Chapter 4

The next morning, my mother begged me not to go.

"Bella, you can barely stand! You'll collapse before it's even over! And he's just doing this to hurt you! "

"I have to," I said, pulling on my coat. "It's the last thing I'll ever get to do for him. And I need to see him happy. Then I can... then I can let go."

My mother tried to argue, but I wouldn't listen.

I told her I would be fine, that I would call her if I needed anything, and then I walked out the door.

It was a struggle just to get to the pack square where the ceremony would be held, but I made it.

It was ten o'clock in the morning, and the square was empty.

I stood in the middle of the platform where the ceremony would take place, and I practiced the words I would say.

But my mind kept wandering.

I thought about all the times Kael and I had stood in this very square, watching other couples complete their Marking Ceremonies.

I thought about how we had talked about our own ceremony.

I thought about the life we were supposed to have together.

I stood there for hours, practicing the same lines over and over again.

The sun climbed higher and higher in the sky, and it got hotter and hotter.

My legs started to shake, and my head started to spin. But I didn't sit down. I didn't leave. I just kept standing there, waiting.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon when they finally showed up.

Ella was fanning herself with her hand, looking annoyed. "Oh, Bella! I'm so sorry we're late! It was just so hot this morning, we decided to take a nap. You weren't waiting too long, were you?"

"No," I said, my voice hoarse. "It's fine. Let's start."

The rehearsal was a nightmare. Kael criticized everything I did.

My voice was too quiet. My posture was wrong. I was standing in the wrong place. I was speaking too fast, then too slow.

Every time I made a mistake, he would sigh loudly and roll his eyes, and Ella would giggle and say, "Oh, Kael, be nice!"

But he never was. He kept pushing me, harder and harder, trying to get a reaction out of me.

But I just kept smiling and apologizing and doing what he told me.

We rehearsed until the sun went down and the moon came up.

Finally, Ella yawned and stretched. "I'm tired, Kael. Can we go home now? "

Kael nodded. "Yeah, you go ahead. I'll be there in a minute. I have something I need to say to Bella."

Ella kissed him on the cheek and left, and then it was just the two of us.

Kael turned to me, his eyes cold.

"You think you got off easy, don't you?" he said.

"You think breaking my heart and running off with some random wolf had no consequences? I've spent every second since that night hating you, Bella. Every waking moment thinking about how you betrayed me. And you stood here for ten hours? Big deal. But I spent every hour in agony, because of you."

I opened my mouth to say something, but my legs gave out.

I had been standing for ten hours, without food or water, and my body just couldn't take it anymore.

I fell forward, and for a moment, I thought I was going to hit the ground hard. But then strong arms wrapped around me, catching me.

It was Kael.

For a split second, I saw panic in his eyes. Real, genuine panic. He held me tightly, and I could feel his heart racing.

"Bella? Bella, are you okay?"

And then, just as quickly as it had come, the panic was gone.

He pushed me away roughly, and I stumbled back, catching myself on the edge of the platform.

"Don't play games with me again, Bella," he said, his voice cold again. "I know you're faking. Don't think this will make me forgive you."

He turned to leave, but he paused at the bottom of the steps.

"Don't be late on the ceremony," he said over his shoulder. "And don't mess up. I don't want you ruining the ceremony."

And then he was gone.