CONAN'S POV

I stepped out of the room and shut the door behind me harder than I meant to.

The sound echoed down the hallway.

Good.

I wanted it to.

My hands clenched into fists at my sides, my chest rising and falling like I had just come back from a fight. Every muscle in my body felt tight, coiled, ready to snap.

I wanted to hit something. I wanted to slam my fist into the wall until my knuckles split open. I wanted pain,something physical, something sharp to drown out the mess raging in my head.

What the hell was that?

Who the fuck did she think she was?

An omega.

An omega had just screamed at me. Tried to attack me. Raised her hand to me like I was nothing.

And the worst part?

She didn't look afraid.

She looked like if given a chance she'd rip me apart.

The nerve of her.

I dragged a hand through my hair and let out a sharp breath through my teeth. My anger was visible. I could feel it rolling off me, thick and heavy. Any wolf who crossed my path right now would feel it in my tone, my steps, the way my presence darkened the air.

Omegas were taught to bow.

To lower their eyes.

To submit.

"Their voices weren't to be heard."

She did none of that.

Instead, she stood there, shaking with rage, rejecting me like I was the one beneath her.

Rejecting me.

Fuck her.

The thought made my jaw tighten.

Not that I wanted her.

No.

Why would I want someone so beneath me that it felt like an insult to even imagine it.

That wasn't it.

I never asked for this. I never wanted this bond. I never wanted her as my mate.

Never.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

I turned the corner and paced down the corridor, boots striking the stone floor hard. Servants and guards quickly moved out of my way, their heads lowered as they sensed my mood.

My mind dragged me back to how this all started.

The war.

I hadn't started it for land, or power.

I started it because of Fairi..

My first love.

My fiancée.

She was mine. Chosen by my late parents, betrothed to me when I was eight years old and blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. Her union with me would have strengthened my pack, secured alliances, ended old bloodshed.

And then Rhyna's Alpha took her.

Captured her.

He kept her, mated with her or so I heard.

She was mine. I had waited all my life to have her, to claim her and then he came and shattered everything.

I couldn't have her anymore but I didn't want him to have her either.

I went to him first. I demanded her return. Gave him a chance to do the smart thing.

He refused.

Mocked me.

Alongside his people.

I couldn't accept defeat, it wasn't in me to just let go. I had to fight for what rightfully belonged to me.

So I went to war.

Weeks of bloodshed, Losses on both sides. Still, he wouldn't give her up.

That was when I decided to take something from him.

Someone.

A ransom.

I hadn't planned to hurt anyone unnecessarily.

I just needed leverage. Someone important enough that he would come crawling back.

And that was when I saw her.

Rhyna.

She was moving through the battlefield, not fighting, not hiding. She knelt beside the wounded, her hands covered in blood that wasn't hers.

She looked calm, focused and brave.

She was a healer.

Healers were valuable.

They were Important or so I thought.

I assumed she must be someone the pack cared about. Someone they'd fight for.

That was why I took her.

Nothing more.

I never touched her with intent. Never planned to. I never even looked at her that way.

She was just a means to an end. So how had it turned into this?

Why the fuck didn't she just keep still?

Why did her hands end up in my blood?

How did a bond form?

Why?

I stopped walking and slammed my fist into the stone wall.

The crack echoed sharply.

Pain shot through my knuckles, but it barely registered.

Being fated to an omega.

An omega from the lowest clan.

It was a cruel joke.

The Moon Goddess had to be mocking me.

I was Conan of the Shadowbound Claw. An Alpha feared across territories. Born to rule. Raised for war and leadership.

And she binds me to a healer omega who looks at me like she'd rather spit in my face than kneel.

My lips curled in frustration.

And yet...

She felt it.

I knew she did.

Her wolf reacted. Her scent changed. Her heartbeat raced when I was close.

She could deny it all she wanted, but the bond didn't lie.

That was what scared her.

And maybe... that was what scared me too.

I straightened slowly, pulling my hand back from the wall. Blood trickled down my knuckles. I stared at it for a moment.

My blood.

This was what bound us together.

That single moment had changed everything.

I had seen the pain in her eyes when I spoke harshly.

I had meant to push her away, to remind her,and myself of reality.

That this was a mistake.

That she was beneath me.

But the words had come out crueler than intended.

You're not my type.

Nothing about you would make me choose you.

Lies.

Not because I wanted her,but because the bond wouldn't care what I wanted.

That was the truth I hated most.

She had every right to hate me.

I had taken her away from her people.

And still, she dared to reject me.

I scoffed quietly, the e nerve of her.

An omega telling an Alpha she would never be his Luna. If any other omega had done that, they'd already be punished.

