Chapter Two: The Resolution

I don't remember walking to the hall. Don't remember getting dressed or fixing my hair or wiping the blood from my lip. One moment I was in that room, Victor's hand in my hair, and the next I was standing in the center of the main hall with hundreds of eyes on me.

The marble was cold under my bare feet. I'd lost my shoes somewhere. My party dress from last night hung wrinkled and stained. My makeup was smeared, the mascara tracks down my cheeks, the lipstick smudged at the corner of my mouth.

I looked exactly like what they thought I was.

The silence pressed down on me. No one spoke. No one moved. They just stared, waiting for my father to speak.

My chest ached where the bond used to be and every breath hurt, every heartbeat felt wrong, like my body was trying to pump blood through a heart that has been carved out.

"My daughter has dishonored this family."

Victor's voice rang across the hall. I kept my eyes on the floor, counting the seconds for this to be over.

"She has broken her engagement through her own reckless behavior." He paused, letting the words sink in. "However, the Ashford family honors its commitments. We do not shirk our responsibilities, even when those responsibilities become complicated."

I heard the rustle of fabric as people shifted, leaning forward.

"Three years ago, I arranged a marriage between Ella and Nate Blackthorne, Alpha of the Shadowmoon Pack."

My head snapped up.

No.

"At the time, Julian Thorne's courtship seemed a better match. The fated mate bond appeared, and I agreed to postpone the arrangement." Victor's eyes found mine across the hall, empty, like he was not my father. "That arrangement still stands."

The floor tilted beneath my feet.

Nate Blackthorne. The alpha who killed his first wife. The one people whispered about in corners, their voices dropping low like saying his name too loud might summon him.

"You will marry Nate Blackthorne in three days' time, or you will be disowned, blacklisted from every pack in this territory, and cast out as a rogue."

Whispers erupted around me, hisses of hundreds of people suddenly having something to say.

Elder Rothman cleared his throat from somewhere to my right. "Alpha Ashford, forgive me, but are you certain about this arrangement? Given the circumstances? Nate Blackthorne's reputation is—"

"Exactly what my daughter deserves."

The words hit me like a fist to the stomach.

What I deserved.

"I mean no disrespect, but perhaps we should consider—"

"Julian."

Victor's voice rang out, cutting through the murmurs. Everyone went quiet.

My whole body went cold.

No. Please, no.

"You've known Ella longer than anyone here. Would you say this arrangement is appropriate?"

The silence that followed was deafening.

I couldn't look at him. Couldn't bear to see his face. But I felt his presence like a physical thing, standing near the front, Serena probably beside him.

Please. Just stay quiet. Just don't—

"It's more than appropriate, Alpha Ashford."

I stopped breathing.

"To be completely honest, I think Nate Blackthorne is getting more than he bargained for. But if he's willing to take on that responsibility..." He paused. "Then who are we to stand in the way of such a generous offer?"

That responsibility.

"The arrangement was made in good faith years ago. And given what's happened, I would say it's for the best. For everyone involved."

For the best.

My nails dug into my palms until I felt skin break. Blood welled between my fingers as I struggled to not break down in tears.

The pain was good, Something to focus on that wasn't Julian agreeing I should be married off to a monster.

That I deserved it. All because he trusted my sister more than he trusted me.

"Well said." Victor's voice carried warmth, the same warmth he used for all but me. "I'm glad we're in agreement."

“Father please, I’ll do anything! Please don’t—“ I attempted to beg, but a growl from my father silenced me.

“Silence!” His eyes flashed with anger and my wolf whimpered. “You should be grateful he didn’t ask for your head on a platter. Would you prefer this alligiance, or we should get the executioner ready?”

The hall went silent, and a tear slipped from my eyes. He didn’t react when I told him I caught Serena kissing Julian.

I forced myself to look up. To look at Julian.

He stood near the front with Serena against his side, his arm around her waist. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at my father, his expression serious and composed.

Serena was looking at me, though.

Smiling.

"Ella."

Victor's voice snapped my attention back to him.

"I need an answer. Now."

The alternative hung unspoken in the air. Become a rogue. Be hunted. Be torn apart. Be beheaded.

I looked at Julian one more time, Searching for anything, any sign of the boy who used to hold my hand and used to promise me the world.

He was whispering something to Serena now. She giggled, pressing against his chest.

He didn't even glance my way.

"I accept." My voice sounded far away. "I'll marry Nate Blackthorne."

The words tasted like blood. Fitting since I just signed away my life.

Victor nodded once. "Good." Then he turned to the crowd. "However, we're not here only to discuss unpleasant business. We're here to celebrate a union. A true union, born of genuine affection and mutual respect."

My stomach dropped.

No.

"Julian, Serena, come."

They stepped forward, moving through the crowd. They’ve been waiting for this. They planned it.

Did Julian do this to get rid of me? Did he truly believe I cheated, or was it an excuse to get out?

Julian stopped in the center of the hall, right where I was supposed to be standing in three weeks, in a white dress, with flowers in my hair and his ring on my finger.

He looked at Serena, like she was the moon, Then he got down on one knee.

The air left my lungs in a rush.

