Chapter 29 Caelan
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Caelan
I hated this plan.
I hated every single thing about it. But my father was right. We couldn’t risk Riley’s life. Not while the poison was still in her system, not while we had no antidote, not while whoever was behind this held all the power.
We were in his private study, the warded room where secrets were meant to stay secret, except someone had proven that even this sanctuary wasn’t safe.
“We follow what the threats demand,” my father said, pacing the study. “Publicly. Make them think they’ve won.”
“You want me to reject her.” The words tasted like ash in my mouth. My wolf howled in protest, clawing at my insides, refusing to accept what I was being asked to do.
“I want you to stage a rejection. There’s a difference.”
“Not to Riley. Not when she already thinks I’ve betrayed her.”
“Which is why it will be believable.” My father stopped pacing, turned to face me.
His expression was grim, the face of a king who had made impossible decisions before.
“Think, Caelan. Whoever is behind this, Vix or someone working with her, they’re watching.
They knew about the pregnancy before we announced it.
They delivered a note while we were in a warded room. They have eyes everywhere.”
“And if we don’t comply, they stop sending antidotes they might be holding over our heads,” Elspeth added quietly. She was sitting by the fireplace, her hands folded in her lap, but I could see the tension in her shoulders. “If they believe they’ve won, they might get careless. Reveal themselves.”
“Patt is still searching for Vix,” my father continued. “But she’s gone to ground. If we can draw out whoever is helping her, whoever delivered those notes, we have a chance.”
My fists clenched at my sides. “And Riley?”
“Will be protected. Thessa will stay with her. We’ll move her somewhere safe the moment this is done.”
“She’ll hate me.”
“She already thinks she hates you.” My mother’s voice was gentle. Too gentle. The kindness in it made me want to scream. “At least this way, she stays alive long enough for you to explain.”
Wonderful. My mother, the optimist.
I closed my eyes and breathed, trying to find the cold, calculating part of myself that made decisions in battle, that weighed costs and benefits without emotion.
It wasn’t there. All I felt was agony. My wolf pacing inside me, whining, refusing to accept this. Rejecting a mate went against every instinct we possessed. It was a violation of the sacred bond. An abomination.
But my father was right. If I didn’t do this, if I defied the threats, Riley died. Our child died.
I would endure anything to prevent that, anything at all, even this.
“Fine,” I said. The word felt torn from my chest. “I’ll do it.”
The plan was set. We would wait until the healer cleared Riley to leave the infirmary. Then I would summon her to the throne room, in front of the entire court. I would reject her publicly, formally, in a way that could not be misinterpreted.
And I wouldn’t tell her it was staged.
My father insisted on that part. If Riley knew, her reaction wouldn’t be genuine. Whoever was watching would see through the act. The threat would remain.
She had to believe it was real.
I wanted to vomit. The glamorous life of royalty. Scheming, lying, and destroying the person you loved most to keep them alive.
Hours passed. I spent them wearing a path in the floor, planning, trying not to think about what I was about to do.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face.
The way she looked at me when we first met.
The way she smiled when I made her laugh.
The way she said my name when she was falling apart in my arms.
I was about to destroy all of that.
Patt sent updates. No sign of Vix. No leads on her location. She’d vanished completely.
Finally, word came from the infirmary. Riley was awake. She was stable. The healer said she could leave.
Time to destroy my mate’s heart.
***
The throne room was packed.
Word had spread, as it always did in a castle full of gossips, that drama was unfolding. Nobles, servants, guards, council members. Everyone had found an excuse to be here, to witness whatever spectacle was about to occur.
I’m sure they’d all cleared their very important schedules for the entertainment. Nothing like a public humiliation to brighten everyone’s afternoon.
I stood at the front of the room, beside my father’s throne. My expression was carefully blank. My hands were clasped behind my back to hide the trembling. I looked every inch the cold, emotionless prince.
Inside, I was dying.
And then Riley entered.
She looked terrible. Beautiful, always beautiful, but terrible. Exhausted, her eyes still red-rimmed from crying. She walked slowly, carefully, one hand hovering near her stomach in a protective gesture she probably didn’t even realize she was making.
My child. Our child. Growing inside her while I prepared to break her heart.
Thessa walked beside her, shooting me a look that could curdle milk. She didn’t know the full plan. Only that I’d summoned Riley here, and she didn’t like it.
