The storm had passed by morning, but Seraphina woke to the sound of boots echoing through the entry hall. Sunlight barely touched the cracked windows of the Vale estate, yet the presence of strangers filled every corner with tension. Wolves—Kael Thorne's men—moved with sharp precision, as if even the dust feared to settle while they stood watch.
Seraphina's fingers tightened around the edge of her cloak. She had barely slept, the memory of the sealed parchment and its grim promise haunting her every breath. She had hoped, foolishly, that the storm had carried the threat away with it. But reality stood at her doorstep, cloaked in black and bearing the mark of the Alpha.
"Seraphina," Caleb's voice called from outside her chamber. He entered without waiting, his jaw clenched, his dark eyes stormy. "They're here for you. For us. Father is already downstairs."
Her chest tightened. "For me," she corrected softly.
Caleb flinched but didn't deny it. He had argued until his throat was raw last night, insisting there had to be another way. But there was no other way. The Vale name had already been sold, and she was the coin that would repay it.
Drawing a steadying breath, Seraphina followed her brother down the winding staircase. At the base of the stairs, two wolves flanked their father, Edmund Vale. He looked even more diminished in daylight, his once-proud posture bent beneath invisible chains.
The wolves stepped aside, and the heavy front doors opened with a groan.
A man entered.
He filled the threshold effortlessly, tall and broad, with an air that pressed against the lungs of everyone in the room. His presence seemed to dim the light around him, his strides measured and silent. A black cloak draped across his shoulders, its edges brushing the worn floorboards, and when he lowered his hood, Seraphina's breath caught in her throat.
Kael Thorne.
His dark hair was swept back, damp from the morning mist, and his sharp features were carved with a ruthless precision that made it impossible to look away. But it was his eyes that held her—icy gray, like shards of a frozen lake, piercing and unreadable. There was no warmth in them, no softness. Only command.
Her father bowed low, his voice trembling. "Alpha Thorne. We… we are honored by your presence."
Kael's gaze slid over Edmund without pause, settling instead on Seraphina. The weight of his stare rooted her to the ground. She fought the urge to shrink beneath it, to break eye contact, but some stubborn part of her refused. If she was to be bartered like livestock, she would at least stand tall while it happened.
"So," Kael said at last, his voice deep, smooth, and edged with danger. "This is the daughter you offer in payment."
Seraphina's pulse stumbled. Her father flinched as if the words were a blade.
"I did not—" Edmund began, but Kael raised a hand, silencing him instantly.
"I am not interested in excuses," Kael said coolly. His eyes never left Seraphina. "I am interested in solutions."
The room seemed to shrink around them, every sound muffled beneath the intensity of his focus. Seraphina forced herself to draw in a steady breath.
"What solution do you have in mind?" she asked, surprising herself with the steadiness of her voice.
For a moment, Kael's lips curved into something that might have been amusement—or a warning. "A contract," he said simply. "You will become my mate. Bound by oath, by law, and by blood. In return, your family's debt will be erased."
The words struck like thunder, and though Seraphina had expected nothing less, hearing them from his own mouth stole the air from her lungs.
Her father sagged into his chair, relief and shame battling across his features. Caleb, however, surged forward, his fists clenched.
"You can't demand this," he growled. "She's not yours to take. She's not a prize to be bought!"
Kael turned his gaze on Caleb, and in an instant, the boy faltered. It was as if an invisible hand had wrapped around his throat, choking the defiance out of him. Kael hadn't moved, hadn't raised his voice, yet his dominance pressed down like a crushing weight.
"She will speak for herself," Kael said softly, though the command in his tone was absolute.
Seraphina's heart pounded, but she lifted her chin. "And if I refuse?"
A dangerous silence followed. Kael stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, the faint scent of smoke and cedar clinging to him. His eyes bore into hers, cold yet burning with something she could not name.
"If you refuse," he said, his voice low and even, "your family will be stripped of what little they have left. Your brother will be cast into the wilds. And your father will live his remaining days as a beggar. I will not need to lift a hand—the world will finish them for me."
Her breath hitched, but she held his gaze. He wasn't bluffing. This was a man who made promises, not threats.
"What guarantee do I have," she asked quietly, "that you will honor the contract? That my sacrifice won't be for nothing?"
For the first time, Kael's expression shifted. Not softness, not warmth—but a flicker of intrigue. "Because I do not break contracts. Ever."
The words were delivered with the finality of a vow.
Seraphina's chest rose and fell rapidly, the storm inside her clashing with the icy calm before her. She knew what this meant. Signing the contract would not only erase her family's debt—it would chain her to a man whose very presence made her blood run cold.
And yet, as she stood in his shadow, she realized she had already been caught in his orbit. The question was not whether she would fall—but how hard.
Kael extended a hand, his palm open, his expression unreadable. "Decide, Seraphina Vale. Debt… or destiny."
Her fingers trembled at her sides. Caleb's desperate eyes pleaded with her not to take it. Edmund's hollow gaze begged for her to do what he could not.
And Seraphina, caught between ruin and survival, knew that her choice would seal all their fates.
She lifted her hand slowly toward his.