CHAPTER 1: My second mate

AVIONNA’S POV

I knew Mother would outdo herself for Ivy’s wedding. She had always loved putting on a spectacle, and today, she finally had the perfect occasion.

The huge towering arc that heralded the Gamma’s home had been painted in bright colors, even though the monstrous building could hardly be missed, and the trees beyond the gates looked newly trimmed with fresh displays of flowers.

Planning a wedding had always been my stepmother’s lifelong wish as an event planner and she was finally getting what she had always desired. Just not from me.

My gaze dropped to the wedding invitation in my lap, and my eyes traced the gold rimmed edge of the paper tied neatly with a silver ribbon, a spectacular contrast that made my lips curl faintly.

“The Kael and Vale family cordially invite you to take part in our children’s wedding. We ask that you honour us with your presence and bear witness to their union.”

Ivy had gone out of her way to make sure I got the invitation. My stepsister had been itching to flaunt her latest achievement over mine.

She had gotten her little victory. After all, I had stayed up an entire night, reading the invitation over and over again until I could recite the words off the top of my head.

The last thing I wanted was to be here. But Father had called three weeks ago, ordering my return home in the harshest tone he could have possibly employed.

“Save your excuses Avionna. I want you here, and that’s final.” He’d said when I tried to decline using Aunt Morticia’s upcoming birthday party as an excuse.

Father had always held little regard for my mom’s family and he never failed to make that known.

To him, my birth mom was nothing more than a woman who had ruined his life and dropped him a step lower in the Crescent Pack hierarchy.

My heart jolted when the gates were thrown open, then began to pound when I spotted the rows of cars in the lot. It was packed to the brim, already giving me a visual report of just how many people Father had invited.

Judging by the number of cars, he might as well have invited the entire Pack.

The car came to a stop, and I stared at the grand entrance for a few more seconds before reaching for the door handle.

There was no point delaying the inevitable.

I slipped the invitation into my handbag, and stepped out of the car, suddenly grateful that I’d opted to put on this dress instead of the large hoodie and Jean that had been my original choice.

Aunt Morticia had influenced my change.

“Putting that on would only draw attention to you. If I know you well enough, that’s exactly what you’re trying to avoid.” She’d said earlier this morning while I was packing.

Now, I realised she was right. I would have stood out like a sore thumb.

The dress however wasn’t enough to make me invisible. The moment I stepped into the hall, heads turned in my direction like well rehearsed moves, and the whispers began immediately.

“That’s Avionna, right?”

“What is she doing here? I thought she left the Pack.”

“I heard Gamma Renato nearly disowned her after that disgraceful incident…”

“Shh. She might hear you.”

It was too late. The words had already traveled to my ears but unlike the past, I simply pretended I hadn’t heard them.

Keeping my chin lifted, I tightened my grip around my handbag and continued walking.

Two years.

It had been two years since I last stepped foot inside the Crescent Pack, yet apparently, my absence had done little to make anyone forget me.

I could feel their eyes trailing me as I crossed the enormous hall, their whispers following me like a shadow.

It didn’t matter that I had expected it, it still hurt.

Father stood near the center of the hall, surrounded by several members of the Pack who remained undistracted by the buzz my entrance had caused.

His back was as ram-rod straight as ever, and he still wore the look of being impossible to approach without feeling as though you were about to be reprimanded.

I forced myself to keep walking.

“Father,” I called when I got to him. He turned around, and his gaze swept over me from head to toe.

“You’re late.”

I glanced at the enormous clock hanging above the entrance. “It was a long flight.”

He gave a low grunt that spoke volumes of his dissatisfaction but before he could say more, a familiar voice floated across the room.”

“Avi!”

I sighed, already knowing who it was before turning.

Ivy’s performative call and her sickening endearing address hadn’t changed. Who knew how many she had deluded into thinking we had the best relationship?

My stepsister descended the grand staircase like she had been waiting for her entrance. She had changed out of her wedding dress, into the sleek, champagne-colored reception gown she had chosen for the occasion.

Pictures of the dress had flooded her social media the moment she received it, earning her hundreds of compliments and more than a few envious comments.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” she cooed sweetly, grabbing hold of my arm.

I stiffened immediately, subtly wedging my hand out of her hold. “You sent me an invite.”

Her smile faltered a second. “Of course I sent you an invite. You’re my sister and if you’d only been around, you wouldn’t have needed one.”

Again. Here we went with the disguised jabs. Ivy knew exactly why I had left back then. She had spared no effort assisting Aubrey in tormenting me either.

I wondered how she could so easily smile and act like none of that had happened. Unwittingly, my gaze searched the room for Aubrey. I had assumed she would be in attendance, unless her friendship with Ivy only extended as far as making other people’s life miserable.

Instead, my gaze found someone else.

Lucien.

My stomach twisted instantly, and the hand holding my handbag tightened around the strap.

He stood near the far end of the hall, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, a glass of champagne loosely held between his fingers as he spoke to one of the guests.

For two years, I had done everything I could to forget his face.

Apparently, two years had not been long enough.

My eyes remained on him for a second longer than they should have, and as though sensing my stare, he looked up and our eyes met. There was no surprise in his expression.

Of course he knew I was here. He had probably known the moment I stepped through the gates.

His gaze swept over me casually before moving away, as though I were nothing more than another guest. I hated that it still stung.

“He’s been helping Alpha Kael with Pack affairs,” Ivy explained, following my gaze. “Alpha Kael hasn’t been in the best of health lately, so Lucien has been handling most of his responsibilities. I’m so glad he could make it, especially with his own wedding having taken place so recently.”

I snagged my gaze back to her, catching the smile etched into her features. She’d obviously meant for that to hurt. A quick pang struck deep inside but I didn’t let it break my composure.

“Good for you.” I nodded slightly, looking away.

Ivy’s didn’t relent. She stepped into my line of sight again. “I’m sure it must be strange seeing him again after…”

Her voice faded into the background when a strange scent suddenly filled my nostrils. It was subtle at first, barely more than a trace carried through the air, but the moment I caught it, my entire body went rigid.

My wolf stirred violently, a reaction I had never experienced before. My connection to her had always been weak, barely more than a distant whisper but this time, she surged toward the surface, clawing at my insides with an urgency that made my breath hitch.

What the hell…

I pressed my hand against my stomach, trying to calm her while the scent grew stronger. Darker, musky and intoxicating.

My heart began to pound.

“Avi…?”

I barely heard Ivy. My attention had already shifted to the entrance with no clue what I was looking for. All I knew was that I needed to find the source of that scent. My wolf was certain of it.

Mate.

The word slammed against my mind, nearly causing me to blackout. My eyes went wide.

Mate?

No.

That couldn’t be right. I already found my mate. Lucien was my mate and the bond between us had been severed two years ago. I couldn’t have another one.

While I grappled with my thoughts, the scent became overwhelming. I turned toward the entrance before I could stop myself, and spotted the man walking through the doors.

He was tall, impossibly so, with broad shoulders and an imposing presence that commanded attention without effort. Dark hair framed a sharply defined face, but it was his eyes that held me.

Steel gray.

They swept across the crowded hall with cold indifference before landing on me. Everything inside me went still, then my wolf howled again

Mate.

I couldn’t breathe. I knew those eyes. Everyone in the Crescent Pack did.

They belonged to Fabian Draven, the Alpha of Saturn Pack. The widower whose Luna’s death had nearly destroyed the fragile alliance between Crescent and Saturn Pack.

The man whose mate my mom had supposedly killed.

I stood there, horrified at the feeling that was sweeping through me.

“No…”

“No, this can’t be…”