Chapter 2

"I have already made my decision," Dante says, using his alpha aura so suddenly I jolt and nearly fall to my knees.

Rogue wolves are weak to alpha pheromones. It immediately sends a rain of terror down on me. Noticing this, Dante pulls it in. "Everyone should go back to their homes and forget all about this. I will not say it twice."

I blink at Dante's face, taken aback by his harshness. He isn't the most gentle or soft-spoken man, but I have never known him to use his strength and position to avoid a situation. His black eyes are on his parents, glaring at them, his mouth firm behind his beard. He looks like he would not be messed with.

"You can avoid it today," Gabriella's shrill voice raises, "but not forever. We will not let you throw this pack into any more jeopardy." She turns away, led by her husband and leaves.

Roberto and Alejandro follow suit. Then everyone starts leaving. No one bothers to explain what the hell is happening. As soon as his parents get in the house, I turn to Dante.

"What happened, are they against it again?"

"It's not– " he stops abruptly, looking over my head. I turn to see Mom still perched against the side of the porch.

Reading our looks accurately, she walks into the house and finally we are alone. The night has fallen, the porch light comes on, shining light between us. My heart is still pounding like it is bracing for a shock.

"So, what happened? Why is everyone so tense?" I ask, even though I don't want to hear it. Why is it always a week to the wedding? They are always doing this after preparations have been made.

Dante rubs my arms in a way that has me wanting to lean into his broad chest and sniff his scent. My legs are killing me from a long day of standing, both at the restaurant and then going to buy the wedding things that I somehow didn't manage to buy at once.

"You look tired," he says, giving me that half smile. "How about you soak in a bath and I massage you later."

"Diverting," I laugh and lift my brow. "It must be really bad."

"No, it isn't," he presses a kiss to my lips. I respond, leaning up to meet each one.

"Is it the wedding?" I kiss him. "They want to cancel again."

Dante stops before the next kiss. His gaze shifts somewhere and I immediately go on alert. Something isn't right. "What?" I ask, stepping closer.

"It's nothing. We don't need to move the wedding," he says with a single head shake. Then he steps back. "Come on, let's get you in that bath."

"Wait, ugh, I still need to get the things from the car," I say, already hating the idea of doing it tonight.

"Alright, go get your bath. I'll handle it," he says and my smile returns.

"Thank you, you are the best," I press a kiss to his jaw, his beard tickling my lips. "I'll wait for my massage."

I say as I walk backwards into the house, feeling like all my stress was worth it. But instead of teasing me like he usually would, Dante only gives me a weak smile and a nod.

That isn’t like him at all.

I turn, and nearly collide with Celeste. She is looking at me so bitterly I almost start apologizing before remembering I didn't do anything wrong.

"Why are you just coming home?" she snaps. "Where is dinner? You left this house at six in the morning. Did you even do anything before leaving?" She narrows her eyes.

She knows I wake up by four thirty, clean up the house, cook and even make lunch for my sisters, before I leave. I don't reply. With Celeste, replying only escalates the situation.

"I will make dinner," Mom speaks up behind her.

"No one asked you," Celeste spits, "you just tell your daughter to fulfil her role in this house if she wants to keep living here, or pack her things and just leave, at once."

"Don't worry, Celeste," I let out a sigh, smiling while scoffing in my heart. I am not going anywhere. Whether she accepts me or not, I am going to marry her son. "I will make dinner immediately." I give her the sweetest killing smile and walk to the kitchen. Mom hurries off after me.

"That's all you are good for, wretched rogue," I hear Celeste hiss behind us and clamp my hand over Mom's before she could give her one of her stink looks that screams ‘I will put a pillow over your head tonight.’

"It's okay," I whisper.

My mom has a small stature, different from me. I am on the tall side, taking my father's height over hers, but unlike her, I am curvy and rounder. She is slim to the point of being too thin, and her eyes have this way of darting about.

She wasn't like this when I was younger, but life in the wild, protecting us from other rogues and evil packs has broken her. She isn't quite all there. I wish I could afford to take her for therapy but I can't so she lives like this, seeing evil everywhere and always suspicious. She could really suffocate Celeste with a pillow if she is angry enough.

"Are you okay?" I ask, noticing one side of her cheek is red.

"I am fine," she pushes past me. "But you aren't. You are about to be kicked out of the pack. You have to do something."

"What?" I turn and blink at her. She looks out the window where I can just make out my car.

"Look, he isn't there," she points, and I notice Dante isn't at the car.

I move closer, lifting the blinds. "Where did he go?"

"To another woman," Mom says behind me and I whip around.

"What?"

"Dante is cheating on you, mi hija."

My mouth falls open.