! Do you have any idea how it feels to watch you throw all of that into the dirt for a girl who doesn’t even belong in our world?"

"I made my choice," Dane said coldly. "Accept it and go back to your room."

"No."

Her voice was suddenly quiet.

Aurora reached up, slipping the edge of her silk robe off her shoulder. She took his hand, trying to press it against her waist.

"Listen to me, Dane. Listen to me very carefully. You don’t have to throw her away."

Dane’s eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Keep her," Aurora whispered, her face inches from his. "Keep the farm girl. Bring her to the estate. Give her a cottage on the lower lake. Make her your mistress, your secret, whatever you want. I won’t stop you. I won’t ever speak her name or question where you go at night. You can have her blood, you can have her bed, you can have whatever comfort she gives you."

She pressed closer, her fingers digging into his forearm.

"Just marry me," she begged, her voice ragged. "Give me the ring. Stand with me before the Council tomorrow and tell them Silvercrest and BloodMoon are united. That is all I ask, Dane. You can have both of us. Just do not humiliate me like this!"

Dane stared down at her.

Slowly, he detached her fingers from his arm and pushed her back until there were three full feet of cold air between them.

"You are out of your mind," Dane said, his voice flat.

Aurora froze, her breath catching as if he had slapped her.

"Dane..."

"If you think so little of yourself that you would share a bed with a man who loves someone else, that’s your shame," Dane said. "But do not ever speak Destiny’s name in the same breath as your pathetic bargains. I am not marrying you. Not tomorrow, not ever. If I have to burn Silvercrest’s trade lines to the ground to keep my wife safe, I will do it without a second thought."

Aurora stood completely still.

The desperate light in her eyes died, replaced by something dark and hollow. The color drained from her cheeks.

Slowly, she pulled the silk robe back over her shoulder. She smoothed her hair with a steady, trembling hand, her breathing evening out.

"You love her," Aurora said.

It wasn’t a question. It was a realization.

"I do," Dane said.

A faint, bitter smile tugged at the corner of Aurora’s lips.

"Then you have signed her death warrant," she whispered.

She stepped toward the heavy oak door, her eyes fixed on his.

"You think my father is the dangerous one, Dane? My father cares about trade routes and council votes. He cares about ledger books."

Her fingers closed around the iron latch.

"You took my entire future and handed it to a marked farm," she said softly. "You made me a laughingstock in front of every household in this territory. If she is the reason I lost my place, then she will not live to enjoy hers."

She didn’t scream or wait for his reply. She pulled the door open, stepped into the dark corridor past a startled Henrik, and disappeared down the stone hallway without looking back.

Dane stood alone in the quiet suite, the fire crackling in the hearth behind him.

Henrik stepped back into the room, his face pale as he looked toward the empty hallway, then back at his Alpha.

"Dane... what did she say?"

Dane didn’t answer right away. He reached down and picked up his jacket from the back of the chair, his hands steady, his jaw set.

"Get the boys," Dane ordered softly, his voice carrying a lethal edge. "We aren’t waiting for the Council tomorrow morning. We’re leaving tonight."

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