No Other Choice

Gideon stared down the enemy Alpha. He searched the younger man’s dark, unyielding eyes and saw right through the manipulative facade. Vander never had any real intention of rejecting Celeste. The older Alpha realized Vander allowed the confrontation to escalate just to corner them. Vander wanted to test their limits, to dangle the threat of her death to force their submission. The younger Alpha stood there like a predator playing with cornered prey. He knew the Thorne family would fold the moment Celeste's life hung in the balance.

"I will keep her safe and protected with me, and no harm will come to your pack if she goes with me." Vander stood tall, his voice an eerie pool of calm amidst the suffocating tension of the study. He delivered the terms of the deal without a single fluctuation in his tone.

Jaxon glared daggers at him, his chest heaving with restrained snarls. The urge to rip the rival Alpha's throat out radiated from the young Thorne heir.

"How do we know you will not hurt her?" Soren asked, his fists trembling at his sides as he fought to control his boiling rage. He stepped forward, putting his body between Vander and the door.

"You have no other choice." Vander brushed off the question with a casual shrug, reminding the Thorne men of their grim reality. He held all the cards, and they were playing a losing game.

Enzo gnashed his molars together at the doorway, the sound echoing loud in the tense silence. The Beta’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the doorframe.

Desperate for a fleeting moment of composure away from this crushing atmosphere, Celeste took a step backward. Her voice shook as she addressed her father and brothers.

"I will pack my things."

"There is no need for that." Vander turned his piercing gaze toward her, dismissing her need to take a piece of her home with her.

"I will get my things." Celeste forced her tone to remain level, refusing to look at the monster standing mere feet away. She turned her back and hurried out of the room, her footsteps echoing down the hallway.

Vander narrowed his eyes at her retreating figure. She played brave in front of her family. He looked forward to testing that bravery when they were alone.

In her bedroom, Celeste pulled a large suitcase from the top shelf of her closet. She threw it onto the mattress and began tossing clothes inside. Her hands shook with every item she grabbed, her fingers fumbling over zippers and buttons. Tears burned the corners of her eyes, blurring her vision. She swallowed hard, forcing the fear down her throat. She could not let her family see her terror. Valerie and Gemma stood by the doorway, their cheeks already stained with fresh tears. If Celeste broke down now, the stress would ruin them. She had to be the strong one, even if her heart pounded a frantic rhythm against her ribs.

Diana watched her daughter from the corner of the room in sheer silence. The Luna’s heart broke into jagged pieces. She could see past the brave mask. Celeste was the most timid, innocent, and shy among all her children. Diana wept openly, wiping her face with the back of her hand. She wondered how her gentle daughter would ever survive living under the roof of a ruthless, cold-blooded killer. Why had the Moon Goddess paired her fragile child with such a cruel man? It felt like a sick cosmic joke.

Celeste walked over to her bedside table. She picked up a wooden framed photograph. It was taken at Soren’s wedding, a perfect snapshot of their family. Everyone wore bright smiles, oblivious to the nightmare that would eventually arrive at their doorstep. She traced her fingers over her father’s smiling face, then carefully tucked the frame beneath a thick sweater in her suitcase. It was the only piece of her family she could take into the darkness. She zipped the bag shut with a harsh, final sound.

Gemma rushed forward and threw her arms around Celeste's neck.

"Please, Celeste. Do not go." Gemma sobbed against her shoulder, her tears soaking into Celeste's shirt.

Celeste bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to taste copper. She hugged her sister tight, trying to memorize the scent of her family. She moved to embrace Valerie next, sharing a silent moment of grief, and finally wrapped her arms around her weeping mother.

"I will be okay, Mom." Celeste whispered, grabbing the handle of her suitcase.

She led the way out of the room, her family trailing close behind her like a mourning procession marching toward a graveyard.

Downstairs in the grand foyer, Vander stood near the main doors. He held a phone to his ear, ignoring the murderous glares of the Thorne men surrounding him. The marble floors reflected the grim faces of the Moon pack's strongest warriors, all standing helpless against one man. Soren marched forward and took the suitcase from Celeste’s grip, wanting to spare her the burden for just a few more seconds.

