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Then the final blow came.
“I reject you.”
Dannika’s words echoed in the near-silent ballroom. Gasps and murmurs of shock filled the air.
Not me. I chuckled to myself. The woman had a backbone. No matter how much she tried to fade into the shadows, she stood out. Even aside from the giant wolf at her side, her very aura radiated strength and control. Defiance and passion.
I wondered if she saw that in herself. If anyone in the room saw it when they looked at her.
Edging myself closer to the circle that had formed around them, I crossed my arms and waited, just like everyone else. Except I was waiting for something different.
Mathis’s booming voice rattled the chandeliers after Danni’s declaration had sunk in. “You will pay for this,” he roared, storming forward and threatening to strike her down.
While Danni didn’t move, preparing herself for the oncoming attack, what she probably hadn’t been expecting was her rejected mate moving to stand in between her and his father.
Markus stood a head taller than Mathis, his chest puffed out, breathing heavily. “She is my mate, and you will not touch her. She will come around and have my pups. Give it time, Father.”
Dannika looked nauseous at the very idea. Mathis’s nostrils flared as he seethed. “She has rejected you. She dishonors our House. She’s sullied your name. My name. If she won’t accept you and give you an heir, then she must die. End this now.”
And there it was, just as I’d expected. He would call on an antiquated law within the House of Fire and Fluorite. One that hadn’t been used in a hundred years.
Rejected mates fight to the death. Or rather, if one party didn’t accept the rejection, they were forced to fight to the death. Didn’t quite have the same ring to it in so many words.
I rolled my eyes at the drama.
“I don’t want to fight him,” Dannika said, taking a step back, placing her hands behind her.
“Then you accept him,” Mathis demanded, as if those were really the only two options available.
She shook her head. “No, I reject him as my mate, but I won’t kill your son, either.”
Mathis smiled cruelly. “That isn’t your choice, now is it? You’re bound by the laws of our House. You accept him, or one of you dies.”
Markus looked between her and his father. Dannika closed her eyes and nodded once while exhaling. “Nova,” she said softly, and her wolf’s ears perked up, her stance changing, ready to fight.
“Your dog isn’t invited,” Mathis said.
There wasn’t much he did that surprised me, and I couldn’t say this truly did either, but I was slightly amused that he would push so many boundaries with such a large and diverse audience. Every House was represented here tonight, and the gossip would spread like wildfire. So far, he wasn’t being painted in a good light, and now he aimed to control the situation. What Mathis didn’t realize was that he was already out of favor amongst some, and he wasn’t reading the room very well. His own anger was clouding his judgment, and clearly, he wasn’t hearing the whispers of astonishment and condemnation.
Sure, he was willing to kill Dannika for embarrassing him. But he was also risking his son’s life, and he didn’t seem to think twice about it.
Not until he made sure to handicap one side.
“That’s horseshit!” Adora shouted, not holding back her opinion. “If Nova can’t fight, then Markus can’t shift!”
Mumbling agreements and disagreements surfed the throng of supernaturals that watched the exchange.
Mathis narrowed his eyes on the blue-haired woman. “You have no standing here, and I suggest you keep your mouth shut before you lose your tongue,” he threatened in a quiet tone. Raising his voice, he continued. “If Dannika’s mutation fights beside her, it’s two against one. She fights without it. It is no fault of anyone here that she isn’t a proper shifter.”
Dannika’s cheeks heated, and I had to admit, even I felt anger on her behalf. The ire Mathis held for her was personal, and his disdain was not hidden. If this was how she’d been treated her entire life, it was no wonder she’d rejected his son without hesitation.
Ysabeau came to my side, quietly leaning in, looking on with bewilderment. “What did I miss?”
“So much,” I answered, briefly catching her up to speed.
She side-eyed me, crossing her arms and mimicking my stance. “Did you have anything to do with this?”
I furrowed my brows. “No. Why would you think that?”