"Serena, I know this isn't conventional. I know the timing is complicated." His eyes flicked to me for a second, then back to her. "But I've realized something." He took her hand, pressed it to his chest. "The Moon Goddess doesn't always make our choices for us. Sometimes we have to choose our own happiness."

Choose our own happiness.

The words punched through me.

Our words. The exact words we said to my father three years ago when we begged him to postpone the arrangement with Nate. We stayed up all night by the lake, planning what to say.

Julian had squeezed my hand and whispered, "We deserve to choose our own happiness, Ella. And I choose you."

Like a vow.

And now he was giving our words to her.

"I've been in love with you for so long, Serena. I think I always have been. I was just too blind to see it. Too caught up in what I thought I was supposed to want."

I was the thing he was supposed to want. The fated mate. But not what he actually wanted. I was never what he wanted.

"I don't want to waste another day pretending. Will you marry me? Will you be my Luna?"

He pulled something from his pocket.

The ring caught the light as he held it up.

Blue stone, Sapphire.

The breath stopped in my throat.

I picked that ring myself.

And he gave Serena my ring.

"Yes!" Serena's squeal echoed through the air. "Yes, yes, yes!"

She threw her arms around him and he caught her, lifted her, spun her while she laughed and cried and clung to him.

The hall erupted with Cheering and Clapping, like my life was not just destroyed minutes ago. The same people who'd congratulated me two weeks ago when Julian and I had announced our engagement.

I stood there, and Watched Julian set Serena down carefully and Watched him cup her face and kiss her, the kind of kiss that said mine in a way he'd never kissed me.

My father stepped forward. Clapped Julian on the shoulder. The smile on his face was warm and proud and genuine.

"Well done, son."

Julian beamed, like earning my father's approval was worth more than anything I could have given him.

I dug my nails deeper into my palms. More skin broke.

Serena was showing off the ring now, spinning so the blue stone caught the light. Every woman in the hall crowded around to admire it.

I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't do anything but stand there and watch my life, the life I'd planned, the future I'd dreamed about since I was a little girl, get handed to someone else.

Serena's eyes found mine over the crowd.

She smiled.

And mouthed two words: Thank you.

Something inside me cracked, and I turned and walked out of the hall.

No one noticed. No one called me back.

My bare feet were silent on the floors. The corridor stretched, empty and quiet. I could still hear the laughter behind me, cheers, my father toasting Julian and Serena's future.

I made it exactly three steps before her voice stopped me.

"Oh, Ella. Wait."

Every instinct screamed to keep walking. But I was so tired of running. I was angry and livid.

Serena stood there alone, her mask of tears completely gone. In its place was a smile that made my stomach turn.

"I just wanted to say congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I hear Nate Blackthorne is quite the catch. If you like them dangerous."

"You set me up. You drugged me. You planned all of this."

"Prove it." Her smile widened. "Oh wait, you can't. Because everyone knows you're the jealous one. The unstable one."

She stepped closer, her heels clicking against the marble.

"Did you really think I'd let you have him? He was always supposed to be mine."

"He's my fated mate—"

"And yet he chose me." The words landed, like she was explaining something to a child. "Fate doesn't mean anything if the male doesn't want you, Ella. Julian told me months ago that he felt the bond, but he didn't want it. He wanted someone fun and Exciting. Someone who didn't cling to him like a desperate little omega."

The words hit like a slap.

"So I helped him see clearly. I helped him understand that bonds can be broken. That he deserves to choose his own happiness." She examined her nails. The blue ring caught the light. "And he chose me. He's always chosen me."

My hand moved before I could think.

The slap cracked across her face hard enough to snap her head to the side.

For one second, she just stood there, shocked.

Then she smirked.

And threw herself backward onto the marble floor.

The sound echoed through the corridor. Serena let out a piercing scream, clutching her arm, tears streaming down her face.

"JULIAN! HELP!"

No. Fuck!

"He's going to kill you, you know. Nate Blackthorne. Maybe not right away. Maybe he'll use you first, get an heir. But eventually?" Her smile turned vicious. "You'll end up just like his first wife. Dead. And forgotten. Just like your pathetic mother."

Rage flooded through me, white-hot and blinding.

Julian burst through the doors. His eyes went wild when he saw Serena on the ground. His gaze snapped to me.

“What the fuck did you do you whore?” He growled, rushing towards Serena.

"She attacked me!" Serena wailed. "I just tried to talk to her, to apologize, and she hit me and pushed me!"

"I didn't push—"

Julian's hand connected with my face.

The world as my ears rang. Pain exploded across my cheek.

He never hit me before. Not once. When I still meant something

"I've got you, baby." Julian dropped to his knees beside Serena. His hands were gentle as he checked her over. "You're okay. I've got you.".

I stood there, my cheek throbbing, blood on my tongue, and watched the boy I'd loved my whole life cradle the woman who'd destroyed me. The man I loved. I so foolishly loved.

And I realized I didn't want him back.

I didn't remember deciding to run. One moment I was standing there, the next I was sprinting through the corridors, my feet slapping against floor, tears blurring my vision.

I couldn't stay. If I stayed, they would finish what they started.

Or worse, my father would finish it himself.