Chapter 4 - A CROWN BUILT ON BROKEN OATHS
Dondre arrived at my apartment the following morning.
I had agreed to meet him.
Under three conditions.
No armed entourage in my living room.
No mysterious kneeling.
And absolutely no calling me his anything.
He accepted all three.
When I opened the door, he stood holding a paper bag.
“Breakfast,” he said.
I looked inside.
Two breakfast sandwiches.
A cinnamon roll.
Coffee.
I raised an eyebrow.
“Are you bribing me?”
“Is it working?”
“A little.”
He smiled.
Then he saw Nia sitting on my sofa.
His expression changed.
“Nia Thorne.”
She stood immediately.
“Your Majesty.”
I sighed.
“Can everyone stop doing that?”
Dondre looked at me.
“Doing what?”
“Acting like he owns the oxygen.”
Nia made a choking sound.
Dondre almost smiled.
We sat around my tiny kitchen table.
Dondre explained that the strange warmth I'd felt when he touched me was known as a mate bond.
According to wolf tradition, some individuals developed an instinctive connection when they met a deeply compatible partner.
The bond intensified emotions and physical awareness.
It could also become a source of manipulation if either person confused instinct with consent.
I stared at him.
“So destiny thinks we're supposed to date?”
His mouth twitched.
“That's a simplified explanation.”
“It's the explanation I'm working with.”
Nia looked as though she was struggling not to laugh.
I folded my arms.
“And what happens if I say no?”
Dondre's expression became serious.
“Then you say no.”
“That's it?”
“That's it.”
“No magical punishment?”
“Not from me.”
I watched him carefully.
“Have people refused mate bonds before?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Some separated. Others formed different relationships. Bonds aren't always romantic, and even when they are, no one should be compelled to accept one.”
For the first time, I relaxed slightly.
Then Nia spoke.
“Not everyone at court agrees.”
Dondre's expression darkened.
“No.”
He told me about the Blackwood Sovereign Council.
For generations, the Alpha King had governed by an agreement called the Seven Oaths.
The first oath required protection of pack members.
The second prohibited forced bonding.
The third required fair arbitration between territories.
The remaining oaths limited royal authority and guaranteed the right to challenge an Alpha who abused power.
But twenty-six years earlier, during a conflict known as the Winter Schism, the council suspended several protections.
Pack leaders claimed it was necessary to defeat a rebellion.
Dondre's father had accepted extraordinary authority.
And after the fighting ended, not every protection was restored.
“My father believed order mattered more than freedom,” Dondre said.
“And you?”
“I've spent six years trying to reverse the damage.”
Nia looked down.
“Some of the council would rather see you dead.”
I stared.
“That's reassuring.”
Dondre met my eyes.
“I'm sorry you were pulled into this.”
I thought about the note.
My mother's fear.
The gray wolf at my window.
Then I asked, “Why were you outside my office that night?”
Dondre hesitated.
“I had a meeting nearby.”
“What meeting?”
“With representatives of the company that dismissed you.”
My stomach tightened.
“Rainier Strategic Systems?”
He nodded.
I stared.
“That's where I worked.”
“I know.”
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What does Rainier do for you?”
Dondre looked at Nia.
She shook her head.
Then he answered.
“They maintain part of the secure communications network for the Sovereign Council.”
I stopped breathing.
I had spent three years reviewing compliance reports for that company.
And I'd been fired less than twelve hours before meeting him.
I leaned forward.
“Dondre, I need to tell you something.”
He waited.
“Two days before I was fired, I found unexplained transactions inside a restricted project account.”
His expression changed.
“What account?”
I swallowed.
“Project Hollow Crown.”
Nia went completely still.
Dondre gripped the table.
Then asked, very quietly, “Did you copy any of the records?”
I stared at him.
May you like
“Yes.”
And for the first time since meeting me, the Alpha King looked genuinely afraid.
