Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Sienna
I look like hell.
The bathroom mirror doesn’t lie, and right now it’s telling me that three hours of sleep after a night spent alternating between champagne, confusion, and fury does not make for a good look.
There are dark circles under my eyes that would make a raccoon proud, and my hair looks like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket.
I stare at my reflection, and my reflection blinks back at me.
Who pushes away their mate? What kind of person feels that bond, that perfect recognition, and simply walks away?
My wolf is still restless, pacing and snarling inside me. She wants answers. She wants to find him, demand an explanation, make him acknowledge what he so clearly felt.
I want to throttle him. But first, I need to look like I have my life together.
I get to work, covering the evidence of my lack of sleep with makeup. When I’m done, there’s color in my cheeks, and my eyes look awake and alert instead of exhausted and furious.
My hair gets tamed with product and a flat iron until it falls in smooth waves past my shoulders. Perfectly polished, as it should be.
I pick out my charcoal gray suit, the one that fits perfectly and makes me look like I could run a Fortune 500 company. I pair it with a white blouse, crisp and unwrinkled. As I go to get my heels, I slap on my minimal jewelry—nothing but small earrings and a watch.
By the time I’m done, I look exactly like what I am: chief strategic advisor of Moonvale Pack. Competent, confident, and completely in control.
My armor is in place. The anger is still there, simmering under the surface, but no one looking at me would know it.
The drive to the office passes in a blur, but my hands are steady on the wheel, my expression calm.
I park in my usual spot at Moonvale headquarters and sit there for a moment, looking up at the building. Glass and steel rising against the morning sky. My new office is on the fourth floor with a view of the city.
This is everything I’ve worked for. I’m not going to let some nameless asshole ruin my official first day…even if that asshole is my fated mate.
I grab my bag and head inside, nodding at security as I pass. The elevator ride pushes my anger back a bit, replacing it with excitement.
I open the door to my new office, and I’m met with an ambush.
“Surprise!”
I nearly drop my bag.
Violet and Anne are standing there, and there’s a small cake on my new desk with “Congratulations, Chief Advisor!” written in purple icing. There’s also champagne. At eight in the morning.
“Oh my goodness,” I say, but I’m smiling. I can’t help it. “You two are ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously amazing,” Anne corrects, pulling me into a sweet embrace. “And you love us.”
“I really do.” I hug her back, then Violet, and the knot in my chest loosens a little.
“I know you probably got enough congratulations at the party last night, but we couldn’t wait to celebrate with you properly. Just the three of us,” Anne says.
“Uh huh.” I nod as I stare at them. “With champagne at eight o’clock in the morning.” I fold my arms over my chest, but my tone is light.
Violet pops the bottle. “It’s never too early to celebrate a major promotion. That’s basically a life rule.”
“Is it, though?” I ask, already accepting the glass she holds out to me.
“Absolutely,” Anne says, cutting into the cake. “It’s just one glass. Besides, you earned this. Youngest chief strategic advisor in Moonvale history. That’s huge, Sienna.”
It is huge. It should feel huge.
I take a sip of champagne, but the bubbles don’t taste quite as good as they did last night.
Violet is watching me with those sharp eyes that miss nothing. “Okay, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” Anne says, handing me a plate with a generous slice of cake. “You look amazing in that suit, by the way. But you’ve also got that look in your eye that you get when you’re ready to murder someone. What happened?”
I set my champagne down and sink into my new desk chair. It’s leather, expensive, and adjusts in about seventeen different ways.
“Okay, sit,” I tell them. “I have news.”
They exchange a worried look before settling into the chairs on the other side of my desk. Anne leans forward, concerned. Violet sits back, arms crossed, bracing herself for whatever I’m about to say.
“I met my fated mate last night.”
Silence.
Then, Anne squeals so loudly that I wince. “What?! Sienna, that’s amazing! Who is he? Where did you meet him? Why didn’t you tell us immediately?”
“Because he’s an asshole,” I say flatly.
That stops her, mid-squeal.
Violet’s eyebrows rise. “Explain.”
And I do. I tell them about going upstairs to use the bathroom, about bumping into him in the hallway, about the bond slamming into me and leaving no room for doubt. About the way he looked at me in a way that I knew he felt it, too.
And then, about how he pushed me away and disappeared.
By the time I’m done, both women are visibly upset.
“He did what?” Violet growls.
“Shoved me. Literally. Then walked off like I was nothing.” The anger resurfaces, hot and sharp. “I finally meet my mate, and he treats me like that?!”
“Who is he?” Anne asks.
I stab my fork into the cake as if it’s his chest. “I don’t even know. I can’t believe I’ve been hoping to find my fated mate—especially after you two got your happy endings—and I finally do, only for him to be a jerk for no reason!”
Violet and Anne exchange another look, but this time, I see amusement in it.
