Claiming Emerald: Four Alphas At Her Feet
Chapter 35: Protecting a Secret...

Chapter 35: Protecting a Secret...

"...He did it. He actually did it."

Viola’s voice echoed inside her like a trembling whisper, but Emerald didn’t respond. She couldn’t.

She sat on the cold marble floor, hands pressed to the new mark on her neck, chest rising and falling in shallow, erratic breaths.

She didn’t remember when the tear fell, just that her cheek was wet as it slid down on its own accord.

His words looped through her mind.

You’ve always been mine.

Promised.

Claimed.

Her father... her own father had promised her to him.

The Rogue King’s voice replayed in her mind again and again:

"He promised me something. You."

Tears kept falling slowly and heavily, coming from deep inside.

He did it. Vale Lycannis. Her father. The one she’d idolised, tried to live up to... had made a deal. A deal that ended with her being marked like property.

"Why?" she choked out. "Why would he...?"

No answer came.

Only the bond.

Emerald clenched her jaw, pressing her palm against the mark on her skin. It throbbed intensely, feeling like a hot brand, as if his essence had seeped into her bloodstream.

Viola stirred again, quieter now. "It’s real. The bond is real."

"I didn’t ask for this," Emerald whispered.

"No. But now it’s in you."

She leaned her head against the wall, the cool surface grounding her.

She didn’t sleep that night. Didn’t even close her eyes. The hours passed in a haze of confusion, dread, and something far worse... acceptance. Because no matter how much she fought it, the bond was there.

Alive.

Growing.

By dawn, she had already showered and scrubbed her skin until it was red. But the mark didn’t fade. It only darkened.

She dressed carefully in tight black jeans, her heaviest boots, and a turtleneck sweater high enough to cover her neck completely. Her fingers brushed over the fabric every few minutes, a subconscious check that it was still hidden.

She didn’t tell Nessa.

She didn’t tell anyone.

But as she moved through the estate that day, overseeing training drills and reviewing scout reports, she could feel him.

Watching.

Like his presence was stitched to her spine. Like his eyes tracked her from every shadow, every darkened window.

And the worst part?

Part of her didn’t want him to stop.

—

Late that afternoon, Darius found her in the east wing war room, surrounded by maps and hand-drawn routes.

"Emerald," he called, stepping inside. "The Summit is officially confirmed."

She didn’t look up. "Let me guess. The worst-case scenario?"

"Rick’s pack is hosting."

Emerald’s hand froze on the map.

Of course.

She closed her eyes briefly. "Perfect."

"I can have your quarters separated..."

"No," she interrupted. "Let him see I’m not hiding."

Darius studied her. "You don’t seem surprised."

"I’m not." Her voice was cold. Controlled. "And I’ll be civil. For the sake of the Summit."

Dairus paused for a few seconds before nodding. "You’ll need to leave by tomorrow night. Escorts will ride with you, and I’ve ordered two scout teams to sweep the path hours before departure."

"And security?" she asked.

"Triple detail. No one gets near the convoy without clearance."

She nodded, still not looking at him.

Darius hesitated. "There’s something else."

But before he could speak, her phone buzzed.

Emerald blinked and picked it up.

Unknown number.

Her breath caught as she saw another message: I hope you have a safe trip, Alpha. The roads can get very steep.

Her blood turned to ice.

She stared at the screen in disbelief, the world narrowing to those words. Her fingers tightened around the device.

Darius was still speaking. "Emerald? Are you listening?"

She blinked out of the trance. "What?"

"You’ve been off all day," he said. "You’re distracted. I need to know if something’s wrong."

"I’m fine."

"No, you’re not." He narrowed his eyes. "I’ve known you since you were a little girl. You’re distracted. Something’s bothering you."

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Then took a step back, arms crossed.

"I said I’m fine."

"You don’t look fine."

She turned to him, eyes blazing. "Don’t."

"Don’t what?" he asked, frowning.

"Don’t act like you’re worried about me when you’ve been lying to me."

Darius’s face went still. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I’m talking about," she snapped. Her voice was rising now. "You knew. You’ve always known about him. About the deal my father made with him. You were there, yet, when I asked, you didn’t say a word."

Darius paled.

The silence between them stretched like a taut string. He looked toward the guards. "Leave us."

The two sentries bowed and exited quickly.

"You... know?"

"Of course I know!" she shouted, chest heaving. "He told me everything. That you and my father suppressed my scent. That you hid me. That my father made a deal with him and promised me like I was a goddamn token."

Darius raised a hand. "Emerald, let me explain..."

"You had enough time to explain!" she snarled. "I asked you... But what did you do?"

"I was trying to protect you."

"By keeping the truth from me?" Her voice broke. "You weren’t protecting me, you were protecting a secret."

"Em...?"

"How could you? How could he?"

"I didn’t want this life for you," Darius said quietly. "Neither of us did. Vale made that promise when he thought he was going to lose everything. It was desperate and foolish, I admit. But then, it was all we had or..."

Emerald’s hands curled into fists. "You still had a choice. And you chose to lie."

Darius took a step forward, but she backed away.

"Don’t," she hissed. "Don’t come near me right now."

"Em—"

"I can’t look at you."

Then she turned and walked out, her boots hammering down the corridor.

The pain was clawing at her chest. The betrayal. The fear. The confusion. The warmth of the mark on her neck only made things worse. Everything inside her felt like it was falling apart.

She didn’t stop until she was outside the estate. Her heart pounded violently in her chest. The woods loomed before her, and her wolf howled inside her to run. To shift. To get out.

She stripped down quickly, clothes abandoned by the edge of the trees.

And then her body rippled, bones reforming, fur sprouting in a flash of light.

Emerald, now in her massive silver wolf form, sprinted into the trees like a streak of lightning.

She didn’t stop.

She didn’t think.

She let the wind tear through her fur and the forest blur around her until only instinct remained.

Eventually, her paws hit familiar ground.

The underground cave Lucien had shown her weeks ago.

She shifted back slowly, body trembling, skin slick with sweat. She didn’t care that she was naked. She collapsed onto the cold stone floor, sobbing, her knees drawn to her chest.

How could he?

How could they?

Tears finally fell, quiet and hot against her skin. She didn’t bother to wipe them away. Her mind was racing with thoughts.

Her father had made a choice that was now coming back to haunt her. Her uncle had helped cover it.

And now she was claimed by a man who felt like he had just walked out of a living myth.

She let out a shaky breath, leaning back against the wall.

"I didn’t ask for this," she whispered.

Then, she felt it... a presence.

Her head snapped up, eyes scanning the entrance, and there, emerging slowly from the shadows at the edge of the cave, was...