Chapter Seven — The Bride Who Was Never His

lily's pov

The moment I stepped into the feast, the noise of the palace seemed to rise around me from every direction. I could hear hundreds of people talking, glasses clinking against one another, servants moving hurriedly between the tables, and wolves howling somewhere beyond the walls.

I could not see any of them, but I could feel their attention settling on me, as though every person in the enormous gathering had suddenly turned their eyes toward the woman they had been waiting to see.

My fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress.

I knew what I was supposed to be. Axel Ashford's bride.

The peace offering my father had thrown away to prevent another war.

The woman everyone expected to become the Luna of the Ashford clan.

Yet as I stood there listening to the crowd, I could not stop remembering the way Axel had looked at me when I first arrived, the way he had called me worthless, the way his hand had wrapped around my throat before ordering the guards to lock me away. Nothing about tonight felt like the beginning of a marriage. It felt like I had been brought here to be displayed.

The king and queen stood at the front of the gathering, welcoming the visiting packs and noble families who had traveled from different territories for the celebration.

“Welcome to the Ashford clan. We are honored to have all of you here tonight to celebrate the union that will strengthen the peace between our people,” the king announced.

Cheers immediately filled the grounds. The queen smiled as she lifted her hand.

“Tonight is a night of celebration, friendship, and new beginnings. We hope everyone enjoys the feast and welcomes our future bride with the respect she deserves,” she said.

The words had barely left her mouth when someone shouted from the crowd. “Where is the bride?” Another voice followed. “Where is the bride?”

Then several people began shouting together.

“Where is the bride?” “Let us see the bride!” “Bring out the bride!”

The voices became louder until the entire gathering seemed to be demanding my appearance.

I swallowed hard. Mia touched my arm gently.

“It is time, ma'am,” she said . I nodded and stepped forward.

Every step felt heavier than the one before it. I could not see the people watching me, but their silence told me enough. They were staring. I could feel their attention following every movement I made as I slowly walked into the center of the feast.

Then someone gasped.

“ Wow ...She is beautiful.” Another person whispered, “Look at her.” “She is even more beautiful than I imagined.” “No wonder they used her as the peace offering.” “She has the face of a goddess.” “She is incredibly beautiful.” The unexpected praise confused me.

For years, I had heard people call me useless, helpless, weak, and defective. I had almost forgotten what it felt like for someone to describe me with admiration instead of disgust.

But before I could take comfort in their words, my foot struck something on the ground.

I lost my balance. My body pitched forward, and I fell hard. A gasp swept through the gathering.

My palms struck the floor, and pain shot through my knees. I immediately stretched my hands around me, trying to find something that would help me stand.

The crowd went silent.

Then someone whispered, “Wait.” Another voice asked, “Did she just fall?” “She didn't see the step.”

The realization spread quickly. “She is blind?” Someone laughed widely, “A blind woman?”

Another person said, “I cannot even perceive a wolf's aura from her.” “She doesn't have a wolf.” The whispers became louder.

“A blind, wolfless woman?” “What kind of joke is this?”

“How could they give the crown prince of the Ashford clan a woman like that?”

Someone suddenly shouted, from the crowd, “Do they take us for a laughing stock? What do they think they are doing by giving our crown prince a blind wolfless woman?”

Another man rose angrily. “This is an insult to the Ashford clan. Should we march to their territory and kill them all?”

My heart sank.

I had known people would mock me, but hearing them speak about my clan as though they wanted to start another war because of me made my hands tremble. Then Miranda's voice rose above the others.

“Everyone, calm down. Please, calm down,” she said.

The crowd gradually quieted.

I was still on the ground when I heard footsteps approaching. Miranda stopped near me.

“Oh, Lily, you poor thing. You really should be more careful,” she said with a sweetness that I knew was completely false. I lowered my head and tried to push myself up.

Then one of Miranda's friends suddenly gasped.

“Wait a moment. Look at her neck!” My hand instinctively flew toward the mark, The mark Thorne had given me.

The crowd erupted again. “Oh my goodness!” “Is that a mate mark?” “Prince Axel really mated with her?” Miranda's friend laughed loudly.

“My goodness, my Axel actually marked this worthless woman?” she asked. My face burned.

I could hear the laughter spreading through the crowd, but I could not understand why Axel had not said anything, Then his voice finally came.

“Everyone, calm down,” Axel said. I lifted my head toward him.

Some small part of me still hoped he would defend me.

Instead, his next words destroyed whatever remained of my pride.

“Lily is not my bride.” The entire gathering fell silent.

I stared in the direction of his voice. “What?” someone asked.

Axel stepped forward. “She is not my queen, and she is certainly not my future Luna,” he announced. My heart began pounding violently.

