Chapter 7: The Price of a King's Pride

The bond thrummed between us, a taut silver wire connecting my chest to his. Kael's hand was still pressed over the mark I'd seared into his skin, his jaw tight, his breathing ragged. The great Alpha Prince, brought to his knees by a witch's bargain.

Not a witch. *A princess.* The thought was a bitter ember in my chest.

"I've agreed to your bond," he ground out, each word sounding like it was dragged over broken glass. "What more do you want from me?"

I laughed, and the sound was cold enough to frost the air between us. "You think this is about the bond? No, Kael. The bond is just the leash. Now we discuss the terms of the walk."

His silver eyes narrowed, danger flickering in their depths. "Terms."

"Terms," I repeated, circling him slowly. The moonlight painted silver streaks across the training ground where he'd once rejected me so publicly. Poetic, really. "You want my help. You want my magic, my knowledge of the war that's coming. You want the Princess of the Silver Crescent at your side."

"I want my mate," he corrected, and the words sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. The bond pulsed, wanting to believe him.

I crushed the feeling. "You want what I can give you. There's a difference."

"Name your price, Aria."

I stopped directly in front of him, close enough to see the muscle jumping in his jaw. "First. You will make a public declaration before your entire pack. You will tell them that you were wrong to reject me. That I am not some bastard orphan you deigned to notice, but a true royal of the Silver Crescent line. You will acknowledge me as your equal in every way."

His face went pale beneath his tan. "A public—"

"Declaration. Yes. I want them to hear it from your lips. I want the elders who whispered about me to choke on their own prejudice. I want every she-wolf who looked at me with pity to know that I am not the one who should be pitied."

Kael's hands clenched at his sides. I could feel his pride warring with his need, the bond straining between us. For a long moment, I thought he might refuse. Might walk away and leave the bond to burn us both.

Instead, he let out a breath that seemed to carry the weight of his entire kingdom. "And second?"

"Second," I said, savoring the victory already won. "You will tell me everything about the shadow pack that's been circling your borders. No secrets. No strategic omissions. I need to know what we're facing, and I need to know it all."

"That's classified war intelligence—"

"And I'm your mate," I cut him off. "Your *equal*. If you want my help, you'll give me your trust. All of it. Or we can let the bond burn us both to ash. Your choice, Alpha."

The title was deliberate, a mockery of everything he'd once held above me. His eyes blazed with a fury that should have made me tremble. Instead, I met his gaze steadily, watching the war play out behind his eyes.

Finally, he dropped to one knee.

The move shocked me into silence. This wasn't the grudging submission of a man forced into a corner. This was a king acknowledging a power greater than his own. His head bowed, the moonlight catching the dark waves of his hair.

"I, Kael Blackthorn, Alpha of the Shadowfang Pack, do hereby acknowledge Aria Silvercrest as my true mate and equal." His voice was rough, raw. "I was wrong to reject her. I was blind to what stood before me. And I will spend the rest of my days—however many I have left—proving that I am worthy of her forgiveness."

The words hung in the air between us, heavy with meaning. The bond sang in my chest, desperate to respond, to pull me into his arms and forgive everything.

I didn't move.

"Is that enough?" he asked, still on his knees, looking up at me with those devastating silver eyes.

"It's a start." I stepped back, putting distance between us. "But don't mistake this for trust, Kael. I'm helping you because I have no choice. The war is coming for me too, and I need your army as much as you need my magic. But if you think this bond means I'll fall at your feet like some lovesick fool—"

"I don't think that." He rose slowly, gracefully, a predator regaining his footing. "I know exactly what you are, Aria. A weapon. A queen. And I intend to earn every inch of your respect, even if it takes the rest of my life."

The words should have been romantic. They should have melted the ice around my heart. Instead, they made me wary.

"You said earning trust takes time," I reminded him. "Let's see how sincere you are when the first battle comes. When you have to choose between your pack and your pride. When you have to decide if I'm worth losing everything you've ever known."

Something flickered in his eyes. Something that looked almost like fear.

"What do you know about the coming war, Aria? What haven't you told me?"

I smiled, and it was all sharp edges. "That's the thing about bargains, Alpha Prince. You gave me your trust, but I never promised to give you mine."

I turned and walked away, feeling his gaze burning into my back. The bond tugged at me, desperate to close the distance, to feel his warmth against my skin.

I ignored it.

For now, I had the upper hand. I had his public acknowledgment, his promise of truth, his very soul bound to mine. But I knew better than to trust a wolf who'd once thrown me away like garbage.

And somewhere in the shadows beyond the pack's borders, I could feel the enemy gathering. Watching. Waiting.

The war was coming.

But so was something else. Something that made my blood run cold even as the bond hummed with warning.

*Kael isn't the only one who's been keeping secrets.*

*And mine could destroy us all.*