"Lyra, I am being released from Council holding in three days. Do not forget to collect me."
My fingers tightened around the smooth stone until my knuckles went white. A dull ache spread through my chest, settling deep in my bones.
Even now, he was still playing his cruel games.
He was already at his celebration gathering. I had witnessed it with my own eyes.
He had been holding Lily close, celebrating his freedom, surrounded by an enormous feast and beautiful decorations befitting an Alpha heir.
And yet he was still treating me like a fool to be manipulated.
I stared at those words until tears blurred my vision, turning the glowing script into meaningless smears of light.
Then I blinked them away and read the message once more.
I traced my claw across the scent-message parchment, embedding my reply:
"Understood. I'll retrieve you in three moon cycles."
Three cycles later, I stood at the gates of the Pack Holding Cells to collect Alaric—without exposing his deception.
I caught his scent before I saw him, mingled with false notes of deprivation. He emerged dressed in torn furs, playing the part of an Alpha heir stripped of territory and status, reduced to nothing. He'd even used ash and herb paste to create a fake scar slashing across his jaw.
The moment his amber eyes found me, he limped forward, rushing toward me with exaggerated emotion.
"Lyra!"
He pulled me against his chest, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"I reflected on everything during my confinement. The Council Elders noted my reformed behavior and granted early release."
"Lyra, you've endured so much these past seasons. I'm deeply sorry."
He looked so sincere, so genuinely moved—as if he'd truly suffered through three years in the binding den.
But I gently pushed against his chest, my expression unchanged. "It's good you're free."
Alaric stiffened, his wolf clearly sensing something different in my demeanor. But the next heartbeat, he seized my wrist.
"Lyra, what happened here?"
His concern seemed genuine as his thumb traced the damaged flesh.
But I found it almost laughable.
Alaric, what exactly are you pretending for?
You're the one who sent those wolves. They appeared claiming to be Rogue Hunters collecting on my family's debts and beat me until I looked like this.
And now you're playing innocent?