He slipped off his outer fur and draped it over her shoulders. His tone was so gentle, so warm—as if the cold, indifferent Alpha who'd stood before me seconds ago had never existed.
Raven melted into his arms on cue, her eyes reddening as she pouted up at him.
"I was worried you'd go soft on her. This omega is so manipulative—what if she tries to use the pup against you again?"
Then she shot me a venomous glare. Her gaze dropped to the broken plastic crown in my hands, and her lip curled with undisguised disgust.
"Clutching that worthless trinket like it holds any power? You should count yourself fortunate that Alaric bothers to offer you territory scraps at all—most Alphas would cast out a rejected Omega with nothing."
I wiped the rain from my face, my expression carved from stone, watching the two of them display their sickening bond right before me.
Alaric stroked her back with a weary exhale. "Enough, Raven. I already marked the rejection scrolls, didn't I?"
Raven's eyes sparked with sudden cunning. She pressed herself closer against his arm and lifted her chin, shooting me a look of pure triumph.