Riley’s gaze found mine across the room. For a moment, just a moment, I saw hope there. The desperate wish that I’d called her here to explain, to apologize, to make things right.
I was about to crush that hope completely.
Before she could feel my anguish through the bond, I closed it. Slammed it shut with every ounce of control I possessed. The pain was excruciating. My wolf thrashed against my control, but I held him down.
It was necessary. If she felt what I was really feeling, she would know the truth.
She stopped in front of me. Waited.
The room held its breath.
“Riley Hawkins,” I said, and my voice was cold, lifeless, the voice of a prince rather than a mate. “I have called you here to address the matter of our... arrangement.”
Her brow furrowed. “Arrangement?”
“Our engagement. Our... bond.” I forced the words out. Each one was a knife to my own heart. “I have given the matter considerable thought, and I have reached a decision.”
The room was silent. Every eye was fixed on us. I could feel the weight of their attention, the hungry curiosity of nobles who fed on scandal and drama.
“A decision,” she repeated. Her voice was flat, but I could see her hands starting to shake.
“This was a mistake.” The words burned my throat. “The claiming, the engagement, all of it. A moment of weakness. A temporary fascination. I cannot take a human as my mate.”
I had hoped she’d see the truth within my words, realize I was calling her human when she’s clearly not, so something must’ve been wrong. But Riley just went very still.
“I am rejecting the bond,” I continued. “Publicly, formally. You are no longer my mate. You are no longer welcome in this court as anything other than a... guest.”
The gasps around the room were audible. Whispers broke out. I didn’t look at anyone but Riley.
Her face had gone bloodless. She was staring at me with an expression I’d never seen before, pure devastation.
“You’re...” She swallowed hard. “You’re rejecting me.”
“Yes.”
“Because I’m not up to your standards?”
The words hit me with physical force. Vix’s poison, still working even now. She’d planted those words in Riley’s mind, and now Riley was throwing them back at me, believing them, accepting them as truth.
“Because this was never meant to be permanent,” I said, forcing the words out. “I apologize for any... confusion.”
“Confusion.” Her voice cracked. “You claimed me. You bit me. You put a child in me, and now you’re standing in front of everyone and calling it confusion?”
More gasps. More whispers. The pregnancy wasn’t public knowledge until now.
Well, let them hear. Let whoever was watching believe they’d won.
“The child will be provided for,” I said, and it took everything in me not to break. Not to fall to my knees and beg her forgiveness, tell her the truth, damn the consequences. “But our... personal relationship is over.”
Riley’s eyes filled with tears. She blinked them back furiously, her jaw clenched, her whole body trembling with the effort of not falling apart in front of everyone.
My wolf was howling, clawing, screaming at me to take it back, to gather her in our arms, to explain. I held him down with brutal force.
Yes, I was aware this was a terrible idea. My wolf had made his opinion abundantly clear. He could get in line with everyone else who wanted to kill me today.
“You’re a coward,” she whispered. “A liar and a coward.”
I said nothing. There was nothing I could say.
She turned and walked out of the throne room. Her head was held high, her spine straight, but I could see the devastation in every line of her body. The way her shoulders shook. The way her hand pressed against her stomach, protecting the child I’d just publicly dismissed.
Thessa followed, shooting me one final, murderous look.
The whispers exploded into full conversation the moment they were gone. The nobles were already dissecting what happened, speculating about reasons, gossiping about the poor human woman who thought she’d caught a prince.
I hoped they were enjoying themselves. I really did. Someone should benefit from this disaster.
I stood frozen.
I’d just destroyed the only thing that mattered.
And I couldn’t even go after her.
The throne room emptied slowly, everyone reluctant to leave the scene of such spectacular drama. I waited, motionless, until the last of them were gone. Until the whispers faded. Until I was alone with my father and the weight of what I’d done.
My father said nothing. There was nothing to say. We both knew what this had cost.
Then I moved.
I needed to find Riley. Needed to explain, now, immediately, before she did anything drastic. The staged rejection was done. Whoever was watching had seen it. Now I could fix this.
But when I reached the corridor where she should be, she wasn’t there.
“Where is she?” I demanded of a passing guard.
“The... the woman? She left, Your Highness. Through the east wing. The princess was with her.”
