Dorian's Threat

"I, Elowen Thorne, accept your rejection."

The words left my mouth with unexpected steadiness. Dorian froze, his blood-flecked knuckles still clenched, eyes narrowing in disbelief. I'd surprised him. Good.

"What?" I gave a hollow laugh. "Did you expect me to beg? To cry and plead for you to reconsider?"

He recovered quickly, his tone frosty and distant. "Most would."

"Then I'm not most." I stared directly into his eyes, refusing to wilt under his gaze. "Banish me from this pack; I no longer see the use of remaining in a place where I'm nothing but your dirty secret."

Dorian stepped closer, his voice turning silky. "Oh no, Elowen. I want you here, by my side."

"Selene had taken up that duty." I backed away, bitterness dripping from every word. "Or did you forget while you were busy beating me?"

He reached out, tracing a finger along my bruised cheek. "I want you to be something quite different. Something more... entertaining."

I slapped his hand away. "I won't be your toy anymore. I'd rather die than let you touch me again."

His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist with painful force. "Other she-wolves would kill to be in your place—grateful to be my whore if I demanded it," he hissed. "Yet you dare reject me? After I elevated you from nothing, after I blessed you with the chance to carry my child?"

I wrenched free, my skin burning where he'd touched me. "Blessed me with the chance? You killed my child! You destroyed the only pure thing I had left in this world! I would leave this pack whether you want it or not."

His mouth formed a gradual smile. "Leave? That's not going to be a very nice thing to do, seeing as your mother cannot go with you."

The color drained from my face. "No... Leave my mother out of this. This is between you and me."

Dorian circled me like I was prey. "No, Elowen. There's nothing just between you and me anymore. Stay, and she'll remain in her current position—wretched as it is. Leave, and I'll make her life a living hell. I'll have her scrubbing floors until her fingers bleed, sleeping with the animals. Maybe I'll even let some of the more... frustrated males have their way with her."

"You wouldn't dare," I whispered, rage shaking my voice.

He laughed. "Try me."

My shoulders slumped in defeat. I thought about mate rejections I'd heard of—the crippling pain, the sense of loss that drove some to madness or suicide.

But all I felt was a hollow emptiness. How could you lose what you never truly had? The monster who'd pretended to be my mate had never truly been mine.

"I'll stay, but I refuse to be used by you, Dorian. I won't warm your bed while Selene's away."

He gripped my chin hard. "We would see about that, and it's no longer Dorian to you; we are no longer mates, remember? It's Alpha now, and I really hope you don't slip on that again. The punishment would be... creative."

I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. "Yes... Alpha."

His mood shifted abruptly, cheerfulness masking the cruelty beneath. "Now I need you to come to the intramating ball celebration with me."

"You are to attend the upcoming ball with your luna, Selene; what do you need me there for? To serve drinks?" I protested.

His eyes glittered with malice. "You will be there, dressed up like you still matter. I want you to watch as I announce to the whole crowd that she is my mate—my REAL mate. I want you to watch me kiss her lips, feel her body, I may even claim her publicly just as I once did with you. I want you to see how she moans when I touch her, how she trembles when I whisper in her ear. She will stand where you dreamed of standing, wear the crown you thought would be yours, bear the children you failed to carry."

"You're a monster," I whispered.

He leaned in close, his breath hot against my ear. "And you'll enjoy every minute of it, until I am done with you."

With that final threat delivered, he strode from the room.

---

When my mother arrived, the tight control I'd maintained in Dorian's presence shattered. I collapsed into her arms, my voice broken and raw.

"Mama... the baby's gone. My little one is gone forever."

She held me tightly, rocking me as if I were still a child. "My sweet girl, my precious daughter... I'm so sorry."

"He was with her when it happened." I clutched my stomach, the emptiness there a physical ache. "He was with HER while our baby died inside me. The blood... there was so much blood..."

"Breathe, my darling. Just breathe." She stroked my hair, her voice thick with emotion.

When my breathing finally steadied, she pulled back slightly, composing herself before whispering.

"I know the Alpha rejected you."

"How did you know?" I asked, surprised. "I didn't tell anyone."

A sad smile touched her lips. "A mother can tell. The way you hold yourself, the emptiness in your eyes. But Elowen, listen to me—he was never the best for you; he would only hurt you more and more. You deserve so much better than that cruel man."

The tears came again, uncontrollable now. "The baby's gone. He cheated on me, and now the baby is gone. I couldn't save it, Mama. I tried to get help but no one came. No one ever comes."

She wiped my tears as her own fell. "Shhh, you would be alright. You are the strongest shewolf I know, and I am not telling you this simply because you are my daughter, but because it is true. You've endured what would break others."

I looked up at her with swollen eyes. "I do not feel very strong, Mama. I feel hollow... shattered."

"Your tears don't make you weak, nor do the mistakes." She cupped my face gently. "They make you real."

The tenderness in her voice soothed me momentarily, before his threats resurfaced, stealing my breath away.

The color drained from my face as I whispered, "He threatened you. Said if I ever left the pack, he would make you suffer."

Her face hardened. "That coward. Using me against you."

I gripped her hands tightly. "I won't let him hurt you."

Her face softened with worry. "Oh, Elowen, don't waste your worry on me. I've spent a lifetime in chains. Nothing could wound me more deeply than seeing my daughter trapped in this nightmare." Her eyes filled with tears as she squeezed my hands. "I've endured every cruelty this pack could inflict, but watching him break you piece by piece - that's the only pain I can't bear. I don't care what happens to me anymore."

Fresh tears streamed down.

"He wants me at the mating ball. To watch him claim her publicly. To humiliate me one last time."

She wiped my tears away with gentle fingers. "Then you show him that you cannot be broken. That you are more than what he tried to make you."

"You're right, Mama," I said, my voice hardening. "I'll show him. But not just by standing there while he flaunts her." I looked her straight in the eye. "I swear by the Moon Goddess, Mama, I will find a way to get you out of here. We will be free."

My mother gave a bitter laugh. "Free? A slave's daughter and a pack slave?"

"Yes. Free."