“What?” I demand.
“Nothing,” Violet says, smiling now. “It’s just…You do remember that neither of us got our happy endings easily, right?”
I pause mid-bite.
Anne laughs. “Violet was struggling with pack politics, and her mate was her stepbrother! I thought Kain was dead for ten years, and when he came back, I wanted to kill him myself!”
I sit back, considering these truths. “Okay, that’s fair. You both had your share of drama.”
“Understatement of the century,” Anne mutters.
“In any case, he doesn’t know how stubborn I am. I won’t let him complicate my love story,” I declare.
“There she is,” Anne says now, grinning. “There’s the Sienna we know and love.”
I lean forward, planting my elbows on my desk. “He doesn’t get to decide this. I don’t care what his problem is or why he thinks he can just walk away from the mate bond. We’re fated. The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes.”
“She really doesn’t,” Violet agrees.
None of my fantasies about what it would be like to meet my fated mate ever came close to what the real thing felt like last night. Knowing so completely that you were made for someone and they for you…I can’t lose that.
“I’m going to find him,” I vow, the plan forming as I speak. “And I’m going to make him explain himself. How dare he ignore me? The audacity!”
Anne raises her champagne glass. “That’s the spirit.”
“I mean it.” I’m on a roll now, righteous anger burning away the exhaustion. “I watched both of you fight for your relationships. If you can get your happy endings, then so can I.”
I notice that Violet is trying very hard not to laugh. “What now?”
“Nothing,” she says innocently. “I fully support this plan. Find him. Demand answers. Get your happy ending.”
“We’re here for you, whatever you need,” Anne adds. “Research, reconnaissance, emotional support while you track down your mystery mate.”
“Thank you.” I feel better now. More grounded. More like myself. “I will find him. I have to. I can’t just let this go.”
“Of course you can’t,” Violet says. “You’re Sienna. You don’t let anything go.”
“Stubbornness is a virtue,” I say primly.
We toast with champagne and cake, and for a few minutes, life feels almost normal. Three friends celebrating a promotion, planning a strategic campaign, supporting each other the way we always have done.
Then, my phone buzzes with a message from Darius’s assistant.
Emergency meeting. Conference room A. 9 a.m. All division heads required. Silvercrest delegation will be present.
I show it to Violet and Anne.
“The Silvercrest team is visiting the office today,” Violet says. “First official meeting to discuss merger logistics.”
Right. The merger. The reason for last night’s party.
“It’s so surreal,” I say, already mentally shifting gears. “I’ll be leading most of the integration work.”
“You’ll be great,” Anne assures me. “You were born for this.”
I stand, smoothing down my suit. Time to be Chief Strategic Advisor Sienna, not Rejected Mate Sienna. I can compartmentalize.
“Wish me luck,” I say.
“You don’t need luck,” Violet says.
She’s right.
I grab my laptop and files, down the rest of my champagne in one go, and head for the door. Conference room A is a few floors up. I have fifteen minutes to get there, review my notes, and prepare to impress a team of visiting pack members with my strategic brilliance.
I can do this. This is what I’ve trained for.
The elevator ride feels like it takes forever. When I finally step out, I see other division heads already heading toward the conference room. I fall into step with them, exchanging polite nods and morning greetings.
The conference room is massive, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city and a table that seats at least thirty people. Darius is already here, standing at the head of the table and talking to several people I recognize from last night as the Silvercrest delegation.
Marcus catches my eye and gives me a friendly wave. Sarah is here, too, looking serious in a navy suit.
I wave back and move to find a seat as close as I can to the front. As chief strategic advisor, I need to be visible, accessible, ready to present when called upon.
I’m settling into my chair, opening my laptop, when Darius calls for attention.
“Everyone, thank you for coming on short notice,” he says, his alpha voice carrying easily through the room. “As you know, we’re in the preliminary stages of a significant alliance with Silvercrest Pack. Today marks the beginning of our formal collaboration.”
He gestures to someone standing near the windows, and when the man turns around, my stomach drops.
Dark hair with silver at the temples. Sharp, severe features. Eyes like black ice.
It’s him.
My mate.
Moving toward the head of the table like he belongs there.
“I’d like to introduce Alpha Lucas Steele of Silvercrest Pack,” Darius continues. “He’ll be working closely with our team over the coming months as we finalize the merger terms.”
The room fills with polite applause.
I don’t move. I can’t move.
Lucas Steele.
My mate is the Alpha of Silvercrest Pack.
His eyes find mine as he looks around the table, and I watch recognition flash across his face. For a split second, I catch his unguarded expression—one of surprise, maybe even panic.
Then, his face goes blank. Completely, utterly blank. He looks away from me like I’m not even here.
Even as a pang of hurt passes through me, my jaw tightens in anger.
This is the second time he has ignored me.