I can almost sense the palpable relief from my pack—or, my ex-pack, I suppose—when Aldous proclaims he still wants me. And then, they're turning to leave.

My fiance—I have a fiance!—furrows his brow, looking past me with confusion.

"You're not staying for the ceremony?" he asks, and I can't believe they didn't think of how suspicious this would look.

"Until the curse is broken, we don't trust your pack enough to be on your land, leaving our own unprotected," Cedric declares matter-of-factly. I can almost see his snooty eyes staring down his nose, even though my back is to him.

Aldous' jaw clenches, the muscles working, but he doesn't say anything as my fake parents retreat.

I say a silent you're welcome to Barton for secretly saving his son's life. Hopefully neither of them will ever know the threat hanging over him. Hopefully they get out...though it's doubtful Barton would ever leave as the beta. Ellis, maybe. If he can let me go.

"You make a beautiful offering," Aldous says, and my body flushes from the tips of my toes all the way to the top of my head.

He can see all of me through this ridiculous outfit.

And he's still holding my hand.

"I'm sorry they abandoned you here, this all must be so frightening." He doesn't let go of me, but swivels so that he's facing towards his home.

I don't know what to say. I didn't expect this at all.

I don't know what I expected, maybe a brutal claiming and then confinement...our pack had been taught our whole lives that the Quinn pack were savages.

Instead he holds my hand like a lover, leading me gently through the woods, and he'd mentioned a ceremony. Surely he doesn't mean there is going to be an actual marriage ceremony?

Guilt gnaws at my belly. Lying is hard enough, but lying to a decent man...especially when he's looking at me like...like I matter.

"I wanted to say thank you, for what you've given up," Aldous continues, his thumb brushing back and forth across my fingers. "I can understand a little, as I never planned on marrying, but not as much needs to change for me. You've had to leave your whole life behind." He takes a deep breath. "We've lost so many...I'm sure you have too. If we had to wait for the next generation..."

He lets the insinuation hang in the air, and I get it. If Cedric had refused, they would have had to wait for Lydia to have a daughter, and with her existence the curse seems to be getting worse and worse every day.

I'm not sure what to say. I didn't imagine that I was going to be having a heart-to-heart this soon, or ever, with this man.

"Thank you, too." My voice is barely above a whisper. "You said you didn't want to marry. It's a sacrifice for you, too."

He brings my knuckles up to his lips, brushing a soft kiss over my skin. Part of my body sings at this contact with him, but another part shrinks away with fear. He's been nothing but cordial to me, but it's still difficult for me to trust.

It doesn't escape him, either. "Are you alright?"

This is going to be a problem...one I can't lie my way out of. This might be the one thing I need to be honest about. At least, as honest as I can. "I'm an omega." I don't know exactly how to articulate further.

Aldous is an observant wolf, however, and his eyes darken. "Your parents didn't protect you?"

This twists my heart, because even though I know he means Cedric and Marla, all I can think about are my actual parents, long dead. My father was an omega too, and my mother was from another pack. Her pack wasn't supportive of her choosing him as her mate, so she joined the Delacroix's.

Cedric's father was alpha at the time, and treated my mother as if she were an omega by marriage. Shortly after I was born, my mother disappeared. Word around was that she'd run off, unable to continue suffering...but my father believed she'd been killed.

Romantics might say he died of a broken heart. But he'd always been a sickly wolf. He didn't have the longevity, and with less power as an omega...he never stood a chance.

"No, they didn't protect me." I've long since forgiven them for this. But it still hurts sometimes. What if my mother did run off, and left me? I don't think I want to know.

"That pack is disgustingly old-fashioned," Aldous spits. "Omegas shouldn't even exist anymore, let alone be used as punching bags for a pack. If a wolf needs to beat the shit out of who they view as 'lesser' to survive, then they shouldn't survive."

The vehement speech constricts my lungs. He sounds like Ellis. Except he's in charge. Which means I might have escaped into a better life after all.

A life built on a lie, my guilt reminds me.

"I will try to be cognizant, but you need to communicate with me if you're uncomfortable," Aldous says, then his voice lowers. "I don't want you to be frightened of me."

Sudden tears prick the corners of my eyes, and it takes everything in me to keep them in. Just this morning, I'd been terrified of what the rest of my short life was going to entail. Terrified that I was being given from one tyrant to another.

I'm afraid to hope. But I want to, so badly.

Aldous makes a series of hand motions, and the wolves surrounding them scatter. They all seem to be on a mission, and I can't help but wonder what those missions are.

I clear my throat, hoping my voice doesn't sound as thick as it feels. "What kind of ceremony is it?"

"A mate-bond ceremony," he replies. "Your father and I agreed that a proper mate bond should satisfy the curse."

The robes. That's why they dressed me in barbaric ceremonial robes. Because we were going to have a barbaric ritual. My breath catches, my lungs holding it hostage.

Aldous recognizes my plight and turns towards me, squeezing my hand again. "It's alright, we don't have to...consummate it for it to be valid," he says quickly. "The ritual should be sufficient."

And just like that, I can breathe again.

We continue our walk, and eventually the trees thin, revealing a village. The houses are beautiful stone cottages, picturesque with chimneys puffing smoke. The path where we enter is lined with flower pots, colourful blossoms arranged artfully, leading all the way to a central cabin, this one larger than the others and with red stones.

Wolves approach from everywhere, lining up along the path and bowing their snouts towards the path. I'm in awe, this level of reverence shows a deep respect and not just obedience.

My fear and trepidation are becoming more and more crushed by burning curiosity about this alpha.

Who is Aldous Quinn?