The Mating Ceremony

+ Medora

Funny how everything works fine one minute, and crashes down the next.

My sister looked beautiful in the dress my grandmother saved for me.

It was her mating ceremony. Of all the dresses to wear, she chose my grandmother’s. The one she wore the night my grandfather claimed her. I always thought it held luck right in the seams. I wanted that luck as much as I needed it.

Now Vanessa wore it.

My mother zipped the white silk up Vanessa's back. "There was no point keeping it for you, Medora," my mother sang out, far too amused. She smoothed the lace down Vanessa's narrow spine with satisfaction. "You'd never fit into it anyway. You're too wide. It's a massive waste of fabric, so why don't you just give it to your sister?"

Vanessa threw me a smug smile.

I kept my hands folded on my lap. My teeth ground together to hold back the anger. I already saved the money from washing blood off the metal clinic tables. I paid the pack tailor in advance. With three extra panels of silk, it would've fit my body perfectly.

It wouldn't be a waste. It would be mine.

Vanessa turned toward the vanity mirror. She admired her reflection. Her blonde curls were pinned tight against her scalp. "It suits me better."

I rolled my eyes where they couldn't see.

Externally, I just nodded. I pinned a small smile right to the corners of my mouth and stayed completely quiet. Today was important. I wanted my grandmother's luck strictly because of Jace.

My fated mate. We found each other by the border river three months ago. He vanished right after that. He just stopped returning my calls. But he was here today. I genuinely hoped wearing the dress would make him look at me the way my grandfather looked at my grandmother.

That was never going to happen. My chest ached at the thought.

My mother dismissed me to go fetch Vanessa's shoes. I left the room.

I walked down the long hallway. The floorboards whined under my heavy boots as I turned the corner near the main archway and stopped dead.

Jace stood there.

My breath hitched in my throat. He wore a dark suit. The expensive fabric stretched tight across his broad shoulders. He usually looked right through me. He usually kept his jaw locked and his eyes entirely blank.

Today was different.

He actually looked at me. His eyes softened. A gentle, quiet expression settled over his face.

"Medora," he called out softly.

He said my name like it meant something. My throat pulled tight. I couldn’t even ask what he was doing here. He reached out and brushed a stray curl away from my cheek.

His fingers were incredibly warm against my cold skin. My lungs forgot how to pull in air. I stared at his chest, refusing to look up. Maybe he was here to see my parents.

Maybe he finally wanted me.

He smiled. A real, genuine smile.

Hope is a brutal thing. It takes root incredibly fast. I thought today was finally the day. I thought he was going to mark me. I'd stand in front of the entire pack, thick thighs and wide shoulders, and my fated mate would claim me proudly.

I wouldn't be the pack's embarrassing secret anymore. I'd have a place.

"Go find your seat," Jace whispered. His voice was low and smooth. "The ceremony is starting soon."

I nodded. I ran into the main hall. My hands were actually trembling with pure anticipation.

The wooden benches were packed with pack members. The elder stood at the front altar holding the binding cord. I found a spot in the very back row. My spot. The place where I blocked the least amount of light. I sat down and watched Vanessa walk down the center aisle in my grandmother's dress. The white lace trailed behind her on the deep red carpet.

Something was wrong.

Jace stood at the front. He held out his hands for her. I stood up blankly. I set myself apart. My boots carried me toward the altar in total shock. This wasn't what I thought it was.

My pulse pounded against my ribs. I watched them smile at each other with total adoration. It finally broke into pieces when the Elder started the ceremony.

A heavy lump set in my throat. It was hard to even move my legs.

Before the elder could speak a single word, the doors at the back of the hall slammed open. I stopped in my tracks, pulling hard for air.

My father marched down the center aisle, ignoring me. Richard didn't care about the quiet room. His face was bright red. The veins in his thick neck bulged like heavy ropes. His boots pounded against the floor.

"Stop the ceremony," Richard bellowed. He stopped at the bottom of the altar steps.

Whispers erupted across the wooden benches. People shifted in their seats.

My mother stood up from the front row. Her knuckles were stark white around her leather purse. "Richard, what are you doing?"

"The Ironholt contract is signed," Richard spat. He pointed a thick finger at the altar. "They demanded a bride. Today. One of my unwed daughters goes to the Lyke brothers to be their Luna."

The room went dead silent.

The Lyke brothers. Kaz, Kai, Kol, and Kenzo. The ruthless Alphas from the freezing mountains. They never bothered to negotiate. They took exactly what they wanted. They were literal monsters we used in stories to scare pups into staying in bed.

I looked at Vanessa. She was the eldest unwed daughter. She was standing right at the altar. I assumed it was her, my father was sending her away to the cold. That was why she rushed this.

She knew.

I clenched my fists tightly.

Vanessa's face went completely pale. She looked absolutely terrified, and backed away from Richard.

Jace stepped in front of Vanessa.

My eyes narrowed. He didn't even glance at me, as he grabbed Vanessa's hand and pulled her flush against his chest.

"No," Jace barked. His voice echoed off the high ceiling. "She isn't unwed. She's mine."

Before anyone could stop him. Before I could stop him. He dipped his head and sank his teeth directly into the crook of Vanessa's neck.

The mating bite.

Right there. In front of the whole pack. In front of my parents. In front of me.

He claimed her.

I slumped to my knees. The hope in my chest shattered. He came for her this whole time. Not me.

He didn't want me.

He never wanted me.

He wanted the perfect, sharp-edged sister.

I couldn't breathe. My sight blurred around the edges. I stared at the dark blood running down Vanessa's pale collarbone. It dripped down and stained the white lace of my grandmother's dress.

Jace pulled back. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at Richard with pure defiance. Vanessa leaned heavily against him. She belonged to him now.

She turned her head, and her eyes found me. The terror on her face twisted into a cruel smirk.

"It's you, Medora," Vanessa said weakly. "You have to go."

I couldn't speak. I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms and drew blood. My face went completely pale, and I still couldn’t say a word.

I kept my eyes pinned on Jace. He wouldn't look at me.

How pathetic.

Vanessa stood taller. She leaned into Jace's side. "The Alphas up there are cruel. They're ruthless. But going there as a political Luna is the greatest contribution you could ever make to our pack. It's an absolute honor for someone like you. Although you have to finish your Luna Training at the Academy, it’s still a great honor."

An honor.

I scoffed. A weak smile curled at my lips. She was sending me to literal monsters and calling it a privilege.

Jace still didn't look in my direction. He kept his arm wrapped tightly around my sister's waist. My fated mate threw me entirely away just to save her.

The physical pain hit me. A brutal, tearing ache right behind my ribs. The rejection ripped straight through the mate bond. It severed the invisible string pulling me toward him. It felt like a rusted knife dragging through my chest cavity.

I tasted the metallic tang of blood on my tongue as it seeped past my lips.

Hot tears spilled over my eyelashes. They burned my cold cheeks. I wept. I didn't try to hide it. I didn't try to make myself small or quiet. The pain was too massive to contain.

The faces in the room blurred into gray blobs. The stone walls tilted sideways. The edges of the hall went entirely dark. The blackness rushed in and swallowed the altar. It swallowed Jace, rushing toward me. It swallowed my father joining him.

Then everything went black.