Chapter 2: Center of Attraction (Lena POV)

I made it back to our small house just as the first stars appeared. My mother was in her chair by the window, wrapped in blankets despite the warm September evening. She'd been getting worse lately, the sickness that had plagued her for years finally taking a stronger hold.

"You're late," she said softly. "I was worried."

"Just the ceremony setup." I kissed her forehead, noting how warm her skin felt. "Did you eat?"

"A little." She caught my hand, studying my face with those grey eyes that matched mine. "Something happened."

It wasn't a question. My mother had always been able to read me too well.

I hesitated, then told her about Kai Silvercrest's unexpected appearance and his strange order. As I spoke, her expression shifted from concern to something that looked almost like fear.

"Mom? What is it?"

She was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Lena, there are things about your father that you don't know. Things I've kept from you to protect you."

My stomach dropped. "What things?"

"Your father didn't try to kill the Alpha," she said, and her voice was barely above a whisper. "He tried to expose him."

I sank into the chair across from her. "What are you talking about?"

"The night your father died, he'd discovered something. Something that would have destroyed Alpha Darius if it came to light." She pulled the blankets tighter around herself. "I don't know what Kai Silvercrest wants with you, but if he knows who you are, if he knows what your father tried to do…"

"Then what?"

She looked at me with eyes full of old grief and new worry. "Then you're already dead."

I didn't sleep that night.

I lay in my narrow bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to process my mother's words. She wouldn't tell me more, said it was safer if I didn't know, that some secrets were too dangerous to speak aloud. But she'd given me enough to understand that everything I'd been told about my father was a lie.

And Kai Silvercrest knew.

He had to know. Why else would he single me out? Why else would he look at me like I was a puzzle he needed to solve?

By the time dawn broke, I'd made a decision. I would go to the ceremony like he'd ordered. I would stand in that front section and let everyone stare and whisper. And when it was over, when he'd married Sienna Lockhart and secured his place in the pack hierarchy, I would find a way to corner him and demand the truth about my father.

It was reckless. It was probably stupid. But I was done being the ghost girl who haunted the edges of pack life. If there was even a chance that my father wasn't the traitor they'd made him out to be, I needed to know.

Theo arrived at noon with a bundle under his arm.

"Don't be mad," he said before I could speak.

I eyed the bundle suspiciously. "What did you do?"

He unwrapped it, revealing a dress, simple but beautiful, deep green fabric that would actually fit me properly unlike my usual hand-me-downs.

"Theo, I can't accept…"

"Your mom told me you're going to that ceremony," he said firmly. "And you're not going in work clothes. Let me do this for you. Please."

I wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him he shouldn't waste his money on me, that it didn't matter what I wore because everyone would still only see the traitor's daughter. But the look in his eyes stopped me.

"Thank you," I said instead.

He smiled, and for a moment, everything felt almost normal. Just two friends preparing for a pack celebration. Not the complicated mess of secrets and impossible feelings between us.

"I'll walk you there tonight," he said. "Make sure no one gives you trouble."

"Theo…"

"Don't argue. I know you're strong and capable and don't need protecting." His voice softened. "But let me anyway."

How was I supposed to say no to that?

The ceremony grounds were transformed.

Thousands of candles floated in enchanted glass spheres, creating a river of light that wound through the trees. The white silk banners glowed silver in the moonlight, and the air thrummed with the energy of hundreds of wolves gathered to witness their future Alpha claim his mate.

I stood in the front section, wearing Theo's gift and feeling completely out of place. High-blood families surrounded me, their expensive clothes and confident postures a stark contrast to my nervous energy. Some stared openly. Others whispered behind their hands. A few actually shifted away, as if tainted blood was contagious.

Theo had wanted to stay with me, but I'd made him join the other low-rank wolves in the back. The last thing he needed was more trouble because of me.

The crowd fell silent as the Alpha's procession began.

First came the pack's warriors, impressive in their formal blacks. Then the council members, then the Beta and his family. Sienna Lockhart walked among them, ethereal in a white dress that made her look like something from a fairy tale. She didn't look at the crowd, her perfect face serene and unreadable.

Finally, Alpha Darius appeared, and the power rolling off him made even the bravest wolves lower their eyes. He was everything an Alpha should be, strong, commanding, terrifying in his authority.

And behind him walked his son.

Kai Silvercrest wore all black, and somehow it made his golden eyes burn even brighter. He moved with the same predatory grace I'd seen yesterday, scanning the crowd with an expression that gave nothing away.

Until his gaze found me.

Our eyes locked across the clearing, and the air between us seemed to crackle with something I didn't understand. His expression shifted into satisfaction. Like he'd been looking for me specifically and was pleased to find me exactly where he'd ordered me to be.

Then he looked away, and I could breathe again.

The ceremony began with the traditional words, ancient pack law spoken in the old language. I tried to focus on the ritual, but my attention kept drifting to Kai. He stood beside his father on the platform I'd helped build, tall and still, looking every inch the warrior prince.

Alpha Darius raised his hand, and the crowd fell silent.

"Tonight, we honor tradition," he said, his voice carrying across the clearing. "Tonight, we strengthen our pack through sacred union. My son, Kai Silvercrest, will accept his betrothal to Sienna Lockhart, joining our families and securing our future."

Sienna stepped forward, graceful and poised. She climbed the platform steps and took her place beside Kai. They looked perfect together, two beautiful, powerful wolves who'd been groomed for this moment since birth.

"Kai Silvercrest," the Alpha continued. "Do you accept this match? Do you claim Sienna Lockhart as your mate before the moon and pack?"

This was it. The moment everyone had been waiting for. Kai would say yes, they would complete the ritual, and my life would go back to its normal, quiet misery.

Kai looked at Sienna. Then he looked at his father. Then he turned and looked directly at me.

"No," he said clearly. "I reject this match."