Chapter 82: The Night Rowan Lied First

The passage air clung cold and wet against Nora's cheeks. The blood circle beneath her palm had cooled from warm to tepid when the memory hit--not hers, but Rowan's, bleeding through the frayed bond Hope still carried. She stopped walking. Darius's hand found her elbow. "Nora." She didn't answer. The memory came through Rowan's eyes, raw and unguarded. *The night before the rejection.* Fire low in Blackridge's study. Whiskey and old paper. Rowan sat behind his desk, Elder Callum across from him, a ledger open between them. "The Moon Healer confirmed it this afternoon," Callum said. "Nora is pregnant. Six weeks, maybe seven." Rowan's hand tightened around his glass. Shock rippled through him, then joy--crushed by rage. He had wanted this. Wanted a child with her for years. Callum kept talking. "If the pack learns the Luna is fertile, Iris's position becomes unstable. The challenge she filed will collapse. The debt restructuring buried in the old ledgers will surface." Rowan stared at the fire. "She is carrying my heir." "She is carrying a problem. Iris has the Council's ear. Nora has nothing but a womb that finally worked. Deny the pregnancy. Call her barren in public. The Council will believe the Alpha before a rejected Luna." The bond pulsed--hot, desperate. He had known. He had chosen the lie anyway. Chosen Iris. Chosen the ledger. Nora opened her eyes. The passage stayed dark. Darius's hand still held her elbow, and Hope stirred against her chest, small fingers curling into Nora's coat. "He is above us," she said. Darius's jaw tightened. "I know. I can smell him through the stone." "Take me to him." He led her up a narrow stair, through a servant's door, into the east wing's storage room turned cell. Rowan sat on a wooden cot, back against the wall, wrists bound in silver chain. His eyes were red. He looked up when she entered. The bond pulled tight. "You saw," he said. "I saw you choose a lie over your own child." He closed his eyes. "I chose the pack. I thought I could fix it later. Bring you back after the debt was settled. I was a coward." "Yes. You were." Hope whimpered. Nora adjusted the sling. Rowan's gaze fixed on the small shape against her chest. Something broke in his face. "She is beautiful." "She isn't yours. She is mine." Rowan nodded slowly. The bond flickered, and she felt his next question before he spoke. "Nora." His voice cracked. "Kill me." She stared at him. "Before she uses me again," he said. "Seraphine planted something in me. It's waiting. It knows what I know. It'll use the bond to find Hope. To find you. Please." He held out his bound hands. "End this before I become her weapon." She looked at Darius. He didn't speak, but his hand found the small of her back--warm, steady, waiting. She looked back at Rowan. "No." He flinched. "I won't kill you to make you comfortable. You'll live. You'll testify. And when Seraphine tries to use you, I'll cut her out of your blood myself." She stepped forward, close enough to see tears tracking down his face. "You don't get to escape that easily." Rowan's breath shook. "She'll take me." "Then I'll take you back." She turned and walked toward the door. Darius followed, his presence a wall at her back. "Prepare him for the Council. He's going to tell them everything. And when he does, Seraphine's name will be the one that burns." Behind her, Rowan said, "Nora." She stopped. "Please." His voice barely a whisper. "If she takes me--if you can't cut her out--promise me you won't let me hurt Hope." She didn't turn around. "You won't touch her. That's the only promise I make." She walked out. The door closed. The bond went silent, heavy with the weight of his choices.