Chapter 9
Daniel
“Is everything ready?”
Daniel cast a critical glance around the conference room before settling his gaze on his brother, who stood leaning against the window with his arms crossed, glaring back at him.
“Jeez, Danny—take a chill pill or something. You’ve been barking orders all morning, stressing everyone out.”
Grady’s use of his loathed childhood nickname was enough to push Daniel from obsessing over every minor detail to plotting his brother’s untimely death instead.
Unperturbed, Grady kept prodding the bear.
“What have I said about that look, hmm? That it makes you look old and constipated. And before you ask—yes, I called to double-check that he’s coming. No, I didn’t just send directions. I got Jessica to send a car for him. There. Now will you stop fussing?”
Jessica, their receptionist, was good at her job—and even better at deflecting tension between clients. But today was going to be a real test of her skills.
Fussing—that wasn’t how Daniel saw it.
How was ensuring everything was perfect… wrong?
It was bad enough Claudia had messed them around on the last two attempts to schedule this meeting. Instead, she’d sent her lawyer with a list of demands for reparations. What she wanted was ludicrous. No alpha in their right mind would agree to her terms.
Which was why he’d torn the papers up and thrown them in the air like confetti.
Not his most dignified moment—but satisfying, nonetheless.
Now the bitch was out for blood and thought she had them by the balls.
Well, wasn’t she in for a surprise?
The corner of his mouth twitched at the thought of her impending defeat—if his trump card actually arrived.
The lorekeeper had led them a merry dance tracking him down. Never staying more than a few weeks in one place. It had taken serious detective work to locate him—and even more persuasion to convince him to help.
They’d chosen the larger of the two conference rooms, hoping to keep a good distance between everyone. Daniel really didn’t want to be sitting too close to the alpha-vixen, just in case she got the urge to lash out.
He wasn’t fooling himself that this was going to be easy. It had all the hallmarks of a full-scale shit-show.
Claudia was volatile—not violent, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t throw accusations far and wide. Daniel had spent days trying to anticipate her reaction and prepare counters to her grievances.
And Matthew?
Matthew had been seething. That was the only word Daniel could think of to describe his bond mate’s current state. Not that seeing fire in his eyes wasn’t a turn-on—but his omega was fired up and ready to face his ex.
That’s not to say he wasn’t anxious. Matthew had all but worn a groove in the carpet with his pacing. Even now, Daniel could see the tension in his shoulders—and Claudia hadn’t even arrived yet.
The sound of raised voices drifted down the hall.
Daniel and Grady looked over at Matthew, then back at each other.
“You planning on hanging around for this? Or…”
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere. Where else can I see a showdown like this? I intend to stay right here, lend my moral support—and keep score.”
Grady’s shit-eating grin took a little of the edge off his teasing words. Deep down, Daniel appreciated his brother giving up his time to support them—even if it was under the guise of entertainment.
“Wonderful. I’m so glad we could oblige.”
Rolling his eyes at the younger bear, Daniel stepped closer and muttered under his breath.
“Please keep a close eye on Matthew. I know he looks like he’s handling this okay, but…”
“I know, I know. It’s a lot. And the stakes couldn’t be higher. Don’t worry, bro—I’ve got your back.”
“Okay then. Better show the shrew in.”
Daniel rolled his shoulders back and stood to full height, ready to meet the female alpha head-on. He’d dressed carefully that morning in a deep charcoal suit and a ‘power’ tie—a shade or two lighter than the blue of his shirt. The overall effect gave him an air of quiet sophistication.
The door flung open, and Ms. Claudia Hamilton of the Silverspire Collective strutted in on designer heels. A cloud of perfume enveloped them as she passed. Her legal team scurried in after her.
In some ways, it was obvious why Matthew’s parents might have compromised by selecting the silver fox shifter. Physically, she wasn’t hideous. In fact, she could’ve passed for a member of Daniel’s own family—their features were so similar.
But where Daniel had a soft center and a gruff exterior, Claudia was the opposite.
She was politically ambitious and would steamroll anyone who got in her way.
Daniel had faced fiercer alphas than her—but the bitterness in her gaze left him cold.
Forcing a politeness he didn’t feel, Daniel tried his best to be courteous.
“Thank you for joining us today, Ms. Hamilton…”
“Let’s dispense with the niceties. We all know why we’re here.”
Wow. Just wow.
Daniel met her indifference with an intense look of his own.
“As you wish. We’re waiting for just one more attendee to arrive. I’d usually offer you something to drink—tea or coffee—but I’ll forgo those on this occasion,” he said, voice clipped and edged with disdain.
When they’d contacted the lorekeeper—a bookish-looking avian shifter named Keiran Holt—he’d warned them he had a tendency to be late.
It seemed that today he was running true to form.
The room was thick with tension and overwhelming hormones by the time there was a knock on the door. It was a miracle no one had lost control.
Then a tall, silver-haired shifter entered, wrapped in a worn coat lined with faded ritual threads.
The Pack Council had dismissed Keiran decades ago for “heresy”—because he believed forgotten rituals still held weight. He now hunted buried lore, teaching underground workshops on bond origin and ancestral law.
“Sorry I’m late. Hope I didn’t miss anything?” Keiran asked, smiled faintly, his white-knuckled hand tightly clutching his bag.
Claudia most certainly wasn’t smiling.
“Thank you so much for coming,” Daniel said, relief almost palpable.
But he seemed to be in the minority.
“…and who exactly are you?” Claudia demanded, her scowl twisting red-painted lips. “I think some introductions are in order, don’t you?”
One look at Matthew made Daniel change his mind about letting her stew.
His mate’s shoulders were drawn up close to his ears, his eyes glazed and distant.
