Hard Choices

Chapter One

The Moon is shining high when I start walking toward a fate I never chose.

Moonlight spills over the clearing, pale and watchful, clinging to the stone altar and the faces gathered around it. I can feel the weight of every single gaze pressing into me as I move forward—my pack behind me, the Raventhorn Pack ahead—silent witnesses to a choice that was never really mine.

Their judgment hangs thick in the air. I feel it without anyone saying a word. For my decisions. For my obedience. For the life I am about to step into.

I keep my eyes straight ahead, fixed on my groom.

The night hums with uncertainty, the air tight with expectation, and beneath it all something sharper—fear, maybe. Or hope. I’m not sure anymore. I don’t think I’ve known the difference for a long time now.

Kael Raventhorn—my groom, a man of few words—waits for me at the altar.

The Moonlight favors him. It slides over his already handsome face, cutting clean lines across his sharp, angular features, outlining him in silver and shadow. I take him in without meaning to. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, built solid and steady—the kind of man who looks like he’ll still be standing when everything else falls apart. His dark hair is pulled back neatly, his jaw strong, his expression calm and controlled.

He’s handsome in a quiet way.

The kind that sneaks up on you. The kind that settles in slowly, slipping under your skin before you even realize it’s there. Not the kind that steals your breath—but the kind that earns your trust.

The kind you learn to trust not just with your body, but with your heart too.

Kael is probably not my mate.

There was never any illusion about what this marriage would be. No whispered promises in the dark. No secret hopes. No expectations beyond what we agreed upon openly. This was always about the merging of packs. About survival. Never about love.

This is duty.

This is survival.

And I chose it willingly.

I straighten my shoulders as I pass the elders from my pack, reminding myself why I’m here. The attacks have grown bolder over the last year. Rogues no longer fear pack borders, and vampires move through the outskirts like they already own the land. Merging with the Raventhorn Pack is the only way forward—the only real chance we have left.

If marrying Kael keeps my people alive, then this is a price I can pay.

His eyes lift as I draw closer, dark and steady, and when they meet mine, something soft flickers there. Not hunger. Not possession. Just… gentleness. As if he understands the weight pressing down on my chest. As if he’s silently telling me that this will be worth it.

I didn’t realize how much I needed that until now.

He looks at me like I’m human.

Not a bargaining chip.

Not the Alpha’s daughter being handed over to secure peace.

Not a woman he plans to rule.

Just a woman standing in front of him, about to make a life-altering vow.

When I reach the altar, I offer him a small smile. I feel it when the tension finally leaves his shoulders. He returns the smile, careful and sincere, and for the first time tonight, the knot in my chest loosens just a little.

I could have done worse, I think.

Much worse.

Kael Raventhorn is a good man.

And he will be a good husband.

As I stand there, something feels… off.

It’s subtle at first. Just a faint wrongness brushing against my awareness. My gaze flicks to Kael’s side without me fully meaning to—and that’s when I notice it.

He’s standing alone.

The space beside him is empty.

My steps slow instinctively, confusion rippling through me. He was supposed to have his older brother with him. Everyone knew that. The Raventhorn heir. The future Alpha. The man people have been whispering about all evening.

Darian Raventhorn.

I glance around the altar, half-expecting to see him just out of sight, but there’s no one there. Kael doesn’t seem bothered. His attention stays on me, steady and unwavering, as if nothing else exists.

Strange.

I push the thought aside. Tonight isn’t about Raventhorn traditions or missing best men. It’s about what comes after this—about what we’re trying to prevent.

I stop in front of Kael, lift my chin, force my breathing to steady. He gives me another small smile—reassuring, almost protective—and for a heartbeat, the world feels manageable.

I feel myself breathing slower.

I’m just about to place my hand in Kael’s, ready for the ceremony to begin, when movement brushes the edge of my vision.

Someone steps into place beside him.

The movement is quiet, unannounced—but the effect is immediate. The air shifts. Hushed whispers ripple through the clearing before everything falls suddenly, unnervingly silent.

I go completely still.

My pulse stutters. Blood rushes loudly in my ears as everything else fades away, my focus narrowing to the raw, powerful presence now surrounding the altar.

Something in me recoils—

and something else leans closer.

I don’t know who it is yet.

I only know—instantly—that whoever has taken that place is significant. Too significant to ignore.

Curiosity tugs at me, slow and insistent, begging me to look.

So I turn my head slightly toward the new presence—

And the breath leaves my lungs.

Not because I understand what I’m seeing.

Not because I’m prepared for it.

But because something about him demands my attention in a way I wasn’t expecting—in a way I don’t have time to examine.

The sounds around me crash back all at once. The Moonlight feels brighter now, almost harsh.

And for the first time since I stepped into the clearing—

I forget why I’m here at all.