But her... I exhaled slowly.

I didn't want to break her, I didn't want to force her. The bond was already forming. If I pushed too hard, it could damage us both.

And damn it, that mattered.

I hated that it did.

I turned away from the wall and headed toward my chambers, my steps slower now, heavier. She thought she was my prisoner.

If that was what she needed to believe to survive right now... fine.

I would give her distance and time.

But she was wrong about one thing.

This bond wasn't something either of us could escape.

Whether she accepted it or not. Whether I wanted it or not.

The Moon Goddess had decided.

And gods help us both when she finally realized what that meant.

Because once the bond fully awakened...

There would be no walls strong enough to keep us apart.

RHYNA'S POV

I woke up screaming.

Pain ripped through my chest like claws tearing from the inside. My fingers dug into the sheets as I gasped for air, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst. The room spun, shadows blurring together as heat rushed through my veins.

"No... no..." I whispered, shaking.

The pain wasn't like a wound or sickness. It was deeper and sharper. As if something inside me was being pulled, stretched, punished.

I pressed my hand over my chest, right where the bond burned. It felt hot.

"Stop," I whispered to no one. "Please... stop."

Slowly, the pain eased, leaving me weak and drenched in sweat. My breaths came in short, broken gasps. I lay there, staring at the ceiling, afraid to move.

This was his doing. It had to be.

Ever since I told Conan I would not be his Luna, things had changed. At first, it was only discomfort, restlessness, headaches, and a strange heaviness in my chest. But now... now it felt like my body was turning against me.

He was punishing me.

The door creaked open, and a young maid stepped in, carrying a tray of food. She froze when she saw me.

"You're awake," she said softly. "I....should I call the healer?"

"I'm fine," I lied quickly, pushing myself up. My hands trembled as I wrapped the blanket tighter around my body. "Just leave the food.".

She hesitated, her eyes filled with concern. "You don't look fine."

"I said leave it," I snapped.

She flinched, then nodded and placed the tray on the table before leaving quietly.

The door shut behind her with a soft click, locking me in once more.

Prisoner.

That's what I wanted, wasn't it?

I stared at the food but had no appetite. My stomach twisted, not with hunger, but with something else something heavy and sharp.

Suddenly, a wave of emotion crashed into me. Anger, which was raw and violent.

My breath hitched as my hands curled into fists. The room felt too small, the air too thick. My heart raced, not with fear, but fury, burning, choking rage that didn't feel like mine.

I staggered to my feet, gripping the wall as another sensation followed.

Exhaustion.

Bone-deep weariness settled over me, dragging my body down like chains. My knees buckled, and I slid to the floor, panting.

"What is happening to me?" I whispered.

Then I suddenly realized, this wasn't my anger nor my exhaustion.

It was his, Conan's.

I pressed my forehead against the cold stone wall, breathing hard. I could feel him, his emotions, his state of mind, like echoes inside my chest.

I hated it, I hated that I was tied to him this way. That even locked away, even refusing him, he could still reach me without touching me at all.

"Get out of my head," I whispered angrily. "You don't own me."

The bond pulsed in response, sharp and painful, as if mocking my words.

Hours passed, maybe more. Time blurred inside these walls. Eventually, soft voices drifted in from the hallway outside my door.

I stiffened.

"He's getting worse," one voice whispered.

"He won't rest," another replied. "The Alpha hasn't slept properly in days."

"Healers say it's the bond."

I held my breath.

"She refuses him," the first voice continued. "Rejecting a fated mate... it's dangerous."

Dangerous?

"It harms both sides," the second healer said quietly. "The Luna suffers, but the Alpha suffers more. His wolf is unstable."

My heart clenched painfully.

"He won't force her," the first voice said. "But this can't go on."

Their footsteps faded, leaving me frozen in place.

I felt sick.

So this wasn't punishment. Conan wasn't hurting me out of anger.

The bond was.

And worse... I was hurting him too.

But I hadn't known the cost.

"I didn't ask for this," I whispered, tears burning my eyes. "I didn't choose you."

And yet... neither had he.

And then with no one to pour out my anger on, I turned to the Moon Goddess. At fate. At a bond that didn't care about choice or fear or war.

How dare fate decide my life for me?

How dare it punish us both for refusing?

I wiped my tears roughly and forced myself to stand. My legs shook, but I stayed upright.

"No," I said aloud, my voice trembling but firm. "I won't break."

CONAN'S POV

Anger burned through my veins as I stepped out of my room.

The door slammed shut behind me, the sound echoing down the stone hallway. My fists clenched at my sides, claws itching to come out. I wanted to hit something. To break something. Anything to quiet the storm raging inside my chest.

