Alpha Roland pov.
The private, soundproof interrogation room smelled of ozone and cold steel.
Seraphina sat hunched on the edge of a chair, shivering violently despite the cloak Gideon had wrapped around her.
Her exhaustion was palpable, but her eyes, when she looked at Alpha Roland, were clear and desperate.
Gideon stood silently behind her, confirming the veracity of her story with his scent.it was laced with fresh trauma and righteous fury.
"You saw it all," Roland stated, his voice a low, heavy rumble.
He bypassed the political questions, his focus entirely on the damage done to his mate.
Seraphina nodded, tears tracking down her cheeks.
"Every day, Alpha Richard was terrified of her.
His mother, Elder Maeve, was the worst.
They used nightshade and silver dust in her food.
But the deep weakness, the constant fatigue… that was the Witch's Bane.
An herb mix designed to keep a hybrid wolf from ever smelling a mate or drawing magic."
Roland's body went rigid.
Witch's Bane was rarely used; it was excruciatingly painful, suppressing the body's life force itself.
It explained Elara's fragility and the map of scars.
Richard had been trying to kill her true self slowly.
"The pendant," Roland pressed, his fists clenching until his knuckles cracked.
"It was the only thing she kept," Seraphina whispered.
"It burned her sometimes, but she never let go. She didn't know it, but Richard was convinced it was a recharge mechanism.the only thing that stopped Bane from killing her outright."
Roland felt a consuming, brutal surge of rage. He had bought a dying mate, not a hostage.
And his own political machinations were currently forcing him to maintain the lie that she was weak.
If I kill Richard now, the High Council will see it as a breach of treaty, and the resulting chaos will give the Coven free reign.
The door to the communication room burst open, Cassian's scent flooding the space with alarm.
"Alpha! Alpha Richard's Beta, Thane, is in the main hall.
He is demanding immediate confirmation that the 'property' is secure and has not been damaged in the transport.
He claims Richard is worried about the investment."
Roland inhaled sharply, the scent of Richard's messenger mixing with the visceral pain of Seraphina's confession.
He had to pivot, now.
"Gideon, secure Seraphina. She is under my protection and cannot be seen by Thane. Cassian, bring the Beta to the receiving room.
And send a maid to the East Wing. Tell Luna I require her to act as she did in Richard's dungeon."
I need her to play the lie. Roland hated himself for the request, but Elara's life depended on Richard believing his suppression had been successful.
Elara pov.
The maid's whispered message.
The Alpha requires you to act as you did in Richard's dungeon as a chilling directive.
It was the command to revert to the subservient, broken creature she had been for years.
The golden balm on her arm, which was still radiating a faint, healing warmth, felt like a burning hypocrisy.
Roland knew the truth of her suffering, yet he needed her to perform it again.
She smoothed her gown and walked to the receiving room, finding Roland standing like a dark sentinel by the fireplace.
He looked magnificent and terrifying, radiating a cold, impenetrable authority.
He didn't look at her, but his wolf scent, normally a storm of aggression, was subtly underscored by a low, possessive distress that only she seemed able to perceive.
Richard's Beta, Thane, was a tall, swaggering wolf whose eyes raked over Elara with predatory contempt.
"Luna," Thane drawled, failing to conceal the sneer behind the title.
"Alpha Richard merely wished to verify his assets.
I see the Shadowlands Alpha is keeping her isolated, as per the agreement.
She looks… thin."
Elara didn't meet Thane's eyes. She kept her head slightly bowed, her hands clasped tightly behind her back, mirroring the posture of the slave Richard had trained. She needed to be convincing.
She needed to look like her spirit was dead.
"I am well, thank you," Elara whispered, forcing her voice to be soft and barely audible, the way Richard preferred.
Thane took a challenging step toward her, his Beta scent spiking with dominance, trying to force a submission response.
His eyes narrowed, searching for any spark of stubbornness or health.
"You look like you've been fasting for weeks, little Luna.
The Shadowlands is not known for its comfortable dining.
What did Richard do to you to keep you so quiet?"
Roland moved, silent and lethal, inserting his colossal frame between Elara and Thane.
He did not touch Elara, but the shield of his dominance was absolute.
"That is none of your concern, Thane," Roland's voice was granite, carrying the weight of his Alpha title.
"The trade was completed. The debt is sealed.
My wife's health is the concern of the Shadowlands Pack alone, and I assure you, Richard's herbs were highly effective.
The hybrid remains dormant."
He placed a heavy, deliberate hand on the mantelpiece, crushing a small, decorative piece of silver with casual force.
"Tell Alpha Richard that his property is secure. And tell him that if any of his operatives or spies trespass onto my land, they will not return.
My agreement is with him, not his curiosity."
Thane knew he was beaten. Roland's barely restrained violence was terrifying, and the Beta quickly backed down, confirming that he couldn't sense any power coming from the girl, only profound weakness.
"As you command, Alpha Roland," Thane conceded, bowing stiffly.
He threw one final, lingering, skeptical look at Elara's averted face before retreating.
As the doors slammed shut, Elara finally lifted her eyes to Roland.
The protective fire in his gaze was immediate and ferocious, but it was quickly banked down.
"You played your role well," Roland stated, his voice now colder, retreating back into the shell of the ruthless Alpha.
He was acknowledging her success, but immediately re-erecting the wall between them.
"You lied well too, Alpha," Elara replied, her voice still quiet but firm with newfound courage.
Roland sighed, a sound that held a surprising depth of weariness.
"The lie is the only shield you have, Elara.
The witches are closing in.
We move fast."
He crossed the room and retrieved the history book from the side table where Cassian had placed it, along with her pendant. He held them both out to her.
"I know what this is," he said, his obsidian eyes burning into hers. "It's not scrap metal. It's the key to your heritage.
You will keep it hidden.
And you will begin your training tonight, in secret. If Richard's Beta or the witches suspect you are awakening, we are both dead."
"Training?"
she whispered, clutching the objects to her chest.
"Yes," he confirmed, his scent intensifying.
"Tonight, when the second moon rises, you will meet me at the training grounds.
We are going to wake the wolf Richard tried to kill, and we are going to do it before the Sun Coven comes to claim the Moonfall hybrid."
Roland is now forced to train Elara in secret to awaken her immense hybrid power before the witches arrive.
The tension between the Alpha and his mate is at an all-time high!