The Mate Who Chose Her

KAMARI

I’m going to be late to my own heartbreak.

My lungs burn as I race through the forest, tasting rain and copper underneath my tongue.

The letter Viktor left beside my bed is still crumpled in my fist. Branches tear at my arms, my bare feet sting against the earth, but I don’t slow down.

I have to get there. I don’t know why.

Maybe because some foolish part of me still believes there is an explanation for why my mate is marrying someone else.

Maybe because I need to hear Viktor tell me himself.

Or maybe because I’m still stupid enough to believe he wouldn’t do this to me. It’s impossible, he—he’s MY mate. He loves ME.

Faster, my wolf flares inside me, forcing me through a thorn bush like I’m being pursued.

The smell of smoke and burning wood hits me before I even see the flames reaching up to the night sky.

I tell myself that he’s waiting for me, that he didn’t hand-make my mating gown just to leave me broken. That’s not my Viktor.

I weave past a giant willow tree and step gingerly into the clearing, feeling the sand under my toes and the smoke stinging my eyes.

Our pack members form a tight ring around a stone altar. Standing on it are two people holding hands.

My heart drops into my gut, but I bite my tongue hard and I stalk towards the ring of pack members clad in black robes.

This IS the mating ceremony. They’re…he’s doing it without me?

I push my way through the tight ring, hearing my heartbeat drumming in my ears as I draw closer to the center, never once taking my eyes off my mate.

His scent fills my lungs, so strong that I hold my breath, feeling my knees buckle as I burst through the ring and into my nightmare.

This man, who woke up in my bed this morning, the man who whispered in my ears how excited he was to marry me, how eagerly he would be waiting for me…

But he didn’t wait. He has another woman on his arm, and she’s wearing an intricate crescent white gown that makes my stomach twist.

My neck tilts up to look at them, to try to convince myself that I’m seeing things, that the woman leaning into my mate isn’t Reyah, a stranded wolf that I brought under my roof.

But it is. My Reyah and My Viktor stand there, staring into each other's eyes like they’ve been soulmates since forever, like she didn’t just join our pack four full moons ago.

“Viktor…” my voice is a raw whisper, but it fades into the night air.

I watch him hold her hands and say the vows he rehearsed to me in our bedroom, the ones that made my wolf go silent because we were finally going to be safe, to belong somewhere.

“I take you not just as my Luna, but as my breath, my blood, and my law. Your shadows belong to my light; your fears belong to my protection. From this night forward, my pack is your shield, and my chest is your home…”

Someone please wake me up. Pinch me so I can wake from this hell.

“…wherever you run, my wolf will find you. Whatever harms you, I will slaughter. By the teeth in my jaw and the beast in my soul, you are mine.”

He looks at her with so much passion as a dull glow fills his eyes, his wolf keening to mark his Luna.

My breath hitches at the way his fingers thread in her golden blonde hair and he bares his fangs, but nothing prepares me for when his eyes catch mine—and the world crashes to a halt.

My wolf thrashes around inside me, but I will her not to move, that maybe if I stand still, time will wait for me to make some sense of this.

It doesn’t. Instead, Viktor’s eyes harden like crystal balls, and his fangs don’t retract as he glowers at me…then he looks away, leaning over to mark the woman in his arms.

Something snaps inside me. I bolt towards the altar, screaming for the ceremony to stop.

My foot barely grazes the altar when strong arms grab at my dress, yanking me back with so much force that I hear something rip.

“No!” I strain against their grip, looking up to see three warriors holding me in place, their claws slicing through my skin.

“Stay still,” one of them growls, pinning my wrists behind my back.

“Viktor!” I call out to him, but his back is turned to me now, holding Reyah close and sealing his bond with her in front of the entire pack.

Break free, my wolf urges. Get out of this and break every bone in his body.

No. Stop. Get out of my head.

But the bond is already sealed, and they turn to the crowd arm in arm—the alpha of the FreeHide pack, and the Luna that isn’t me.