"Your men will not let my car through the gates." Vander spoke to Gideon, lowering his phone.

Gideon closed his eyes and mind-linked his border warriors to grant the enemy access. The defeat tasted like ash in his mouth. To let the rival pack's vehicle onto their sovereign land felt like the ultimate surrender. Jaxon paced the floor like a caged beast, desperate to punch Vander, to scream at him to leave Celeste here until they found a cure for this cursed mate bond. Even the pack healer Sybil was absent when they needed her the most. They were out of time and out of options.

"Let us go." Vander grabbed the suitcase handle from Soren.

Soren snatched Vander’s broad shoulder, his grip bone-crushing. The tension in the grand foyer reached a boiling point. The two men stood shoulder to shoulder, neither willing to yield an inch of ground. The air crackled with Alpha dominance.

"If you dare to hurt my sister, just know I will kill you." Soren gritted out, his canines slipping past his lips.

Jaxon stepped directly into Vander's path, blocking the exit with his wide frame.

"Soon I will be there to get my sister back. And if you ever make her cry, I swear I will tear you apart with my bare hands." Jaxon sneered, his voice dropping into a venomous promise.

Unfazed and devoid of emotion, Vander brushed past the furious brothers. He treated the lethal Alpha heirs as if they were nothing but annoying pests buzzing in his ear. He did not spare them a second glance.

Celeste embraced her brothers one last time, her vision blurring as they squeezed her tight. She hugged her father, burying her face in his broad chest. Gideon kissed the top of her head, committing her scent to memory, then turned and intercepted Vander before he could reach the door. The older Alpha delivered a solemn, heavy final warning to the man taking his daughter away.

"I have treated my daughter like a princess. If you cannot treat her like a Queen, then you do not deserve her. Do not think of her as your enemy's daughter. Treat her well and take care of her, because if you do not, you might lose her. She is your mate."

Vander locked his jaw, his dark eyes flashing as he absorbed the older man's words. He offered no verbal reply. He turned on his heel and strode out of the mansion.

The cool evening air hit Celeste’s face as she stepped outside onto the sprawling driveway. A massive Mercedes with heavily tinted windows rolled to a stop on the gravel. The engine purred like a sleeping beast. A driver in a sharp suit hurried out to take the suitcase from Vander, loading it into the trunk.

Before Vander could take another step toward the open car door, Enzo stepped directly into his path. The Beta’s face twisted in pure disgust, his chest puffed out in a futile display of dominance.

"You do not deserve her." Enzo sneered, standing his ground against the towering Alpha.

"You know better?" Vander asked, turning his body to face the Beta with cold amusement.

"Hurt her and I will be your death." Enzo curled his hands into tight fists, his claws pressing into his own palms.

Amused by the blatant hostility, Vander tilted his head. He studied the raw pain flashing in Enzo’s eyes, reading the tension in the Beta's shoulders. He easily deduced the hidden, lingering romantic feelings the Beta harbored for Celeste. A mocking smirk tugged at the corner of Vander’s lips as he realized he was stealing the woman this man loved.

"You like her." Vander stated the fact with chilling amusement, letting the words hang in the crisp air.

Infuriated by the mocking smirk, Enzo bared his teeth and prepared to lunge at the Alpha. He wanted to rip that arrogant expression off Vander's face, rules and treaties be damned.

"Enzo. Please." Celeste’s soft, pleading voice cut through the tense air before the Beta could strike.

Enzo froze in his tracks. He turned his head and looked at her. Her pale face begged him not to fight, to not spill blood on her account. She had already sacrificed everything to prevent a war. The heartbroken Beta forced himself to swallow his pride, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"I will see you again." Celeste offered a heart-wrenching goodbye, her voice cracking under the weight of her despair.

Enzo looked away, nodding stiffly as a silent promise that he would not forget her. From the upper balcony of the mansion, Enzo’s mother watched the tragic scene unfold in heavy silence, her hands clutching the iron railing.

