Chapter 1: The wrong Bride

“Tighter,” Aunt Helena said.

The corset strings dug in hard. I grabbed the edge of the dressing table and held my breath. Pain flared across my ribs, but I stayed quiet.

“Hold still, Seraphina,” a servant muttered. “We don’t have all day.”

Another one whispered, “The dress barely closes. How’s she supposed to stand next to the future Alpha?”

My face burned. I stared down at the floorboards and counted them. Seven from the table to the door. I counted them twice. Anything to drown out their voices.

Aunt Helena stepped back and looked me over. “You’ve put on more weight since the last fitting.” She sighed. “Your cousin warned us.”

“I tried to watch what I ate,” I said.

“Trying wasn’t enough.” She tugged at the neckline. “Look at yourself. The pack already talks enough. Don’t give them more reasons.”

The servants glanced at each other. One hid a smirk. I pretended not to see it.

The door opened and Selene walked in. My cousin moved like the room belonged to her. Her silver gown sat perfectly on her slim frame. Golden hair fell in soft waves. She smiled at me, but her eyes stayed cold.

“Oh, Sera,” she said. “Let me fix that necklace. It’s crooked.”

Her fingers brushed my neck as she adjusted the clasp. She leaned close. 

“Breathe shallowly, cousin. We wouldn’t want the seams to split in front of everyone. That would be memorable.”

“Thanks, Selene.”

She patted my shoulder. “Of course. Family supports family.”

Aunt Helena nodded at her daughter. “Selene, you look radiant. That’s what a Luna should be.”

I caught my reflection in the mirror. The white dress pinched everywhere. My arms looked soft. My cheeks looked round. I had spent hours this morning trying to feel right in it. Now it just felt wrong.

Nothing had changed. Not when I was ten. Not when I was sixteen. Not now.

Lucien wasn’t always distant. When I was seventeen, some boys cornered me after training. “Careful,” one laughed. “The ground might crack under her.” Lucien told them to shut up. It wasn’t much, but I held onto it for years. The mate bond had pulled at us since we were teenagers. He once said it felt right. I believed him.

The walk to the ceremony hall dragged. Every step made the corset bite deeper. Pack members lined the path in their best clothes. Some offered polite smiles. Others whispered loud enough for me to hear.

“Is that really Lucien’s mate?”

“She’s got courage showing up like that.”

I kept my head up and my hands clasped tight so no one would see them shake.

The hall doors opened. Hundreds of eyes turned my way. 

At the front, Lucien waited. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking like the whole room already answered to him. Dark hair neat, ceremonial robes sharp. Our eyes met for a moment. His jaw tightened, then loosened. For a second he looked like he wanted to say something and couldn’t.

That small crack gave me something to hold onto. I walked down the aisle carefully, trying not to wince. When I reached him I offered a small smile.

“Lucien,” I whispered.

His jaw tightened again. He glanced away. 

“Seraphina.”

The elders started the traditional words. I barely followed them. I kept watching Lucien, searching for the boy from the river that night. He stared somewhere over my shoulder.

The elder’s voice rose. “Do you, Lucien Thorn, accept Seraphina Vale as your fated mate and future Luna of Black Hollow Pack?”

Silence fell over the hall. My heart hammered so loud I could hear it. After today, nobody would be able to call me a mistake anymore. At least, that was what I’d told myself.

Lucien’s hands flexed at his sides. He still wouldn’t look at me. The pause stretched out, 

“I reject Seraphina Vale as my mate.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd. I stared at him, waiting for him to say he didn’t mean it. He didn’t.

“I choose Selene Voss instead.”

Someone laughed. Then another voice joined in. A second later the whole hall was talking at once. My vision went blurry. The corset crushed in on me. I couldn’t get enough air.

Selene stepped up smoothly and placed her hand on his arm. She looked surprised for the crowd, but not in her eyes.

Aunt Helena’s voice cut through everything. “This is a disgrace.”

My legs wouldn’t move. Lucien stood beside Selene. Just like that. Years of waiting gone in a few words.

I had never felt so alone.