Chapter 2

Three years later, after a long.. Lonely day and night. The truth is like a hard slap on my face.

Today is the day.

The day Ruben Black will stand beside Kaithlin Powel, the Alpha’s daughter, and make vows that were never meant for her.

They were supposedly meant for me.

I stare at my reflection in the small mirror above the basin in the servants' quarters, barely recognizing the girl staring back at me.

19 years old girl, just finish high school with a pale skin, hollow eyes, lips pressed tight to keep from trembling.

My hair is braided simply, pulled away from my face the way Maria suggested—"neat, but not too pretty," she’d said, as if dressing me down would soften the pain.

It doesn’t.

Nothing does.

The packhouse is alive with celebration. Laughter and music filter through the stone walls like cruel reminders of what today means.

Wolves from neighboring territories have arrived, dressed in their finest. It’s a grand affair. After all, the Alpha’s daughter is being mated to the pack’s finest warrior. A political alliance. A love story in the eyes of the crowd.

But a tragedy in mine.

I smooth the front of my plain blue dress and take a shaky breath.

“You don’t have to go” Mika had whispered weakly in my mind this morning.

But I don’t have any choice...

Not because I want to. Goddess, no. But because the Alpha ordered the entire pack to bear witness. No exceptions. Not even for the orphan girl whose soul is about to be shattered.

My footsteps echo through the hallway as I make my way to the great hall.

Every step feels like a goodbye. A goodbye to hope. To the bond. To the wolf inside me that’s already fading.

When I step into the hall, it takes my breath away—not because of its beauty, but because he’s there.

Ruben…

Standing tall and strong at the front of the room, dressed in ceremonial black with silver embroidery across his chest. His dark hair is swept back, his jaw sharp, eyes calm. Controlled.

And beside him, radiant in ivory and gold, is Kaithlin. Her red curls are braided with pearls, and her smug smile stretches too wide as she clings to his arm.

She doesn’t even look nervous.

Why would she? She won.

The crowd hushes as the Alpha rises and steps forward to begin the ceremony. I can hardly hear his voice over the roaring in my ears. My hands clench into fists at my sides, and I fight to keep my breathing even.

My gaze flicks to Ruben. For one awful second, he looks at me.

And I know he sees me.

There’s no flicker of recognition. No apology. Only indifference.

And that hurts more than anything.

He felt the bond. I know he always did.

And still… this is the choice he made.

The Alpha's voice grows louder, solemn.

“Do you, Ruben Black, accept Kaithlin Powel as your chosen mate, and pledge your life to hers, in strength and in soul?”

A pause….

Please. Please, Goddess, no.

“I do.”

His voice is steady.

The world tilts beneath me.

My knees buckle, but I don’t fall. Not yet.

“And do you, Kaithlin Powel, accept Ruben Black as your chosen mate, and pledge your life to his, in strength and in soul?”

“I do,” she says sweetly.

The Alpha lifts his hands, blessing their union with ancient words in the old tongue.

And that’s when it happens.

Pang!! It felt like I’ve been shot by a gun.

The bond snaps.

There’s no other way to describe it. One moment, it’s there—frayed, weak, but still holding—and the next… it’s gone.

Something rips through me like a blade.

I can’t breathe. I can’t think.

My heart shatters in my chest, pieces crashing into my ribs like glass.

Mika screams inside me—a sound of agony so raw and wild, it steals the last of my strength.

She’s gone.

My wolf is gone.

I stumble backward, out of the crowd, unnoticed. Everyone is watching them—applauding, cheering. The union is complete.

I slip through the doors and down the hallway, my vision blurred by tears.

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