One

“I won, Ash. Admit defeat. Three years are up.”

Her father’s voice crackled through the phone, smug and unyielding. Ash rolled her eyes, exhaustion threading through her. He never missed a chance to remind her of that stupid bet.

“Tonight marks three years,” she shot back. “Why not wait till morning? Then we will know if you truly won.”

He scoffed. Ash knew he despised Rowan, but she didn’t care. She would rather mate with a man she loved than be handed off to someone chosen for her. She watched her mother suffer the same fate and could not do anything to comfort her until she died. She was not going to let that happen to her. Besides, she had been with Rowan for three years…three years, and he had never once hurt her.

She ended the call before he could say more and slipped her phone into her bag, a smile tugging at her lips as excitement fluttered in her chest. Tonight she would finally seal the bond with the man she loved.

The hallway felt longer than usual as she walked, her steps light, hopeful. She stopped in front of the door, reached for the handle, and pushed it open.

And her world shattered.

Her arms fell uselessly to her sides. The smile died on her lips as shock stole the air from her lungs.

“Oh, Rowan… you are going to kill me,” a breathless moan slipped from the woman’s mouth.

Elena.

Her best friend.

Rowan lay beneath her on the bed, Elena’s body grinding against his, the two of them so lost in each other they hadn’t even noticed Ash.

“Ash!”

Elena’s eyes snapped to hers. Guilt flashed across her face for half a second before it hardened into something uglier, something defensive, almost resentful.

Ash wanted to move, but she couldn’t. She just stood there, unable to cry or even scream.

The only person she had trusted after her mother was riding the man she was meant to mate with tonight, the man who had promised her forever. Her mind scrambled, searching desperately for missed signs, warnings she had been too blind or too in love to see.

“Why?”

The word tore out of her, fragile and breaking.

Rowan stood up, completely unashamed, his nakedness a cruel reminder that this was real, that this wasn’t a nightmare she could wake up from.

“I am sorry, Ash,” he said quietly. “But Elena is my mate. I should have told you sooner.”

She laughed, an ugly, disbelieving sound. “She’s your mate?”

Two years ago, it had been foretold that Rowan’s mate was dead. How was Elena suddenly his mate?

“Since when?” Ash demanded.

“A year ago,” he answered. “We felt the spark. That’s how it started. I was going to tell you tonight… end things properly. I didn’t expect you to come so early.”

A year ago. Her chest constricted painfully. That was when she had introduced Elena to him.

“Have you forgotten what you promised me?” Ash said, her voice rising despite herself. “I love you, Rowan. Why can’t you choose me?”

She didn’t care if she sounded desperate. She didn’t care about pride or dignity. She had loved him from the moment they met. She had been so obsessed with him that she was even willing to go against everyone for him. She didn’t want to lose him, not this fast.

His gaze flickered. Something that resembled hesitation, doubt even. And for one fragile, foolish second, hope bloomed again in her chest.

Just as Rowan opened his mouth to speak, Elena suddenly grabbed his wrist.

“You can’t possibly choose her over me,” she said sharply. “I am your mate, Rowan. Without me, you will never have legitimate heirs. I am your fate, your future.”

Her words snapped his attention fully to her.

‘She is right, Rowan. I won’t mate with an omega. She is useless to us.’ Rowan’s wolf growled, his expression shifting.

His shoulders sagged as he exhaled, and then his gaze returned to Ash, heavy and conflicted.

“I can’t, Ash,” he said quietly. “All my life, I wanted a mate. When I was told I would never have one, it destroyed me. Now that I finally do… I finally have hope. Don’t you want me to be happy, Ash?”

Ash took a step back, disgust curling in her stomach. This was the same man who had promised her heaven and earth, who had sworn she was all he needed. And now he was lecturing her about mates and happiness.

She knew how sacred the mate bond was. She knew rejecting destiny was dangerous. But knowing didn’t make it hurt any less.

She stood there, frozen, unable to accept it, unable to fight it.

“I know how much you love him,” Elena said softly. “But I can’t let you have him. I am sorry, Ash.”

The apology sounded hollow. Insincere. The ease with which Elena had lied to her for a year made the betrayal burn even deeper. How did she not notice anything?

Ash’s heart shattered silently as she watched the two people who were supposed to protect her standing together, unashamed, entwined.

She turned and ran.

Tears blurred her vision as she burst through the packhouse, servants staring, murmurs following her. She didn’t stop. She couldn’t. She ran until the walls disappeared, until the woods swallowed her whole.

Branches tore at her skin as she pushed deeper into the forest, her lungs burning, her thoughts spiraling. She didn’t slow down, didn’t care where she was going, until her foot caught on something unseen.

She fell hard, rolling, her back slamming into a tree before she finally stopped.

Pain shot through her leg. She cried out and sat up. She suddenly felt a presence and raised her head.

Three men stood in front of her. They looked rough, homeless, and dirty. Ash dragged her gaze along their faces and saw the mark of a rogue on each of them. Their eyes lingered too long, too wrong.

“Well, boys,” the one in the middle laughed, stepping forward, “looks like tonight just got interesting.”

They moved closer.

Ash tried to stand, but her leg screamed in protest. Panic clawed at her chest as she searched the darkness, only to realize how far she had run. If not for the full moon, everything would have been completely dark.

She thought of her bag and hissed, remembering she had dropped it in Rowan’s room. Without her phone, she could only rely on saving herself.

“Please,” she whispered. “If you let me go, I will reward you. My father is wealthy. You will be handsomely paid.”

They exchanged looks. Hope flickered, then died just as fast as it came.

The leader grabbed her roughly. She screamed as fabric tore and fear overwhelmed her. Her shirt was tossed to the side, leaving her in her bra.

“No…!”

‘Mate!’ Her wolf’s voice rang out suddenly, sharp and commanding.

Her body went still. She turned her head and met a pair of eyes, metallic, piercing, impossibly intense. They pulled at something deep inside her, igniting her heart in a way that stole her breath.

Everything changed in that instant.