جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 90

Timothy's POVThe pain hits me like a freight train.One second I'm standing at the altar, saying vows I don't mean to a woman I don't love. Next, my chest feels like someone's ripping it open from the inside.Kael surges forward in my mind. "Mate! Something's wrong with our mate!""She's not our mate," I snap back, but even as I say it, I know he's not talking about Sophia.He means Penelope.The ceremony blurs after that. I go through the motions—kiss the bride, accept congratulations, smile for photos. But the whole time my chest aches."You look pale." Sophia touches my arm. "Are you feeling alright?""Fine." I force another smile. "Just tired."She buys it. Or pretends to. With Sophia, it's hard to tell what's real and what's a performance.The reception drags on for hours. Dancing, toasts, political conversations with pack leaders who want to congratulate my father on his strategic victory. Because that's what this marriage is.********By the time we reach the honeymoon suite a

Penelope's POVThe words hit too close to home."I'm working on it," I whisper, touching the necklace with trembling fingers. "Believing I deserve this. Deserve you.""You deserve everything," he murmurs, kissing my forehead with such tenderness it makes my chest ache. "And I'm going to spend every day proving it."His phone buzzes against his hip. He glances at it and frowns, his expression darkening."What's wrong?" I ask, studying the hard line of his jaw."Nothing," he says quickly, typing a response with sharp, efficient movements. "Just pack business. Kane Wintermoon wants to meet about the upcoming tournament."Kane. Sophia's oldest brother. One of the three brutal Wintermoon siblings now connected to Timothy through marriage."What does he want?" I ask, trying to keep my voice neutral despite the unease crawling up my spine."Probably to size up the competition," Liam answers, his jaw tightening as he pockets his phone. "The Wintermoons play dirty. Always have. Now that they'r

Penelope's POVThe Northwind Pack captain has targeted me from the first shift."Here comes the Golden Omega," she sneers as we line up for the faceoff. "Let's see if you're really as good as they say.""Why don't you find out?" I smile sweetly.The puck drops. I'm faster.She slams into me two seconds later with a hard check that sends me into the boards. The crowd boos as the ref's whistle stays silent."Oops," she says with false innocence. "Didn't see you there.""Sure you didn't," I mutter, shaking it off and getting back in position.She tries again on the next play. This time I see it coming. Months of training with Bloodfang's elite defenders have taught me how to read these moves. I spin away at the last second. She crashes into the boards instead.The impact echoes through the arena."You'll have to try harder than that," I call out, skating past her.The crowd roars. Mixed packs from across the territory fill the stands—this is the territorial championship final. Everyone w

Timothy POV My father scheduled another rematch against Bloodfang," I explained, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice. "The women's team again for the third time now."Something shifts in Sophia's expression. The vulnerability hardens into something else. "Good. Then you can finally beat her. Prove that rejection was the right choice. Move forward."The sudden change in her tone catches me off guard. "Sophia""What?" she challenges. "You think I don't know what everyone's saying? Poor little omega who rose from the ashes. It's pathetic. She got lucky, that's all. Someone needs to remind her where she belongs.""That's not fair," I say, feeling my wolf bristle. "She's actually talented.""Of course you'd defend her," Sophia snaps, standing abruptly. "Even now. Even after everything. I've never liked her, Timothy. Even before I knew she was your mate. There was always something about her. That victim acted. That wound is routine.""She's not manipulative," I defend, feeling heat

Penelope's POVI can't sleep.The grainy image from the community rink burns behind my eyelids every time I close them. That figure in the stands. The timing. Ten months ago."We need to stop obsessing," Lyra says, but her tone lacks conviction."Something's wrong." I sit up in bed and grab my laptop again. "I can feel it."The clock reads 2:47 AM. Practice is in six hours. I should sleep. Instead, I pull up social media and start searching with a purpose now. Not random scrolling. Deliberate investigation.I type Liam's name into the search bar and filter by date. Going back. Further. Before I transferred to Bloodfang.His posts are mostly hockey related. Game highlights. Training photos. Team celebrations. Nothing unusual.Then I switch tactics. I search for tags of the community rink. The one in Frostfang territory where I used to practice alone.Dozens of posts appear. Local hockey parents sharing their kids' practice times. Amateur players posting about drop-in games. Community e