“She is nothing more than a slave,” he continued. “To be precise, she is a plaything that was sold to me by her kingdom as the price of peace.”

My breathing stopped. “Axel…” I said. He ignored me.

“She was sent here because her people wanted peace.

That is the only reason she is standing in this palace. I never chose her, and I never wanted her.”

The words cut deeper than I expected.

I had been prepared for humiliation, but hearing him announce before hundreds of people that I was nothing to him made something inside me break.

“But my real bride is here tonight.” A roar of excitement erupted from the crowd. Axel turned toward Miranda.

“Miranda, the daughter of the General of the Black Wolf, is the woman I have chosen to become my Luna,” he announced. The crowd exploded. “Congratulations!” “Long live Prince Axel!” “Congratulations to the future Luna!” “Miranda is beautiful!” “She deserves the crown!”

I could hear Miranda laughing happily.

She had gotten exactly what she wanted. I remained on the floor, my hands trembling against my dress.

I wanted to disappear. I wanted the ground to open and swallow me because I could no longer bear the humiliation surrounding me.

Then something strange happened. A sudden heat spread through my body.

I gasped and grabbed my stomach.

The heat moved through my chest and down my arms, burning through my veins with such intensity that I could barely breathe.

“What is happening to her?” someone asked.

I tried to answer, but a strange growl escaped my throat instead. The crowd became silent.

My body began shaking violently. The heat became stronger.

My clothes suddenly felt as though they were being pulled apart from within, and then I heard the unmistakable sound of fabric tearing.

Someone screamed. “Her wolf!” Another voice shouted, “Her wolf is awakening!” I couldn't understand them.

I had never felt anything like this before. For years, I had believed there was nothing inside me.

I had believed every person who called me wolfless.

Yet something was moving inside my body now, something powerful and frightening that I could neither understand nor control.

I fell forward, clutching myself as another wave of heat rushed through me. Then, after several terrifying moments, the sensation suddenly disappeared.

The silence lasted only a heartbeat.

Then the laughter started. I realized my clothes had been badly torn.

I tried desperately to cover myself with my hands as humiliation flooded through me.

Miranda's voice suddenly exploded across the gathering. “You bitch!” I heard her rushing toward me.

“What exactly are you trying to do?” she screamed.

“I don't understand,” I pleaded. “I didn't do anything.”

She kicked me hard in the stomach.

Pain exploded through me, forcing a cry from my throat.

“You think you can seduce Axel in front of everyone?” Miranda shouted.

“I didn't—” Another kick cut me off. “You worthless woman!” you cant even awake your wolf.

I curled around myself, struggling to breathe, Then the entire atmosphere changed.

A deep, commanding voice thundered across the feast. “Stop!” Everyone fell silent. I knew that voice, it was surely thorne.

His footsteps approached quickly. He came straight toward me without saying another word. Then his arms slipped beneath my body, and he lifted me from the ground as though I weighed nothing.

I instinctively grabbed his clothing. “Please,” I whispered. His arms tightened around me. Then Axel stepped directly in front of us.

“Put her down,” Axel ordered. Thorne remained cold without saying a word.

“She is my woman,” Axel replied.

Thorne's arms tightened around me. “She is not an object you can claim whenever it suits you,” he said.

Axel laughed bitterly.

“Thorne, you have been throwing your weight around for too long. Just because everyone is afraid of your strength does not mean you can interfere in my affairs. She is mine, and you have no right to take her away from me,” he said.

Thorne looked at him. I could feel the tension between them even though I could not see their faces.

Then Thorne pushed Axel aside. “Get out of my way,” he said. Axel stumbled backward. For a moment, nobody moved.

Then I heard the unmistakable sound of a sword being drawn. Axel had released his wolf.

His aura crashed over the gathering with such force that people began gasping and stumbling backward.

“Put her down,” Axel growled. Thorne did not move.

Instead, the air around him changed. His wolf emerged. The pressure that followed was terrifying.

People began dropping to their knees.

The sound of wolves whining and growling filled the feast grounds as powerful Alpha aura swept through the crowd.

Someone screamed, “Get down!” Another person cried, “Their aura is too strong!”

I could barely breathe between the two forces pressing against me. Axel raised his sword and placed the blade against Thorne's neck.

“You are challenging me in front of everyone?” Axel asked.

Thorne's voice became dangerously quiet.

“You should be asking yourself whether you are ready for the answer,” he replied.

Axel's grip tightened around the sword.

“She belongs to me.” Thorne stared at him. “No,” he said. “She doesn't belong to you.”

The wolves around us began howling. The ground seemed to tremble beneath our feet as the brothers stood facing each other, neither willing to retreat.

Then Thorne's arms tightened around me.

His voice dropped into a terrifying growl. “You will never touch her again.”

And in that moment, I realized the feast was no longer a celebration.