Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

The Domain Of The Dark Alpha
Freya’s POV

Beside me stood the obsidian gates of Godric's realm, and they appeared as the doorway to another realm, etched with ancient sigils that appeared to shimmer in and out of existence powered by arcane forces of their own.kind. As we rolled through the gates, I pressed my hand against the window, watching the landscape change from the familiar rolling hills of neutral ground to something much more imposing.

“Welcome to the Obsidian Throne,” Godric’s deep voice boomed at my side, lilac eyes watching me closely. "Your new home."

Home. The word was strange on my tongue as I stared at the scene in front of us. Where SilverFang had been all soft wood and inviting hearths, this place was constructed of black stone and abrupt corners, the tower thrust like a weapon into the rock of the mountain. It was supposed to be terrifying – and it was terrifying – but there was an undeniable beauty in its brutal lines, its soaring spires.

“It’s beautiful,” I admitted, hating how breathless I sounded. The mate bond buzzed between us, making me hyperconscious of each of his movements, every nuance of his scent.

"You make it sound like you're surprised," he chuckled. “Did you think I was going to come back here and live in a cave, gnawing on bones and scaring the peasants?”

I couldn’t help it, and despite myself, I felt my lips twitch towards a smile. "It had occurred to me."

When he laughed, he had a rich, warm laugh that was in no way compatible with his fearsome reputation. “I guess I can work on my look, then. Can’t have my mate thinking she’s shackled herself to a downright neanderthal.

My mate. The words still sent shock waves through me each time he uttered them. Three hours earlier, I had been plotting petty revenge. And now here I was, claimed by one of the strongest Alphas in existence, on my way to a new Territory while carrying another man's baby. It was just starting to hit me, the scope of what I’d just done, and I felt that panic rising in my chest.

"Breathe” Godric whispered, his hand covering mine on the seat. "You're safe here. No one will hurt you again."

I should have tried to yank my hand free, put some space between us, but his hand felt warm against mine, and I softened. “You don’t even know what you are promising. I’m a bit of a mess that you may not want to deal with.”
“Try me,” he said plainly, with something in his voice that made me think he meant it.

The carriage drew up in a round courtyard, where there was the same black stone as in the  castle and in the midst of it a black fountains. Soldiers stepped out from all types of doorways, all synchronized and reverent in honoring Godric by bowing low at his entrance. But it wasn’t the cowering fear I’d heard from tales of the Dark Alpha’s pack – it was actual respect accompanying fierce loyalty.

"Alpha," a tall woman with silver strands in her dark hair stepped forward, her eyes appraising as they locked on mine. "Welcome home."

"Maya, meet Freya, my mate," Godric added, his hand coming to rest on my lower back, in a possessive manner as he led me out of the carriage. “She is to be treated with the same respect that you would give me.”

Maya's eyes went wide, but she recovered herself and dipped into a deep bow to me. "Luna, it's an honor. As you requested, we have readied some chambers for you.”

"Prove it to us," Godric ordered, his thumb making tiny little circles on my back as I sat on his lap, the silk of my dress between my back and his hand. That simple contact had me flushed with heat, and it was hard to listen to Maya's explanation of the castle’s design as we moved through it.

“Your chambers,” said Maya, pushing through the monumental double doors to reveal a suite of rooms that left me gasping for air.

I wanted something functional, a little austere beauty maybe. What I discovered instead was luxury unlike anything I’d ever encountered. Furniture reminiscent of a palace, draped in rich burgundy and gold brocades. The sitting area was warmed by a fire that crackled in a massive hearth, books and fresh flowers at the ready. Beyond an archway, I caught a glimpse of a bedroom with a bed big enough to accommodate a group of four.

“I don’t…” And I turned and compelled Godric. "This is too much. I'm just—"

"You're my mate," he cut off, getting close that I had to tilt my head back in order to look at his eyes. “Mother to my future heirs. You’ll be royally dealt with, not as some captured land to be governed.”
“But I’m not a queen,” I objected. “I was a handmaiden before Ryan made me Luna. I don't know how to—"

“You know more than you believe,” he said, cupping my cheek far more gently than I expected. "I've observed you at parties for years, Freya. Your way with a crowd, the fact that you remembered everyone’s name and everyone’s story. How you could defuse a tense situation without a single word and keep Ryan anchored when his temper flared. You are the born leader type."

