CHAPTER 41: PITCH BLACK COFFEE

CIAN

I watched from the window of my study.

Below in the gardens, Fia stood with her sister. From this distance, I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I could see their body language. Hazel had her arms around Fia. Her face was pressed against Fia’s shoulder. Her whole body was shaking like she was crying.

It looked like a reunion. Two sisters embracing after a difficult event. The concerned sibling checking on her wayward sister and being the bigger person. Anyone watching would have seen exactly that.

But through the bond, I felt something else entirely.

Fear. Sharp and sudden. It spiked through my chest so hard I actually pressed a hand against my ribs. Then came something worse. Horror. The kind that made your stomach drop and your skin go cold. Fia was terrified down there.

I leaned closer to the window.

Hazel pulled back slightly. Still holding Fia’s shoulders. Still crying. Her mouth was moving. She was saying something. Her expression was devastated. Heartbroken.

But Fia’s face had gone completely blank.

Not sad. Not relieved. Just empty. Like someone had reached inside her and scooped everything out.

Through the bond came a wave of grief so intense it nearly knocked me back a step. It wasn’t mine. It couldn’t be mine. But I felt it anyway. Felt it like my own heart was breaking.

What the hell was happening down there?

Hazel touched Fia’s arms. Examining something. The rash probably. Making a blatant show of concern. Then Fia jerked away. I saw her mouth move. Saw the guards shift their attention toward them.

Hazel reached for Fia again. Pulled her close. From here it looked comforting. Sisterly. But the bond kept screaming danger danger danger in a loop I couldn’t shut off.

I should have gone down there. Should have interrupted this reunion and demanded to know what was being said. But I stayed at the window and kept watching. Because something told me this was important. That if I looked away I’d miss something crucial.

Hazel was whispering something. I saw her lips barely moving. Saw her face stay perfectly composed even while tears ran down her cheeks. Yet Fia was the one breaking.

I could feel it through the bond. Feel her crumbling under whatever Hazel was saying. It wasn’t just fear anymore. It was despair. Complete and utter hopelessness.

My wolf stirred. Uncomfortable.

Mate hurt, it said. Mate needs us.

But I didn’t move.

I was still staring at Fia when the knock came.

"Enter."

The door opened. One of the sentinels stepped inside. "Alpha Cian. Luna Isobel requests an audience with you."

I turned away from the window. "Now?"

"Yes, Alpha. She says it’s important."

Of course it was. I glanced back at the garden. Fia hadn’t moved. Neither had Hazel. They were still standing there like statues while guards watched and servants whispered.

"Let her in."

The sentinel bowed and left. A moment later Isobel entered my study. She was composed. Elegant. Her expression was neutral but I caught something in her eyes. Something calculating I had noticed even on the wedding day.

I smiled and kept my tone pleasant when I spoke. "Would you like tea, mother in law?"

"I prefer coffee," she said. "I like it black and bitter."

"I can work with that."

I moved to the small coffee station I kept in my study and started preparing her drink while she stood near the doorway. Still composed. Still watching me with those sharp eyes.

"Have a seat," I said as I gestured toward one of the chairs near my desk. "Why aren’t you catching up with your daughter?"

Isobel moved to the chair but didn’t sit. "I cannot look at her."

I paused. Looked at her. "Fia?"

"Yes." Her voice was flat. Cold. "I thought I could. But it turns out I am still angry."

I went back to making the coffee and let the silence stretch while I worked. When I glanced at her she was staring out the window toward the gardens.

"Your daughter is not like you," I said.

She turned to look at me. "What?"

"Take a look at the view." I nodded toward the window. "She is the epitome of turning the other cheek."

Isobel walked to the window. Stood where I’d been standing moments before. Looking down at where Hazel and Fia had their reunion. From here she could probably still see both of them.

"Quite the view," she said softly. "Was this why you chose the garden?"

"Hmmmm."I hummed in agreement as I finished the coffee. The rich bitter smell filled the study.

"My daughter has always been a saint," Isobel continued. Still looking out the window. "It is why some people have the audacity to steal what belongs to her."

I raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

She turned. "I did not mean..."

"I do not belong to anyone." I kept my voice even. Calm. But there was an edge there.

