Not Denying A Thing.

Ophelia's POV

The crowd erupted into applause, but the sound barely reached me.

I stood frozen at the edge of the rooftop garden, staring at the impossible scene before my eyes.

My wolf whimpered inside me, refusing to believe what we had just witnessed.

Morris was still holding Morgana, his hand resting against her cheek with a tenderness that made my stomach twist.

The kiss had ended, but the wedding had not.

Champagne glasses rose into the air as laughter drifted across the rooftop. Everyone was celebrating while my entire world crumbled around me.

"No."

The word slipped from my lips in a whisper, as Amare's agonized howl exploded inside my mind, slamming against every wall I had built to protect her. I gasped as pain tore through my chest. It felt as though someone had reached inside me and was ripping my soul apart with their bare hands.

Standing before us was our fated mate. The man chosen for us by the Moon Goddess.

The man who now belonged to another woman.

The mate bond pulsed violently in my chest, pulling Amare toward him while every instinct I possessed begged me to run before what little remained of my heart shattered completely.

Morgana's gaze swept across the guests before settling on me.

For one desperate second, I searched her face for guilt. Regret. Shame. Anything.

Instead, she smiled. Then she slipped both arms around Morris's neck and kissed him again.

A broken sound escaped my throat before I could stop it.

It carried farther than I expected because Morris slowly pulled away and looked straight at me.

The applause faded, and conversations died one after another as every guest turned to see what had stolen the groom's attention.

Within seconds, dozens of eyes were fixed on me.

I could feel every stare pressing against my skin. 

No one spoke or moved.

I was not even sure what I was waiting for anymore. An explanation. A denial. Anything that would tell me this was some cruel misunderstanding. Instead, Morris frowned.

His eyes filled with irritation, as though I had interrupted something important.

That hurt far more than I expected.

"Morris."

Even I barely recognized my own voice.

Morgana stepped away from him and smoothed the front of her white silk gown.

She looked radiant.

The fitted dress hugged her slender waist before flowing gracefully over elegant curves. Flowers were woven through her dark hair, and confidence shone in every smile she gave the crowd.

Only then did I notice the wedding ring already resting on her finger.

A wave of dizziness crashed over me. 

My knees almost gave out beneath me.

"Morgana." My voice shook.

"What is this?"

She lifted one perfectly shaped eyebrow. "It looks exactly like what it is, Ophelia."

A slow smile spread across her lips.

"A wedding."

A nervous laugh caught in my throat.

She could not be serious. Any second now Morris would explain everything. He had to.

I looked at him.

"Ophelia."

The warmth that usually filled his voice was gone. There was no guilt. No regret. Only the tired expression of a man who no longer wanted to deal with me.

A cold weight settled inside my stomach. 

I forced my legs to move. The guests stepped aside as I walked toward the altar, leaving a clear path between us.

With every step, I became painfully aware of my own body.

The red wrap dress that had made me feel beautiful before leaving home suddenly felt too tight. Too noticeable.

Heat crept into my cheeks as I imagined every pair of eyes following me.

For the first time in years, I wanted to hide.

"What is going on?" I asked again.

The answer was standing right in front of me, but after five years together, I deserved to hear it from him.

Morgana folded her arms.

"You really haven't figured it out, Omega?"

She deliberately emphasized my rank.

Amare snarled inside my head. I ignored her and kept my eyes on Morris.

"Morris."

For years, looking into those eyes had felt like coming home.

Now they belonged to a stranger.

"What do you want me to say, Ophelia?" he asked quietly.

"You already know what this is."

My throat tightened.

"What do I want you to say?"

My voice cracked despite my effort to stay calm.

"I want you to explain why my husband is standing beside my best friend after marrying her."

The words sounded unbelievable even as I spoke them aloud.

For the first time since I arrived, uncertainty flickered across his face.

Then he looked away.

The tiny spark of hope inside me died.

Beside him, Morgana laughed softly. "Oh... this is painful.” 

Without breaking eye contact with me, she reached for Morris's hand, he did not hesitate or pull away. I watched as his fingers intertwined with hers as naturally as breathing. 

The sight hurt more than the kiss itself. 

"We are married now, Ophelia." 

The words echoed in my head. I heard them and I understood them, but I simply could not accept them. 

"But…” My lips trembled.

"I'm your wife, and we are mates." I swallowed hard.

For one desperate second, I expected him to tell me there had been some mistake. Instead, his expression hardened.

"The Moon Goddess may have chosen you for me," he said, his voice cold enough to freeze the air between us, "but I never chose you."

