Chapter 27
“A victim?” My father’s laugh was bitter. “She’s weak. Incompetent. She couldn’t even keep her fiancé away from a worthless
rogue.”
Alpha Marcus shook his head. “This isn’t Aurora’s fault, Beta James. Raymond’s stubbornness is his own.”
“And yet the wedding must still go forward,” my father pressed. “With or without the groom’s cooperation?”
“It will happen,” Alpha Marcus confirmed grimly. “Raymond will see reason by morning.”
My father’s grip on my arm tightened. “Make sure he does,” he hissed for my ears only. “Or your mother’s treatments end
tomorrow. Am I clear?”
I swallowed hard, nodding as the familiar threat landed.
The next hour dissolved into chaos–arguments over wedding preparations, heated debates about Giana’s status, frantic phone
calls to locate Raymond. I moved through it all like a ghost, numb to the storm swirling around me.
Eventually, I slipped away unnoticed, desperate for air that wasn’t thick with other people’s demands.
In the solitude of my room at the pack house, I stripped off my party dress and shifted into my wolf form. The change was a momentary relief, human concerns giving way to simpler instincts. I slipped out through the grounds and into the forest, my
paws silent on the pine needle floor.
The night air was crisp with approaching autumn, carrying the scents of decaying leaves and distant rain. I ran without direction, simply moving to outpace the weight in my chest. Tomorrow I would be Luna, bound to a man who despised me, trapped in at marriage neither of us wanted.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I nearly collided with another wolf–larger than me, with pitch–black fur and familiar amber
eyes.
Kane.
He shifted seamlessly back to human form, seemingly unbothered by his nudity as he leaned against a tree. I hesitated before shifting too, grateful for the darkness that partly concealed my own nakedness.
“Running away, Aurora?” Kane asked, his voice lacking its usual mockery.
“Just running,” I replied, wrapping my arms around myself.
Kane shrugged off his jacket that had been tied to his ankle and handed it to me. I slipped it on, the fabric still warm from his
body.
“I heard what happened at the pack house,” he said as I buttoned the jacket. “Word travels fast.”
1/2
Chapter 27
“Then you know my wedding is still happening tomorrow,” I said flatly. “Despite everything.”
Kane studied me in the moonlight. “Are you really going through with it? After tonight?”
I looked away. “I don’t have a choice.”
“Everyone has choices, Aurora. Some are just harder than others.”
“Says the wolf who’s never had to make a difficult choice in his life,” I snapped. “What would you know about sacrifice?”
Something flashed in his eyes–a hint of an emotion I couldn’t identify. “More than you might think.”
“You don’t have to waste your life on Raymond,” Kane finally said, his tone surprisingly gentle. “He doesn’t deserve your loyalty.‘
I laughed bitterly. “And I suppose you have a better suggestion?”
A familiar smirk curled his lips. “I wouldn’t mind helping you out again. No strings attached, of course.”
+15 Bonu
The casualness of his offer ignited something inside me. “Is that all relationships are to you, Kane? Temporary amusements?”
He shrugged. “It’s honest, at least. Better than the lie you’re about to commit to.”
“If you really wanted to help me,” I shot back, suddenly reckless, “you’d crash the wedding tomorrow. That would cancel the
engagement automatically.”
Kane’s playful demeanor vanished, his expression turning cold. “Don’t provoke me, Aurora. I told you, I have no interest in marriage–yours or anyone else’s.”
“Of course not,” I said, bitterness coating each word. “That would require actual commitment, wouldn’t it?”
“You don’t know the first thing about me,” he replied, his voice dangerously low.
“I know enough,” I retorted, turning away. “Goodnight, Kane.”
His hand caught my wrist, spinning me back to face him. For one breathless moment, I thought he might pull me closer. Instead, he released me, stepping back.
“I hope Raymond makes you very happy,” he said, the words laced with sarcasm. “You deserve each other.”
He shifted back to his wolf form and disappeared into the darkness, leaving me alone with the moon and my thoughts.
