Kaela's POV
I don't say yes right away.
That's the first decision I make and it's the most important one. I don't give him what he wants immediately because the moment I do, I lose the ground beneath my feet. The moment I say yes, I become someone who needs him instead of someone who's choosing him.
I tell him I need time to think and I mean it.
Then I go back to finish my market shopping.
It's petty. I know it's petty. Zane is standing there waiting for an answer that will change his entire life and I'm picking out vegetables like nothing happened. But I need to prove something to myself. I need to prove that I can still make decisions. That I can still move through my life without waiting for permission.
The vendor watches me carefully as I select carrots and onions and herbs. He's trying to figure out if the Ashford Alpha is going to kill me or claim me or both. He's probably heard stories about wolves from different packs. About what happens when territories collide.
He doesn't say anything though. He just rings up my purchase and bags it up and hands it over.
When I'm done, I walk back to the bench where Zane has been waiting. He hasn't moved. He's just sat there watching the market and watching me and waiting for me to make a decision.
I sit down next to him and I don't let myself get distracted by how close he is or how much I missed him or any of the other things that cloud my judgment.
"I have conditions," I tell him, and my voice is steady and clear like I've been rehearsing this. Because I have. I've been rehearsing it since Sable told me I could stay in Greywater. Since I started thinking about what would happen if Zane ever found out about the child.
"I'm listening," he says.
"I will not be treated like an omega," I say. "I won't wear marks or collars or anything that says I belong to you. I'm a person, not a possession."
He nods without interrupting.
"I will not be a trophy," I continue. "I won't be paraded around your pack as proof of anything. The other wolves don't get to look at me and see a conquest or a scandal. I'm just a female living in your territory."
He's watching my face like he's trying to memorize every word.
"I will have my own space," I say. "My own room. My own door. A place that's mine where nobody can tell me what to do or who to see. If I need to leave in the middle of the night, I get to do that without questions."
"Okay," he says quietly.
"I will have my own choices," I tell him. "About my life. About the child. About whether I work or sleep or sit alone. You don't get to make decisions for me just because you're an Alpha. I get to decide who I am and what I do and where I go."
I pause and I look at him directly.
"And I have the right to leave," I say. "If Ashford doesn't work. If I decide this was a mistake. If the pack rejects me or you change your mind about treating me like I matter. I get to walk out and nobody gets to stop me. Not you. Not your pack. Not anyone."
Zane is very still while I'm speaking. His dark eyes are focused completely on me and I realize he's not just listening. He's actually hearing what I'm saying. He's actually considering whether he can live with these conditions.
When I finish, he's quiet for a long moment.
"Agreed," he says finally. "To all of it."
I search his face for the trick.
There has to be a trick. There always is. Riven promised me things and then used my expectations against me. My mother promised me love and then looked away when I needed her most. People don't agree to give you power over your own life without expecting something in return.
But Zane is just looking at me and his expression is open and clear and there's no trick hidden underneath.
"You're not going to negotiate?" I ask him.
"No," he says. "You're scared and you should be. You've been alone with this for six weeks and you needed to know you had an exit. I'm not going to take that from you."
"So you're just agreeing to let me leave whenever I want?" I ask, and I can't quite believe he's saying this.
"I'm agreeing that your choice matters more than my preference," he says. "If I try to cage you, you'll resent me. And resentment is the quickest way to lose someone. I'd rather have you in my territory making your own choices than have you stay because you feel trapped."
Something in my chest cracks open.
"Okay," I say quietly.
"Okay you'll come?" he asks.
"Okay I'll come," I tell him. "On my conditions."
He nods and he stands up and he extends his hand like he's asking permission to touch me. I take it and his fingers close around mine and it feels like a promise.
We leave Greywater that morning.
Zane has a truck waiting at the edge of town. He puts my bag in the back and he opens the passenger door and he waits for me to get in first. Small things but they matter. They show me that he means what he said about my choices.
The drive back to Ashford territory takes three hours and we barely talk. Zane focuses on the road. I focus on the weight of the decision I just made. I'm carrying his child back to his territory. I'm putting myself back under the control of someone who could hurt me if he decides to.
But he gave me conditions. He gave me power.
That has to count for something.
Back in Ironveil
Riven is in his office reviewing quarterly reports when his advisor knocks on the door.
"You have a message from the council," the woman says, and she's being careful with her voice which means it's something serious.
Riven takes the sealed letter and he opens it and he reads it once and then he reads it again because the words don't change no matter how many times he looks at them.
Someone spotted his rejected mate leaving Greywater with the Ashford Alpha. Very pregnant. Willingly going with him. No signs of distress or force.
The letter mentions that Kaela was last seen at a market stall with her hand on her stomach and then later she was leaving town beside Zane Ashford with a bag over her shoulder and her head held high.
The council wants to know if this is a threat to Ironveil stability.
Riven sets the letter down on his desk and he stares at it like it might change if he focuses hard enough.
Kaela is pregnant. Not just pregnant but far along. Five or six months at least. Which means she got pregnant right after the rejection ceremony. Which means she went to Ashford territory and she laid down with his enemy and she came back to tell him.
The anger that hits him is unexpected and sharp.
It's not the anger of a man who lost his mate. It's the anger of a man who's finally understanding that he threw away something real and someone else picked it up and is holding it close.
He puts his fist through the wall and it feels like the least he deserves.