The confession sent ice coursing through my veins. "You've been watching me?"

His expression changed, just for a moment, but too quickly for me to read. "You think tonight was coincidence? I just so happened to be at your disposal when you flung yourself at my feet?”

"I don't understand." My voice was smaller than I’d intended, and I hated how vulnerable it sounded.

Godric's thumb feathered over my cheekbone, the touch achingly light. “I've been aware that we were mated for two years Freya. As soon as I smelled you at the Summer Solstice bash. But you were pleased with Ryan, radiant with love and content. That you wouldn’t get from me.”

It felt like a physical blow, this realization. Two years. He’d known for two years and refused to say anything about it. "Then why now? You would claim me die yes tonight when you can have had me—”

“When I simply could have wrecked your happiness for my own selfish motives!” His eyes hardened. “Because I’m not that type of guy, whatever has been written about me. I felt that if I waited long enough, the pull would pass, that I could be happy in other ways. And yet you entered that ballroom tonight, resplendent in your rage, and cast yourself at my feet. How could I say no to a gift like that?"

I blinked at him as I made sense of what he said. My actual mate had been watching—all of this fucking time—on the sidelines while I'd played picture-perfect Luna to Ryan, building a life I thought was real. I should have been furious at the knowledge – was furious – but beneath it beat something else. Relief, perhaps, that tonight had been a little less reckless than I’d feared.

“I need some fresh air,” I told him, struggling to get out from under his touch. The room seemed suddenly too small, too hot, too much to take.

“The balcony —” he began, but I'd already started for the doors I'd seen earlier.

As I walked onto the stone balcony, the night air smacked me in the face like a benediction. The view was stunning – mountains as far as the eye could see, each one capped with snow that shined silver under the moon. Farther below, I could see the lights of the pack village, warm and inviting despite its brutal design.

"You're scared," came Godric's voice from behind me, placid and mindful.

“SCARED SHITLESS," I confessed and hung onto the stone railing until my knuckles turned white. "I had faith once before, gave up everything I am to a man who swore the world was mine. Look how that ended."

"I'm not Ryan."

“No,” I faced him, now definitely in front of me, the moonlight on him full. "You're something far more dangerous. Ryan broke my heart. You could destroy my soul."

Godric was very still, his violet eyes scanning my face. "And you think I would?"

“I believe you to be a man accustomed to taking what you want,” I said, much surprise for my own boldness. “And I feel like I’m too broken to be what you need.”

“What I do need,” he spoke slowly, advancing so he was close enough to touch, but just barely not, “is a woman strong enough to stand next me, not behind me. One who could find her place in a room full of Alphas and never blink. Someone who would give up anything to save the people she loved, even if it meant chaining herself to a monster.”

“I’m pregnant,” I said suddenly, the words falling out of my mouth before I could reel them in. "With Ryan's child. Are you really still so sure I’m what you need?”

The silence opened out between us, laden with multiple implications. I hoped he would back off, see the mistake he was making, anything that would leave me from being yoked to him.

Instead he smiled – a real smile that softened his tough features into something almost boyish. "Little wolf, I could smell his pups in your belly tonight. Like, do you think that changes anything?”

"It will," I whispered, my hand creeping down to my stomach, which remained flat. “The child is a constant reminder of —”

"The baby will be mine," he interjected with unshakeable confidence. “Son of my mate, pack-made, name born. Ryan's contribution ends at conception."

The possessiveness in his voice should’ve scared me. Instead, a warmth started to spread in my chest – the first real warmth I'd felt since the night Ryan brought Shirley home. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I felt protected and not just tolerated.
But protection was dangerous. Protection meant trust, and trust meant the kind of vulnerability that had almost destroyed me once.

“You won’t make me weak,” I said, tilting my chin up. “I will not be something that people can use against you.”

"You won't be," he agreed. "You'll be my strength. The issue is will you be strong enough to accept what I offer?”

Before I had a chance to reply, a howl pierced the mountains - it was long and mournful and full of rage. I recognized the voice even at that distance.
Ryan.