I growled under my breath and drove my fist into the wall, the stone cracked.

The pain barely registered.

"What the hell does she think she's doing?" I muttered.

Rejecting me. Standing in front of me with fire in her eyes, demanding to be treated like a prisoner instead of my Luna. Like I was nothing. Like the bond meant nothing.

I hadn't asked for this., I hadn't wanted this.

And yet... my chest ached like something vital was being torn apart.

I straightened and forced myself to breathe. Alpha first. Always Alpha.

The pack was already restless. I could feel it the moment I stepped into the main hall. The conversations had died down and all eyes followed me. Whispers spread like smoke.

Something was wrong.

"Alpha," one of the guards said carefully, bowing his head. "The council is requesting a private meeting before you address the people."

Of course they were.

I strode into the inner council chamber, my presence heavy, my wolf close to the surface. The elders sat in a half circle, faces tight with concern, and judgment.

Before I could speak, one of them stood.

Elder Kairon.

He was Old, sharp and dangerous in his own way.

"Our pack is unsettled," he said loudly. "Your strength is being questioned."

A low growl rumbled in my chest.

"Choose your words carefully," I warned.

Kairon didn't back down. "You brought an enemy omega into our lands. You allowed her to refuse you. And since then, your control has weakened."

Murmurs filled the room.

"She should be claimed," Elder Gomer said. "Now. The bond will stabilize you."

"She's a risk," another snapped. "An enemy healer tied to the pack that captured Lady Fairi."

The name hit like a blade.

Fairi.

My jaw tightened.

"And let us not forget," Kairon added coldly, "the rumors."

The room fell silent.

"Speak," I commanded.

"They say Fairi was not just captured," he continued. "They say Rhyna's Alpha has already mated her."

The words rang in my ears.

Mated.

My wolf roared, fury exploding inside me. Chairs scraped back as pressure rolled through the room. Several wolves dropped to one knee instinctively.

I slammed my palm against the stone table.

"Enough."

The room shook.

"If you speak Fairi's name again without proof," I growled, "I will tear your tongue from your mouth."

There was silence.

Kairon swallowed but pressed on. "Then what is your plan, Alpha? Our enemies sense weakness. Your bond is unstable. Your Luna refuses her place. And Fairi, your rightful fiancée, may already be mated to another.

Everything snapped.

What the hell did he know about what rightfully belonged to me?

In a blink, I crossed the room and grabbed Kairon by the throat, lifting him off the ground. Gasps erupted around us.

"I am your Alpha," I said quietly, deadly calm. "I decide what weakens this pack."

I tightened my grip until his feet kicked uselessly.

"And you," I continued, eyes glowing, "do not question my rule."

I threw him across the chamber. He hit the wall hard and collapsed, gasping.

Every wolf dropped to their knees.

"I will not be challenged," I declared." And it will not start today."

My wolf surged forward, dominance flooding the room like a tidal wave. Wolves bowed their heads, some trembling, some struggling to breathe under the pressure.

"Rhyna is under my protection," I said. "Anyone who touches her without my command will die."

No one argued.

I turned and walked out, the doors slamming shut behind me. Only when I was alone did the strength drain from my body.

I staggered into my quarters and leaned against the door, breathing hard. Pain tore through my chest, sharp and relentless.

I gritted my teeth. Her rejection hit me like a wound that wouldn't close. Every time she pushed the bond away, my wolf raged. My control slipped. My body burned.

I pressed my fist over my heart.

"Damn it, Rhyna," I muttered. "You don't understand what you're doing."

Or maybe she did. Maybe she just didn't care.

I laughed bitterly.

An omega. An enemy. And fate had chosen her to break me.

I sank into a chair, exhaustion pulling me down. My thoughts drifted, unwanted, to Fairi, beautiful, lovely Fairi.

Captured and possibly claimed. The idea made my stomach twist.

I had gone to war for her, spilled blood, burned villages; All to get her back.

And now fate mocked me with another bond.

But when I thought of Rhyna, her defiance, her strength, the way she refused to bow, my chest tightened in a way Fairi had never made it tighten.

A sharp pulse of pain ripped through me suddenly, stealing my breath. I doubled over, growling as my claws dug into the arm of the chair.

She was hurting. I could feel it.

Her pain echoed through the bond, raw and sharp. Guilt slammed into me hard.

"You're stubborn," I whispered. "Too stubborn."

But so was I.

I forced myself upright, breathing through the ache. I couldn't show weakness. Not to the pack and definitely not to my enemies.

Yet no matter how much I tried to deny it, the truth was clear.

Rhyna was already affecting my control, my rule, and my heart.

And if this continued... the pack wouldn't be the only thing divided.

I would be too.