The driver pulled open the rear door of the sleek vehicle. Celeste forced her heavy legs to move. She climbed into the luxurious leather interior of the Mercedes. She rolled the window down one last time, staring at the devastated, tear-stained faces of her mother and sisters. She looked at the enraged, helpless expressions of her father, her brothers, and Enzo. Her heart broke into a million pieces, but she bravely bit her lip and held back her tears. She refused to cry until they left the safety of her territory.

The tires crunched against the gravel as the car accelerated down the long winding driveway. Celeste watched her home shrink in the rearview mirror until the pack's borders finally faded into the distant tree line. Only then did the first tear slip down her cheek, a hot trail of misery and isolation. The spiritual connection she felt with her pack thinned with every passing mile, leaving a hollow, agonizing void in her chest. She was alone with the monster now.

"Wise decision, I must say." Vander's deep baritone broke the suffocating silence of the car.

Gripped by a fresh wave of fear, Celeste kept her mouth shut. She refused to speak to him. She refused to even look in his direction. Her hands bunched into tight fists on her lap, her fingernails digging into her palms. Her heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs, but she kept her gaze locked on the passing blurred trees outside the window.

His large, warm hand suddenly gripped her knee. Sparks shot straight through her leg, burning a hot, electric trail up her thigh. The sudden sensory overload of the mate bond made her gasp. Acting on pure, panicked impulse, she slapped his hand away. She wiped her wet cheek, turning her head to face him. She narrowed her eyes, offering a poor, trembling imitation of her brothers' fierce glares. She wanted him to think she was fearless, that she carried the proud Thorne blood in her veins.

He tilted his head. His dark eyes locked onto hers, cold and piercing, stripping away her defenses in a single second. Her fragile, fake courage vanished instantly. She shrank back against the heavy car door.

Vander moved with terrifying speed. His large, veiny hand clamped hard onto her delicate jaw, his long fingers digging deep into the soft flesh of her cheeks. He jerked her face close to his, closing the distance between them in a flash of aggression. She gasped, her hands flying out to steady herself, her palms landing flat against his rock-hard thigh. Igniting sparks flared everywhere his skin touched hers, a chaotic storm of mate-bond electricity that made her skin hum. Her eyes widened into massive saucers as she stared into the dark abyss of his gaze.

He noticed her red, puffy eyes and her wet, thick lashes. For a split second, his intense gaze dropped to her trembling, cherry lips before snapping back to her terrified blue eyes.

"Never ignore me. Do you understand?" He hissed in a low, dangerous whisper that sent a shiver down her spine.

She flinched away from his harsh tone. She yanked her hands off his thigh and gripped the edge of the front seat headrest, desperate for an anchor in the spinning world. Terrified but stubbornly clinging to the last shreds of her pride, she refused to answer him. Tears welled up as his grip on her jaw tightened, threatening to bruise her pale skin.

"Answer me!" He growled, the raw Alpha command vibrating through the cramped space of the backseat.

"Let go. Do not call me your little princess." She stuttered out the demand, trying to sound brave, but her voice shook pitifully. She wanted to prove she would not be bullied into submission, even as her body betrayed her with fear.

He cocked a thick brow, a cruel smirk playing on his lips as he mocked her fleeting, pitiful bravery.

"Brave, I see." He muttered, roughly releasing her jaw.

Celeste frantically scrambled back against her leather seat, putting as much distance between them as possible in the confined space. Her chest heaved with shallow breaths, her heart hammering wildly in her ears. She thought the worst of the confrontation was over. She assumed she had survived the initial storm of his temper.

A mechanical whir suddenly echoed in the silent car. She watched in sheer panic as the black privacy partition rolled up behind the driver's seat, sealing the back cabin off. The tinted windows already blocked the outside world. Now, they were locked in a pitch-black box, hidden from the driver's prying eyes. The sudden claustrophobia gripped her throat.

Before her brain could even process the dangerous situation, large hands seized her waist. A desperate scream died in her throat as she found herself suddenly yanked through the air, landing hard onto his lap, straddling his massive frame.