Roman’s P.O.V

The blade cut through her palm, the sound of skin splitting far too loud in the tense silence of the room. But even though Snow didn’t flinch, I felt the pain that sliced through her. It took everything in me not to stop the entire thing before it even started. 

Soon Liam followed, slicing his own hand. The sickly scent of his blood filled the air, and it was sour and offensive compared to my mate’s sweetness. As he roughly pressed her palm to the wall and then replaced the blood print with his, Snow’s body began to glow faintly, strange lines of light crawling over her skin. My fist clenched and I lurched forward but an arm in my path stopped me and a voice said. “You can’t go to her now, Your Majesty.”

Gritting my teeth, I could only stand back and watch as the glow flickered, and then dimmed. I watched as Liam’s lips curled back and he growled. “By the authority of the moon goddess and as her alpha, I sever the ties that bind Snow to this family, to this land, and to the moonlight pack. From this moment on, she is a packless Rogue.”

Snow gasped, her small body trembling. A weak, broken sound slipped from her throat–half a cry, half a whimper. She crumpled forward.

I was at her side before her knees could hit the ground.

“Easy kitten,” I murmured and cradled her against me. The tail of my shirt grew damp from her blood and the sharp metallic scent almost drove me half-mad with the urge to feed her my blood so her deep knife-cut could heal faster.

But I couldn’t.

The curse I carried wasn’t something I could ignore, no matter how much I wanted to shield her from pain. My blood would destroy her. The thought made me feel fucking helpless.

Growling under my breath, I ripped a piece of cloth from my sleeve and pressed it to her wound. The blood seeped through fast, staining my hands as I tied it off. Every second of it enraged me.

Just then, Liam handed one of my guards a small vial filled with blood. “Sprinkle this at the border before you leave,” he muttered. “It’ll mark the renouncement.”

I didn’t acknowledge him. My eyes stayed locked on Snow’s pale. She was fragile in my arms, but anytime our eyes met, all I saw was complete trust. And that trust was heavier than any burden I’d ever carried.

Finally, I stood up, still holding her close as my gaze flicked to the asshole LIam. “You are dismissed.”

He bowed his head and then slunk out of the room, his guards trailing behind him.

When we were alone, I turned my attention back to Snow. Tiny beads of sweat were on her face and despite the fact that she’d just woken up, she looked utterly exhausted. “We’re leaving now. The car’s ready.”

I expected her to be excited, but instead, she froze and her wide hazel eyes darted to mine.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” I cradled her face, narrowing my eyes as she shook her head, her trembling hands fumbling for words she couldn’t speak. When I arched a brow in confusion, she pointed toward the door and then back at herself.

“You want something,” i said, watching her carefully. And she nodded.

“What is it?”

Her hands moved again, broken signs that barely made any sense. Frustration boiled under my skin. “Snow!” I snapped. “We will fix this–your ability to talk or hell, we’ll coach you to sign better. But for now, slowly tell me. What the hell do you want?”

Her lips parted and she mouthed, “I need to go to my room. There’s something I can’t leave behind.”

“Oh,” I mulled over her words and finally nodded. “You won’t be long, would you? I’ll be waiting for you in the car.”

Her face crumpled immediately and tears welled in her eyes. Oh fuck. Did I say something wrong? She clung to my first, her tiny hands gripping the fabric like I was her lifeline.

Slowly, I covered her hands with mine. “Do you want me to come with you?”

She nodded, so small and hesitant, that it made the hairs at the back of my neck stand on end.

“Does someone hurt you in your room?” My voice was steady, but inside, my wolf snarled for blood.

Her cheeks flushed, and she lowered her lashes, looking away from me, but the answer was clear enough.

“Who?” I demanded.

She hesitated again, but when I let Liga through, pinning his Lycan dominant gaze on her, she shuddered, and mouthed, ‘Okay, I’ll show you.’

I didn’t let go of her hand as she led me out of my quarters. The midnight pack had always been a shitshow, but the deeper we left the Alpha packhouse, venturing towards the omega packhouse, the worse it got.

The air grew stale and the walls were crumbling on its own. This shoudln’t be a lived-in house. By the gods!

Snow’s steps faltered as we reached a doorway under a staircase and I looked at her. Her shoulders squared before she opened the door. But the first thing that hit me was the stench. Damp wood, mildew and the sharp tang of rat piss.

This was a fucking broom closet.

And this was where my mate slept.

My chest tightened and rage flooded my veins. Liga who was already pissed because he couldn’t reach our mate’s wolf surged forward, growling, ready to destroy everything in this goddam pack.

I didn’t even realize Snow had moved towards me until I felt a small hand pressing against my chest where my heart was jackhammering wildly against my ribs. That small, calloused touch stopped me cold, her warmth cutting through the red haze of fury in my mind.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I covered her hand with mine, grounding myself. I needed to control my temper whenever my new mate was near. She was very skittish as it was and I knew her daring to comfort and touch me took a lot from her. I could see it in the mix of terror and surprise in her gaze. The thought crossed my mind again and my teeth clenched. Snow wouldn’t survive as my queen. Yet I couldn’t let her go.

When she stepped away, I allowed my eyes to move around the room before settling back on her. At this time she had moved to the wall next to a ratty, threadbare mattress on the floor. Her fingers traced invisible circles over the brick wall, before pressing against a hidden panel.

A compartment suddenly opened and she reached in, pulling out a silver locket and clutching it like it was the most precious thing in the world. After pressing a soft kiss to the locket, she slipped it around her neck and stood in front of me. And then she turned around and swept her hair off her neck. Taking the hint, I helped her fix the clasp of her necklace and she faced me again, her big eyes full of shy gratitude. I’d never met anyone as genuine and pure as Snow. all the women in my life back home were calculative Deltas or female alphas, fit to rule.

The first thing I’d have to train her to mask is that look–so trusting, so fucking sweet whenever she looked at me. Although it made my wolf quiet since we entered this shithole, it would make her an easy target.

“We’re done here,” I growled, taking her hand again and leading her out of the packhouse,

The fresh air outside was a relief, but my anger simmered just beneath the surface. When we reached my car entourage outside the midnight pack, I stopped and made her look at me. “Who made you live like that?”

She hesitated, but when she saw I wasn’t about to back down on that, a sigh left her shoulders slumped. “The head maiden, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I am coming with you. It’s my past now, and you are my future.” Her mouth slowly enunciated the words.

She was right about one thing. I was her future, but I’d be damned if I let her tormentors go unpunished. Right now, I’d leave her with the impression that all is well with her pack but as soon as we got back to the royal castle, I’d make sure everyone here pays for what they did to her.

Just as I opened my mouth to falsely assure her, a low snarl cut through the air.

I turned around to see Liam and his guards surrounding the car, their eyes locked on my mate.

“Snow,” Lim growled in a venomous tone. “Don’t go with him or I’ll make sure you regret this.”