Chapter 4 The Arrangement

Davis's POV:

Every leader of the Shadowfang pack sat around the council chamber that night, and the pressure inside the room felt unbearable. Their aged faces carried years of authority and tradition, while the cold looks directed at me already made their judgment clear before a single sentence was spoken.

I stayed where I was with my arms folded tightly across my chest. My jaw locked as I waited for the lecture I already knew was coming.

"This has gone on long enough, Davis," Adrian said sternly. "The pack needed a successor. If you kept refusing marriage, everything our bloodline built would eventually fall apart."

Pain cut through my palms as my claws pressed deeper into my skin. Rage already burned through me, and I no longer bothered hiding it when I answered them.

"And what about the woman you'll chain to me?" I asked harshly. "She'll die the same way the others did. Every wife connected to my bloodline ended up buried because of this curse."

From across the table, Ryna slowly leaned forward. Time had aged her face, but the sharpness in her gray eyes remained untouched.

"We were fully aware of the curse, Davis. But Shadowfang's survival carried more weight than your fear of repeating the past. You protected this pack now, but power alone wouldn't secure its future forever."

Their words settled heavily inside my chest. No matter how many years passed, the curse always found its way back to me. My family carried it through generations, and every woman who entered our bloodline paid the price for it. After the mating bond, the full moons slowly destroyed them one by one. Some survived a year. Others barely lasted months.

None escaped it.

How many lives had already been sacrificed because of this cursed lineage?

Stories passed down through generations claimed the Moon Goddess cursed our bloodline after the first Alpha shattered a sacred promise and abandoned the mate bond she personally blessed. Wolves rejecting their destined partners wasn't unheard of, so what made our ancestor different? Why did his actions provoke enough fury to doom every generation after him?

Nobody had ever learned the truth.

I stepped away from the council table and looked out the window. Storm clouds swallowed the moon until only shadows remained.

"You still think producing an heir would solve this?" I asked coldly. "The curse wouldn't end with my wife. It would destroy my child too."

A weary breath escaped Adrian.

"There might still be hope. We couldn't ignore that possibility."

I turned toward them so fast the chair behind me scraped harshly across the floor.

"There was never any hope. This curse destroyed every woman tied to my bloodline, and it would keep destroying anyone connected to me. My strength didn't matter. None of it did. Those Northern Alphas gathered around me because they wanted power for themselves. Not one of them cared about the curse slowly ruining my life."

Ryna held my gaze without hesitation.

"Power was the reason the North remained standing. That was exactly why the other Alphas still chose to follow you despite the curse. And that was also why your bloodline couldn't end with you, Davis. The North would collapse without its strongest Alpha."

The truth in her words wasn't lost on me. Shadowfang stood tall because of the strength I carried on my back. Every alliance we formed and every oath sworn between packs existed because of me. Still, none of it changed what I became. Behind the title and power, I was only a man ruined by a curse that poisoned everyone near me.

"Alpha Caleb wants to tie our packs together," Adrian said. His voice turned firmer when I stayed silent. "He's offering one of his Omegas as part of the arrangement. She means nothing to him because Omegas sit at the bottom of his pack anyway. But if you accept her, you'll have his loyalty."

Disgust twisted inside me at once. I hated deals where people were handed around like bargaining tools. As for Caleb, I already knew the kind of man he was. Self serving. Greedy.

A slow breath left me while I shut my eyes. The air in the room felt heavier than before. "If this happens, I'm doing it for the pack. Nothing else."

"That's all we need," Ryna replied.

Her approval only made the guilt worse.

The pressure in my chest grew worse. Somewhere out there was a woman whose life would rot beside mine because of me. Yet there was no other path left for me to take. Twenty seven years had already passed without finding a soulmate. By now, I understood what that meant. Love was never meant for someone cursed like me.

The ride toward Scarlet Howl passed without trouble, but my thoughts refused to settle.

By the time we reached Caleb's territory, the entire pack looked strangely energized. Wolves filled the grounds while laughter echoed around them.

"Alpha Davis. You've honored my pack just by coming here."

A low grunt was all I gave him in return.

Without wasting time, he guided me deeper into the territory until we reached a large hall flooded with sharp light. Then he lifted a hand and gestured toward a quiet corner away from the others.

"That's the Omega I mentioned. Elena."

The moment I looked in her direction, my chest tightened for a second.

Soft strands of blonde hair framed her like threads of gold under the harsh light. She looked painfully delicate, standing there stiff and uneasy like something cornered with nowhere left to run. There was a quiet softness in her features that didn't seem real at first glance, yet the sharpness beneath her cheeks exposed how little she'd been given. Even while lowering her head, she didn't appear obedient. It felt more like she was trying to make herself disappear.

Then she stepped closer. Warm apples and sweetness wrapped around me, stirring the wolf inside me. My gaze caught her pale gray eyes, distant behind a veil of fog.

"Alpha Davis," Caleb called out, dragging me out of my thoughts. "I'm sure she'll serve her purpose well."

The way he spoke about her tightened my jaw. There wasn't any care in his voice. To him, she was business, and the way he looked at her only deepened my disgust.

Elena stood there quietly while fear settled across her face, but Caleb treated her like she was nothing more than something to hand over for profit. Every part of this arrangement reeked of manipulation.

"Prepare the agreement," I instructed evenly.

Satisfaction spread across Caleb's face almost instantly. "You won't regret this. I'll have everything settled right away."

I had barely turned away when a sharp voice sliced through the hall.

"You useless little thing!"

I recognized the voice immediately. Natalie.

She was the woman meant to become the future Luna of this pack. Years ago, her father tried arranging a marriage between us, but I turned it down without hesitation. She was selfish, poisonous, and impossible to trust. In the end, Caleb became the one willing to take her.

I turned sharply toward the commotion.

Natalie had Elena by the arm, her fingers digging in so hard that the Omega struggled to pull away. Pain spread across Elena's face while she fought against the hold, but Natalie refused to loosen her grip.

A mocking smile curved across Natalie's lips. "You should be grateful a pack like this is even willing to take you in. Someone like you should know your place instead of embarrassing everyone around you."

My voice cut through the hall before Elena could answer. "Mind the way you speak."

Natalie stiffened at once and let go of Elena's arm. A second later, she forced an innocent expression onto her face.

"Alpha Davis, you've misunderstood. I wasn't trying to cause trouble."

"I don't care for explanations," I said flatly. "Control yourself."

Embarrassment darkened her expression, but spite still lingered in her eyes.

"She's only an Omega," she muttered bitterly. "At the end of the day, that's all she'll ever be."

I stepped closer, letting my presence crash down over the room.

"What becomes of her isn't your business," I warned. "Don't test my patience again."

The color drained from her face. She immediately took a step back before lowering her gaze.

"I apologize," she said quietly.

Without another glance at her, I shifted my attention to Caleb.

"You should teach your people respect."

His jaw tightened while he shot Natalie an irritated look. "Forgive the scene," he said through clenched teeth.

But that wasn't the part that bothered me. The way his eyes kept drifting toward Elena didn't escape my notice, and irritation settled heavily inside me because of it.

I called for Brandon, my Beta.

"See to her," I said to Brandon, motioning toward Elena. "Get her belongings ready. We're leaving in two hours."

Without questioning me, Brandon gave a short nod and headed toward her.

I started walking again, ready to put the matter behind me.

Then something unsettled me.

A strange pull lingered in my chest, faint but impossible to ignore. It felt like something unseen kept dragging my attention back toward her. Part of me wanted to turn around. To look at Elena one more time. I forced the feeling down and kept moving.

Emotions had no place in this arrangement.