“What in the name of the Moon Goddess is happening here?”
His eyes were locked on the document.“Who is initiating a severance?”
The parchment looked familiar,bearing the faint,cold scent of Pack Law,but before he could get a clear look,Elara calmly tucked it into her sturdy leather satchel.
“Sierra and her Beta are undergoing a severance.I’m simply advising my confidante on the legal implications,”she said,using her friend's name as a perfect shield.Elara then turned her attention to Lyra,whose distress scent was heavy in the air.
“What has happened to Lyra?Is she injured?”
Ryder hesitated,his eyes flickering between Elara’s cool gaze and Lyra's vulnerable presence.“Her former Mate’s Clan caused trouble at the den.She needs a few cycles to hide out here.”
Then,as if to reassert his control,he looked at Elara with a patronizing concern and softly lectured her.“Even if you’re advising a friend,you shouldn’t meet a male wolf—even an Elder—so late outside the Keep’s perimeter.”
His tone carried the usual,distant disapproval he used to assert his status over her.
Elara’s eyes flickered to Lyra,who was pressed tightly against Ryder’s powerful arm.The situation was deeply ironic.This Alpha,who treated her—his claimed Mate—like a distant sister,was treating his real adopted sister like a coveted lover.
Elder Weston abruptly gave a knowing,dry smirk.“Now that I think about it,Alpha Thorne,I haven’t had the pleasure of officially meeting the Mate you claimed for the Pack yet.”
Elder Weston held Elara and Lyra in his gaze,his knowing smile thin and challenging.“Could it be that Alpha Ryder Thorne’s Claimed Mate is—”
“It is none of your concern,Elder,”Ryder interrupted with a fierce,low growl,clearly unwilling to discuss the fractured state of his claim with a Pack outsider.
The Elder nodded calmly,his eyes never leaving Elara.“I apologize,Alpha.These cycles,open claims are quite common among the Northern Packs.Ryder,you must be…”
He paused,a dark,dangerous smirk playing on his lips before he drawled sarcastically,“Do not worry,I know when to cease my territorial sniffing.”
Before Ryder could fully ignite with Alpha rage,the Elder turned to leave.As he melted into the shadows beyond the Keep’s perimeter,he tossed a final,chilling barb over his shoulder:“If you ever require my services for a severance,Alpha.Come to me.I will grant the Claimed Mate a sizable discount.”