Chapter 37 Dorian
DORIAN
The sight of Sebastian's counter-contract burning to ash should have filled Dorian with relief. Ivy had done it. She'd broken free using her own power, her own understanding of magical law, her own fierce determination to reclaim her agency.
But Sebastian wasn't finished.
"Clever," the warlock said, watching the last of his parchment crumble to nothing. "Very clever indeed. Using present-tense consent withdrawal to void a blood contract. I'm impressed."
"It's over, Sebastian," Ivy said, her voice strong and clear without any magical interference. "You have no hold over me anymore."
"Did you read the fine print on that blood contract before you so dramatically refused it?"
"What fine print?" Elder Varric stepped forward, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"The subsidiary clauses that activate when the primary contract is voided.
" Sebastian's voice carried across the square with malicious satisfaction.
"Specifically, the clause stating that if Miss Lane belongs to no pack, no pride, no mate, the original binding automatically renews with enhanced terms."
Dorian's blood turned to ice in his veins. He could feel his panther snarling beneath his skin, recognizing the trap Sebastian had laid. A backup clause designed to catch Ivy even if she managed to break the primary contract.
"That's ridiculous," Twyla called out. "Ivy doesn't need to belong to anyone to be free."
"According to supernatural law, individuals with significant magical abilities must have some form of community oversight to prevent abuse of power.
" Sebastian's pale eyes glittered with triumph.
"Miss Lane's fae heritage makes her voice a potentially dangerous weapon.
Without proper supervision, she becomes a public safety concern. "
"That's not how magical law works," Moira protested, but uncertainty flickered in her voice.
"Check your texts. You'll find that unsupervised magical practitioners with abilities like Miss Lane's are subject to immediate binding for community protection.
" Sebastian gestured toward the crowd. "Unless, of course, she can demonstrate proper oversight through pack bonds, pride allegiance, or mate-marking. "
Murmurs of concern rippled through the gathering as people realized what Sebastian was suggesting. If Ivy couldn't prove supernatural community oversight, she'd be vulnerable to binding contracts designed to control dangerous practitioners.
"It's a trap," Diana said, her empathy picking up on the waves of fear and confusion washing over the square. "He's using legal technicalities to back her into a corner."
"Indeed I am." Sebastian's smile widened. "Miss Lane has sixty seconds to demonstrate proper supernatural oversight, or the backup clauses in our contract activate automatically. And this time, the binding spirits will ensure she cannot refuse consent again."
Dorian felt the weight of every gaze in the square turning toward him. His panther prowled against his ribs, demanding he claim their mate, mark her as his, provide the supernatural oversight that would keep her safe from Sebastian's manipulations.
It would be so easy. One bite, one scratch, one moment of possessive claiming that would solve everything. Ivy would be protected under pack law, Sebastian's backup contract would be voided, and she'd be safe forever under Dorian's protection.
But that wasn't what she'd fought for. That wasn't the freedom she'd worked so hard to claim.
"Forty-five seconds," Sebastian announced, his voice carrying gleeful malice. "Though I suppose any pack leader or pride alpha could claim her if they wanted to provide oversight. Doesn't have to be romantic, after all. Just legal."
Dorian's hands clenched into fists as he felt the crowd's expectations pressing against him. They wanted him to step forward, to claim Ivy, to solve this crisis with alpha authority. His panther demanded the same thing, desperate to protect their mate from Sebastian's renewed threat.
Instead, he met Ivy's amber-green eyes across the chaos of fear and expectation.
She was terrified. He could see it in the set of her shoulders, the careful way she held herself ready to flee. But underneath the fear was something else. Trust. She was looking at him with trust, waiting to see what choice he would make.
"Thirty seconds," Sebastian called out. "Time's running short, Miss Lane. Perhaps you should consider which option is more appealing: renewed contracts with Crowe Entertainment, or protection under local supernatural authority."
"Dorian," Emmett said quietly, his voice carrying across the unnatural silence. "You could claim temporary guardianship. Council-sanctioned protection that wouldn't require—"
"No." Dorian's voice cut through the suggestion with quiet finality. "That's not my choice to make."
"But if you don't act, Sebastian's contract will—"
"Will activate if Ivy chooses to let it." Dorian stepped forward, never breaking eye contact with the woman who'd become his entire world. "But the choice is hers. It's always been hers."
"Twenty seconds," Sebastian sneered. "How touching. Your protector is too noble to save you without permission. I wonder how noble he'll feel when you're bound to me permanently."
The crowd held its breath, waiting for Dorian to do something, anything, to prevent the disaster bearing down on them. His panther clawed at his control, begging him to claim their mate before it was too late.
"Fifteen seconds."
Ivy looked at him with eyes that held no accusation, no demand for rescue. Just recognition of what he was offering her. The same thing he'd been learning to give her since that first confrontation at the lake: choice.
"Ten seconds."
"Ivy," Dorian said, his voice steady despite the chaos raging in his chest. "If you want protection under pack law, I'll give it. If you want to belong to my pride, to carry my mark, to be claimed as mine, just say the word."
"Five seconds."
"But if you don't want that, if you'd rather face whatever comes next on your own terms, that's your choice too. Your choice decides who you belong to. Not Sebastian's contracts, not pack law, not my instincts." He smiled, fierce and proud and terrified. "Your choice."
"Time's up," Sebastian announced, raising his hand to trigger the backup clauses. "The contract renews automatically unless—"
"I choose," Ivy said, her voice cutting through Sebastian's declaration like a blade through silk.