I followed. East wing, then the gardens, then nothing. Riley was gone. Thessa was gone. They’d vanished as completely as Vix had, and panic seized me.
I searched the gardens, the courtyards, every path she might have taken. My wolf was frantic, straining at my control, desperate to track our mate’s scent. But there were too many trails, too many people who had walked these corridors, and Riley’s scent was fading with every minute.
I was about to tear the castle apart when a small figure appeared in my path. A child, one of the kitchen servants’ boys, maybe seven or eight years old.
“For you, sir,” the boy said, thrusting a small vial at me. “Lady said to give this to the prince.”
Of course. The fate of my mate and child, delivered by a seven-year-old with sticky fingers and a missing front tooth. This day just kept getting better.
I took it. The vial was filled with a pale, silvery liquid.
“What lady? Where did she go?”
The boy shrugged. “Didn’t see her face. She was wearing a hood. Said you’d know what to do with it.”
I wanted to shake the child, demand more answers, but the boy clearly knew nothing. He was already scampering away, his duty done.
I stared at the vial.
The antidote.
It had to be. The poison for my compliance, the cure for my obedience. Whoever was behind this was rewarding me for the rejection.
Good boy, Caelan. You destroyed your mate’s heart. Have a treat.
I ran to the infirmary. Handed the vial to the healer with orders to test it immediately. Confirm what it was. Confirm it was safe.
The wait was agonizing. I paced the room, unable to stand still, my mind racing through possibilities. Where was Riley? Where had Thessa taken her? Were they safe?
Finally, the healer emerged.
“It’s an antidote,” she confirmed. “Specifically designed to counter the poison we found in her system. This would cure her completely.”
Relief flooded through me, but it was short-lived. Riley still needed to take it, and Riley was nowhere to be found.
The door opened. Thessa.
“Where is she?” I demanded.
“Safe.” Thessa’s expression was cold. Furious. “No thanks to you.”
“Thessa, I can explain...”
“Can you? Because from where I was standing, you just publicly humiliated your pregnant mate in front of the entire court. You rejected her, Caelan. REJECTED her. Do you have any idea what that does to a wolf?”
“It was staged. There were threats. Someone was going to kill her if I didn’t...”
“I don’t care.” Thessa cut me off. “She doesn’t know that. All she knows is that the man who claimed her, who she thought loved her, just threw her away in front of everyone.”
“I know. That’s why I need to find her, tell her the truth...”
“No.” Thessa stepped forward, snatched the antidote vial from the healer’s hands. “You stay here. You find whoever did this. You end them. And when you’re done, when there are no more threats, no more poison, no more danger, then you can come grovel.”
“Where are you taking her?”
“Somewhere safe. Somewhere she can heal.” Thessa paused at the door. “The Mirabelle lake cabin. It wasn’t touched by the fire that killed her family. There are still some of her mother’s things there. I thought... she might find some comfort in it.”
Guilt twisted in my gut. Even now, my sister was thinking of Riley’s well-being in ways I couldn’t. She was giving Riley a piece of her past, a connection to the mother she barely remembered.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
“Don’t thank me. Make this right.” Thessa’s eyes were hard. “Find Vix. Find whoever helped her. And when you do...”
“I’ll kill them.”
“Good.” She turned to go, then paused. Her expression shifted, just slightly. Softened. “She loves you, you know. Even after everything. I could see it when you were speaking. She was hoping, until the very last second, that it was some kind of joke. Some misunderstanding.”
The words gutted me. My wolf howled with anguish.
“I’ll make it right,” I said. “I swear on my life.”
“You’d better. Because if you don’t, I’ll kill you myself.”
She left.
Get in line, sister. At this point, there was probably a queue forming.
I stood alone in the infirmary, the weight of everything I’d lost pressing down on my shoulders. My mate was gone. My child was in danger. And somewhere in this castle, the person responsible was watching, waiting, thinking they’d won.
They were wrong.
I thought of Riley. Of the devastation on her face when I’d said those horrible words. Of the way she’d called me a coward, a liar. She’d been right. I was both those things today.
But I would fix this. Find whoever did this. End them. And then spend the rest of my life proving to Riley that every word I’d said in that throne room was a lie.
I was going to find them.
And when I did, they were going to wish they’d never been born.