Chapter 4 The Alpha's Demand

Ella POV

Harrison stood in Shadowmere's hall like he owned the place, his two goons right behind him, hands on their weapons. The nerve of the guy!

"Ella Montgomery," he said, using that formal Beta voice I'd heard a million times for pack stuff. "You need to get back to Crescent Moon, now."

*I need to.* Not a request. Not an invite.

"I don't exactly take orders from you anymore," I said as I walked down the stairs, Kane right beside me. Everyone in the hall watched us-Shadowmere pack members gathering to see what was going to happen.

Harrison's jaw tightened. "Technically, you're still part of Crescent Moon. The Alpha can demand you come back."

"The Alpha rejected me." I got to the bottom of the stairs, looking Harrison straight in the eye. "In front of everyone. He broke our mate's bond and kicked me out. You were there, Harrison. You took me to the border yourself."

For a second, I saw something on his face. Maybe guilt, maybe shame. But it was gone fast, and he put his professional face back on.

"That rejection was a mistake, based on wrong info." He pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket. "Alpha Blackthorne sent a formal retraction to the Council. The rejection is now null and void."

Those words hit me hard. *Void.* Like the worst moment of my life could be erased with some paperwork and politics.

"That's not how mate bonds work," Kane said quietly, but with total authority. "You can't undo that, Harrison. Too much has happened."

"Stay out of this, Winters. This is a Crescent Moon thing."

"It became a Shadowmere thing when you showed up here making demands." Kane moved a bit, standing between Harrison and me. He was being protective, and everyone saw it. "Ella Montgomery is under my pack's protection now."

"She's stolen goods," one of the goons growled.

That shut everyone up quickly.

"Goods?" I stepped around Kane, my voice shaking with anger. "Did you just call me *goods*?"

The goon looked uncomfortable, but Harrison was still stone-faced.

"Bad choice of words," Harrison said. "But the point is, you left Crescent Moon with pack secrets: defenses, alliances, how things work. The Alpha's worried about who you might tell."

Oh. So that's what this was actually about. Not feelings or anything. Nathaniel was afraid I'd spill the beans and mess up his political games.

"You mean he's scared I'll tell people the truth about him." I laughed, but it sounded sad even to me. "About the shady deals, the way he bullies smaller packs, how he gets rid of anyone who disagrees."

"Ella." Harrison's voice was soft, almost begging. "Don't do this. Don't make this harder."

"Harder?" I exploded. "You wanna talk about hard? How about being rejected in front of your whole pack? How about being thrown out of your home with nothing? How about your own father telling you to disappear because you embarrass them?"

My voice broke on the last part, and I hated myself for showing weakness. But I was tired of having to be strong, tired of everyone else making decisions about my life without even asking me what I wanted.

"The Alpha wants to fix this," Harrison said, and I actually heard real emotion in his voice. "He knows he messed up. He wants you to come home."

*Home*. That word was a joke.

"Crescent Moon stopped being my home when Nathaniel put his ambition before us." I hugged myself, trying not to touch my stomach, where our baby was growing and didn't know about any of this. "I have nothing to go back to."

"You have your mate," Harrison said. "You'd be Luna. You'd have a life that a ton of other she-wolves would kill for."

"I'd have a title nobody respects. A mate who threw me away. A life built on lies." I looked him in the eye, and he could see I meant it-the pain, the anger, the fact that I would never go back. "That's not a life, Harrison. That's a gilded cage."

"Then what's this?" He gestured around Shadowmere's hall. "You think Kane Winters is just being nice? He's been trying to take down Nathaniel for years. You're just his latest weapon."

"At least he's honest about it."

Ouch. Kane didn't say anything, didn't pretend this wasn't about pack politics and power. Maybe that honesty meant something.

"Ella." Harrison stepped forward, and Kane blocked him right away. They stared each other down, the tension building.

"Too close, Beta," Kane said softly. "You're in my territory. My rules."

"Your rules don't overrule the Alpha's claim on his mate."

"His *rejected* mate," Kane corrected. "Or did you forget that part? The part where your Alpha publicly dumped her and humiliated her? Because the Council won't forget it when this goes to them."

Harrison clenched his fists. "The retraction changes things."

"The retraction doesn't mean anything if she doesn't accept it." Kane was calm, but he was serious. "And she doesn't want to go back to a guy who treated her like garbage when it was convenient."

"You can't keep her here if she doesn't want to."

"I'm not keeping her. I'm giving her a choice." Kane looked at me, and I saw calculation in his eyes, but maybe also some real concern. "Stay here, with Shadowmere, and help me build something better than the messed-up system your ex-mate represents. Or go back to Crescent Moon and wonder if he'll dump you again next time he feels like it."

It should have been impossible. Stay with a guy I barely knew, in a pack I didn't know, or go back to the mate who'd hurt me but was familiar.

But then I touched my stomach, feeling the tiny bump that would soon give away my secret, and my decision was clear.