Amare let out another broken cry.

"I spent five years trying to force myself to accept this marriage."

Every word struck like another knife.

"I stayed because it was my duty. Because the pack expected it. Because rejecting a fated mate without just cause was punishable under pack law."

His gaze drifted to Morgana.

Then he smiled at her.

It was the same smile I used to believe belonged only to me.

"But I got tired of lying to myself."

He squeezed her hand.

"I finally chose the woman I've loved all along."

The world tilted, and my knees gave way beneath me.

The impact against the stone floor barely registered as sobs tore from my chest.

I no longer cared that dozens of eyes were watching, or that my makeup was ruined.

Everything I had believed about my marriage had just been ripped away in front of an audience.

Amare hurled herself against the mate bond with a heartbreaking cry.

The invisible connection stretched painfully between us before snapping back into place, refusing to break while Morris still remained my mate.

I pressed a trembling hand against my chest, fighting for air as the bond burned inside me.

"Why?" I whispered.

The single word broke apart as it left my lips.

I forced myself to my feet and grabbed the front of Morris's ceremonial shirt with both hands.

"You ruined my life."

Tears streamed down my face.

"You made me believe you were my future. My family. My everything."

My voice shook so badly I barely recognized it.

"I gave you five years, Morris. Five years of my life. Was all of it a lie?"

A low growl rumbled from his chest as his wolf pushed close to the surface. His silver eyes flashed for a brief second before returning to normal.

"Let go."

His wolf's command rolled across the rooftop. He tore my hands from his shirt so roughly that I stumbled backward.

"I wasted five years trapped in a bond I never wanted," he said. "Do you know what that was like? Pretending every single day?"

My heart clenched.

"So you used me," I said, barely able to speak through my tears. "You stayed with me because you wanted her."

"Oh, spare me the dramatics, Ophelia."

His expression remained cold as ice.

"I tried to make this marriage work, but I was tired of pretending. Every time we attended a gathering, I had to watch people look at you before they looked at me. You expected me to proudly stand beside a wife whose body kept getting bigger every year? I was tired of pretending I found any of it attractive.” 

His words struck harder than any slap ever could. Then he looked at Morgana.

"Look at her." His voice softened.

"She's beautiful. Elegant. Confident. She carries herself like a true mate."

He turned back to me.

"And then there's you... soft everywhere, bursting out of every gown, convinced a smile could make people ignore how enormously huge you've become"

His gaze lingered just long enough to make me want to disappear.

"I couldn't keep lying to myself."

Hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

For a long moment, I simply stood there.

Then something inside me quietly broke. I wiped my face with the back of my hand.

"Fine."

My voice came out calm. "If that's what you truly want..."

I slowly raised my right hand to my chest. 

Amare emerged beside me in my mind, her silver eyes filled with grief crashing through me like a tidal wave.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"I, Ophelia Starkingstein..."

My voice echoed across the rooftop.

"...reject you, Morris Carpenter, as my fated mate."

Gasps rippled through the crowd, as several wolves instinctively stepped backward.

Even the air seemed heavier.

"I release you from my heart, my claim, and my life."

Amare's heartbreaking howl echoed through my soul. Then the bond snapped as the pain exploded through my body like lightning. I cried out and dropped to one knee, clutching my chest as though my heart had been ripped in two.

Across from me, Morris staggered backward.

His wolf roared inside him as he grabbed his chest, breathing hard.

Shock flashed across his face.

He had never believed I would actually reject him. On the other hand, Morgana's confident smile disappeared.

"You idiot!" she shouted, grabbing his arm. "Why would you reject him now? We still needed you—"

She stopped the moment she realized what she had admitted.

I looked at her through blurred tears.

"You needed me?"

Before I could react, she stepped forward, seized my left hand, and ripped my wedding ring from my finger.

The sharp edge cut my skin, as a drop of blood slid down my hand while she held the ring up with a smirk.

"You won't be needing this anymore, Omega."

I looked at the ring one last time.

Five years of memories were wrapped around that tiny piece of gold. Now it meant nothing.

"You can keep it," I said quietly. "It doesn't belong to me anymore."

Neither of them answered.

I lifted my eyes to Morris.

Five years ago, I would have followed him anywhere.

Now I could not remember why I ever had.

Without another word, I turned and walked toward the elevator. Every step felt heavy, but I refused to look back.

The weight of the guests' stares burned into my back, yet somehow they no longer mattered.

Behind me, Morris's furious voice echoed across the rooftop.

"You'll regret this, Ophelia!”