Chapter 2 #2
"No." I shook my head, retreating a step. "No, there's been a mistake. Elder Drake said..."
"Elder Drake said you'd marry Mr. Blackwood, correct?" Finn interrupted, smile deepening. "I may be a bastard. I may never be publicly acknowledged. But I remain a Blackwood."
The air seemed to vanish from my lungs.
No. No, no, no. This couldn't be real.
"I know what you're thinking," Finn continued, closing the distance between us. "You're thinking this must be an error. You're thinking Kayden will burst through that door and explain everything. But let me illuminate the truth, my pitiful bride—Kayden wants nothing to do with you."
"You're lying." My voice trembled. "We're fated mates. There's a bond..."
"Really?" Finn's laugh grated like rusted metal. "Then why is he allowing you to marry me? Why hasn't he shown his face while you've been preparing so hopefully for this wedding? You think he's been hunting? Oh, he's hunting—just not for you."
He moved to the window and yanked back the curtain. Through the opening, I could see part of the Sacred Ground.
And then I saw Kayden.
He stood beside the stone platform in an immaculate black suit, silver eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Elder Drake and several other elders flanked him.
He was right there. Mere yards away.
But he wasn't looking toward this cottage. His face remained expressionless, eyes vacant, like an exquisite marble sculpture.
"See?" Finn whispered close to my ear. "He's right there, but he's not waiting for you. He's fulfilling a tedious duty—bearing witness to his pathetic brother's engagement ceremony."
My legs buckled. I nearly collapsed. Finn caught me, fingers digging painfully into my arm. We were suddenly very close, and for just a moment, some strange scent flickered between us—I had no time to process it.
"Why..." I whispered, tears blurring my vision. "Why..."
"Because you're not good enough," Finn said with brutal coldness. "You're a hybrid. An orphan. The lowest creature in this pack. Kayden is the Alpha heir. He requires a Luna of noble blood, not... a defective thing like you."
Each word was a blade twisting in my chest.
"But me?" Finn continued, mouth twisting with mockery. "I'm defective too. A bastard. Sickly. Despised since birth. So Father decided we'd make a fitting pair. Two broken things cobbled together. Rather appropriate, don't you think?"
I shook my head violently, tears streaming down my face, destroying the carefully applied cosmetics.
"This isn't real," I choked out. "Kayden wouldn't... he wouldn't do this to me..."
"Wouldn't he?" Finn suddenly seized my chin, forcing me to look at Kayden through the window. "Then look at him. Call out his name. If he truly cares for you, he'll hear, won't he? The mate bond is supposedly so powerful—surely he can sense your anguish."
I stared at Kayden outside, my throat constricting.
"Call out for him," Finn commanded.
"Kayden..." I whispered, voice splintering.
He didn't react.
"Louder," Finn hissed. "Make him hear you."
"Kayden!" I screamed, desperation raw in my voice.
But he remained motionless. Didn't even glance in this direction.
Suddenly, Finn spoke again. "Oh, I nearly forgot to mention something."
He crossed to the corner of the room and pulled away a cloth covering. Beneath it sat an elegant glass case containing a dead silver lion.
"See this? This is what Kayden hunted," Finn said. "A rare silver lion—exceptionally precious. By tradition, the groom must present his kill to demonstrate loyalty. But unfortunately, I'm far too weak to hunt. So Kayden, being the devoted brother he is, hunted it in my stead."
I stared at the dead creature, the entire room seeming to tilt and spin.
"Would you like to touch it?" Finn asked, tone thick with sick anticipation. "My bride, would you like to touch the gift your future husband prepared for you?"
Violent nausea surged up my throat. I whirled and bolted from the room, desperate to find Kayden and demand answers.
But two guards had materialized at the doorway, barring my escape.
"Move!" I screamed. "Move! I need to see Kayden!"
"I'm afraid that's impossible, Miss Gray," one guard said flatly. "By tradition, the bride cannot leave the preparation chamber before the ceremony."
I lunged at them, trying to force my way through. The guards stood immovable as stone. The impact sent me staggering backward, and the carefully crafted bouquet flew from my grasp, arcing through the air before crashing against the threshold.
The crash seemed to trigger something—a thunderous noise erupted from inside the cottage.
The guards' expressions changed instantly. They shoved me aside with brutal force and rushed into the room.
I hit the ground hard, dust staining the pristine white gown. My elbow cracked against stone, pain shooting through the joint.
But I felt nothing.
I simply sat there, staring blankly at the ruined bouquet on the ground.
In their violent rush, the guards' heavy boots had trampled straight over it. Fresh, delicate petals crushed into the dirt, reduced to mangled pulp. Worthless refuse.
How absurd.
I'd believed I was marrying Kayden. I'd believed the bond between us meant something. I'd believed I could finally have happiness.
But from beginning to end, it had all been my delusion. Just like this bouquet.
Tears fell without warning, fat drops splashing into the dirt, spreading into dark stains.
Then a guard's terrified shout pierced the air from inside the cottage.
"Mr. Finn is dead!"