My kid wasn't going to grow up watching their mom begging for affection from a dad who was too busy with politics to care. They weren't going to think that love was about putting up with betrayal. They weren't going to think they were only worth something if they were useful to someone else.

"I'm staying," I said, and it felt like jumping off a cliff. "Tell Nathaniel that some things can't be fixed with paperwork."

Harrison's face turned white. "Ella, please. You don't know what you're doing."

"I know exactly what I'm doing. For the first time in my life, I'm making my own choice." I stood up straight, finding strength I didn't know I had. "I'm done being a pawn."

"The Alpha won't accept this."

"Then he can take it to the Council." Kane's voice was final. "Along with explaining why he publicly rejected his mate and then tried to get her back when it was politically smart."

Harrison looked back and forth between us, looking frustrated and maybe a little impressed. Finally, he pulled out his phone and started typing.

"I need to call him. Now."

"Make your call," Kane said. "But do it outside my territory. You have five minutes to leave Shadowmere before I see you as a threat."

He meant it. Harrison nodded and told his goons to follow him. They left, but at the door, Harrison stopped.

"He loves you, Ella. He's always loved you. This isn't about politics. He's a mess without you."

Those words should have meant something. They should have made me think twice. Instead, they just made me angry.

"If he loved me, he would have chosen me when it mattered," I said quietly. "Tell him I hope Vivian was worth it."

Harrison flinched. Then he was gone, taking his goons and their demands with them.

The hall was silent for a moment. I could feel everyone staring at me, wondering what kind of woman would turn down her mate and Alpha for some uncertain protection from a rival pack.

"That was brave," Kane said, and I heard real approval in his voice.

"That was terrifying," I said, my hands shaking now that it was over.

"Come on." He touched my arm and led me to a smaller room. "Let's talk about what's next."

It was his office, with books and maps of the territory. He closed the door, blocking out the whispers.

"You need to know what you just signed up for," Kane said, pouring two glasses of water. He gave me one, and I saw he didn't offer wine. Did he know? "Nathaniel won't let this go. He'll see this as a declaration of war."

"Maybe it is."

"War needs weapons. Strategy. What do you bring to this besides knowing Crescent Moon's business?" Kane leaned against his desk, looking at me hard.

He was being blunt, almost mean. But I liked the honesty.

"I know his weaknesses," I said slowly. "Not just the pack stuff, but his personal weaknesses. What he's afraid of. What he'll never admit."

"Like?"

I thought about those times when Nathaniel had let his guard down and showed me who he really was. The guy who'd held me during storms and said he was scared of failing his pack.

"He's afraid of being weak," I said. "Of showing anything that people can use against him. That's why he dumped me. That's why he'll team up with anyone to look stronger."

Kane nodded. "And if we wanted to use that?"

"We'd make him look weak. Make him question himself. Force him to choose between his pride and his pack."

"And you'd do that? Work against your mate?"

I touched my stomach again, thinking about my baby, who deserved better than a dad who cared more about politics than people.

"He stopped being my mate when he put his ambition before us," I said. "Now he's just another Alpha who needs to know that people aren't chess pieces."

Kane smiled, and it was almost scary. "Then let's talk terms. Shadowmere will give you safety, a place to live, and resources. You'll be my advisor on Crescent Moon and help me with politics."

"That's it? That's all you want?"

"That's all I'm asking *now*." He moved closer. "But you need to know something. When Nathaniel realizes you're really not coming back, he's coming for you himself. Not Harrison with papers. Him. With everything he's got."

"Let him come."

"You say that now. But when he's standing in front of you, using that mate bond to make you feel everything you used to feel..." Kane stopped. "Can you handle that?"

That hit me hard. Because I didn't know. The bond was broken, but not gone. And even after everything, part of me still felt something for him.

"I'll do what I have to do to protect myself," I said, hoping I sounded sure.

Kane looked at me, and I felt like he could see right through me.

"Alright," he said. "Welcome to Shadowmere, Ella Montgomery. Your new life starts now."

He put out his hand, and I knew what it meant. A partnership. A choice that would change everything.

I thought about Harrison's words. *"He loves you. He's always loved you."*

I thought about Nathaniel's cold words. *"You were fun, nothing more."*

I thought about my kid, who deserved a parent who would choose them.

I took Kane's hand, sealing the deal.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Don't thank me yet," Kane said, holding my hand tight. "You have one hour to decide if you're really staying. Because when Nathaniel gets Harrison's call, he's going to do anything to get you back."

He let go of my hand and went to the door.

"And Ella? When he comes, you have to choose. Really choose. Not between him and me, but between who you were and who you're becoming."

He left, and I was alone with my thoughts.

I sat down in his chair, touching my stomach.

"We're going to be okay," I whispered. "I promise. I'll keep you safe no matter what."

But I still remembered Kane's warning.

*When he comes, you have to choose.*

And I had no idea what I would do when I saw the man who'd hurt me but still had a piece of my heart.