Four

Marissa

I paced the room, chewing the inside of my cheek as my fingers fidgeted with the belt of the robe I’d thrown over my dress. I couldn’t sit still.

Justin’s voice kept echoing in my head.

Just one night. No expectations. No promises.

That was what he’d offered.

Not the kind of moment I had imagined when I used to dream about my mate. I had pictured something sacred. Something tender. A look that said you’re mine, not a hotel room number tossed at me like I was just another temporary distraction.

Still, part of me argued he might’ve been trying to protect the bond. Maybe he felt it and didn’t want to expose it in public. Maybe he was scared.

Or maybe he was ashamed.

That thought hit me like a punch to the ribs.

I gripped the edge of the vanity and stared into the mirror. The girl looking back had eyes that were too wide and too full of hope. I hated her for it.

I stormed into the bathroom, grabbed my razor, and shaved with quick, uneven strokes. I nicked my leg once but didn’t care. The bath was fast, as if speed could erase the doubt.

I pulled on a short black dress, tightened the robe over it, and cinched the belt.

Lipstick came next. Red.

I pressed it to my mouth with unsteady hands, trying not to think about how pathetic it would look if anyone found out.

I reached for my phone. Brian’s name hovered on the screen. I stared at it, then shoved the phone deep into my purse.

He wouldn’t understand, and if he told my father, it would only make things worse.

No one was coming to save me.

Not tonight.

I slipped out of the house, keeping to the shadows, my pulse pounding in my ears. The main hall was quiet. Relief slid through me as I hurried to my car and drove to the guest hotel the Lycans were using.

The closer I got, the heavier my stomach felt.

I parked, killed the engine, and stepped out.

The receptionist looked up. Her expression faltered, like she’d almost smiled but changed her mind.

I approached the desk and adjusted my robe.

“My father asked me to check on the Queen,” I said calmly.

“The Queen isn’t staying here, my lady,” she replied.

Something in my chest sank.

“What about the King?”

She shook her head. “No royals are checked in. Just members of the security team.”

My mouth went dry.

I gave a stiff nod.

“Anything else I can help you with?” she asked, polite to a fault.

I shook my head and left the lobby.

Back at the car, I grabbed a makeup wipe and scrubbed at my lipstick until the skin around my mouth burned.

I stared through the windshield, frozen.

Stupid. Desperate. Pathetic.

Was this what I had waited for? A mate who looked through me like I was nothing?

Would I spend the rest of my life like this, beneath my father’s thumb?

I looked at my reflection in the rearview mirror.

I was beautiful. People told me that. Even my father, cruel as he was, dragged me to events like a prized possession when it served his agenda. My mother used to call me her moon-blessed girl, destined for love and happiness.

She believed my story wouldn’t end the way hers had.

I touched the silver bracelet she left me. It was all I had of her.

And still, Justin had looked at me with indifference.

As if I were a stranger.

I remembered chasing him down the hallway after he gave me that room number. I had wanted to understand, to believe there was more beneath the surface.

He turned, calm and unreadable, and lit a cigarette that smelled like nothing at all.

“Why are you treating me like I’m nothing?” I demanded. “Look at me and tell me you don’t feel anything.”

He didn’t flinch.

“How bold of you to think you’re special,” he said. “You and every other werewolf here would throw yourselves at a Lycan crown.”

The words hit like a slap.

“You’re gorgeous,” he added, offhanded. “I’m not blind.”

As if that was supposed to make it better.

And then the part that gutted me—

“I don’t do werewolves. But a night with you wouldn’t be the worst thing. Just tonight. No expectations.”

Just tonight.

No future. No bond. No choice.

I pressed my forehead to the steering wheel and tried to stop the tremble in my hands.

I hated myself for hoping.

The goddess must have cursed me.

Maybe I wasn’t meant to be loved.

I started the engine and drove, passing the road home without slowing down. I couldn’t go back there. Not yet.

I needed air.

The beach wasn’t far. My mother used to take me there when I couldn’t sleep. She told me the ocean could carry away anything...even guilt, even fear. Even heartbreak.

When I parked and stepped out, the wind met me like an old friend. The scent of salt and coconut trees filled my lungs. Waves slammed into the shore like fists, as if they shared my rage.

I slipped off my shoes and walked barefoot. The sand scratched my skin, but I welcomed the bite.

Then I saw them.

Figures in glowing white robes stood by the shoreline, lit by moonlight. They moved in a circle, lanterns swaying in their hands, bells tied to their ankles. Candles lit the edges of the ritual.

My steps slowed.

The Seer was among them—the old werewolf known for seeing fate. His students formed a ring around him.

And standing just outside the circle was the Lycan Queen.

My breath caught.

What was she doing here, woven into a ritual meant for wolves?

I ducked behind a tree, careful to stay hidden.

The Seer dipped his hand into the ocean and whispered something I couldn’t hear. His students answered with a chant.

Then someone rose from the water.

Justin.

His soaked shirt clung to every line of him. The moon lit half his face, leaving the rest in shadow.

My grip tightened on the bark.

He stepped into the circle. A student tied a red cord around his wrist. The Queen placed her hand over his heart.

The Seer touched the cord and spoke, but I couldn’t hear him over the wind and waves.

I shifted my weight to get a better look.

A branch snapped beneath my foot.

I froze.

They turned, scanning the trees.

I held my breath and became a shadow in the trees.

After a tense moment, they returned to the ritual.

I backed away and returned to my car, my thoughts louder than the tide.

The shame I felt earlier twisted into confusion.

Back in the driver’s seat, I stared at nothing.

Maybe I wasn’t imagining the bond.

Maybe it wasn’t my fault.

Whatever they were hiding, I was going to uncover it.

And if the goddess had truly tied me to Justin—

One way or another, he will feel it.