Alaric POV
I'm watching Thaddeus Ironhart's mate bandage my Beta's wounds, and everything about this kidnapping is going wrong.
She's supposed to be crying. Begging. Playing the helpless Omega card.
Instead, Elowen kneels in the dirt beside my injured Beta, her bound hands working efficiently to clean a gash on his arm.
"Hold still," she tells him firmly. "This will sting."
My Beta—a scarred warrior twice her size—obeys without question.
We're on day two of the three-day journey to Ravenspur Keep. I planned this ambush for six weeks. Kidnap Thaddeus's mate, use her as leverage for the border territories he stole from my father.
Simple. Clean. Effective.
Except nothing about Elowen Miravel is simple.
"Alpha Alaric," she calls without looking at me. "Your scout has an infection starting in that shoulder wound. If you want him to keep the arm, he needs proper treatment tonight."
I blink. "How do you know—"
"The smell. Even without a wolf, I can smell infection." She finishes with my Beta and stands, meeting my eyes directly. No fear. Just exhaustion. "I know you plan to ransom me. But dead guards are bad leverage. Let me help them."
She's right. And she shouldn't be right. She should be useless, scared, everything Thaddeus described when he dismissed her as "just the wolfless Omega."
"Fine," I say. "Tend to them."
For the next hour, I watch her move between my injured wolves. She negotiates—actually negotiates—better treatment for the three Ironhart guards we captured alongside her.
"They need water every two hours, not four," she tells my Second. "And if you're going to bind them, at least let them sit. Making injured wolves stand all night is cruel."
"They're prisoners," my Second argues.
"They're wolves who were following orders. There's a difference."
She says it so simply, so matter-of-factly, that my Second actually obeys.
Who is this Omega?
That evening, we make camp. My wolves set up tents while I post sentries. Elowen sits by the fire, still bound but calm. Too calm.
"You're not afraid," I observe, settling across from her.
"I'm terrified," she corrects. "But crying won't change anything."
"Most Omegas would be hysterical by now."
"I'm not most Omegas." Her grey eyes reflect firelight. "What do you want from Thaddeus? Territory? Gold? Both?"
Direct. I like that.
"The border lands your mate stole when my father died. Three territories that belonged to Ravenspur for generations."
"They weren't stolen. Thaddeus won them in the Succession Trials."
"Trials he only won because someone sabotaged my father's health before the challenge."
Elowen's eyes narrow. "You think Thaddeus poisoned your father?"
"I know he did. I just can't prove it."
She's quiet for a long moment, studying me. Then: "What evidence do you have?"
For the next hour, we talk. Really talk. I tell her about my father's mysterious illness, about the Trials that should've gone to Ravenspur, about Thaddeus's convenient rise to power.
She listens like she actually cares. Asks intelligent questions. Points out weaknesses in my theory and suggests where to look for proof.
She's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
"You'd make a better Luna than half the females who actually have wolves," I say before I can stop myself.
Elowen laughs—bitter and sharp. "Tell that to Thaddeus. Or his brother. Or any wolf who's ever looked at me."
"His brother?"
Her face closes off. "Nothing. Forget it."
But I saw something there. Pain. Fresh pain.
What did Thaddeus's twin do to her?
Day three, she proves herself again. When we're ambushed by rogues, Elowen doesn't scream or hide. She grabs a fallen knife and guards the injured wolves while my fighters handle the attackers.
A wolfless Omega. Defending my wolves. With a blade she barely knows how to hold.
When the fight ends, I find her standing over an unconscious Ironhart guard, protecting him even though he's her captor's enemy.
"Why?" I demand. "Why protect him?"
"Because he's hurt and can't protect himself." She drops the knife, hands shaking now that the danger's passed. "And because I'm not a monster, even if everyone treats me like I'm useless."
Something in my chest cracks.
This woman—this incredible, fierce, intelligent woman—is wasted on Thaddeus Ironhart.
We reach Ravenspur Keep at sunset. My wolves expect me to throw her in the dungeons.
Instead, I lead her to the guest suite. Best rooms in the Keep, overlooking the mountains.
"This is where you're keeping me?" Elowen asks, suspicious.
"This is where you're staying. Willingly, I hope."
"I'm a hostage."
"You're a guest. There's a difference." I gesture to the room. "Bath, fresh clothes, food. Rest. Tomorrow we'll talk about what happens next."
"You mean the ransom demands."
"I mean giving you options."
Her eyes search mine, looking for the trick. "Why are you being nice to me?"
"Because Thaddeus doesn't deserve you. Because watching you these three days, I've seen more strength and intelligence than most Alphas show in a lifetime." I step closer, careful not to threaten. "Stay willingly. Let me show you what respect looks like."
She should refuse. Should demand to go home.
Instead, she whispers: "What do you want in return?"
"The truth about Thaddeus. Your testimony about his crimes. And maybe..." I stop myself.
"Maybe what?"
"Maybe a chance to know the real you. Not the unwanted mate. Just Elowen."
She stares at me for a long moment. Then, slowly, nods.
"One week. I'll stay one week. If you're lying, if this is just another game, I leave."
"Deal."
I close the door and lean against it, heart pounding.
What am I doing? This was supposed to be about revenge. About destroying Thaddeus.
But now?
Now I want to destroy him for different reasons. For how he treated this incredible woman. For wasting what could've been—
"Alpha?" My Beta finds me in the hallway. "The ransom demands are ready. Should I send them to Ironhart?"
I look at Elowen's closed door.
"Change of plans," I say quietly. "I'm not ransoming her."
"What? But the territories—"
"I'm going to make her want to stay. Willingly. And when she testifies against Thaddeus at the Lunar Council, we'll take everything from him. Not through ransom. Through justice."
My Beta looks worried. "And if she refuses? If she's loyal to Ironhart?"
I think about the pain in her eyes when she mentioned Cassian. The way Thaddeus dismissed her. The loneliness radiating from her like a scent.
"She's not loyal to them," I say. "She's just scared to hope for better."
"So you'll give her better?"
"I'll give her respect. Truth. Everything they never did."
"And then?"
I smile. "Then we watch Thaddeus Ironhart lose everything that matters."
I walk to my study and sit at my desk. Outside the window, I can see Elowen's room. The light is on. She's probably bathing, finally relaxing after three days of travel.
My Beta lingers in the doorway. "Alaric. Be honest. Is this still about revenge?"
I start drafting new plans—not ransom demands, but something else entirely.
"It started as revenge," I admit. "But now?"
"Now what?"
I look up at him, and I can't lie.
"Now I think I'm going to fall for her. And I have no idea if that's going to save us or destroy everything."