That’s when he looks at me—really looks at me, brows knotting in a deep frown even as his eyes still glow.

“Kamari.” My name sounds almost unnatural now— a guttural noise in the back of his throat.

Reyah slips an arm around his waist, glaring at me like I’M the intruder.

Break her jaw and make him watch.

“What is this?” I ask instead, feeling the weight of hundreds of eyes glaring at the back of my head.

“You were supposed to stay home,” his voice hardens, “didn’t you get my letter?”

My throat gulps, but it’s cotton dry.

“I don’t understand, you—I’m YOUR mate, Viktor.

What. is. this?”

“A mating ceremony, as you can see,” Reyah cuts in, blue eyes filled with contempt as her hand slides behind Viktor’s waist, “OUR mating ceremony.”

My eyes fall to Viktor’s mark just above her collarbone, and I can almost feel the bite in my own skin.

Nausea claws at my insides, but I return her icy glare with one of my own.

“It’s easy for any imposter to feel powerful when they bear the Alpha’s mark, isn’t it, Reyah?”

She blinks, lips pursing in a thin line as her gaze cuts to Viktor.

“You didn’t tell her?”

Oh…there’s more?

“Tell me what, Viktor?” I ask, but he doesn’t meet my eyes. Instead he steps forward and points to the warriors holding me.

“Take her to her home, and watch her until I get there.”

“Like hell you will,” Reyah grabs his arm, “you’re an alpha. You shouldn’t waste your time on a rogue wolf.”

“ROGUE?” my throat feels raw, “if anything, you’re the wolf without a pack. I brought you under my protection, remember?”

“But who’s protecting YOU now?” She sneers.

“That’s enough,” Viktor puts an arm around her, “you’re making a scene, Kamari.”

My wolf pushes against my bones like it just might break through, and I feel a blinding pain building in my back as my body lurches forward.

No. Please not here. Not now.

But my wolf doesn’t listen. She never does.

Make a scene, Kamari, she growls. He deceived you. He used you and moved on to your protege.

He’s made a fool of you in front of the entire pack.

Stop. Please stop.

“Kamari—“

My head snaps up to the sky, and I sight the full moon emerging from the clouds, glaring down at me in a silent dare to succumb to the pain.

“No…” it comes out as a groan, and my body rocks against the warriors holding me, but their grip doesn’t budge.

I have to…I need to get out of here before I—

I feel my chest splitting in two, the force of my wolf swelling inside me until I hear something snap.

Gasps explode around me, but they’re muffled. The pain isn’t.

It comes in waves, each one hitting harder than the last, dragging me under until all I can hear is Viktor’s voice calling out my name as I drop to my knees.

Stop, stop, stop…

“Stop her!” Reyah’s bark is muffled, but I hear her words loud and clear, “stop this bloody rogue before she transforms and attacks the pack!”

No, I would never—

But we will. We must.

I try to speak, but a strangled howl is all that escapes my throat.

My claws sink into the earth. My back folds inward, and I feel myself holding on my a breaking thread.

Breathe, just—

A hand fists in my hair.

“Alright, wolf, you’re coming with me.” A voice growls. I feel him yank me off my knees, sending needles of pain up my spine.

My eyes roll back—and I lose my grip on reality.

I don’t realize that I’m moving until I hear a scream and something snaps.

The warrior drops to his knees with a piercing howl, clutching his arm. Blood drips from my claws.

No…please don’t hurt them.

But my body turns. I lock eyes with Viktor.

You.

His eyes widen as my body flies through the air, claws bared and aiming for his heart.

Stop, please stop…

If we can’t have him, no one can.

No—

Suddenly, pain explodes on the side of my head, sending my body crashing to the ground.

Blood. I smell it on the sand, taste it on my tongue, feel it flood my vision.

The last thing I feel is Reyah’s foot pressing into my back.

“I told you I could handle her,” she whispers.

Viktor is saying something now, but I can’t—I’m slipping. He says—I—

My eyes roll back, and my wolf goes silent.