Contract Marriage With Alpha Snow

******************

~Zara's POV~

"There are consequences," Siona said softly. "When someone is brought back from the other side using the Golden Scale, it is not simply life that returns—it is a bond. A tether."

I stared at her as my pulse quickened. "A bond to what?"

"To the dragon whose scale was used in the resurrection," Siona said solemnly.

My stomach turned.

"You mean… Snow is bonded to the dragon prince now?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "And that bond changes him. Not just physically. Spiritually. His soul has been rewritten, reshaped in part by the creature that gave him life again. One of the signs is the shifting of the eyes—violet, ice-blue, or something else entirely. And sometimes… sometimes, that tether reaches even further."

She leaned in slightly. "Sometimes it connects the revived one to the one who brought him back. They can feel each other. They are connected and if he is lucky in this case, even get his powers."

My heart dropped. "Then if he isn't lucky?" I forced myself to ask.

"Then his eyes would be the least of your worries, as any harm befallen the dragon would be met with him."

"No."

Siona's expression fell. "I'm sorry, Zara." She blinked softly as she reached for my hand. "I wish there was something more I could have done."

As much as I wanted to scream out, 'a little warning would have been appreciated', I just couldn't.

"You think… You think he's being linked to Davion?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But it is possible. Especially if Davion's presence still lingers… within you, within the scale's aura. It is not unheard of."

I swallowed hard. "He hasn't said anything about any of this. He doesn't seem to notice."

Siona's expression was unreadable. "Has he been acting like himself lately?"

I opened my mouth to answer, then paused.

Had he?

Before I could respond, a familiar voice cut through the silence.

"Zara?"

We both turned sharply.

Snow stood in the doorway, shirtless, looking remarkably handsome, and then I saw it again. His heterochromia eye colour and I swallowed.

I gently tapped on the counter to draw Siona's attention without looking at her to alert Snow. Thankfully, she sensed my intentions and followed his line of sight.

His hair was tousled from sleep, but his expression was alert, sharp, and concerned.

His eyes… were blue and violet again. But I wasn't sure anymore if that was better.

Siona tapped lightly on the counter too, and I guessed she had seen it. Suddenly, Snow stepped inside. "What's going on here?"

Siona and I exchanged a glance.

Neither of us answered yet as he took another two steps in.

Siona and I remained frozen in the kitchen while Snow's presence cut through the tension like a blade through silk.

The air around us shifted, thick with the weight of what we couldn't say. I forced a soft smile and crossed my arms, pretending nothing was wrong.

Siona did the same, casually reaching for a dried herb jar from the shelf, as though our conversation moments ago had been about soup or seasoning, not soul-binding resurrection magic.

Snow's eyes flickered between the two of us. He didn't miss the exchanged glances or the way our shoulders tightened. But instead of pressing immediately, he leaned against the counter with a sigh.

"I had a weird dream last night," he said quietly.

Siona's hand stopped mid-reach.

I didn't breathe.

"Oh?" I asked, trying too hard to sound casual. "What kind of dream?"

Snow rubbed the back of his neck, the muscles in his arm flexing slightly as he shifted. "It was... vivid. More than just a dream, I think. I remember everything. Like it was happening in front of me."

Siona turned around fully, her expression unreadable but attentive. "Tell me," she said, her tone softer than usual, laced with something cautious.

Snow frowned, gaze turning inward. "I saw a man. He had silver hair, but at the tips, it turned this deep violet. His eyes matched—violet, glowing almost. He didn't say anything. Just stood there, looking at me. Watching."

I felt the chill run up my spine before I could stop it.

"Then everything changed," Snow continued. "There was fire. Screams. Blood in the snow. War, death... It was chaos. I could only think of one person behind it or a people."

"Shadow clave?"

"Yes, but most importantly, Thorned Crescent," Snow explained.

"True, but it is just a dream, a nightmare born out of fear," I tried to get him off slowly.

Snow shook his head. "Not this and in the middle of it all—" His voice wavered for the first time, "—you were there, Zara. You were crying."

I felt my heart clench. My lips parted, but no sound came out.

"And that man," Snow added quietly, "he was standing beside you. Just watching."

Siona didn't move. Her eyes narrowed, not out of suspicion, but in contemplation. I could see the calculations forming behind them.

Her usual warmth dimmed, just for a breath, replaced by precision.

"In the dream, I saw myself staring into a mirror, and then I noticed the man, the violet-eyed man, had the same eyes as mine," Snow added. "Exactly the same shade of violet."

He looked between the two of us, his voice low. "I'm guessing that man was the dragon prince, wasn't he?"

Siona and I both stilled.

My throat tightened as I slowly turned to glance at her.

She met my eyes for a long moment, then turned to Snow, smiling.

"Dreams can be strange things," she said. "Especially when magic is involved. Sometimes they're just fragments of fears or thoughts buried deep. It's easy to see connections where there might not be any."

Snow stared at her for a long second, but she didn't flinch. She was calm, too calm, her voice wrapping around the moment like a silken veil, concealing rather than revealing.

"So are you saying I am afraid of the dragon prince?"

"I do not know. That is a question for you to decide. You knew he asked Zara to marry him instead, right? To leave you?"

Snow's shoulder tensed as he took in a deep breath. "Yes, but I am not scared."

Siona shrugged. "Like I said, dreams could mean so many things and not exactly the interpretation we think it to be."

I was grateful Siona was doing this. Not until I knew what was wrong, I did not want to scare Snow.

I knew Snow well enough to see he didn't believe her entirely. But he also didn't push.

Instead, he exhaled and looked away, letting the dream fall into silence.

After a while, he spoke again. "That's part of why I came down, actually. I've made a decision."

Both Siona and I blinked at him.

"I've been thinking about the alliance," he said, straightening up from the counter. "We've made progress, but if we're going to be taken seriously by the outlier packs, we need more than just letters and scouts. We need presence. Real leadership presence of an Alpha."

"You're planning something," I said softly.

He nodded. "I want to go to the North personally to meet Alpha Draven and ask him to join the alliance."