“This is the venerable lorekeeper and historian Keiran Holt.”
“Former lorekeeper. Didn’t the Council fire you? Why are you even here?”
Jeez, she really was a shrew.
How his mate had stood her for so long was beyond him. Just looking at her resting bitch-face was enough to turn his stomach sour.
The words were on the tip of Daniel’s tongue when Matthew leaped to his feet, chest heaving, eyes locked on his ex-wife.
“You don’t get to speak for me anymore,” he said, voice low but steady. “You don’t get to decide who matters or who doesn’t. You lost that right the moment you tried to rewrite our son’s history.”
Claudia’s eyes narrowed, lips curling into a sneer. “I did what was best for our future. For Toby’s future.”
“No,” Matthew snapped. “You did what was best for you. You used me. You used our son. And now you want to erase the truth because it doesn’t fit your narrative.”
Daniel moved to stand beside his mate, his presence a silent show of support. The room held its breath.
Keiran stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. “The Hollow Moon Rite is not a myth. It is not folklore. It is law—older than the Council, older than any pack charter. And it was completed.”
Claudia scoffed. “You expect me to believe that some backwoods ritual holds legal weight?”
Keiran’s gaze sharpened. “I don’t expect you to believe anything. But the bond mark.”
“You’re pathetic. Grasping at straws.” Claudia’s voice was venomous.
“Really, I don’t know what I ever saw in you.
But you won’t keep me from what’s mine. The contract you signed says that ‘any child born under the marriage bond is the property of the alpha.’ That would be me. No other agreement takes precedence.”
The stone-hard look in her eyes could’ve rivaled Medusa.
“Apologies, if I may interrupt for one moment,” Keiran said, his quiet voice deflecting Claudia’s ire in his direction. “That’s not strictly true. The old rites do indeed override any other contract.”
“That’s impossible…” she spat, leaning closer to the lorekeeper.
Claudia’s attempt at intimidation had little effect on the avian shifter. He merely twitched, acting as if her words were water off a duck’s back. Here, they literally were.
“You called into question the Hollow Moon Rite. I was its final witness before they shelved it. And I believe Mr. Sanders and Mr. Hamilton performed it.”
For a split second, Daniel wondered how Claudia could turn that shade of red without steam coming from her ears.
The alpha-vixen took a deep breath and fired another verbal volley.
“Nobody has recognized that ceremony in over two decades! It’s obsolete. Irrelevant. There are no records or officiants, so this sham bond is invalid.”
Unperturbed, Keiran held up a finger, asking for a moment, then began rummaging through his decrepit-looking leather satchel.
“Ah, but there is a record. A shadow imprint logged during a full moon nine winters ago—a soft flare in the ether grid. It shows a resonance consistent with Hollow Moon merging. Their bond marked territory. It’s faint, but it’s there.”
Keiran slid out a thin scroll etched with faded sigils. A gentle glow pulsed as he placed it on the table.
Matthew gave a soft gasp.
Daniel stared down at the parchment in wonder, his fingers inches from its surface.
Claudia flew up from her seat so fast her chair rolled back against the wall with a dull thud. Chest heaving, eyes flashing, her voice thundered as she pointed an accusatory finger at Keiran.
“You expect me to believe this dusty myth-chaser? That a midnight cuddle and blood in snow counts as a legal bond?”
Daniel admired Keiran’s composure. Even as a veteran lawyer, he was half-tempted to knock her on her ass.
“Not just legal. Binding. Bond law predates Council law, and the archive holds it still. You may sneer at tradition, Ms. Hamilton, but it’s tradition that built your father’s seat—and your claim to it.”
It was hard, but Daniel managed to keep a straight face. He had to give it to the wily old bird for putting her in her place while staying factually correct.
Unfortunately, Claudia’s reaction was less than exemplary. It was almost as if her earlier outburst had been a dress rehearsal for this one.
“If he’s bonded, he should have registered it! If Matthew gave consent, where is the proclamation? WHERE IS THE VOW?”
If hearing the vow was what the shrew needed to believe the soul-bond was real, then Daniel was more than willing to oblige.
“Buried in snow. Lit by match. Made in silence.”
Claudia’s hand slammed down on the tabletop with such force the wood creaked.
“Then let silence be the sound of your ruin!”
She lunged forward, slapped the scroll aside, and stormed out—heels stabbing the floor with every step. Her legal team stood stunned, then hurried to gather their things and rush after her.
“Well, she certainly didn’t disappoint, did she?” Grady glanced at Claudia as she disappeared down the hall, then turned back to Daniel. “I suspect you haven’t seen the last of her.”
With that, he retreated to his office, leaving Daniel alone with Matthew and the lorekeeper.
They stood in silence for what felt like hours—but was only a few minutes—as they gathered their thoughts. Keiran carefully rolled up the scroll and placed it back inside his satchel.
Reaching out, Daniel took Matthew’s hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of it.
Matthew’s glassy eyes met his, and he pulled a deep breath into his lungs before looking over to Keiran.
“Old rites don’t care for spectacle. But they remember. And so do those who dared to speak them into flame. I fear your brother is correct—you may well have just kicked a hornet’s nest. I wish you well. And please call on me again if you need me. I now bid you good day.”
With that, he walked to the big window and opened it.
A gentle light encircled his body. His arms extended. His hands turned into fiery feathers.
In place of a man, there was now a firebird.
With a few beats of his wings, he was airborne—soaring through the window and into the sky.
They watched until Keiran disappeared from view, then quietly closed the window.
“Well, that could’ve gone better,” Matthew said, giving Daniel’s hand a squeeze.
“It also could’ve gone a lot worse,” Daniel replied. “Let’s forget about her for the rest of the evening, collect Toby, and head home.”