Isobel’s expression cracked slightly. She actually wiped at her eyes. Real tears or fake ones, I couldn’t tell. "I apologize for my language, Alpha Cian. I did not mean to offend you."

I brought her the coffee and held it out. She took it with both hands like it was something precious.

"I am not offended," I said.

I then walked back to my desk and leaned against it. "I still do not know why you are here though."

Isobel drank. She let the coffee sit on her tongue for a moment before swallowing. Then she looked at me directly.

"I will be frank. I came here for one purpose and one alone."

"What is that?"

"I want my daughter to marry you."

The words hung in the air between us.

I didn’t react. I just kept my expression neutral while my mind worked through what she’d just said. What she was really asking for.

"That will not be possible," I said finally. "I am already married."

"But you do not love her." Isobel’s voice was urgent now. Desperate. "You can toss her aside."

"I do not love Hazel either. It was merely political for me."

"So?"

"That is why you are here." I crossed my arms. "Politics. You lost Skollrend. Me." I paused. Let the next words hit hard. "Fia might be your daughter. But she is not your blood. Is that not it?"

Isobel’s face went very still.

"Of course it is politics," she said after a moment. Her voice was quieter now. More honest. "But I wanted a stable life for my daughter." She drank more coffee. "I married for love. The crisis was there was no mate bond and even during our marriage, the goddess did not bless our chosen bond with a match of fate like she surprisingly did with Fia and you."

She moved back to the window. Looked down at the gardens again.

"I practically forced my father to let me marry into a small pack." She sighed. "I thought..." Another sigh. More coffee. "When you came to us with a proposal, it was like a dream come true."

I watched her carefully. Watched the way her shoulders sagged slightly. The way her hand tightened on the coffee cup.

"I could make it up to my father," she continued. "And Fia who I raised and loved took that away from me."

She looked back through the window. Down at where Fia still stood with Hazel.

"I cannot be the bigger person." Her voice was tight. "But I am curious,what are your intentions are with her?"

I considered my answer. Considered how much truth to give this woman who’d just admitted she saw her stepdaughter as an obstacle. Who’d come here hoping to fix a political mistake.

"We will not last long," I said finally. "But I do not intend to cross the goddess by rejecting Fia so quickly when the goddess has decided this chosen match can be a match of fate."

Isobel turned and waited for me to continue.

"She can be cruel when you get on her bad side," I said. "And I have someone I cannot lose to a game with a god now."

My mother. My primary pack. The woman who depended on me. I wouldn’t risk her just to satisfy my pride or break a bond I didn’t want.

"But when it is over," I continued, "I really do not intend to remarry. Certainly not your daughter."

Isobel drank more coffee. Her expression was carefully blank. "She is a Luna. Beautiful too. You chose her for a reason. What could the issue?"

"Yes." I met her eyes. "I chose her for a reason. Your pack was small and broke. Convenient for me."

The words were harsh. Deliberately so. But they were true and we both knew it.

Isobel drank again and she proceeded to empty the cup. When she spoke next her voice had an edge. "You promised to punish her back at Silver Creek. For her deceit. But she does not look like she is suffering here."

I straightened. Felt my jaw tighten. "My pack, my business."

We stared at each other. The pleasant facade was completely gone now. This was just two people sizing each other up. Trying to figure out who had the upper hand.

I did.

"Is that all, Luna Isobel?"

She set the empty cup on my desk. "Yes. Thank you for the coffee."

I took the cup. "The pleasure is all mine."

She walked toward the door. Paused with her hand on the handle. For a moment I thought she might say something else. Might drop the political mask entirely and say what she really thought.

But she didn’t. Instead, she opened the door and left.

I stood alone in my study with an empty coffee cup in my hand and sat with the weird interaction I just had with Isobel. Through the bond I felt Fia’s emotions start to return. Not fear this time. Not grief. This was something worse.

An absolute emptiness that made it seem like she’d given up entirely. Like whatever Hazel had said down there now had killed something inside her.

I looked out the window again. But Hazel was gone and Fia was on the ground now, kneeling in the grass. Her phone had fallen beside her. She was bent over like she was going to be sick.

Guards were moving toward her. Some were concerned; Others confused. Unsure of what had happened or what to do.

My wolf was pacing. Growling even.

Mate hurt. Mate needs help.

I set the coffee cup down and sprinted for the door.