Chapter 0002

MIA

Cassandra reached out and put a hand on Derek’s arm. The wolf inside me, Nox, snarled. But I quieted her and stilled with resolute conviction.

I took a step forward, steeling my spine, standing up straight, wrapping myself in an illusion of courage and dignity. The wolves of Derek’s pack didn’t yet fully see me as their Luna, and I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of showing how unsure I suddenly felt, how threatened.

Joe stepped up next to me, his eyes narrowing as if I were his prey.

“They’ve been together since they were kids, Mia,” he said. He wasn’t trying to be subtle or quiet. Everyone in the room could hear him.

“If it weren’t for Derek’s father passing away, if Derek hadn’t had to stay here and take over as Alpha-”

“Joe,” Derek warned, his voice sharp as a blade.

But Joe just kept talking, every word out of his mouth a needle that seemed to pierce my skin.

“They were supposed to go on a trip,” he went on. “Derek and Cassandra. Around the world. They’d been planning it for years.”

Caroline slid in to back up her mate. “It’s true,” she said, linking her arm through Joe’s. “We all knew what it was. An engagement trip.”

Derek looked thunderous, but a smile slid up Cassandra’s cheeks, snake-like.

“If Derek hadn’t had to stay here and deal with everything that happened, he would have gone on that trip and they never would have been separated,” Joe continued. “It was a temporary split-up. This wedding day would have been theirs.”

Derek growled, the sound low and menacing. I noticed Cassandra took a step away from him.

“If we hadn’t lost his father, our Alpha, you,” he spat, “a rogue…never would have stood a chance.”

I felt the floor tilt beneath me.

My fingers tightened around my bouquet, petals crumpling under my grip. I had heard pack members mentioning Cassandra before.

But this? This was something he had never told me.

I glanced at Derek, searching for any sign of denial. His jaw was tight, be he said nothing.

Derek’s mother stepped forward. Silverclaw’s once great Luna, and the woman who had taken me under her wing and schooled me in the ways of leading a pack the last few months, who had been so impressed with how quickly I picked everything up, did her best to break the tension.

“Mia and Derek are about to be married,” she reminded the gathered pack, her voice warm but firm. “Let’s give them some privacy.”

I turned to give her a grateful look, but she was already leading the way, shuffling the gathered masses out of the hall. I turned to Derek instead.

The moment stretched between us, unspoken words hovering in the air. Cassandra lingered, her eyes locked onto Derek’s face before she finally turned and swept from the room, taking the remnants of my confidence with her.

When we were alone, I forced myself to meet Derek’s gaze.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” My voice came out steadier than I felt.

Derek exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his face before answering.

“Because it doesn’t matter. I chose you.”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to let this moment pass and allow myself to be swept back up in the excitement of our wedding.

Inside me, my wolf called to his. I stepped closer, pressing a soft kiss against his lips.

For a second, he hesitated—just long enough for doubt to creep in—but then he responded, his hands gripping my waist, his kiss deepening. The mate bond flared between us, igniting a warmth in my chest. It was enough.

It had to be enough.

But Cassandra’s words—and Joe’s—echoed in the back of my mind.

Back in the dressing room, I barely had time to catch my breath before I saw her.

Cassandra. Waiting for me.

“Cassandra,” I said, more steadily than I felt. I didn’t want her to know how much her presence rattled me.

I reached into the pocket I’d had sewn into my wedding dress and fingered the hidden medallion I carried there, my fingers running along its smooth planes and hard edges. It had been my talisman since my days wandering the borderlands as a rogue.

“You don’t deserve Derek.” She wasted no time before she spoke, her voice like silk wrapped around a dagger.

“Now that I’m back, there won’t be any place for you. I’m sure you’ve hoarded the wealth of Silverclaw since Derek took you in. Any rogue would.”

She flipped her dark locks over her shoulder and gave me a look as though I were something stuck to the bottom of her expensive heels.

“Take the money and leave.”

I blinked, taken aback. It had never occurred to me to steal from Derek and the Silverclaw pack. Rogue or not.

A slow anger uncurled inside me, replacing the unease her words had brought on.

I lifted my chin. “We’re fated mates,” I reminded her.

She swallowed thickly, and I could feel Nox inside me, smiling wolfishly, encouraging me on. “He’s never once mentioned you.” I held up the bouquet of flowers in my hands. “Need I remind you that this is our wedding day?”

Cassandra shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

“You’re a guest, Cassandra,” I said, my spine straightening. “It’s just good manners to invite the ex.”

Cassandra laughed, low and mocking, though I could sense the growing doubt inside her. Could see a manic fury cross her features.

“Is that so?” She took a step closer, the scent of expensive perfume cloying in the small space. “Then tell me this—if he had to choose between the two of us, who do you think he’d pick?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but Cassandra moved, quick as a viper. She grabbed a pair of scissors from the vanity—left there from the final wedding gown alterations earlier in the day.

I thought for sure she was about to attack me. Nox’s rage swept over me and I growled, low in my throat.

It wasn’t the angry, lost growl of a rogue. It was the fighting snarl of a Luna. I felt it wash over me in a bloom of strength.

Cassandra faltered, but her grip around the scissors tightened, her knuckles going white.

“Leave,” she said, all pretense of arrogance gone from her voice. “He’s mine.”

“The Moon Goddess says otherwise,” I said, stepping forward.

“He’s always been mine!” her voice trembled with unhinged feeling. “He always will be!”

“Put the scissors down, Cassandra.” My voice was level and commanding.

“If I can’t have him, I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” I asked calmly. “Hurt me? How do you think he’ll react when he finds out you threatened me? When he finds out you hurt me?”

She stood for a moment, unsure. And then a slow smile crept up her cheeks.

She moved to the door that led into the hall where our ceremony would be held. I could hear the assembled masses mumbling behind it, no doubt gossiping about all that had transpired already.

In her hands, she raised the scissors and slashed them down at herself, slicing through the fabric of her own dress, the delicate white material tearing open. Then, she tossed the scissors back towards me, and with a practiced gasp, she stumbled out the door of the dressing room and into the great hall.

I rushed after her.

“What-” I started to say, but that’s when she let out a piercing, desperate scream.

All the eyes in the room whipped toward the two of us, shocked gasps echoing off the elegantly decorated walls.

By the time I realized what she had done and why she had done it, it was already too late.